Relates the story of two early-twentieth-century cousins who believed they saw real fairies, created photographs using paper cutouts when they were teased by adult family members, and inadvertently drew the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a fellow believer.

An ambitious Stone Age man demands a talisman that will harden his heart, allowing him to take control of his tribe. Against better judgment, the tribe's magic man creates the Flint Heart, but the cruelty of it causes the destruction of the tribe. Thousands of years later, the talisman reemerges to corrupt first a boy's father, an innocent fairy creature, and a familial badger.

"Agatha is a Hawk, brave and fierce, who patrols the high walls of her island home. She takes pride in her duties, though some in her clan whisper that she has only been given them to keep her out of the way, because of the condition she was born with. Jaime, thoughtful and anxious, is an Angler, but he hates the sea. To make matters worse, he's been chosen for a duty that has been outlawed by the clan for generations: to marry. The elders won't say...

"When townspeople start disappearing after the arrival of a magician who knows about his past, Henry must separate truth from sleight-of-hand to solve the mystery of the Shadowghast lantern before they are all swallowed by darkness"--