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Prophecy by Elizabeth Hayden, published in 2000, New York: Tom Doherty Associates.

Prophecy is the second in the Rhapsody trilogy, the first and third books being Rhapsody and Destiny, respectively. In Prophecy the book picks up with the story of Rhapsody, a half-human half-lirin (think Lord of the Rings' elves) woman who is trained as a singer and namer and her two friends Achmed and Grunthor, also half breeds in their new home among the Firbolg, a primative humanoid species whom Achmed has made himself king of. Rhapsody is about to embark on a journey to return a knife made of a dragon's claw to the dragon it came from before the dragon comes to take it back (assumable destroying the Bolg in the process). She is to be guided by the mysterious, cloaked man called Ashe who claims he has been to the dragon's layer before. Achmed and Grunthor do not trust Ashe, but Rhapsody is stubborn and they cannot dissuade her from going.

During her absence Achmed and Grunthor continue to explore their new home, the ruins of a massive and glorious city carved into the heart of a mountain range which has been uninhabited except by the Bolg for centuries. During their exploring they happen upon an ancient Dhracian woman, a race devoted to the pursuit and destruction of the F'dor, evil spirits who enhabit hosts and use them to bring about destruction. She has lived in the heart of the mountain for years, alone except for The Sleeping Child, a creature made from living stone, one of a handful of elements strong enough to contain the F'dor. The F'dor seek for the child because her bones can be used to release all the F'dor that have been trapped for ages in the heart of the earth. Achmed and Grunthor learn about a prophecy which foretold the coming of The Three who are supposed to save the world. They begin honing their skills for the coming war.

Meanwhile Rhapsody completes her errand with the dragon and makes a couple of other stops as well, all the while feeling a growing attraction for her guide. Ashe walks the world in a misty cloak that makes him almost invisable, as he has done for the past 20 years to keep the F'dor from locating him. However, Rhapsody's encounter with the F'dor and his evil minion the Rakshas at a temple in a nearby city gives her an idea of how she can free Ashe from the clutches of the F'dor. Now her only problem is to convince Achmed and Grunthor to help her help Ashe, and the resulting clash delivers a devastating blow.