Inquisition Book Two of the Aquasilver Trilogy [Paperback]

On the vast waterworld of Aquasilva, the priestly Domain controls magic, weather, and history itself. Determined to crush every last spark of resistance against their despotic rule, they have launched a brutal Inquisition in order to root out dissent and heresy wherever they find them. With their army of fanatical holy warriors, the Sacri, the hooded Inquisitors advance across the globe, setting both books and human beings to the torch. Young Cathan, heir to the throne of Lepidor, has already escaped the Inquisition once. Now, as he and his companions embark on a hazardous voyage in search of potential allies, he finds himself keeping barely one step ahead of his vengeful foes. But the Domain is not the only power seeking Cathan. In decadent Thetia, a hidden conspiracy of dissidents plots to use him to further their own seditious purposes, while in his capital city of Selerian Alastre, the Emperor spins his webs of intrigue in the Imperial Palace....A sweeping epic that bears comparisons to both Tolkien and Frank Herbert,Inquisitionconfirms the promise shown by Anselm Audley's outstanding debut,Heresy,and establishes him as an exciting new voice in fantasy and science fiction.Chapter One

It's winter! The Guild's confirmed it.

I sat up, squinting in the glare of the afternoon sun, to see where the voice was coming from. After a moment I heard footsteps on the path below, and then a head appeared behind the rocks.

For sure this time? somebody sitting on my right asked.

When aren't they sure? The original speaker clambered up the last few feet and came around to sit down on a threadbare path of grass.

The priests were two weeks out last year. Her questioner shifted position and inspected her lute critically, brushing a stray seed-pod off the fingerboard.

That was the priests. They haven't got a clue.

They certainly ought to have -- they're the only ones who can forecast it properly.