A Bait of Dreams by Jo Clayton (DAW, 1985)
All-caps Rodin with a gold-embossed title, for the first standalone edition of Jo Clayton’s A Bait of Dreams, published by DAW in 1985. A novelette of the same title appeared earlier in Isaac Asimov’s Marvels of Science Fiction (1979). The cover art is by Ken W. Kelly. From the back cover:
They called the gems Ranga Eyes. There were beautiful crystals, cool and smooth. They opened doorways to magical realms, leading to escape, happiness, peace. But they exacted a terrible price for they were an incredible narcotic. After only a single use, they dragged you in, sucked you dry, leaving you to a lingering death. Where did they come from? And what really were they? For Gleia, Shounach and Deel it had become a matter of desperate urgency, for each had lost someone to the Eyes, someone they could not forget. For them the source of these damnable jewels must be found and destroyed. Otherwise the Ranga Eyes would destroy them and all their world. An exciting new fantasy novel by the bestselling author of The Diadem and Duel of Sorcery series.
