‘Bea, I’m sorry.’
He trusted that she would know what he meant. And, of course, she did.
‘You could never make me love you with magic, Marcel.’
‘It was wrong to use magic, all wrong.’
‘That’s not why it wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t work because I already loved you.’
‘I was afraid, Bea … the way you were so close to Fergus.’
‘I was afraid too, when Gannimere asked you to take his place. And I was angry with you, for the way you were acting. Fergus was the only one I could turn to.’
Neither of them said anything for more than a minute, and Marcel feared she had gone, from the room, from the palace; that she was already on the way back to her grandfather’s mountain. But some sense in him, not magical, but strong all the same, made him believe she was still there. He dared a question of his own.
‘Has anything changed?’
‘Yes,’ she said quickly, as though she had been waiting for these very words. ‘I’m not afraid for you any more, and I’m not angry either.’
‘What about … the other?’
‘Oh, that, no, that hasn’t changed.’
More silence followed, though it was hardly peaceful in Marcel’s mind. He was floating upwards, towards light and air, to reclaim the things that had seemed lost. He was above the surface now, lighter than air. No need for Gadfly’s wings. He was flying.
He waited for her to say more, but Bea had a better way than words. As Marcel turned from the window, she emerged from behind a bookcase to stand unafraid in the light that streamed in behind him, her dress dusty after the journey from the mountain, her long hair tangled and untidy like it had been the first time he’d seen her beneath Mrs Timmins’ raspberry canes.
It was the last time Bea ever hid herself from him. And, though there was nothing in Marcel’s magic that could let him know it at that moment, for the rest of his long life he would see her every single day.
Want more?
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, four faceless men bring a sleeping boy to an orphanage in the remote high country of Elster. Here, an ageing wizard, Lord Alwyn, steals away the boy’s memory using the magical Book of Lies. But Lord Alwyn is secretly thwarted by a girl called Bea, who hears the boy’s name: Marcel.
Marcel learns that the mysterious Book can tell falsehood from truth. But can it tell him who he really is? When a stranger arrives, Marcel discovers he has a vital part to play if the Kingdom is to be saved from evil.
But something’s not right. Is the stranger all that he claims to be? And what should Marcel make of the ominous golden verses that suddenly appear in the Book itself? Does the Book really tell truth from lies?
WHEN MARCEL DEFEATED the great dragon of war, Mortregis, he thought he’d destroyed the Book of Lies as well. But one fragment remains, and this is what his brother Fergus has taken with him on a journey that is part quest for revenge, part search for his own place in the world.
In this much anticipated sequel to The Book ofLies, Fergus hunts down the ruthless Damon, armed with a weapon that will let him challenge the man in mortal combat. One of them will not live to see the story’s end. As Marcel and Nicola pursue Fergus, each with their own cares, Nicola will discover the value of the very thing she has been fleeing, and risk losing it forever.
As for Marcel, the new Master of the Books, is he truly a great sorcerer or nothing but a charlatan? Only when the fate of the entire land lies in his hands will he know what his destiny is, and only then may the last fragment of the Book of Lies be destroyed.
Praise
Praise for The Book of Lies
‘A classic adventure/quest story with clever twists
provided by the slippery deceptiveness of identity.’
VIEWPOINT
‘One of Moloney’s best books. Subtle in style …
Satisfyingly bittersweet.’
FANTASTIC QUEENSLAND
‘A beautifully produced book full of enough twists
and turns to give you whiplash.’
READING FOR LIFE, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR YOUTH LITERATURE
Praise for Master of the Books
‘A page turning adventure entwining magic and
mystery’
GOLD COAST MAIL
‘… chock-a-block with action and a touch of humour’
MAGPIES
‘… a captivating and engaging story’
THE CANBERRA TIMES
‘A page turner of relentless entertainment and
inventiveness’
THE COURIER-MAIL
‘… every bit as engrossing as its predecessor’
VIEWPOINT
Copyright
Angus&Robertson
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia
First published in Australia in 2009
This edition published in 2013
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd
ABN 36 009 913 517
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Buena Vista Books 2009
The right of James Moloney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Moloney, James, 1954–
The Book from Baden Dark / James Moloney
ISBN: 978 0 7322 8767 2 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978 0 7304 4335 3 (epub)
For ages 9–12
Magic – Juvenile fiction.
A823.3
Cover by Jenny Grigg
The Book from Baden Dark Page 27