The Crying of Birds

The Crying of Birds is the fifth book in critically acclaimed The Kira Chronicles series, a high fantasy, richly imagined tale, set in a beautifully crafted world of deep emerald forests and vast sweeping plains. Must Tremen healing bow before Terak swords?

Kira's deepest fears are realized when the Tremen are forced from the forests to join the devastating battles on the plain. Nor can she remain with them for the North has no healing and if the fighting spreads, their wounded will die.

After enduring the perilous journey back, she confronts powerful forces determined to keep Kasheron's Healer ways out of the city. Aid comes from an unexpected quarter but a Haelen without fireweed cannot save lives. And then her worst nightmare comes true when the person she loves most in the world is mortally wounded.

In the south, the Shargh tribes join and the Northern Leader makes a deadly mistake that puts the North at risk. Distrust weakens his forces and, as the bloodshed grows, treachery promises to deliver victory to the Shargh. And then, as the Northern Leader and his men fight for their very existence, word reaches him that Kira's life hangs in the balance. Faced with a terrible dilemma, he makes a choice that risks the destruction of his leadership.

Kira's struggle to save the wounded takes an increasingly lethal toll and she flees to the Healer settlement of Kessom, but to reach its sanctuary, she must first survive the icy darkness and a torrent that has claimed countless lives.