The Bone House
Contents
Important People in the Bright Empires series
Previously in the Bright Empires series
The Bone House
Part One: The Book of Forbidden Secrets
Chapter 1: In Which Some Things Are Best Forgotten
Chapter 2: In Which a Wander in the Wilderness Is Good for the Soul
Chapter 3: In Which an Omen Is Proved True
Chapter 4: In Which Tea and Sandwiches Are Encountered
Chapter 5: In Which a Guest Is Honoured
Chapter 6: In Which the Pregnant Question Is Asked
Chapter 7: In Which December Proves the Cruellest Month
Chapter 8: In Which the Aid of a Good Doctor Is Sought
Chapter 9: In Which Full Disclosure Takes a Drubbing
Chapter 10: In Which an Identity Is Mistaken
Chapter 11: In Which Wilhelmina Learns the Ropes
Chapter 12: In Which Sheer, Bloody-Minded Persistence Is Rewarded
Chapter 13: In Which an Impossible Birth Is Celebrated
Chapter 14: In Which the Truth Cannot Be Ignored
Part Three: Coming Forth by Day
Chapter 15: In Which an Apprenticeship Is Begun
Chapter 16: In Which Ruffled Feathers Are Smoothed
Chapter 17: In Which a Burden Shared Is a Burden Halved
Chapter 18: In Which a Visit to Prague Is Wangled
Chapter 19: In Which a Three-Cup Problem Is Expounded
Chapter 20: In Which the Infant Science of Archaeology Is Radically Advanced
Part Four: The Language of Angels
Chapter 21: In Which the Scholarly Inquiry Bears Strange Fruit
Chapter 22: In Which Blood Tells
Chapter 23: In Which Patience and Practice Pay Off
Chapter 24: In Which a Destiny Is Determined
Chapter 25: In Which the Past Catches Up
Chapter 26: In Which the Question of What to Do Is Asked and Answered—Twice
Chapter 27: In Which a Little Light Is Shed
Part Five: A House Made All of Bone
Chapter 28: In Which Feeling Good and Strong Is Not Enough
Chapter 29: In Which a Most Peculiar Predicament Arises
Chapter 30: In Which Kit Embraces the Stone Age
Chapter 31: In Which a Sensible Course of Action Is Proposed
Chapter 32: In Which Confidences Are Frankly Shared
Chapter 33: In Which Formal Introductions Are Made
Chapter 34: In Which the Future Is a Dream
Chapter 35: In Which a Remedy Is Pursued
Essay: “Quantum Physics and Me”
by Stephen Lawhead
What Readers Are Saying about
The Bright Empires Series
“
His mastery of the art of description is beyond belief
(I had to stop several times to jump up and down because I loved his style so much, seriously). His level of attention to details like period mindset and speech is a delight to behold (especially for die-hard background-first novelists like me).”
—S
IR
E
METH
M.
“This is
a story that has it all
: mystery, history, damsels in distress, and a mind-bending meditation on the nature of reality. It is
equal parts
Raiders of the Lost Ark
,
National Treasure
, and
Jumper
. Highly recommended!”
—C
HAD
J.
“
Filled with descriptions that beguile all five senses
and all the beauty and charm of the language I have come to expect from Lawhead, this book is
a fascinating
blend of fantasy and sci-fi.
”
—J
ENELLE
S.
“. . . a
hold-your-breath
beginning to a new series
. This novel mixes ancient history, time travel, alternate realities, mystery, physics, and fantasy, to create a story so compelling that
I find myself recommending it to any who will listen.
”
—S
HEILA
P.
“[A] sure winner for eager sci-fi readers . . .
The vivid imagery and witty
lines help keep the reader on the edge of their seats.”
—J
ERRY
P.
“
Time travel and high adventure abound
in this brand new title from veteran author Stephen R. Lawhead.”
—B
EN
H.
“
Imagine Narnia merged with Hitchhiker’s Guide,
and you have a starting point for the adventures of Kit Livingstone.”
—R
ICK
M.
“Lawhead vividly describes the sights, sounds and smells of the markets in Prague, the streets of Restoration England, and even the dry heat of Ancient Egypt . . .
The premise of ley line travel is fascinating yet mysterious
, with scientific definitions that are detailed without becoming too technical. The characters are personable and complex, and
it’s easy to get caught up in their search for that
elusive map.”
—M
ALINDA
D.
“. . .
an excellent, mysterious storyline
that draws the reader in.”
—K
IERAN
THE
BONE HOUSE
O
THER
B
OOKS BY
S
TEPHEN
R. L
AWHEAD
T
HE
B
RIGHT
E
MPIRES
S
ERIES:
The Skin Map
The Bone House
K
ING
R
AVEN
T
RILOGY:
Hood
Scarlet
Tuck
Patrick, Son of Ireland
T
HE
C
ELTIC
C
RUSADES:
The Iron Lance
The Black Rood
The Mystic Rose
Byzantium
S
ONG OF
A
LBION
T
RILOGY:
The Paradise War
The Silver Hand
The Endless Knot
T
HE
P
ENDRAGON
C
YCLE:
Taliesin
Merlin
Arthur
Pendragon
Grail
Avalon
Empyrion I: The Search for Fierra
Empyrion II: The Siege of Dome
Dream Thief
T
HE
D
RAGON
K
ING
T
RILOGY:
In the Hall of the Dragon King
The Warlords of Nin
The Sword and the Flame
A B
RIGHT
E
MPIRES
N
OVEL
Quest the Second:
THE
BONE HOUSE
STEPHEN R.
LAWHEAD
© 2011 by Stephen Lawhead
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Page design by Mandi Cofer.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lawhead, Steve.
The bone house / Stephen R. Lawhead.
p. cm. — (The bright empires series ; 2)
ISBN 978-1-59554-805-4
1. Space and time—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3562.A865B66 2011
813’.54—dc22
2011012768
Printed in the United States of America
11 12 13 14 15 16 QGF 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Suzie
“ The distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion—albeit a persistent one.”
A
LBERT
E
INSTEIN, PHYSICIST
Anen
– Friend of
Arthur Flinders-Petrie
, high priest of the temple of Amun in Egypt, 18
th
dynasty
Archelaeus Burleigh, Earl of Sutherland
– Nemesis of
Flinders-Petrie, Cosimo, Kit
, and all right-thinking people
Arthur Flinders-Petrie
– Also known as
The Man Who Is Map
, patriarch of his line. Begat
Benedict
, who begat
Charles
, who begat
Douglas
.
Balthazar Bazalgette
– The Lord High Alchemist at the Court of
Rudolf II
in Prague, friend and confidant of
Wilhelmina
.
Burley Men
–
Con
,
Dex
,
Mal
, and
Tav
. Lord
Burleigh
’s henchmen. They keep a Stone Age cat called
Baby
.
Cosimo Christopher Livingstone,
the Elder, aka
Cosimo
– a Victorian gentleman who seeks to reunite the Skin Map and understand the key to the future.
Cosimo Christopher Livingstone,
the Younger, aka
Kit
–
Cosimo
’s great-grandson.
Emperor Rudolf
– King of Bohemia and Hungary, Archduke of Austria and King of the Romans, he is also known as the Holy Roman Emperor and is quite mad.
Engelbert Stiffelbeam
– A baker from Rosenheim in Germany, affectionately known as
Etzel.
Giles Standfast
–
Sir Henry Fayth
’s coachman and
Kit
’s ally.
Gustavus Rosenkreuz
– The Chief Assistant to the Lord High Alchemist and
Wilhelmina
’s ally.