The Desert Spear is a fantasy novel written by American writer Peter V. Brett and sequel to The Painted Man (titled The Warded Man in the US). It is the second part of the Demon Cycle and was released in April 2010, published by Del Rey Books in the US and Canada, and Voyager in the UK. The novel continues the story of mankind's battle against demons known as "corelings", which rise from the planet's core each night to feast upon humans. The Desert Spear is book two of the Demon quintet. The Deliverer has returned, but who is he? Arlen Bales, formerly of the small hamlet of Tibbet's Brook, learned harsh lessons about life as he grew up in a world where hungry demons stalk the night and humanity is trapped by its own fear. He chose a different path; chose to fight inherited apathy and the corelings, and eventually he became the Painted Man, a reluctant saviour. But the figure emerging from the desert, calling himself the Deliverer, is not Arlen. He is a friend and betrayer, and though he carries the spear from the Deliverer's tomb, he also heads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demon plague and anyone else who stands in his way.