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Shadebinder's Oath

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Caprio the Being, who look like a goat, takes pleasure, if that is the right word to describe the emotions of a Caprine apparition, in causing troubles for the living. He lives to interfere with the human comedy though that frustrates his companion the Shadebinder, who wants rumors about them stopped.

The cabinetmaker Farren knows first hand much about ghosts, shades, and spirits including his late Aunt Nan who nags him all the time about "living" conditions and surviving relatives. While most of his neighbors fear he is either insane or a Shadebinder, the enslaver of the dead, Farren refuses to hide.

Anyone who Princess Mericia of Ailsandia cares about is lucky to die; worse is those who survive her kindness as they suffer unbearably. Feeling despondent she considers hiding from human contact.

In the King's Stable, Caprio begins his latest game ignoring the concerns of the Shadebinder. Using human greed as a tool, he sets in motion his ingenious plot to cause troubles as high as the King and as low as the stable boy. Only the two "outcasts", Farren and Mericia, if they merge their talents, might see the true eyes of the world and stop the Being's nefarious scheme.

THE SHADEBINDER'S OATH is a terrific fantasy that grips the audience from the moment a young lad shows courage while on a dare to visit the Shadebinder in the King's stable and never slows down until the final contest occurs. The story line is action-packed as Caprio does his Machiavellian machinations while two unlikely allies, the cabinetmaker and the princess, join forces to save the Kingdom of Ailsandia from the Being's mischievousness and that of human foibles and follies. Jeanette Cottrell provides a wonderful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Farren has been able to see the shades of the dead since he was three. It's not a talent that makes for a comfortable life; it's an ability considered to be evil. Farren has been shunned, beaten, and belittled all his life. He earns a living as a journeyman cabinetmaker and is more than skilled enough to be a master but he refuses to take the oral testing that is required to become a master. His brother is going into the guard and asks Farren to watch out for his girlfriend Trissa who works in the kitchens, to eat in the dining hall, and to stop acting weird. Farren figures two out of three is good enough. Ghosts are gathering in unheard of numbers, the woman he met in the gardens may be his brother's girl, the royal family is ready to go to Alisandia and last time they went, a plague struck the countryside. Is this why the shades are gathering? Farren knows he must travel with the court but that means he must interact with people. [...]