Barb Hendee & J.C. Hendee, Rebel Fay

Rebel Fay

Barb Hendee & J.C. Hendee

Roc, January 2007, $23.95, 384 pp

ISBN 0451461216

Ever since he found the skulls of his grandmother and father, and learned that his mother was being held prisoner by the elfin caste of Anmaglahk (Assassins), Leesil is obsessed with going into Elven Territories and rescuing her. His lover Dhampire Magiere, the sage Wynn, and the dog Chap, a Fay taking mortal form, accompany him. He knows none of them will be welcome in the Elven lands because Mortangel Father hates humans, and is doing his best to set them against each other in their own lands.

Caught in a blizzard, something guides them to a labyrinth of caves and sets them on an underground path that leads to the Elven Territories. Before they can go to look for Leesil's mother, Most Aged Father tells Leesil that he will free her if he finds out the names of the rebels who are trying to free themselves from his rule. Leesil refuses, and Chap leads him to his mother, who, due to magic cannot leave the area. When Magiere's Dhampire nature surfaces, she is put on trial, and only Leesil can save her if the land and the ancestors accept his half-elven heritage.

REBEL FAY brings readers one step closer to understanding why Leesil's mother trained him as an assassin, a weapon to be used against the unknown enemy of the elves, and why Magiere was created with the blood of the five races running through her veins. Filled with plenty of action, romance and elven intrigue, Magiere and Leesil work together against their common enemies to free the latter's mother, and cast doubts on Most Aged Father's ability to lead.