The Complete Shadow Saga

Book excerpt: The thrilling Shadow Saga collected in one volume for the first time. “A first-rate sword-and-sorcery tale, with intriguing characters, that moves at a quick pace” (Booklist). Shadow’s Son In the city of Othir, there are two kinds of people—the dead and those ones who made them that way. Caim is certainly not dead. Orphaned and adrift, Caim grows up to become a cold-blooded assassin with the aid of his ethereal companion Kit—a useful-but-maddening spirit only he can see or hear. And as far as Caim is concerned, he doesn’t need anyone else getting that close to him. But that changes when he’s betrayed on what should have been a simple job—and his only chance for survival lies with Josephine, the young daughter of the very nobleman he was hired to eliminate. Soon Caim is caught in a wide-ranging conspiracy that stretches from Othir’s gilded halls of power to its bloodied alleyways. He must stay sharp if he is to uncover a cabal of traitors, keep Josey alive, and confront the forgotten truth of his own dark past... Shadow’s Lure After helping his lover Josephine lay claim to the throne of Nimea, the assassin Caim has ventured north to the land that has haunted his dreams—cold, unforgiving Eregoth. He departs seeking answers to his parents’ murder and hoping that this knowledge will explain his ability to bend the shadows to his will. In searching for his past, Caim wanders into war. But Eregoth is threatened by a power more terrifying than any army—the witch Sybelle, Queen of the Dark. If given the chance, her aims at destruction would not cease at Eregoth but storm through Nimea where Josey struggles to secure her reign. With nothing more than a force of ragtag warriors at his side, Caim knows that standing against Sybelle’s onslaught may be suicide. But as a son of the Shadow, he has no choice but to fight. Even if every life he takes brings him closer to the blackness that would claim him body and soul... Shadow’s Master In the far wastes of the Northern Marches, the assassin Caim lies in wait. Though he and his allies have defeated the monstrous witch Sybelle, there is a greater threat looming ahead... The Master--a being of nightmarish power who rules the Shadows and holds the answers that Caim has been searching for all his life. But before he can meet his greatest enemy, Caim must face an assassin whose skills and strength eerily match his own. Meanwhile, Empress Josey and the land of Nimea have fallen prey to an unforeseen attack by a barbarian army. Even if he somehow survives, the truth Caim has been seeking for so long may not offer solace. For the destiny he has sought for so long may be the very thing that curses him to a life of eternal darkness and damnation...