Skein Of Fates — Leslie Ann Moore

Nuetierra. An alien world where twin moons light the night and massive air-breathing jellyfish float through violet skies.

Nue Bayona. A gaslit, steam-powered city caught between the iron fist of a despot and the bloody fist of a terrorist.

Deanna is the daughter of Eduard Hernaan, former Alcalde of Nue Bayona. Six years ago, her stepmother Lourdessa led a brutal political coup against her father. She now rules as dictator while Deanna's father languishes in prison. The common citizens chafe beneath Lourdessa's yoke and yearn for their lost democracy.

Threatened by Deanna's popularity, Lourdessa arranges for her assassination. The attempt fails and Deanna escapes. Cast adrift in a hostile wilderness and near death, she is rescued by a band of diminutive hunters, members of a mysterious race she knows only from history books -- the Tiqui.

Recovering in their distant village, Deanna meets a remarkable woman -- the Tiqui chieftess Yellow Bird, who possesses the shamanic gift of foresight. Her visions have revealed that a girl of the tall folk would one day come, whose fate is inextricably linked to that of the Tiqui.

When Deanna's haven is destroyed in a night of horrific violence, she must make a choice: remain in exile, or embark on the road to revolution. Dangerous and uncertain, disaster or salvation waits at its end -- for both Tiqui and tall folk alike.