Young Lord Penric now wears the white robes of the Bastard’s Order, complete with shoulder braids marking him as a divine and sorcerer, while he pursues scholarly studies in the court of the Princess-Archdivine. His demon of disorder, Desdemona, is, of course, present, accounted for, and offering clever commentary, particularly when she grows bored. And so when a Locator of the Father’s Order shows up on the Archdivine’s threshold in need of a sorcerer for a journey and she volunteers Penric, at least Des is thrilled with the prospect of an adventure. As they travel into the mountains to locate Inglis, a shaman accused of murdering his best friend, the sitation grows into a test for all of Penric’s developing talents.

Multiple-award-winner and bestselling author Lois McMaster Bujold returns to her World of the Five Gods, the setting of her acclaimed novels The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt. Set four years after the events detailed in the Hugo and Locus Award finalist for Best Novella, “Penric’s Demon,” Bujold’s newest installment of Penric and Desdemona’s tale is a breaktaking must-read novella for her legion of fans.