"...we are all Death's pupils, we practitioners-students of the great healer."
When magic broke free in my blood, I chose to follow our ancient family path and become a practitioner. I'm learning to heal, and to protect innocents. I dip into minds, stalk vampires, and set wards by the light of the moon. I can hear the children of the night calling.
But there are other families...and other paths. Families with twisted ambitions and frightening powers. On the frontier, folk whisper that one clan is the most dangerous of all.
Chief among those dark sorcerers is a man known as the Keeper of Souls.
And now he wants to keep mine.
*********
"With a clear, distinctive voice, Katharine Kimbriel invents and re-invents magic on America's frontier" -Jane Yolen, the award-winning author of Briar Rose
"...once in a very great while I find something I wish I'd read thirty years before it was ever published. ... These books do not let you rest." -Sleeping Hedgehog
"charming...unusual...delightful...definitely worth checking out" -Locus Magazine
"It is good to see this back--the Alfreda stories are one of the reasons YA is so dynamic today. ...Little House on the Prairie meets Harry Potter, with a dash of Stephen King." -Sherwood Smith, author of Crown Duel
"This is one of the best historical dark fantasies I've ever read. ...If you've not read any of Katharine Eliska Kimbriel's books yet, what's stopping you?" -Shiny Book Review
"...Kimbriel made me almost miss my bus stop at work because I had to read just one more page." -The Book Pushers
"It's hard to express how much I enjoyed this book. This is all very, very well done. The characters are believable, the setting feels real, and the magic is convincing, with real limitations, rules, and costs. Highly recommended." -Lis Carey's Library
About the Author:
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel reinvents herself every decade or so. It's not on purpose, mind you-it seems her path involves overturning the apple cart, collecting new information & varieties of apple seed, and moving on. The one constant she has reached for in life is telling stories.
"I'm interested in how people respond to unusual circumstances. Choice interests me. What is the metaphor for power, for choice? In SF it tends to be technology (good, bad and balanced) while in fantasy the metaphor is magic-who has it, who wants or does not want it, what is done with it, and who/what the person or culture is after the dust has settled. A second metaphor, both grace note and foundation, is the need for and art of healing.
"A trope in fantasy is great power after passing through death. Well, at my crisis point, I didn't die. That means that I'm a wizard now. Who knows what I may yet accomplish?"
Kimbriel is the author of the Night Calls series (Night Calls, Kindred Rites, and Spiral Path) The Chronicles of Nuala series, and many short stories.
A John W. Campbell Award nominee.
KINDRED RITES is appropriate for ages 12-120. After 120, you're probably a vampire and may not spend much time reading.
