The Demon Spirit (The Demonwars Saga, Band 2) - Hardcover

Salvatore, R. A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345391519 ISBN 13: 9780345391513

Verlag: Del Rey Books, 1998

Inhaltsangabe

The sequel to The Demon Awakens by one of fantasy's most popular authors continues the battle of Elbryan Wynden, Pony, and their allies to save the land of Corona from the spirit of a demonic monster. Tour.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

R. A. Salvatore's first novel was The Crystal Shard. He has since published more than a dozen novels, including The Demon Awakens, The Halfling's Gem, Sojourn, The Legacy, and Starless Night. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children

Aus dem Klappentext

Awakens, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore created a dazzling new world of fantasy adventure and striking drama. Beset by danger, the elf-trained hero Elbryan Wynden championed the cause of good and confronted the daunting powers of darkness. Now with The Demon Spirit, Salvatore takes us deeper into the twisted heart of evil that lies at the core of this epic masterwork.

After believing the tide of darkness has receded from their beloved homeland, Pony and the Ranger Elbryan--soulmates from childhood--together discover the terrifying truth: the power of the demon dactyl was never entirely vanquished by the reverent monk Avelyn Desbris' sacrifice. Now, armed with the mighty magic of the gemstones that are Avelyn's legacy, they must battle a darkness that has infiltrated the most sacred of places--as a once-admired spiritual leader rededicates his life to the most vicious, most insidious revenge against the forces of good. And with the gemstones within grasp, there may be n

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Elbryan Wyndon collected his wooden chair and his precious mirror and
moved to the mouth of the small cave. He blinked as he pulled the blanket
aside, surprised to see that the dawn was long past. Climbing out of the
hole seemed no easy task for a man of Elbryan's size, with his
six-foot-three-inch muscular frame, but with the agility given him in
years of training with the lithe elves of Caer'alfar, he had little
trouble navigating the course.

He found his companion Jilseponie, Pony, awake and about, gathering up
their bedrolls and utensils. Not so far away, the great horse Symphony
nickered and stomped at sight of Elbryan, and that image of the stallion
would have given most men pause. Symphony was tall, but not the least bit
lanky, with a powerful, muscled chest, a coat so black and smooth over
those rippling muscles that it glistened in the slightest light, and eyes
that projected profound intelligence. A white diamond-shaped patch showed
on the horse's head, above the intelligent eyes, but other than that and a
bit of white on the forelegs, the only thing that marred the perfect black
coat was a turquoise gemstone, the link between Symphony and Elbryan,
magically set in the middle of the horse's chest.

For all the splendor, though, the ranger hardly paid Symphony any
heed, for, as was so often the case, his gaze was locked on Pony. She was
a few months younger than Elbryan, his childhood friend, his adult wife.
Her hair, thick and golden, was just below her shoulders now, longer than
Elbryan's own light brown mop for the first time in years. The day was
lightly overcast, the sky gray, but that did little to dim the shine of
Pony's huge blue eyes. She was his strength, the ranger knew, the bright
spot in a dark world. Her energy seemed limitless, as did her ability to
smile. No odds frightened her, no sight daunted her; she pressed on
methodically, determinedly.

"Do we look for the camp north of End-o'-the-World?" she asked, the
question shattering Elbryan's contemplation.

He considered the thought. They had discerned that there were
satellite camps in the region, clusters of goblins, mostly, supplied by
the larger encampments set up in what used to be the three towns of
Dundalis, Weedy Meadow, and End-o'-the-World. Because the towns were each
separated by a day's walk, Dundalis west to Weedy Meadow, and Weedy Meadow
west to End-o'-the-World, these smaller outposts would be key to regaining
the region--if ever an army from Honce-the-Bear made its way to the
borders of the Wilderlands. If Elbryan and Pony could clear the monsters
from the dense woods, there would remain little contact between the three
towns.

"It seems as good a place as any to start," the ranger replied.

"Start?" Pony asked incredulously, to which Elbryan could only shrug.
Indeed, both were weary of battle now, though both knew that many, many
more fights lay before them.

"Did you speak with Uncle Mather?" Pony asked, nodding toward the
mirror. Elbryan had explained Oracle to her, that mysterious elven
ceremony in which someone might converse with the dead.

"I spoke at him," the ranger replied, his olive-green eyes flashing as
a shiver coursed his spine--as always happened when he considered the
ghost of the great man who had gone before him.

"Does he ever answer?"

Elbryan snorted, trying to figure out how he might better explain
Oracle. "I answer myself," he started. "Uncle Mather guides my thoughts, I
believe, but in truth, he does not give me the answers."

Pony's nod showed that she understood perfectly what the young man was
trying to say to her. Elbryan had not known his uncle Mather in life; the
man had been lost to the family at a young age, before Olwan
Wyndon--Mather's brother, Elbryan's father--had taken his wife and
children to the wild Timberlands. But Mather, like Elbryan, had been taken
in and trained by the Touel'alfar, the elves, to be a ranger. Now, in
Oracle, Elbryan conjured his image of the man, an image of a perfect
ranger, and when speaking to that image, Elbryan was forcing himself to
uphold his own highest ideals.

"If I taught you Oracle, perhaps you could speak with Avelyn," the
ranger said, and it wasn't the first time he had suggested as much. He had
been hinting that Pony might try to contact their lost friend for several
days now, ever since he himself tried, and failed, to reach Avelyn's
spirit at Oracle two days after they had started south from the blasted
Barbacan.

"I do not need it," Pony said softly, turning away, and for the first
time Elbryan realized how disheveled she appeared.

"You do not believe in the ceremony," he started to say, more to
prompt than to accuse.

"Oh, but I do," was her quick and sharp retort, but she lost momentum
just as abruptly, as if fearing the turn in the conversation. "I ... I
might be experiencing much the same thing."

Elbryan stared at her calmly, giving her the time to sort out her
response.

As the seconds passed into minutes, he prompted, "You have learned
Oracle?"

"No," she answered, turning to look at the man. "Not quite the same as
your own. I do not seek it. Rather, it seeks me."

"It?"

"It is Avelyn," Pony said with conviction. "He is with me, I feel,
somehow a part of me, guiding me and strengthening me."

"As I feel about my father," Elbryan reasoned. "And you about yours. I
do not doubt that Olwan is watching over ..." His voice trailed away as he
looked at her, for Pony was shaking her head before he finished.

"Stronger than that," she explained. "When Avelyn first taught me to
use the stones, he was badly injured. We joined, spirit to spirit, through
use of the hematite, the soul stone. The result was so enlightening, for
both of us, that Avelyn continued that joining over the weeks, as he
showed me the secrets of the gemstones. In a mere month my understanding
and capabilities with the stones progressed far beyond what a monk at
St.-Mere-Abelle might learn in five years of training."

"And you believe that he is still connecting with you in that
spiritual manner?" Elbryan asked, and there was no skepticism in the
question. The young ranger had seen too much, both enchanting and
diabolical, to doubt such a possibility--or any possibility.

"He is," Pony replied. "And every morning, I wake up to find that I
know a bit more about the stones. Perhaps I dream about them, and in those
dreams see new uses for any given stone, or new combinations between them."

"Then it is not Avelyn, but Pony," the ranger reasoned.

"It is Avelyn," she said firmly. "He is with me, in me, a part of who
I have become."

She went quiet, and Elbryan did not respond, the two of them standing
in silence, digesting the revelation--one that Pony had not made even to
herself until this very moment. Then a smile spread across Elbryan's face,
and Pony gradually joined him, both taking comfort that their friend, the
Mad Friar, the runaway monk from St.-Mere-Abelle, might still be with them.

"If your insight is true, then our business becomes easier," Elbryan
reasoned. He held his smile and offered a wink, then turned, moving to
pack Symphony's saddlebags.

Pony didn't reply, just methodically went about closing down...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Del Rey Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1998
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0345391519
• ISBN 13: 9780345391513
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 465
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar