© Kevin Corby Bowyer 2024
Cadmun Gale
A
castle
on
the
Cornish
coast,
ancestral
seat
of
the
Gales.
Things
are
peaceful
now
but
have
been
bloody
in
the
past,
not
least
the
murderous
rivalry
of
two
fifteenth-century
brothers
and
the
slaughter
of
an
entire
family
line.
Social
conventions
have
developed
a
unique
path
with
the
Lords
of
Nancludri,
a
way
of
living
accepted
as
normal
by
the
villagers
–
the
way
their
fathers
have
always
lived,
the
rights
of
their
king.
Cadmun
Gale,
sprightly
in
old
age,
is
the
last
to
bear
his
family’s
name.
Things
are
expected
of
him.
He
must
act
according
to
established
traditions;
his
wife
will
see it’s so.
Leafy,
sixteen,
is
delivered
into
this
strange,
beautiful
land,
so
different
from
anything
she’s
known
before.
The
people
are
good,
eager
to
befriend
her,
to
heal
her.
But
things
are
not
quite
as
they
first
appear.
There’s
a
role
to
play,
a
role
she
can
embrace
or
decline.
The
prospect
seems
bizarre
but
perhaps
not
undesirable.
Others
have
played
it
before
–
still
do.
But
Leafy
–
yes,
or
no?
Everyone seems to encourage it. Well… not quite everyone…
Nancludri
is
a
tranquil
place,
full
of
laughter
and
happy
people,
especially
the
children.
Perhaps
the
sun
will
shine
bright
for
Leafy
once again.
But
Kip
Gale’s
old
rivals
have
their
own
desires,
one
in
particular,
ranging
south
from
his
dark
castle
in
the
Shetlands.
Magnus’s
ancestor
was
a
cannibal,
so
it’s
said
–
a
child
eater.
Perhaps
Nancludri is not as secure as it seems.
Meanwhile,
a
shadowy
figure
searches
for
her
–
one
who
has
killed – one who will not stop…