With this and the previous volume the series seems to have hit its stride after the initial three disappointing volumes. This time around, Indigo and her sentient wolf friend Grimya have reached The Redoubt, the land at the top of the world, just as winter is starting to set in. After a helpful man points her to a good trader, she is able to equip herself with a tough dependable gelding and the other equipment she needs to set off, following the path that her lodestone indicates, to find the next demon she must destroy on her quest. But Grimya and she are caught in the early onset of a blizzard and only just reach a steading in time, which turns out to be the original home of her lost love Fenran. Difficulties emerge when the eldest son of the present family resembles Fenran physically and she finds herself drawn to him, an attraction that is reciprocated. But Indigo and Grimya are drawn into the dangerous family dynamics involving, among other things, a cursed axe and shield. Only a white snow tiger can help them work out how to combat the multiple threats that beset them.

I enjoyed this story which kept me guessing as to who might be trying to bring about disaster to the family. There was a good balance of action and character development, with a romantic interest at last for Indigo who has been carrying a torch for Fenran, her betrothed who died forty years earlier when she defied a taboo and unleased the demons into the world. The only thing that mars this series a bit for me is that, given that Indigo and Grimya are both unageing until the quest is done, it seems to have made progress rather leisurely: for example, we find out at the start of this story that, after the adventure in the previous book, they decided to stay with the Brabazon player family for ten more years, and only moved on when it started to become obvious that everyone was ageing except them. Given that Fenran is subjected to everlasting torment until Indigo frees him by killing all the demons, her leisurely progress from one place to another is somewhat odd, especially when in book 3 it resulted in her living in a place for 12 years and really doing nothing other than to worry ineffectually. At least she has toughened up considerably in these last couple of books. Anyway, I hope this better standard continues for the remaining three books of the series and am rating this one 4 stars. ( )