Oracle Trilogy

"Things are going wrong". Alexos is now The Archon, the god-on-Earth, but Mirany, the young priestess, realises that nothing has changed. General Argelin still controls the army and Hermia still controls the temple, and their scheming and treachery threaten to ignite a war with the Emperor himself. And now, in the second book of The Oracle Trilogy, Alexos is determined to undertake a terrifying quest across the desert to the Mountains of the Moon to find the long lost Well of Songs. "I will drink of the water, and bring it back for you, from beyond death and the desert. I will make the rivers flow and the crops grow for you. I will save you, my people."

In a land without rain, the people turn to the Archon, the god-on-Earth, to end their suffering and, for their sake, the old man must make a terrible sacrifice. Suddenly Mirany, a young priestess, finds herself thrust unwillingly into a desperate struggle to find the child who will be the new Archon. And the only help that she can find are Oblek, a drunken musician and Seth, a conniving scribe. If she fails, General Argelin and the high priestess Hermia will install a false candidate of their own and so gain absolute power. Nominated for the Whitbread Children's Book Award.

In the thrilling conclusion to the Oracle trilogy, Seth and his companions return from the desert to find a new reign of terror upon the Two Lands. General Argelin has pronounced himself King and declared war upon the Rain Queen and the God. Hired mercenaries repress the populous and prepare for battle with the forces of the Emperor. Returning the dead Speaker to the world of the living has become Argelin's one obsession and brings him under the malign influence of the sign of the Scarab. The young Archon, Alexos, knows that he and Mirany must take Argelin on an impossible journey through the Nine Gates to the Garden of the Rain Queen, a place from which no mortal can return.