By These Ten Bones (Paperback) by Clare B Dunkle

Product Description Theres hidden places all over this land-old, old places. Places with a chain for them to chain up the wolf when its time. A mysterious young man has come to a small Highland town. His talent for wood carving soon wins the admiration of the weavers daughter, Maddie. Fascinated by the silent carver, she sets out to gain his trust, only to find herself drawn into a terrifying secret that threatens everything she loves. There is an evil presence in the carvers life that cannot be controlled, and Maddie watches her town fall under a shadow. One by one, people begin to die. Caught in the middle, Maddie must decide what matters most to her-and what price she is willing to pay to keep it. Review Dunkle creates a menacing atmosphere for this chillingly good tale. Readers will cheer Maddie on as she wrestlesand conquersher deepest fears. Publishers Weekly Readers with a taste for fantasy rooted in folklore and history, and a stomach for grisly horror, will happily roam the mist-shrouded Highlands of Dunkles latest creation. Booklist A Bank Street Best Book A NY Public Library Book for the Teen Age About the Author Clare B. Dunkle worked for years as a librarian. She lives with her family in Germany. Her first book, The Hollow Kingdom, won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and was named a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start," a Bank Street College of Education Best Book, and a Locus Magazine Best YA Book. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 3 Maddie had just taken supper to Lady Mary in the castle, and now she was looking forward to her own meal. She stepped out of the tower into the clear light of a summer evening, studying the silhouettes of the great birds flying down to the loch. Madeleine! called a low voice. She turned to find the woodcarver standing there. He was staring straight at her with those piercing green eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. I didnt know you could talk! she said in delight. Its Maddie, though; only Father Mac calls me Madeleine. The carver looked around cautiously and stepped closer. Help me find Ned, he said in a husky whisper. Ive searched for him everywhere. The old mans chained up with Mad Angus. He and Black Ewan had a fight. Chained up! exclaimed the young man. He cant be chained up! When will he be free? Probably in a few weeks, Maddie answered. Dad said Black Ewan said after the harvest. But what am I going to do? he asked, looking stunned. Can we free him somehow? What, take the key from Black Ewan? She laughed. Its a little beyond us, Id say. Hed knock me silly, for a start, and its more than your lifes even worth. More than my lifes worth, muttered the young man. Thats not much. He stood for a minute looking around at the castle, the loch, the far hills. If he sought inspiration, he didnt find any. He looked at her again, hopeless and frustrated. Then he walked away. Where are you going? demanded the mystified girl, but he didnt answer. By the time she could follow, he was well ahead of her. She watched him walk off into the distance, taking the path along the shore of the loch. Maddie fell asleep thinking of the good-looking carver boy. If he had been remarkable before, he was close to perfect now. His speech wasnt foreign, like the drunken Englishman. He spoke just like she did. Maybe hed been stolen from his cradle by the wandering Travelers, and that was why he wasnt like Ned. He might be a nobleman by birth. He might even be the son of a chief. But if Maddies thoughts were pleasant ones, her dreams were dark and grim. She wandered through her town as thunder rumbled in the swollen clouds above, but not one living person did she find. The houses were silent and abandoned, their belongings tossed about. Filth covered the dirt floors, and some of the roofs had fallen in. Everywhere was th