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By the same author

The Night of the Solstice





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L J SMITH
HEART of VALOR
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING COMPANY

New York

COLLIER MACMILLAN CANADA

Toronto

MAXWELL MACMILLAN INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING GROUP New York Oxford Singapore Sydney


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Copyright (c) 1990 by L. J. Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Macmillan Publishing Company

866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022

Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc.

1200 Eglinton Avenue East

Suite 200

Don Mills, Ontario M3C 3N1

First Edition Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The text of this book is set in 12 point Electra.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, L. J. (Lisa J.)

Heart of valor / by L. ). Smith.-1st ed. p. cm.

Summary: When their friend, sorceress Morgana Shee, embarks on a

mission to recover the Heart of Valor, a ruby giving the possessor

almost limitless power, four children already in serious danger

pursue her to offer their help. Sequel to "Night of the Solstice."

ISBN 0-02-785861-8

[1. Fantasy 2 Brothers and sisters-Fiction.] I Title

PZ7.S65?7He 1990 [Fie!-dc20 90-5827 CIP AC



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To my parents,

whose love, support, and example

have helped me find my dreams





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CONTENT

ONE - Claudia Sends a Letter ...

TWO - ... And Janie Receives It

THREE - In Fell Andred

FOUR - Talisman

FIVE - Charles Loses His Temper

SIX - Alys Has a Dream

SEVEN - The Dark Thing

EIGHT - The Second Dream

NINE - Down in the Dark

TEN - Outside the Wards

ELEVEN - Besieged

TWELVE - Journey North

THIRTEEN - The Wild Hunt

FOURTEEN - A Savage Place

FIFTEEN - The Old Straight Track

SIXTEEN - The Archon

SEVENTEEN - Mirror of Heaven

EIGHTEEN - The Weerul Council

NINETEEN - Midsummer Day



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ONE
Claudia Sends a Letter
Claudia Hodges-Bradley twisted a strand of mouse brown hair around her fingers and frowned mightily, trying to concentrate on Mrs. Anderson's review of this week's spelling words. There would be a test this afternoon, and Mrs. Anderson's tests always gave Claudia stomach cramps. She knew she needed to pay attention . . . but she would rather just listen to the birds.

Not that birds, in general, had a great deal to say for themselves. They could sit happily for hours shrieking, "I'm a bluejay! I'm a bluejay! This is my tree! This is my tree!" So it wasn't that they were very interesting, just much more interesting than school or Mrs. Anderson.

At a steely glance from that lady Claudia jumped guiltily and stopped twisting her hair. Mrs. Anderson disapproved of hair twisting, pencil chewing, and nail biting, all of which Claudia seemed to be doing more of this year than ever before. Claudia was a square, serious child, whose blue eyes always looked a little anxious in class pictures. This year they usually seemed to look that way in the mirror, too.

Since she couldn't twist her hair, she put a hand to her chest to feel the comforting bump of the charm beneath her shirt. It was so familiar she could see it with her fingers: the broad crescent of silver from which hung three stones: sar donyx, black opal, and bloodstone, each inscribed with spidery writing in the language of the Wildworld. Claudia couldn't read any of the symbols on the stones, but she understood very well what the charm did. It enabled her to talk to animals.