Prince of Ill Luck

Where Leith, Prince of the Isles, goes, misfortune follows. It affects him personally--as when he gets roughed up by an irritated swan--but those around him get the worst of it: ships sink, cattle succumb to plague. It looks like Leith's luck is turning when he captures Valadan, a swift and powerful stallion who can speak directly to Leith's mind. With the horse's help, Leith scales a glass hill to claim a gold ring at the top, thus winning the hand of Lady Kessalia. She, unfortunately, thinks no more highly of him than did the aforementioned swan. Kess has a mission, to find her father, Duke Symond of Esdragon, who left three months earlier to find her mother, a witch who vanished 15 years ago. Figuring a witch might lift his curse of ill luck, Leith decides to accompany Kess; she tries every trick she knows, including creating illusions and poison, to get rid of him, but Leith sticks to her like a barnacle. As Dexter ( The Wizard's Shadow ) takes this unlikely pair and the extraordinary Valadan through the countryside, she deftly laces their adventures with humor, allowing these characters to move lightly over rough terrain in a promising beginning for the ``Warhorse of Esdragon'' series. (Mar.)