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CHAMPIONS OF THE SIDHE

A Bantam Book I December 1984

AH rights reserved.

Copyright й 1984 by Kenneth C. Flint-Cover art copyright й 1984 by Don Maitz. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: Bantam Books, Inc.

ISBN 0-553-24543-0 Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

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BOOK I

BRES RETURNS

REBELLION

THE TOWER OF Glass thrust up from the sea like a blade of ice, chill and deadly.

The planes of its four sides were formed of glass panels, level upon level, joined by a web of lines so fine that at a distance each wall became a single sheet of shining material. Like enormous mirrors they reflected the ocean and the sky about with a cold, detached precision. In the slanting rays of the dawn sun, the eastern face was a painful glare of blue-white diamond light. It made the Tower seem all the more starkly alien, alone in that soft, sunflecked expanse of level sea.

The soaring structure was set firmly in a base of smooth grey stone. And this foundation was itself imbedded deeply in an island of jagged rock barely larger than the Tower itself

The base, like the glass walls above, was devoid of openings, save at one point. On the southern side, a knobby elbow of the island thrust into the sea, forming a sizeable cove. Here, massive quays of the same smooth stone stretched far out into the waters of the cove. And here, in a line along the foundation wall, a dozen immense, square openings with heavy doors of a dull grey metal gave access to the Tower's interior.

At the quays, a score of slender ships of a curiously smooth black metal were tied. Men in close-fitting uniforms of silver-grey worked busily upon one of them, preparing it for sea and for the arrival of a special passenger.

A flat, hollow tone, like the repeated note on some great horn, began to sound echoingly across the quays. It brought the attention of the working men to the base of the Tower. There, with a piercing, metallic squeal, one of the metal doors began to lift.

It rose slowly, as if with an effort, accompanied by a tremendous clattering. Beyond the growing opening only the blackness of the Towers interior was revealed.

4 CHAMPIONS OF THE SIDHE

When the door had risen haliway, it clanged abruptly to a stop. From the darkness appeared a double column of men, clad in similar grey uniforms, but wearing helmetsЧsmooth, rounded skullcaps of bright silverЧand carrying strange devices, like thick spears of metal tipped with balls of silver instead of points.

Twenty soldiers emerged from the Tower, moving in a brisk, high-stepping march. As the last moved onto the quay, they halted and the two lines executed sharp turns to face one another. They stood straight and exactly dressed and motionless, like chiseled granite figures lining some temple corridor.

The men on the ship had now ceased their work to watch with open curiosity the figure who walked from the shadowed depths of the Tower and down the aisle of soldiers.

He was, indeed, a figure worthy of note. His appearance was in sharp contrast with the men he strode arrogantly between. His dress was colorful, barbaric in this stark setting. A blood-red cloak was slung across his shoulders, fastened at his throat with an elaborate brooch of gold. Beneath it was visible a tunic of bright green richly embroidered in gold thread. A heavy belt at his waist supported a silver-fitted scabbard and a long-sword whose wide hilt was set with glinting jewels.

The garb was a complement to the striking nature of the man himself. Tall and wide of body, he was well muscled with no signs of extra weight. He carried himself with the unconscious easy grace of a warrior in full fighting trim. His hair was dark and very coarse, rolling back from his forehead in thick waves. His features were handsome but broad and crudely chiseled. The dark eyes were set deeply behind heavy brows and took in the preparations at the ship with sharp interest.

He strode down purposefully to the ship and stopped by its gangway. A uniformed man directing the work there moved to greet him. Several black bands encircling his lower sleeve were all that announced he ranked far above the rest.