Treason Keep

Jennifer Fallon Treason Keep The Demon Child Trilogy Book 2

Harshini 02 - Treason Keep

THE DEMON CHILD TRILOGY BOOK 02

Jennifer Fallon

Also by

Jennifer Fallon

Medalon

Harshini

A DF Books NERDs Release

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

TREASON KEEP. Copyright (c) 2001 by Jennifer Fallon. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound(rm).

ILLUSTRATIONS. Copyright (c) 2001 by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

EXCERPT FROM HARSHINI. Copyright (c) 2001 by Jennifer Fallon.

Jennifer Fallon asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Print edition first published in February 2001 by Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Pty Limited.

http://www.voyageronline.com.au

For Dace Mikel O’Brien,

the original God of Thieves,

and as always, Adele Robinson

Acknowledgments

My life is many things, but boring isn’t one of them. Despite a wedding, a birth, a book launch, two house moves, a new business and a few other rather traumatic incidents that I would rather not relive, this book was written in considerably less time than Medalon.

As always, there are the usual suspects who deserve my thanks for their unswerving faith and their high tolerance levels in putting up with me during the creation of this work. In particular, I would like to thank my children, Amanda, TJ and David for their support and for filling my life with so many distractions that I have, though sheer necessity, mastered the art of focussing on writing to the exclusion of all else. They will readily attest to this fact, although they may be surprised how often I’ve heard them lament to each other “don’t bother asking her anything, she’s writing”.

I would like to thank Stephanie Smith, Darian Causby and Midge McCall, and all the other people at HarperCollins who I have never met but who have contributed to this series, along with Lyn Tranter and Cathy Perkins at Australian Literary Management and also Sarah Endacott. Stephanie Pui-Mun Law has once again created an awesome cover and I remain one of her most ardent fans.

With my dying breath, I will be thanking Harshini Bhoola for her never-ending enthusiasm and her constant re-reading of the manuscripts, and it still won’t repay her. Thanks also to my good friend Peter Jackson for encouraging me to take a step into the unknown and my favourite sycophants, Toni-Maree and John Elferink MLA for helping me keep my feet on the ground while my head was in the clouds.

Part 1 POLITICS AND POWER GAMES

Chapter 1

It took a conscious effort of will for Brak to take the final step across the threshold of Sanctuary.

The gates stood wide open, tall and impossibly white in the thin, chill mountain air. Sanctuary’s tall spires reached elegantly for the scudding clouds, shadowing the Gateway and offering him one last moment of anonymity.

He had turned his back on this place more than two decades ago and, despite the loneliness, the guilt, and the hunger for his own kind, he still found it harder than he thought possible to return.

He was not unexpected. That would have been too much to hope for. As he trekked through the mountains he had clung to the idle hope that the demons would not betray his approach. It was the reason he had come on foot – this journey of months could have been accomplished in hours had he asked the demons for help.

As he contemplated that final, irrevocable step, a figure appeared on the other side of the Gateway. Tall, white-robed and smiling, Jerandenan had been the Gatekeeper for as long as Brak could remember – and that was almost a millennium. The Harshini’s totally black eyes were moist, and his whole being radiated the warmth of his welcome.

The Gatekeeper opened his arms wide. “Welcome home, Brakandaran.”

Still Brak hesitated. “You remember me then?”

Jerandenan laughed softly. “I remember every soul who has entered my Gate, as well you know. And you, more than most, I would not forget. Come, Brakandaran. Your family awaits you. The demons miss you, and...” The Gatekeeper’s voice trailed off with a shrug, and he smiled that infuriating, calm smile that was already beginning to annoy Brak. And he had not even crossed Sanctuary’s threshold yet.

“And Korandellan wants to see me?” Brak guessed.

Jerandenan nodded. “Did you expect anything less from your King?”

Before Brak could answer, several grey missiles launched at him through the tingling barrier of the Gateway. The demons jumped on him gleefully, chattering to each other incomprehensibly, so delighted by his return that they almost knocked him off his feet. He recognised a few of the creatures as he tried to shake free of them, but there were youngsters in the group he did not know. They knew him, though. His blood called to them more clearly than any words were capable of.

Jerandenan smiled indulgently as the demons pushed and pulled Brak until he was through the Gateway, ignoring both his protests and his greetings, which he seemed to be handing out in equal measure.

“You can deny yourself, Brak, but you cannot deny the brethren. They are as glad to see you as we all are.”

Brak frowned, and peeled a little demon from around his neck who was hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe. No sooner had he removed one, than another tried to take its place. He pushed it away sternly.

“Begone!”

The demons fell back at his sharp tone, looking mightily offended. He immediately felt guilty for being so abrupt, a fact which the demons were probably counting on. At the first sign of his resolve wavering they were on him again, although this time they gave him room to breathe. Brak turned to Jerandenan helplessly.