The Empress and the Acolyte by Jane Fletcher

The Empress and the Acolyte by Jane Fletcher

After three years of studying with the Empress Bykoda, Jemeryl has learned all that the elderly sorcerer can teach her and is ready to return to Lyremouth. However, before she leaves, Bykoda reveals a grim secret - an oracle of death, and asks her to perform one final assignment. Jemeryl must take Bykoda's talisman to a place of safety. Failure will mean complete destruction not only in the present, but also the past.

While in Tirakhalod, Tevi has been working as an officer in Bykoda's army. It has been a difficult time for her, living in a land where those who cannot work magic are treated as insignificant. Only Jemeryl's love has made life bearable. With the return to the Protectorate drawing close, she hopes that the worst is over. However, somebody is after the talisman, and that person is willing to commit murder to get what they want.

Jane Fletcher has won a GCLS award and has been nominated for the Gaylactic Spectrum and Lambda Literary awards. The Celaeno series--The Walls of Westernfort, Rangers at Roadsend, The Temple at Landfall, Dynasty of Rogues, and Shadow of the Knife; and the Lyremouth Chronicles--The Exile and the Sorcerer, The Traitor and the Chalice, The Empress and the Acolyte, and The High Priest and the Idol. When she was seven years old, she was introduced to Greek Mythology, which sparked her interest in fiction. This was exacerbated by a childhood spent scaling every piece of historic stonework she could discover (medieval castles, megalithic monuments, and Roman villas). Her steadfast desire as a child was to become an archaeologist, so it came as a surprise when she instead became a software developer. She was born in Greenwich, London, in 1956 and now lives in southwest England, where she works on both computer software and literature, though not at the same time.