Skilled with stealth and disguise, Caina is the unseen agent of the Emperor, working to maintain the peace and order of the Empire. When a scholar uncovers an ancient relic from the Empire's distant past, he unwittingly unearths dangerous secrets. Secrets that might destroy the Empire and kill Caina... ABOUT THE AUTHOR Standing over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair of a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas. He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write THE GHOSTS sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE series of computer books, and numerous other works.

     And The Fool has one rule: No one leaves The Carnival. Ever. Christopher, the latest arrival thrust reluctantly through the gates, is certain that he doesn't belong there, and he's damn sure he's not staying. To have any chance of escaping, he must confront not only The Fool, but his own dark past.

    Little does he know that his life is about to change. The Empire is at war. The forces of Emperor Rau are struggling against the forces of the King Kastav. Just when it appears that the Empire is getting the upper hand, a new threat emerges from the Kingdom. The Imperial Mage, once thought of as the perfect soldier, is up against a new threat: Royal Priests. These priests are infiltrating and decimating the Imperial forces, seemingly at will. Marko is thrown into the war. He finds himself caught up in the intrigue, politics and violence of this desperate battle. How can a mere child survive in this world? Marko discovers a latent talent that few possess. He has magic! But is there enough time for him to learn it in order to survive and protect his friends?

    Will they be ready? EYNON was excited to leave his village and set off on his wander year. He’d turned sixteen today, and hoped for at least a few adventures. At high noon, he arrived a crossroads and saw a shimmer of silver in the mud. It was a thin and dirty oval, about the size of his palm. He washed it with squirts of water from his goatskin, then marveled at what was revealed. It was a silver amulet, worked with complex, interlaced designs. An oval blue gem more than an inch across, with deep facets, was set in its center. The silver danced with reflected sunlight and the gem seemed to be filled with sparks. It was the most beautifully-crafted thing he’d ever seen. Eynon noticed strange writing on the back of the amulet. As he raised it to eye level for closer inspection, one of his fingers inadvertently pressed a small stud on the edge. A tremendous blast of blue fire shot out from the gem on the opposite side, striking an ancient leafless oak and turning it into a flaming torch. Someone behind him whistled. Eynon dropped the amulet, afraid of what else it might do, and turned to see an old farmer, leaning on a shovel. “Well, young man,” said the farmer. “It looks like you’re going to need a wizard.”

    Sorcerers must give up things and people they love, or accept things they despise, to gain magical power. The sorcerer Bib saves his daughter by accepting a curse to murder people, and only Death knows how many Bib must kill. He tries to slay only evil people, but soon finds he's also killing people who are merely bad, or who might someday become bad. Bib chases a brutal sorcerer to help a woman rescue her boy, mainly because he expects a lot of killing. But he doesn't expect to unearth obscure magic, enslave spiteful supernatural beings, and strike ghastly bargains with the childish gods. And the last thing he expects is to face the question--is he a good man cursed to crave murder, or has he always been a murderer at heart?

    Grouping up with his online friends, he had an enjoyable night of gaming and even completed the Tomb of Immortality. However, at the end of the dungeon they meet a strange wizard with a compelling offer to ‘Beta Test’ a new expansion. Since every gamer dreams of being the first to explore new areas, they agree. Nonetheless, they were not ready for what came next. Mac and his friends find themselves pulled into the game and that they have become their avatars. At first, it is exciting until they realize that they are trapped inside the game. When they find themselves attacked, the Outlanders quickly realize how dangerous their new reality can be. Vowing to return home, the survivors set off to find the legendary city of Atlantis in hopes that the Dragon Kings may know of a way back to the real world. The Outlanders soon discover that they aren’t the first gamers to be pulled into game, just the latest. But more than that, they have become pawns between two rival wizards in a long standing feud. Can the Outlanders survive the game world long enough to return home?

    But when a series of seemly unrelated jobs pull Zane and Lily into a conflict between nations, Zane is forced to confront secrets from his past. Welcome to a morally ambiguous world of magic, mystery, and political intrigue. It’s an epic sword and sorcery tale told in novella-sized chunks. This omnibus edition includes: Thorns and Tangles Assassin Zane Halloway has been hired to kill Irving Farns, a reclusive genius whose innovations brought about a golden age of magic. Zane and his apprentice Lily will need to infiltrate the mysterious Abditus Society and find a way to assassinate the world’s leading expert in protective magic. Swords and Shadows After a run-in with one of the pirate Longstrain's deadly widows, an injured Zane Halloway is enlisted for a special assignment. The nation is on the brink of war, and the king hopes a daring assassination of his enemy's enemy will prevent things from escalating. To complete the job, Zane and Lily will have to join forces with the King's Shadow, the only man in the kingdom with access to the royal armory of magical devices. His name is Jacob Von Ridden. Long ago, he altered the course of Zane's life, and Zane has been waiting for the chance to kill him ever since. Lightning and Thrones Several months ago, Zane Halloway was hired to kill magical genius Irving Farns. Now he has a new client, Irving's daughter. Beth Farns hires Zane and Lily to locate her father's greatest creation, a new type of magical device, neither thorn nor tangle. She believes it's hidden beyond the Blue Wall. To complete the job, Zane and Lily will need to infiltrate restricted elvish territory, face off against a charismatic, young leader, and unravel the mystery of why the elves surrendered from a war they were winning and allowed themselves to subjugated by the people of Opel. Flames and Water Zane Halloway is hired to find the pirate he killed twelve years ago, and Zane and Lily soon find themselves on opposite sides of a pirate war. They'll soon learn that everything is a game for the Longstrains. Even revenge. Lies and Crossroads Zane and Lily search for a dangerous traitor hiding in the mysterious nation of the Crags. Zane will have to steal a family heirloom from the nation's most powerful warrior, and Lily will have to learn what magical secrets are hidden in the mountain palace of the High Prince of the Crags. Crowns and Dead Men War between Opel and Tavel has been brewing for years, and now it has finally come. While Zane is hunted by three of his own, Lily must shoulder the burden of saving her nation from the consequences of her past mistakes.

    The red territory of Reah. A land in which every day is an absolute struggle for survival.One day, an elderly man discovers the boy mortally wounded on the side of the ash-filled streets and takes pity on him, a kindness unknown in the land of Reah. Then, using unorthodox training, he beats the skills necessary for the boy to endure the harshness of the territory. Skills of a master assassin. Combat. Sorcery. Alchemy.All is going well until a dark and forgotten energy finds its way into young Esh's body. Wreaking havoc on his mind, it threatens to drag his spirit into darkness.If Esh doesn't use all his mental and physical strength to combat the ancient evil energy then he will surely be defeated.

    Survival was a constant battle for the Russian Witches. Despised by other witches for their rigid focus on contracts, they were without a moral compass, honorless. That was not good enough for some. For the young witch, Zhanna, life was not worth living without honor – or her magic. Could she find both in her homeland? Would her desire and drive be enough to locate her shade of honor?

    Jamie and his mother have returned to his mother’s home, Aurellius—a world where dragons, dwarves, elves, and other so-called mythological creatures actually exist. It is a world created by the leader of the Dragons, Dragonith, and his mate, Gwenith. Even though life on Aurellius is not the ideal that Dragonith and Gwenith had envisioned, it is still far better than Earth, where the nine races have wreaked havoc and exploited Earth’s people. But now a movement, led by a group called The Sisterhood, would seize the powerful “Dragon’s Heart” in order to gain total control of Aurellius. Jamie is unwittingly being drawn into this struggle, with his very life at stake. In order to survive, he must learn many skills that he can only learn in Stonebriar Academy. However, competition to enter Stonebriar Academy is grueling, and only one hundred students will be granted admission. And gaining admission is Jamie’s only hope if he is to survive against the Sisterhood. Jamie desperately wants to be admitted to Stonebriar, not only to give himself a fighting chance against the Sisterhood but also so that he might learn something that a few short months ago he didn’t even know existed—how to fly with a Dragon.

    Her black currant truffle with the deep purple center removes all symptoms of menopause. Her Bittersweet Money bar lights the path to riches. But when a mysterious pain appears in her left breast, Helena doesn't want to trouble anyone about it, not even herself. So ashamed is she by the secret she's keeping that she can't see the true love Artemis Hartshorn Buckley offers her.When the quarter-century revelation of snakes descends upon Faith Falls, they bring with them an abundance of unwanted clarity, as they always do. Realizing she's about to lose everything, Helena must face the possibility that love is the only magic strong enough to save her.If you enjoyed Seven Daughters, you'll love The Catalain Book of Secrets, a full-length novel featuring the beloved Catalain family and never-before-seen spells from their secret book.

    With powers so mighty that even kings bowed to them, they existed outside the common laws of men. But a thousand years ago, the gods, angry at their creations for giving adulation and worship to wizards, withdrew magic from the world. The wonders of a lost age faded from memory with history giving birth to myths and children's stories... For one common stableboy, Sorial of Vantok, wizards are no more a real concern than the other long-gone creatures of legend: elves, wyrms, dragons, and trolls. There is only the immediacy of keeping the straw clean and the animals fed to avoid the wrath of his master, the innkeeper Warburm. But Sorial's mysterious past is about to impinge on his present. The secrets surrounding his birth are set to collide with a heretical theology decreeing that the gods are no more. With assassins lurking in the shadowy recesses of the stable, a relentless heat wave turning Winter to Summer, and a duke's daughter showing more interest in him than is proper, Sorial discovers that the "safe" world of his childhood is under assault. His destiny will not allow him to merely observe the disintegration of the social order; he must uncover his past so he can act to safeguard the future.

    The Isle is made of both. Enter a broiling mass of blood feuds and bitter conflicts between the battling races of Mage and Arcane. Life is a commodity to be bought and sold. To some it is murder, to the Valley of the Ri it is business. Mistral, an abandoned orphan, finds her way to the mysterious Valley of Ri to train as a warrior and assassin. There, amongst the dispossessed of the Isle, she finds there is more to life than death ...

    

    Lirak wonders if they might be right. Sent on a holy quest to test his prophetic dreams, he returns to find his people scattered or slaughtered. Ruthless invaders and their dread warlocks spread death and destruction across the land. Before he can lead the remnants of his people in vengeance, he must win their trust. But blades and arrows alone will not defeat this enemy. His only hope is to master warlock sorcery, turning their own fell powers against them.Can he learn their arcane secrets in time, or will the deadly power consume him?Only the Seven Gods could know, but they war amongst themselves, Lirak is a pawn in their divine conflict. Even if he defeats the invaders, he fears his trials are just beginning.