The fifth book in the Sword-Dancer saga continues the legendary adventures of Tiger and Del, magic wielders and skilled warriors In the three years since Tiger and Del’s fateful meeting, these mismatched companions have become true partners, their alliance forged by blood, magic, danger, adventure…and something more. Exiled from both the North and the South, the two have now set sail to search for Tiger’s homeland—but no journey is ever without complications for Tiger and Del. Shipwrecked, nearly drowned, abducted by pirates, bedeviled by magic, the Southron sword-dancer and the Northern sword-singer finally do arrive at their destination. But before the mystery of his origins can be solved, Tiger must face another truth about himself that may prove more dangerous than any sword-dance. His own personal brand of magic, long denied by Tiger, is manifesting. And because of its very uniqueness, Tigers awakening power may prove his undoing!

Sword-Singer once again unites Del and Tiger--she among the greatest of Northern sword masters, he a Southron warrior of legendary skills--on a new and perilous journey into the North, to the Place of Swords, where Del must submit to trial-by-combat for the slaying of her sword-master.

The sixth book in the Sword-Dancer saga continues the legendary adventures of Tiger and Del, magic wielders and skilled warriors The South had always been Tiger’s home. Left as an infant to die in the desert, his real origins were unknown. When he won his freedom from the tribe who enslaved him by slaying a deadly sandtiger, he joined the elite brotherhood of Southron sword-dancers, swearing a lifelong oath to abide by their code of honor. Del was a woman of the North. She had seen her family brutally murdered and her brother carried away to the South to be sold into slavery. Motivated by revenge, she studied with the greatest of Northern sword-masters and became the deadliest sword-singer in the North. Together these two legendary fighters had forged an unlikely partnership of equals, sharing adventures, danger, and eventually love. But when Tiger forfeited an important sword dance to rescue Del, he broke his sworn code of honor—and his sentence was death. Fugitives from both the North and the South, Tiger and Del flee to the distant island of Skandi. Tiger has been told he resembles the people who comes from this remote land, and now, Tiger seeks his true identity. But Skandi proves no safe haven. Abducted by priest-mages, altered in mind and body, Tiger is forced to acknowledge that he possesses his own special brand of magic. A personal magic that carries its own price: Tiger will only have ten or twelve more years to live. But as Tiger and Del struggle to escape, Tiger’s long-dormant power begins to manifest. He falls victim to visions he cannot dismiss, dreams of a dead woman luring him into the crystal sands of the Punja, the South’s deadliest desert. “Find me,” she bids him, “and take up the sword.” Initially, Tiger rebels, refusing the siren song of his dreams. But at last, helpless to deny the compulsion in his own blood, Tiger must accept his magic and his fate. Yet can he avoid paying the terrible price that they threaten to extract?

Tiger scales a mountain to reach Dragon's Lair and to confront the force that has been wreaking havoc on the village and that, legend has it, is an evil and powerful dragon.

After years of deadly quests and dangerous enemies,Tiger and Del have finally found relative saftey in a secluded desert canyon. They enjoy a settled, if somewhay less exciting, life raising their daughter, Sula, and training Tiger's son, Neesha. They also train all those who manage to find them, thus forming their own school of sword-dancing. But the manhunt for Tiger has not ended, for he is still an outcast from the brotherhood of sword-dancers for breaking the oaths of honor codes of Alimat, and his deadly brethren seek to kill him. To add to the threats, an old enemy, Umir the Ruthless, has offered substantial bounty for anyone bringing Tiger to him alive. Umir possesses a powerful grimoire--a book of spells that Tiger had locked by magic--and he is determined to use any means at his disposal to force Tiger to unlock this deadly book.

A National Book Award finalist by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger—a real-life, very large tiger—pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things—like memories, and heartache, and tigers—can’t be locked up forever. Featuring a new cover illustration by Stephen Walton.