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The Hollow Kingdom: Book I -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy
The Hollow Kingdom: Book I -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy
The Hollow Kingdom: Book I -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy
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The Hollow Kingdom: Book I -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

"She had never screamed before, not when she overturned the rowboat and almost drowned, not even when Lightfoot bucked her off and she felt her leg break underneath her with an agonizing crunch. But now she screamed long and loud, with all her breath."

Hallow Hill has a strange and tragic history. For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from the estate, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have come to live at Hallow Hill. Brought up in a civilized age, they have no idea of the land's dreadful heritage-until, that is, Marak decides to tell them himself.

Intelligent, pleasant, and completely pitiless, Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be a king-and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom.

The Hollow Kingdom is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editor's Note

Alluringly elusive…

An underappreciated YA fantasy series that follows a familiar fairytale-like script — specifically that of “Beauty and the Beast” — but adds plenty of twists and turns to create an alluringly elusive, chilling atmosphere.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 19, 2006
ISBN9781466803831
The Hollow Kingdom: Book I -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy
Author

Clare B. Dunkle

Clare B. Dunkle is the author of the well-received Hollow Kingdom trilogy as well as the first volume in this story, The Sky Inside. She studied Russian and Latin at Trinity University, and also holds a a master's degree in library science from Indiana University. She was a member of the American Library Association and served on committees in ALCTS, ACRL, and LITA. She lives with her family in Texas.

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Reviews for The Hollow Kingdom

Rating: 4.2646046735395196 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

291 ratings30 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Something I discovered at work one day while shelving books. Once again I was captured by the premise of "goblins". The book tells the story of two sisters who are moving to a remote estate after the death of their father. Older sister Kate and her younger sister Emily move to Hallow Hill (where for thousands of years young women have been disappearing) with their cold guardian, and cousin who is determined to take back Hallow Hill as his own inheritance instead of the girls' at all costs. As luck would have it shortly after arriving Kate begins talking "nonsense" about a Goblin King named Marak Sixfinger who intends to kidnap her and make her his wife, as is the goblin custom to kidnap their brides (one of my favorite tropes). Kate is inexplicably good at avoiding capture, until her cousin in an attempt to force Kate into a Mental Asylum, convinces Kate that her sister has been kidnapped by the goblins, hoping for a reaction from her that would permit him to have her taken away and unable to inherit the estate. However Kate keeps her calm and walks right into the underground kingdom of the goblins and offers herself to Marak in exchange for her sister's safe return. (Be careful with how you word things when dealing with mythical creatures y'all!) Marak agrees and then reveals he has not taken her sister but it was, in fact, their cousin. So Marak and some goblins go and rescue Emily who once rescued demands she too be taken underground with the goblins because she refuses to be separated from Kate. So Kate marries the Goblin King and adventure ensues. I won't reveal the rest, and leave it for you to read and enjoy yourself.
    Overall this was a good read. It it targeted towards middle grade readers so it tends to gloss over some topics, particularly the repercussions and implications of kidnapping brides. I would have enjoyed a more in-depth look at that. I would recommend this book to my fellow Labyrinth enthusiasts.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Has elements of a fairy tale, and a bit of Beauty and the Beast. A love story and fantasy combined.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Not unlike Juliet Marillier's "Sevenwaters" trilogy, Dunkle deftly picks at the reader's emotions like a bard and his lute.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate, an heiress to the Hallow Hill, goes with her sister to live under the guardianship of her parent's cousin who lives on that estate. One evening she and her sister get lost on the way home and run into some "gypsies" who offer to give them a ride back. Ominous intuition blares in Kate's mind and she tells them she prefers to walk. She gets home safely, but later she finds out the rider is a goblin king who plans to take her away to be his bride...

    I liked the idea of magical creatures. The story kept me interested because of the suspense, the fear of the unknown danger, the desperate attempts to escape the known danger and even issues at home. I also like Beauty and the Beast type stories, though this plays out quite a lot differently than that.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing and sweet made me cry! I enjoy the main characters strength of will and emotions.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My favorite book series of all time. I read this trilogy back in 7th grade and it still has such a hold on me to this day!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This has to be one of my all time favorite books ever! I absolutely love Kate and Marak. This book is incredibly mature (and by that I don't mean graphic or sexual or anything like that, merely it depicts very dimensional and well rounded characters who aren't always goody-goody) for the audience that it is targeting. I have read and re-read this book a million times and will continue to do so because it just does not diminish for me. The world building is superb and the characters multi-faceted. Clare Dunkle is an amazing author!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    An interesting read for fans of the darker side of fairy stories. The plot wasnt what I was expecting but it kept my interest all the way through and I enjoyed all the different characters. There is a bit of a creep factor to several of the male characters that I didnt think was handled as well as it could have been, and the pacing was also an issue towards the end of the story but still enjoyable. I might check out the other books in the trilogy if I come across them but will leave them off my to read list for now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    To start, I must ask you this:~Have you ever read a book where you were both revolted by and in love with the "prince"?~Have you ever loved the main character, wanted the best for her, and still wanted to see her world irrevocably shattered?If you said yes, but especially if you said no, READ THIS BOOK.As the official summary goes:"For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the land’s dreadful heritage—until Marak decides to tell them himself. Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be the goblin king, and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom..."Things do get a little "Series of Unfortunate Events-y" when these two orphaned sisters must also contend with a scheming relative who's after the estate that was left to them, but that's the ONLY thing in this book that's even slightly unoriginal.I have never, ever, ever encountered a book like this before. And to think that I was shallow enough to almost pass it up because it's about goblins!Had I given in to my strange, little quirks, I would have missed out on a powerful read, indeed!I literally closed the book at the end and sat there saying, "Wow. Wow! WOW!"Dunkle creates the strangest, most repulsing (and yet strangely alluring) world in this story--a world that strong, stable Kate gets sucked into and must unwillingly sacrifice all she holds dear for.Marak, meanwhile, is a deliciously deceptive and cunning character. He's amazingly complex and reading about him is like being let in on this big secret. It feels mischievous, scandalous, and incredibly exciting.Forego everything else on your "to be read" list and cuddle up with this book. Make sure you're completely alone so that when it grabs you, pulls in, and makes you shout out loud, you don't scare the obsessive coffee-maniacs in the cafe at Barnes and Noble.Now, I must admit that this book is (unfortunately) the first in a trilogy.Yes.It's a sad thing because the last two books are like dead weights dragging the first one down.If you love Marak and Kate (and how couldn't you!?) you'll do yourself a favor and keep their images untarnished --DO NOT read Close Kin or In the Coils of the Snake!Close Kin is about the not-really-all-that-interesting-but-still-necessary-for-The Hollow Kingdom-to-go-the-way-it-does Emily and a character she meets in the first book.Ho hum.This book basically takes the characters from the first story and sets them on the backburner to focus on Emily. Yea. I never really liked her (and I'll be surprised if you do) and I hated the way the best people were shoved aside.This problem worsens in In the Coils of the Snake, where even Emily is ungracefully thrown aside--only to be replaced by all-new people.Sorry.Did I ask for a brand new book?No.I asked for a continuation of the series and the people in it--not a whole new story in that world!I HATE when authors do that!!It's such a black mark on Dunkle's name! There was nothing wrong with The Hollow Kingdom!I don't know if it's actually the case or not, but the last two books strike me as stories written after Dunkle's publisher said something like, "Quick--while the iron's hot!! Two more!! Everyone writes trilogies!!"Aye.So.Summation:Read The Hollow Kingdom; you'll adore it!Skip the last two and consider your life better for it.This review is also an entry on my blog :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    fgh
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing book. I have read this book series many times.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first in a fantasy trilogy for young readers, The Hollow Kingdom follows the story of orphaned sisters Kate and Emily Winslow, who find themselves at Hallow Hill, in the care of two great-aunts they have never met. Kate, who is keenly aware of her surroundings, finds herself haunted by a growing sense of unease, and after a wild and stormy night when she and Emily are brought home by a strange hooded man, she learns that Marak, the king of the goblins under the hill, has marked her out as his queen...This well-written work was inspired by Elizabeth Marie Pope’s The Perilous Gard, but manages to invert many ideas presented in that earlier work. While both heroines are named Kate, and both enter underground kingdoms in order to save loved ones, this later work does not present the supernatural world as inferior or morally suspect. The melding of the heroine into another race is seen as both desirable and possible, perhaps revealing the increased pull of paganism and multi-culturalism over the last thirty years. The kidnapped bride theme also strongly evokes the Greek myth involving the abduction of Persephone by Hades, though it is never specifically mentioned.As an aside, I should note that this title was initially published with a very different cover, and was only later re-released with cover illustrations by Matt Manley, who designed the latter two books in the trilogy as well. I myself prefer the original cover, with artwork by Megan Lightell Timmons, but what can you do?

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book brought me back to my childhood, evoking fond memories of one of my favorite comfort reads, The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope. Although it doesn’t quite stand up to my remembered enjoyment of The Perilous Gard, The Hollow Kingdom still a quick, fun, engrossing story that puts a new twist on a classic legend.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When strong-willed Kate and her little sister Emily return to their ancestral home after their father's death, they are greeted by two fluttery aunts and a surly cousin who feels that he, not the girls, has a right to the property. Their cousin's antagonism is soon the least of their worries, though. One evening the sisters get lost on the paths and back roads around the estate, and they meet a strange little company. When one of them, Mr. Marak, offers them an escort home, Em is glad to accept -- but Kate is more cautious. Something in her warns her to keep her distance from this odd but charming stranger. Through a series of fantastical events, Marak reveals to Kate that he is the Goblin King, and she is his chosen bride. Kate is determined never to go with the goblins. She dreads the thought of living in their dank underground halls, never being able to feel the wind or see the stars. When Emily is in danger, however, Kate makes a bargain with the Goblin King. Will she regret it -- or will she find that life with the goblins is not at all what she expected?This story has its faults, it's true (I should probably detest the goblin method of finding brides), but I love it all the same. Marak is a great character with a wicked sense of humor, and Charm (who has no sense of humor at all) is also a favorite of mine. Some readers complain of pacing problems in the book, but the flow of the story has never bothered me. I definitely recommend this to fantasy fans.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Clare Dunkle was the author who introduced me to goblins. I mean, I had seen them before in movies, like LOTR, but I was never really interested in them before reading the The Hollow Kingdom trilogy. (Oh, wait, I lied. I forgot the Labyrinth. :O Love that movie!) CD really fleshed them out for me. I loved the whole world she created. The only downside in the reading were the missing pieces. In some parts it seemed like a few pages or paragraphs were taken out, or just some of the information. One instance, you are never told Marak's age. On CD's website in the FAQs you learn that he's actually a lot older than Kate, he's in his 60's. He didn't seem 60 to me. Marak was very endearing and I cried in the third book for him. There were a couple other things I can't remember as of right now, I'll add them in when I do a reread, because this trilogy is on my reread list! I love how the books have deeper meanings; i.e. racism.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Goblin rulers abduct human women for their wives. Wildly un-PC, as it turns out that quite a lot of the abducted wivesare actually quite happy about it. Rather a pedestrian writing style, but it has some nice touches – the goblin king is rather charming, with a strong, if not always kind, sense of humour, the young goblin who's embarrassed because he's too good looking and accordingly spends most of his life as a cat, the heroine's much younger sister, who adjusts to life under the Hill quite cheerfully. The final section seems tacked on as an afterthought, but it does give the story some much-needed action.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Two young sisters, Kate and Emily, have recently moved back to be raised at the family estate by their new guardian. They don't realize that their new home is near the goblin lands and soon the goblin king takes a special interest in Kate and Emily. The two girls use all their wits try and escape from the clutched, succeeding time and time again. But a strange twist of events, that the goblins weren't even part of, eventually lures the girls back into the reach of the goblin king.I really enjoyed both Kate and Emily. There were smart and inventive in their ways to avoid the king. They learn to trust and rely on each other. The king himself, Marak, is quite a character. While he is supposed to be evil and mean...the bad guy.. I couldn't help but like him. The king's subjects are quite the variety and are fascinating to read about as well.4/5
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I randomly picked up this book (and the other two books in the series) from my local public library, only for it to sit on my shelf until about a week before it was due. I had several other books waiting that I thought I was going to enjoy more, but boy was I wrong.When I picked this book up, I literally did not put it (or the two other books in the series) down unless I needed to or and sleep. It took me less than two days to get through the whole series, and I enjoyed every moment of it.The story starts with the sisters Kate and Emily discovering that the land they inherited holds secrets beyond belief. They quickly meet Marak after getting lost. While Emily is drawn to the stranger, everything in Kate tells her that something is very wrong. Her fears are confirmed when he reveals his deformed face to her, and later discovers that he is the Goblin King that has come to take her as his wife. Kate decides that she is not going to go down without a fight until something changes and she realizes she may not have a choice....
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is the first in a trilogy. Kate and her sister come to live with an aunt. They meet strangers in the woods who turn out to be goblins who live under the lake in the woods. The goblin king kidnaps Kate's sister, so she trades her freedom for her sisters. There are many themes in this book, but it mostly centers around racial prejudices. I read this book to preview it for my daughters. It is a little weird and dark, but enjoyable. The Goblin King is especially likable, although he seems so evil at the start. I enjoyed the twists the author puts in the goblin/elf encounters.This book would be good for more mature readers, as some of the images, i.e. kidnapping, could be frightening to immature readers. As it is the first in a series, there are more books about the characters and the kingdom for readers to enjoy. The writing style is not difficult, but the author uses a variety of sentence structures to make her writing interesting. It would be a good book to read for a jump-off place for students to write their own story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    EDIT: I just read this book again last night, and I have to say, I love it *MORE* than the first time!! The Hollow Kingdom is absolutely one of my all-time favorite books!! WAY TO GO, CLARE DUNKLE!!!! Thanks for writing such an amazing story :) ORIGINAL REVIEW:Wow I started this at 7 at night and finished at 2something in the morning! It was that engrossing! The fact that Clare Dunkle's writing was praised by Lloyd Alexander (one of my favorite authors of all time) really impressed me, and I see why. Though published within the last 5 years, she writes with a lyrical narrative not seen among today's more "urban fantasy/modern" authors. I can't really describe it, but it sounded reminiscent of Alexander's own work: simple yet elegant. And I have to say, I was and still am almost entirely in love with the story! Luckily for me, I'm not near feminist enough to be bothered by the story's unconventional order of events. This is a simple enough love story, but it is definitely not common, and I found myself recollecting aspects of Phantom of the Opera a bit. This truly is a "Beauty and the Beast"-esque story, and I was completely captivated. Yes, there are things I would have done differently (not really loving the goblins - or the animallike descriptions of the goblins), and the remaining 1/3 of the story almost completely switched gears and focus, but still, besides a bit of a pacing situation I liked the direction the story took. It doesn't take an English professor to crack the major themes and the overall message of the story. Typical YA: sometimes those "messages" tend to be a little "after-school-special" for my taste, but still... GREAT story, very WELL-DEVELOPED characters, and an extremely TALENTED author. PS... he's totally not described this way, but I couldnt help but picture the Goblin King as the one played by David Bowie in Labyrinth and after reading this book, guess what movie I'm watching now?!??! I *LOVE* Labyrinth and you all need to watch this movie after you read the book!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Goblins, Dwarfs, and Elves -- Oh My!In book one of the Hollow Kingdom trilogy, we meet up with two orphaned young English ladies who are coming to their ancestral home, Hollow Hill, for the first time. After taking a walk through the woods, Kate begins having nightmares and suffers through her days with the feeling that she is being watched. When she meets a group of odd and horrifying people, her worst fears are confirmed (even though she doesn’t quite know what they are) as she tries to escape the goblin King Marak – who is intent upon making her his new bride. What a mix this wonderful story is! Goblins who are funny and open while still horrifyingly ugly, nefarious guardians intent on sabotage, and an even unlikelier love story are all combined into something truly magical. I found myself grimacing at the cruelty of magic and conversely laughing out loud at Marak’s humor and wit. A perfectly mixed novel and I can’t wait to read the rest.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kate must promise to wed the goblin king in exchange for his help in saving her sister. She is overcome with dread when she has to live up to her side of the bargain.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Girl meets goblin, goblin tries to steal girl, girl resists but eventually will reconsider due to her younger sister. I really liked the extra twists in this book and I really wasn't expecting the tale to turn the way it did. I'm just dying to read the next in the trilogy now.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great beginning to a triology - a different take on "Beauty & the Beast" with a goblin king who must choose a human bride. A young adult novel that I hated to see end. The 2nd book in the trilogy ("Close Kin") had a weak first half but I stuck it out. Still need to read the last one: The Coils of the Snake.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Hollow Kingdom is excellent. The storytelling is outstandingly expressive, and what a story to tell. Initially, readers are sure to dislike Marak and his ugly goblin subjects with their unique culture that includes kidnapping humans to their underground kingdom. As the story progresses, it is more and more difficult to dislike the caring, devoted Marak who would do anything to make Kate happy -- except release her. I loved the progression of the relationships between characters, especially between Marak and Kate, proving that love is a choice. Kate is a strong main character. I enjoyed reading a female character who actually had some character and made up her own fate by her own means. Twilight's Bella has nothing on Kate. There are so many things I love about this book that I don't feel capable of describing. The story stays with me long after I've finished it. It is one that I love to reread.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very slow to get going. I did not enjoy slogging through the set-up. But once the fantasy/magic begins I was entranced. The heroine while a stock character was charming. I adored the ending. Parts of the ending were so visual that I would to illustrate them.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had typed creepy, but eerie and disturbing are probably better terms. Orphaned along with her young sister, our heroine is stalked by the goblin king, and ultimately sacrifices herself to his keeping, marrying him to save her sister. As the story unfolds, the "safe" elements become less so, and what initially seemed evil and threatening becomes more understandable and comforting.Perhaps the strongest, or at least the most thought provoking, of the Hollow Kingdom trilogy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In 19th century England, a powerful sorcerer and King of the Goblins chooses Kate, the elder of two orphan girls recently arrived at their ancestral home, Hallow Hill, to be his bride and queen. This is a very entertaining fantasy novel for tweens and teens. It is full of fantasy characters (goblins, elves, dwarfs, sorcerers), magic, humor and suspense. It is the first book in the Hollow Kingdom Trilogy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This highly-imaginative story about two young orphaned sisters taken underground to live out the rest of their lives in a goblin kingdom grabs the reader's interest from the first page and holds it right through the end. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two books in the trilogy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely adored this book. I really don't have a good reason why, except that I love beauty-and-the-"beast" type stories (although I thought Marak sounded rather attractive).

Book preview

The Hollow Kingdom - Clare B. Dunkle

Prologue

She had never screamed before, not when she overturned the row, boat and almost drowned, not when the ivy broke and she crashed into the shrubbery below, not even when Lightfoot bucked her off and she felt her leg break underneath her with an agonizing crunch. She hadn’t even known that she could. Screaming was Lizzy’s job, and Lizzy was terribly good at it. But now she screamed, long and loud, with all her breath.

My dear, came a mild voice from beneath the black hood. Do you mind? You’re hurting my ears, and I’m surprised at you. You’ve always been so brave.

She hushed up then, her pride roused, and instead put all her efforts into breaking free, thrashing and writhing in the grip of the black-cloaked figure. It did no good. He carried her steadily and unhurriedly through the deep evening gloom of the woods, and she could see as she twisted about that those others, those bizarre things, were still all around them, following.

The strange crowd broke from the forest and stopped a few feet from the steep bluffs of the Hill. This is what you’ve been looking for, remarked the hooded one. Our front door. You wanted to walk right in, as I recall, and here’s your chance.

He set her on her feet, his arm still around her waist. She immediately tried to slide to the ground, her feet scrabbling on the loose dirt. Doubled over, kicking and clawing, she felt him drag her forward. There, you’ve walked in, more or less. She straightened up to find herself in a broad, dimly lit corridor of polished black stone. You’re inside now. You don’t see anywhere to run, do you? She shook her head. So you’ll stop this scrambling around. You shouldn’t have come looking for us, my dear, if you didn’t want to find us.

The tall figure released her and unfastened his cloak, stepping back a pace to study her gravely. She stared at him openmouthed, unable to look away. His eyes were beautiful, large and black, like the eyes of Christ on her father’s Greek icon. His face was broad, with high cheekbones, and his smooth skin shimmered in the lamplight with a strange silvery gray color. He had no hair on his head, no beard, not even eyebrows. His mouth was a little too wide, and his ears were long and narrow and rose to sharp points. She was tall for a girl, but he was half a head taller than she, and his broad shoulders and thick arms explained how he had been able to carry her away so effortlessly.

He saw a very young woman of sturdy, athletic build, her lean, pretty face very pale, black hair straggling about it rather wildly. Her green eyes glared desperately at him. No tears were on her cheeks yet, but the trembling lower lip indicated that they weren’t perhaps too far from falling. He gazed at her for a long moment and then gave her a smile.

You see what a lucky girl you are, he said in a low voice. I’m very handsome for a goblin. And you were going to catch a goblin, weren’t you? With your bare hands. He reached out and laid one of her trembling hands on his muscular silvery gray forearm. You’ve caught a goblin, my dear, all for your very own. The hand ended in what looked like well-kept dog claws, and she tried to pull away. He chuckled quietly, and she glanced up to discover that the teeth in that gray face were the color of dark, tarnished silver.

Where’s your spirit of adventure gone? he said encouragingly. You wanted a goblin, remember? And you wanted to walk right in here, too, didn’t you? Is there anything else you’d like to do?

I want to go home, she whispered, and the first tear escaped. He watched it thoughtfully. She was doing pretty well, all things considered.

I’ll take you home, he promised. Come with me now. Comforted, she let him keep the hand he held and lead her down the polished corridor. They came to a broad, high iron door, which swung open as they approached and then clanged shut behind them. She stopped and looked around in startled wonder.

Here you are, my dear, he said quietly. My kingdom. And your home. It’s been a long wait, but it’s over at last.

No! she gasped, her eyes searching that inhuman face for some other meaning. The monster smiled at her warmly.

Indeed, he assured her. You haven’t seen me, but I’ve watched you since you were a baby. I’ve watched over you, too. I tightened your teeth back up when you knocked them loose tumbling out of the snow sled you’d tied to the pony’s tail. I fixed your knee after you fell from the ivy when you were eight, and I healed your leg the night you broke it getting thrown from the horse. His smile broadened. I was glad the doctor didn’t know about that, though. Eight weeks’ rest was something we all needed at that point. She stared at him in bewilderment.

It was good for you to grow up outside. His voice was kind. You certainly enjoyed it. But you were always intended for here, and now you’re finally old enough. Barely, but old enough. He chuckled. I’d have left you outside for another year or two, but you showed such a lively interest in us. You just couldn’t wait to meet goblins. So you’re home now. In all the years you live here, this door won’t ever open for you again. You’re underground with me until you die.

No! she cried, jerking away from him and flinging herself at the door. I want out! I want to go home! She pounded on the iron with fists and forearms. She kicked the door and threw herself against it. The goblin watched all this with a fond forbearance, but when she tried to claw the door open, he intervened.

Now, now, he said gently, capturing her wrists and surveying her bruised hands. Let’s not break off all those pretty nails, my dear. We’ll need at least three for the ceremony. And arm around her waist, he led the sobbing, stumbling girl away.

Seventy years passed over the land, and they passed underneath it, too. Anguish and grief faded to a dull throb, and finally only the mysteries themselves remained, forgotten by all but a concerned few.

Chapter One

It’s so nice to see new faces at Hallow Hill, isn’t it, Prim?

Gracious and white haired, Celia Whitaker beamed across the dinner table at her great-nieces, and Kate and Emily Winslow smiled shyly back. The girls were grateful to find a smile at the end of their journey. It had been a hard two months. Their father had died suddenly. By scrupulously legal tradition, his house and lands near Coventry now belonged to his nephew, the next male relative, and this man had refused to become their guardian. The Hallow Hill estate belonged to Kate from her late mother, but she had never visited it. It had been rented to another branch of the family for generations. Now Kate and her younger sister were coming home to land and relatives they had never seen. Hugh Roberts, a bachelor cousin of their mother’s, had become their legal guardian, and the two great-aunts, Celia and Prim, had agreed to raise the sisters.

Excited and exhausted, Kate and Emily tried to eat their meal. They had arrived only minutes before. Days of bouncing along in a carriage, nervous and bored, had carried them from their father’s tame green meadows to this remote country. Last night they had stayed in a little village on the shore of Hollow Lake. The innkeeper had pointed across the great oval lake to the forested hills beyond. A high, bald promontory faced them on the other side, and cliffs and bluffs tumbled haphazardly down to the smooth surface of the water.

That’s Hallow Hill land, miss, he had said to Kate. The tall rocks there, that’s the Hill itself. But it’ll take you all morning to get around the lake and the forest. No roads go through the woods by the Hill. They’d not dare to put a road there. My land, thought Kate in surprise. She hadn’t expected it to be so wild.

And what a beauty you are, my dear, Aunt Celia said to Kate. You favor your mother, doesn’t she, Prim? She was slender and small boned, too, such a graceful woman. She had the pick of the men in her day.

Kate tried to smile at these kind remarks, but she found them rather embarrassing. She didn’t think of herself as a beauty, although she knew her mother had been one. In fact, Kate was uncommonly pretty. Her long blond hair formed small curls around her face, and she had a dignity and poise unusual for her age. Perhaps this was because she had spent so much time with her father. That lonely gentleman had lavished hours each day on her education. He saw a strength in her gentle nature that he openly admired, and this strength had carried the quiet Kate bravely through the last two months without him.

Rawboned and large handed, Primrose Roberts didn’t smile as often as her sister Celia, but this didn’t mean she was ill-tempered. She studied the blushing Kate, noting her fair skin and large, dark blue eyes.

Now, you know Kate’s mother was dark, Celia, with that black hair. I think you’re like your mother in your build, though; such a little thing she was. Kate sighed. She hated being so short. No one but her father seemed to take her seriously.

I think you must favor your father, dear. Aunt Celia had turned to Emily. The younger sister frowned by way of answer. Thin and dark, Emily certainly possessed her sister’s strength of will, but she didn’t always use it quite as sensibly. Her narrow face was very expressive, and her conduct often unexpected. Lively, intelligent, and quite immature, she usually burst out with exactly the comment that summed up the situation beautifully and therefore could never in politeness be said. It is true that she had her father’s plain brown hair and brown eyes. It is also true that it is annoying to live with a real beauty if you yourself are not one. Emily thought that she would have loved being a beauty and breaking men’s hearts. Kate just didn’t appreciate what she had.

"Hallow means ‘holy,’ doesn’t it? asked Emily. Why is this place called Hallow Hill? Is there a church nearby?"

Oh, Hugh can tell you about that, Aunt Celia said. Hugh’s quite a scholar, you know. He’s writing a book of family history, all about Hallow Hill.

Their legal guardian was a large, corpulent bachelor with a round face and ink stains on his hands. Emily kept staring at him because he wore a curled white wig. No one but lawyers and grandfathers wore wigs anymore. Except for the barest pleasantries, he had been silent since their arrival. He had brought a book to the table and was reading it as he ate, his spectacles resting low on his nose. Now he raised his pale eyes from the pages and glanced dismissively at Emily.

I don’t suppose someone of your age and gender is going to sit through a linguistic analysis, he remarked. Kate saw her little sister’s face darken and spoke quickly to prevent a catastrophe.

We’d love to hear about Hallow Hill’s name, she protested with a bright smile. Place-name etymology is so fascinating. The words come out of Old English, don’t they, so the name can’t date back to the Roman times, but it could certainly predate the Norman Conquest.

Hugh Roberts fixed Kate with a critical stare. She noticed an ink stain on his nose and hoped her sister wouldn’t mention it.

So we’ve read a book or two, he commented dryly. "Yes, the word hallow is Old English, but we don’t know that hallow, or holy, is what was intended at all. Perhaps hollow is what was meant. Some early documents call the bald peak behind this house Hollow Hill, and there certainly are caves throughout the area. And ‘Hollow Lake’ may just be a short way of saying the ‘lake by Hollow Hill.’

"However, we aren’t even positive that is the original Hallow Hill. Near the Lodge house is a smaller hill with a flat, circular crown, and around this crown is a double circle of ancient oak trees. The site was obviously an important druidic center. There are those who say that is the real Hallow Hill, but probably to the early inhabitants this whole region was sacred. It has never been mined, the forests haven’t been logged, and the locals retain to this day a tremendous superstitious lore about the area. Calling something hallow for hundreds of years has a way of making people treat it as holy whether it really is or not. He picked up his book again. It’s a fascinating human phenomenon, the tenacious preservation of ignorance," he remarked caustically and ignored the conversation around him for the remainder of the meal.

In another half hour, Emily and Kate found themselves back out in the sunshine, facing another carriage ride. Their guardian lived in this large estate house, the Hall, but the girls were not to live here with him. They were to go on to the smaller house, the Lodge, where their great-aunts lived.

The Hall faced a large, open green that was not in the least interesting. It contained rigidly geometric pebbled walks, square garden beds, and bench seats set primly by the straight, tree-lined borders. But the ground to the sides and back of the house began rising at once into small, tumbled hills, and through the windows of the dining room the girls had seen tantalizing views of a shady terrace, moss-covered rock walls, and paths disappearing into the dim forest that reached down and enclosed the Hall on three sides. Kate and Emily were wild with delight at the thought of those secret paths winding through primeval woodland. They could hardly bear to climb into the carriage for the sedate jog over to the Lodge.

The ride proved more satisfying than they had expected. The gravel track passed the front of the Hall and rapidly left the depressing tidiness of the green behind. It skirted the very edge of the forest and rose and fell with the unevenness of the landscape, providing a view on the one side of windblown meadows full of wildflowers and on the other of those gloomy, green-dappled forest depths that they already longed to explore. The track passed through a grassy orchard as it climbed a steady slope, and the Lodge house stood before them, shaded by large, well-trimmed trees.

Kate and Emily stared up at the big white house. Emily was surprised by its size; hearing that she was to live in the small Lodge house, she had expected to see a two-room hut. The Lodge had three stories, the top one peeking out through small dormer windows tucked under a steep gray roof. The front door was exactly in the middle, and all the tall windows up and down were perfectly matched and symmetrical. Over their heads and over the house swung the thick boughs of the great shade trees, casting an ever-changing net of shadow and sun on the ground below. Kate listened to the gentle rush of the wind whispering through leaves and branches. She felt it settle into her soul and fill some lonely place there.

The Lodge was a very ordinary square house designed to provide four spacious rooms on each floor with a hallway down the middle. The front door faced the straight hall and staircase, which began about ten feet inside it. Kate, standing on the rug, could see right through to the back door, which stood open to let in the breeze. On her left was a parlor, on her right, a dining room, open to each other by the full width of the entry. Their walls began only at the staircase.

Houses take on the character of their inhabitants. Kate’s initial impression was of tranquility and tidiness. Gauzy white curtains fluttered at the large glass windows, and soft, plump chairs and sofas gathered in the rooms. Tones of green, white, and blue predominated in the upholstery, and the walls were a soft gray-green. The cushioned chairs and quiet hues spoke of peace. The crystal-clear windows and perfect spotlessness spoke of industry.

Kate and Emily trailed through the house after their great-aunts and saw everything there was to see, from the kitchen by the back door to the upstairs bedrooms. Prim and Celia had the two bedrooms on the left side of the upstairs hall, and the girls were given ones on the right.

Kate’s room faced the front. We did think this would be pretty for a young lady like you, said Aunt Celia. It has Grandmother’s furniture, and Prim and I could just imagine you combing your lovely hair before the glass at her dressing table.

Emily had the back bedroom. You’ll never believe how many storms we have here, dear, cautioned Aunt Prim. Such wild country! If you wake in the night, my room is right across the hall. No need to dodge around the stairs when you’re in a fright.

The next several days saw the girls settle in and become a part of the rhythm of life at Hallow Hill. Some demands were placed on them, but they were free to roam their new surroundings for hours every day. It must be admitted that the two older women found their new charges quite exhausting. Whenever the girls burst out the door with a picnic hamper to go off on a long ramble, it is hard to say who of the four felt most relieved.

It took the girls a week to find the druids’ circle that their cousin had spoken of. They discovered it after supper one evening, quite close behind the Lodge. The forest path they were following began climbing a steep slope. As they looked upward, they saw an evenly planted row of ancient oaks set in thick green turf. In the gaps between they could see a further row of trees, but so massive were the specimens in this double ring that they could not see past the two rows together. The enormous trunks, wider than the girls could span with their arms, formed a perfect barrier, protecting whatever lay beyond from careless eyes.

Hand in hand, the girls approached this awesome barricade and slipped between the giant sentinels. The tops of these hoary trees, so close together for so many ages, had grown into one dense, continuous ring. No sunlight pierced it to fall on the intruders beneath, and yet the green turf continued underfoot, right up to the great trunks.

Inside the ring, the broad crown of the hill was almost flat. They could not see beyond the trees either to the distant hills or to the woods outside. They were in a huge room walled by living plants. Above them, past the tangled branches of the oaks, stretched a perfect circle of darkening twilight sky about seventy feet across. The lush turf formed a dense, soft carpet underneath, and small white field lilies sprang above it on long, thin stalks, like tiny stars scattered across a dark green sky.

Speechless, Kate and Emily stood and looked around. This was a silent place. No birds sang in the branches of the great trees, and Emily found no bugs crawling in the grass beneath. Slowly they wandered to the very middle of the twilit circle and dropped down onto the inviting turf.

Do you think the druids built this place? asked Emily.

No. Kate knew that this was no ruined monument to a dead religion. The circle was alive and aware. It exerted a magical force that welcomed and comforted her, as if good people had arranged a place for her security and care.

But if the druids didn’t make it, who did?

I don’t know, Em, Kate said thoughtfully. "Perhaps our ancestors did. I feel so much more at home here than I do up at the Hall. And just imagine how the stars must look from here! Let’s stay a little while longer and watch them come

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