A TOM Doherty ASSOCIATES BOOK New York Note: If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as �unsold and destroyed�to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this �stripped book.� I This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. THE DARKEST PART OF THE WOODS Copyright C 2002 by Ramsey Campbell All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. Originally published in Great Britain by PS Publishing, Ltd., Harrogate A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY iooio www.tor.com Tor is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. ISBN 0-765-34682-6 EAN 976-0765-34682-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003055983 First U. S. Edition: October 2003 First mass market edition: October 2004 Printed in the United States of America o 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 vii For Angus, another reason to open a bottle 1 Acknowledgments Like so much of my stuff, this would never exist without jenny. A section was written while I had a fulltime job at Borders Books ‘in Cheshire Oaks, and I’m grateful to Mary Foss and Mark Graham for arranging my hours to let me write every day, as one must. Jane and Polly Byron advised me on Severn Valley elements, not least the masque. Poppy Z. Brite, Angela and Tony Heslop, Jeannie and Geoff Woodbridge, and Angus Mackenzie all know how they helped. Contents I The Mound in the Dark 2 The Rumour of a Book 3 A Meeting in the Forest 4 The Author of the Book 5 The Return 6 Behind the Houses 7 The Sticky Man 8 Forgotten Dreams S) In a Ring 10 A View of the Future 11 A Hidden Price 12 More Than a Shadow 13 Unseen Company 14 A Sunday Gossip 15 A Wooden Visitor 16 Out of the Mound 17 A Yuletide Rite 18 The Uprooted 19 The Reconfiguration The One That Called 21 The Steps to the Dark 22 Secrets 23 The Cells 24 The Gift of Vision 25 Nowhere But Home 26 Parental Problems 27 A Family Conference 28 A Private View 29 A Reading from the Dark 30 The Lowest Room 31 The Lucky Ones 32 Sealed by the Past 33 The Last Descent 34 The Revelation of the Forest Epilogue: The Watcher 5
