Irél, commander of the Fianna, bodyguards to the High King
Erc the Speckled, a warrior of the Fianna
Cuan, a warrior of the Fianna
Lugna, a warrior of the Fianna
Mer the Demented
Iceadh the Healer, physician to the High King
Brónach, chief female servant
Báine, a maid
Cnucha, a maid
Torpach, a cook
Maoláin, his assistant
Duirnín, a servant
Assíd, a slave
Verbas of Peqini, his master and a merchant
Bishop Luachan of Delbna Mór
Brother Céin, his steward
Brother Diomasach, a scribe
Brother Manchán of Baile Fobhair
Ardgal, chief of the Cinél Cairpre
Beorhtric, a Saxon warrior
AD669: Iar mbeith cúicc bliadhna ós Érinn h-i righe do Sechnussach mac Blaithmaic, do-cear la Dubh Duin, flaith Ceneoil Coibre. As for Sechnussach do-athadh an teistimen-si:
Ba srianach, ba h-eachlascach
In teach h-i mbidh Sechnussach
Ba h-imdha fuigheall for slaitt
h-istaigh i mbidh mac Blathmaic
Annála Rioghachta Éireann
AD669: After Sechnussach, son of Blathmac, had been five years in sovereignty over Ireland, he was slain by Dubh Duin, chief of Cinél Cairpre. It was of Sechnussach that this testimony was given:
Full of bridles and horsewhips
Was the house in which dwelt Sechnussach.
Many were the results of his tributes
In the house in which dwelt the son of Blathmac.
Annals of the Kings of Ireland
BOOKS BY PETER TREMAYNE IN THE SISTER FIDELMA OF CASHEL SERIES
NOVELS
Absolution by Murder
Shroud for the Archbishop
Suffer Little Children
The Subtle Serpent
The Spider’s Web
Valley of the Shadow
The Monk Who Vanished
Act of Mercy
Our Lady of Darkness
Smoke in the Wind
The Haunted Abbot
Badger’s Moon
The Leper’s Bell
Master of Souls
A Prayer for the Damned
Dancing with Demons
The Council of the Cursed
STORY COLLECTIONS
Hemlock at Vespers
Whispers of the Dead
Notes
1 ‘The High King’s Sword’ in Hemlock at Vespers (1999)
2 See ‘Hemlock at Vespers’ in Hemlock at Vespers (1999)
3 See ‘The High King’s Sword’ and ‘A Scream from the Sepulchre’ in Hemlock at Vespers (1999)
4 Valley of the Shadow (1998)
5 See The Leper’s Bell (2004)
6 A Prayer for the Damned (2006)
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DANCING WITH DEMONS. Copyright © 2007 by Peter Tremayne. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
First published in Great Britain by Headline Publishing Group, a division of Hachette Livre UK Ltd
eISBN 9781429952361
First eBook Edition : March 2011
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Tremayne, Peter.
Dancing with demons : a mystery of ancient Ireland / Peter Tremayne.—1st
U.S. ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-37564-5
1. Ireland—History—To 1172—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6070.R366D33 2008
823’.914—dc22
2008025760
ISBN 978-0-312-58741-3 (trade paperback)
First Minotaur Books Paperback Edition: November 2009
Dancing With Demons Page 34