Across the nightingale floor. Lian Hearn. 2002.

In his palace at Inuyama, Lord Lida Sadamu, warlord of the Tohan clan, surveys his famous nightingale floor. Its surface sings at the tread of every human foot, and no assassin can cross it. But sixteen-year-old Otori Takeo, his family murdered by warriors, has the magical skills of the Tribe – preternatural hearing, invisibility, a second self – that enable him to enter the lair of the Tohan. He has love in his heart and death at his fingertips . . .

Tadeo’s quest for revenge takes him to places he has never imagined. His voyage is one of treachery, of honour and loyalty , of beauty and magic. It is also a journey of self discovery, as he learns of talents he did not know he had preternatural hearing, invisibility and the ability to be in two places at once. Ultimately it is a journey that will lead Takeo  to his hidden destiny within the walls of Inuyama.