Fireshaper's Doom

  Uncle Dale nodded. “Shore is. I thought a little of the old squeezins’d help mellow us out some.”

  JoAnne set her cup down with a thud. “Dale, you didn’t!”

  “Don’t worry ’bout it, girl. You ain’t likely to go to hell over a taste of ’shine.”

  “Yeah, Ma,” Little Billy squealed. “He even gave me some.”

  “Good for what ails you,” Uncle Dale said, and returned to the stove. David watched him, saw the looks he was giving Katie, who was busy scrubbing dishes at the sink, wished he could hear the phrases the old man kept mumbling in her ear.

  Liz bent close and whispered, “Hey, you know I bet this stuff’d taste even better outside.”

  David nodded and picked up his plate. “See y’all,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

  He followed Liz to the front porch, joined her on the steps, looking across the yard at the road and the rumpled mountains beyond. Sunlight was playing there, dancing a sparkling dance across the trees, sliding along the fence posts closer by, prodding the world awake with beams of light. A yellow cat crawled out from under the steps and rubbed against David’s bare feet.

  Neither of them spoke.

  “We’ll have to be more careful when we go swimming,” Liz said after a moment. Her voice sounded so serious that David looked up from his plate, but when their eyes met, and he saw them sparkle like green gems out of Faerie, he knew she had been teasing.

  David laughed, and shook his head. “I’ll have to be more careful about where I leave my clothes, that’s for certain.”

  Liz plucked at one of the baggy sleeves. “Well, it’s not quite Esquire, is it?”

  David grinned. “Looks like there’s something you need to be careful about, too.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “Well, Liz, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’ve got syrup all over your face.”

  Liz raised questing fingers automatically, but David’s were there before her. “I’ll get it,” he said. “There’s some on your cheek”—he bent over and very gently kissed her there—“and on your nose”—another kiss—“and a great big gob of it right here!”

  It took him a very long time to find all of the syrup.

  Publication Information

  About Fireshaper’s Doom

  FIRE, FLAME, AND REVENGE

  There are worlds above the earth and under the sea, mystical kingdoms of silver and light, known only to those who can see beyond . . . and there is the unknown place of fire frozen in time . . .

  Mortal boy David Sullivan had discovered the mysteries of the other world. Indeed, he was put to the test, triumphing over the wily schemes of the Windmaster. But in that evil game, an innocent Faerie lad fell dead. Now his mother, bent on vengeance, has kidnapped David from the earthbound world and brought him to the land of flames. Here he will be forced to do her bidding in an adventure dark and fateful. Once more, he will cross swords with his archenemy, the Windmaster. And in so doing, David will know the great Power of the Fireshaper . . .

  “HIS CHARACTERS LIVE AND BREATHE AND PASS EASILY BETWEEN THE REALMS OF REALITY AND FANTASY.”

  Lynn Abbey, author of Unicorn & Dragon

  “I HAD A HARD TIME PUTTING IT DOWN!”

  Katherine Kurtz

  TOM DEITZ grew up in Young Harris, Georgia, a small town not far from the fictitious Enotah County of FIRESHAPER’S DOOM, and has Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Georgia. His major in medieval English literature led Mr. Deitz to the Society for Creative Anachronism, which in turn generated a particular interest in heraldry, historic costuming, castle architecture, British folk music, and all things Celtic. He began the story of David Sullivan and his friends in Windmaster’s Bane, his first published novel, available from Avon Books, and intends to follow their adventures through several more volumes. Mr. Deitz is also a car nut and would like to build a small castle someday.

  Copyright Notice

  FIRESHAPER'S DOOM is an original publication of Avon Books. This work has never before appeared in book form. This work is a novel. Any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

  AVON BOOKS

  A division of

  The Hearst Corporation

  105 Madison Avenue

  New York, New York 10016

  Copyright © 1987 by Thomas Deitz

  Cover illustration by Tim White

  Published by arrangement with the author

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 87-91601

  ISBN: 0-380-75329-4

  All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. For information address Adele Leone Literary Agency, Inc., 26 Nantucket Place, Scarsdale, New York 10583.

  First Avon Books Printing: December 1987

  AVON TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES, MARCA REGISTRADA, HECHO EN CANADA.

  Printed in Canada.

  UNIV 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

  eBook Version Notes

  v1.0 May 2005 – Desktop & PocketPC .lit

  Scan, conversion, and proofing.