Devera appears (or is noted as absent) in every book by Meta:Steven Brust. Or at least, someone very much like her does.
A list up to 2004 of these appearances is at the Devera FAQ. The following includes this information for the Dragaera novels and continues with the works published since. Non-Dragaera works are not included here.
Devera Sightings with Citings[]
[Page numbers are for the mass market paperbacks, except where noted otherwise]
Jhereg[]
p. 63 [While Vlad performs witchcraft with the help and hindrance of Loiosh and Daymar, he sees visions]
- '...a small girl-child with big brown eyes looks at me and smiles...'
Yendi[]
pp.77-79 [A long scene, in which Vlad meets Devera for the first time.]
- 'She shook her head. "She doesn't know I'm here. But she's really worried, Uncle Vlad. And so's Uncle 'Rollan. Won't you please come back?"'
Teckla[]
p.81 [Vlad has been beaten and tortured. Sticks carries him up the stairs.]
'"I'll dump these things inside the house, and - - no, wait." Sticks vanished from sigh for a moment and I heard him speaking to someone in low tones. I heard the words, "drunk" and "brothel," and what seemed to be a child's voice answering him. Then he came back without the bundle and took my legs and they carried me into the house.
'Sticks dropped my legs at the top of the stairs and clapped. I heard a child say, "I'll leave these here." There was a rustling sound, and the child said, "No, that's all right," and there were soft footsteps descending.'
Taltos[]
Chapter 17, p.175 (Paperback) [Vlad has successfully summoned the vial of Goddess Blood and is now all but dead in the Paths of the Dead]
- I have a vague memory of a little girl shaking my shoulder, saying "Don't fall asleep. You'll die if you fall asleep. Stay awake."
Phoenix[]
Chapter 17, pp. 233-234 (Paperback):
[Again, Vlad chats with Devera in Verra's throne room.]
- '"Oh. So she" - - I indicated the Demon Goddess - - "is your grandmother?"
'Devera smiled and crawled up into her lap.'
Athyra[]
pp. 131-132 [Savn is experimenting with witchcraft and has visions, including a voice, 'its age and sex impossible to determine, and irrelevant']
'"What does matter?" he said.
'"You matter, and he matters."
'"He? Vlad?"
'"Yes."
'"I saved his life, you know.
'"Yes. And he will need you again."
'"For what?"
'"Be kind," said the voice, trailing away in an impossible direction.'
[Note: "She Who Is Small" [page 54] is not Devera. This is a reference to one of Brust's fellow Scribblies)
Orca[]
p. 169 [Kiera describes what she saw while sitting in an Inn in Northport]
- 'At one point, I thought I saw Devera go by, but if so she didn't recognize me, and it wasn't very likely, anyway.'
Dragon[]
p. 251 (Hardcover) [Vlad is recovering after getting nailed in the back by a spell at the Battle of Baritt's Tomb ]
- '"Was there a little girl on the battlefield? You know, a child?"
'"No, I think I can safely say there wasn't."
'"Then I can safely say I don't remember anything about the battle."'
Issola[]
Page 50, [Vlad & Teldra are about to go through Morrolan's window]
"...a young girl who may have been human or Dragaeran and who I might or might not have recognized made impossible eye contact with me".
page 230.
We all stopped and looked, and discovered that we were, in fact, not the only ones moving directly at the Jenoine: the dragon was, too.
"Well, that is hardly surprising," said Sethra.
"Who is it?" asked Aliera.
"You don't know?"
"No, should I?"
"Yes."
"Well then, who--"
"Not now," said Sethra. She frowned, and finally said, "Very well. Leave her alone, we'll adjust.
page 235:
The dragon, for no reason that I could see, stopped as if it had struck a wall, rolled over -- something that big does a lot of rolling over when it rolls -- and then came to its feet once more, and shook its head in a very human gesture.
page 236:
Then Aliera went flying backward, tumbling backward like a seed bag without the seed, landing next to the dragon. I thought she was dead, or at least injured, but she put her hand on the dragon's head, and, using it like a handhold, rose to her feet at once, shook her head in a gesture terribly reminiscent of the dragon's, then turned back toward the battle.
Dzur (book)[]
Chapter 1, p. 35 (Hardcover):
- As I was coming in, I heard what sounded like bare feet running away, and I almost thought I heard a giggle, but I didn't give it too much of a thought.
p. 109 (Hardcover):
- And there was another voice, too, only for a moment.
I'm sorry Uncle Vlad. I have to. But it isn't lost, and you'll have it all back someday--
Yes. There it was. And who do I trust now? She sounded so harmless; the epitome of all that could be trusted: sweet and innocent. But she was older than I, and she was Verra's granddaughter. I had other memories of her, too, and many of them came rushing back, begging to be reinterpreted, with all of my natural cynicism let loose on them.
Jhegaala (book)[]
p.179 (Hardcover):
- A child's voice whispered "I'm sorry," and I have no idea what makes me think it was a child's voice--how can you tell from a whisper? But I thought so at the time, and I wondered what she'd done. But the voice seemed to warm me, somehow, and I stopped shivering.
p.188 (Hardcover):
- I suddenly remembered the child's whisper I'd heard, and it occurred to me that the child hadn't been apologizing, she'd been expressing sympathy.
Iorich (book)[]
p.112 (Hardcover): (Vlad Norathar is four)
- "Where did you find the toy?"
"A little girl makes them, and brings them around. I don't know why, but she seems harmless."
"A little girl? Does she have a name?"
"Devera."
p.138(Hardcover): (Vlad Norathar is eight)
- "He has friends?"
"A few. And the little girl, Devera, comes by from time to time."
"Good," I said.
p.228 (Hardcover):
- What she (Aliera) said was, "I don't mind my daughter playing with your son."
"Um. Okay, thanks."
Tiassa[]
- The entire prologue, as it is narrated by Devera.
- While she does not directly appear, the break between the 2nd and 3rd sections, "Conception (An Interlude)" details certain events leading up to Devera's origin
Hawk[]
Chapter 14, Pg 266 (Hardcover):
- "As I passed a market, I thought I saw Devera, Aliera's daughter, looking at me. I almost stopped, but when I looked again she was gone, so I decided either I was imagining it, or she didn't want to talk to me. She is a very unusual child, but I guess now isn't the best time for that conversation."
Vallista[]
- Pg 17-22 (Hardcover): "I took a deep breath and opened the door. On the other side was what appeared to be a little girl.
'Hello, Uncle Vlad,' she said.
...
Devera walked inside and I followed her into a wide hallway, with an arched door about twenty feet ahead. She took three steps toward it and vanished."
- Pg 64-68 (Hardcover): "I shut the door and turned around and--
'Devera!' I said, 'I've been looking for you.'
...
'All right, I said, 'I'll try to help. Do you know--'
She Vanished."
- Pg 124-125 (Hardcover): "I tried to stand up again, failed again, sat and stared.
She came walking up to me as if she knew just who I was, and with me sitting we were eye-level. A child, not more than ten years old. 'Uh, Hello,' I said, 'You are--'
'Devera. And you need to come with me now.'
...
I reminded myself that I had been hit in the head.
Also, Devera was gone, and I was alone. Yeah, the 'hit in the head' thing--"
- Pg 268-270 (Hardcover): "My stomach dropped and my first thought was Oh crap, it's happening. But no: a figure came through the shimmering, and for the second time in as many minutes, my knees got weak with relief. Or maybe I'm just getting old.
'Hello Devera,' I managed.
...
'Thank you, Devera, now maybe you can explain--'
I was talking to the air. I should have seen that coming."
- Pg 327-328 (Hardcover): "He started to speak, but someone else did first. 'Uncle Vlad!'
'Hello Devera.'
...
'Well, thank you Uncle Vlad.'
'You're welcome, Devera.'
She vanished, like she does."
Tsalmoth[]
Chapter 16 intro, Pg 259 (Hardcover),
The priest had us face each other. Cawti was holding a bundle of dried wheat, which she handed to Norathar. I had a bouquet of roses, which I handed to Kragar. If I'd had the attention to spare, I might have thought about how silly he looked holding a bouquet, but that didn't occur to me until just now. Kragar and Norathar gave the bundle and the bouquet to a little girl wearing a tiara of blue flowers, who somberly carried then down the aisle, dropping roses and wheat as she went. She looked familiar; I think she was related to Aliera, but I couldn't remember how.
The Phoenix Guards[]
p. 393 [Devera delivers to Lord Adron the news that his child (Aliera) has been born]
- 'Adron had come to the decision to write, and was on the point of calling for pen, ink, parchment, and blotter, when he was interrupted by the arrival of a small girl, who did him a courtesy, placed a scrap of paper in his hand, and dashed off without waiting for a reply'
Five Hundred Years After[]
p. 442 (Hardcover): [Steven Brust and Paarfi discuss Devera's appearance]
Brust: Thank you. Would you like to give the reader a hint about where to find Devera in this volume? Paarfi: As it happens, she does not appear at all.'
The Viscount of Adrilankha[]
The Paths of the Dead[]
- Page 111, "Upon first leaving Dzur Mountain, I fancy I saw a dragon, but it was far away and asleep, and may have indeed been nothing more than a peculiar formation of rock, such as occur there to provide grist for the stories about the Enchantress."
The Lord of Castle Black[]
- Page 145: "[...] Verra was sitting with what appeared to be a young child seated on her lap."
- Page 146: "[...] As Trout spoke, the child on Verra's lap shifted a little to hold the Goddess closer, as if for protection."
- Page 368: "[...] even as a small figure, that of a little girl, slipped down from Verra's lap and quietly ran off, as will a child who knows that the adult conversation about to begin cannot but be wearisome."
Sethra Lavode[]
pg 78
[Mica whilst serving biscuits to his mistress in Dzur Mountain]
"And, as I emerged, I heard what I took to be a child's voice."
"A child? In Dzur Mountain?"
"So it seemed."
"Did you go out and look?"
"Certainly, I had to bring out the biscuits, did I not?"
"Naturally."
"Well, and what did you see, Mica?"
"As pretty a little Dragonlord as I have ever seen, speaking to Sethra Lavode--to the Enchantress, you understand--as if she had known her all her life."
"Do you truly tell me so?"
"I even insist up on it."
"A Dragonlord, you say?
"Without question. There is no mistaking the cheekbones, even in a child, and she was already growing her noble's point."
"Well, so the Enchantress knows this child. It makes one wonder, does it not?"
Brokedown Palace[]
pp.17-18, 267-268 [When Miklos reaches the Faerie border, Devera pops up and chats with him. This, is the only time that Devera has told her name to someone besides Vlad, although Kiera knows it in Orca ]
'"Fenario. He said I should go to Fenario because I would be able to learn something about - - well, I'm really not supposed to say. But I must have missed, since I'm way up here, and that means I'm probably early, too."'
'"You are fully of Faerie blood, are you not, Devera?" '"Yes."'
Baron of Magister Valley[]
Chapter 28, Pg 376 (Hardcover):
- "Sheen watched their progress for a short time, although he could not, in all honesty, have said why. There were several children playing Cats Will Scamper around some of the piles of cargo, and, as he watched, one of them stopped and waved at him. He smiled, as one does, and waved back, after which he turned back to his mate."