Part of Series
In a life of impossible choices when sometimes death magic is the lesser of the evils, can a dark mage save the world and his own soul? Corwyn Ravenscroft. Raven. The last heir of an ancient family of dark mages, he holds the secret to recreating the Ravensblood, a legendary magical artifact of immense power. Cassandra Greensdowne is a Guardian. Magical law enforcement for the elected council—and Raven’s former apprentice and lover. She is trying to live down her past. And then her past comes to the door, asking for her help. As a youth, Raven wanted to be a Guardian but was rejected because of his ancestry. In his pride and his anger, he had turned to William, the darkest and most powerful mage of their time. William wants a return to the old ways, where the most powerful mage was ruler absolute. But William would not be a True King from the fairy tales. He would reign in blood and terror and darkest magic. Raven discovers that he does have a conscience. It’s rather inconvenient. He becomes a spy for the council that William wants to overthrow, with Cassandra as his contact. Cass and Raven have a plan to trap William outside his warded sanctuary. But William is one step ahead of the game, with Raven’s life, his soul, and the Ravensblood all in danger.
Author
From earliest childhood, Shawna Reppert has had a passion for stories—for reading them and for writing them. She obtained a BA in English with a Writing Option from Penn State University and has participated in numerous writing workshops and seminars given by the likes of Charles de Lint, David Farland and Elizabeth Lyon. Two of her stories have won honorable mentions from Writers of the Future. Previous short stories sold to 10 Flash Quarterly and to Everyday Fiction can be read for free at their websites. Several 'indie' short stories are available for sale at Amazon, and her story 'The Beast Within' will appear in the second Gears and Levers anthology, edited by Phyllis Irene Radford. Her first novel is due out as a Carina Press e-book in the summer of 2013. In college, Shawna volunteered at a raptor rehabilitation center, which became valuable background for her short story The Sword and the Kestrel. Shawna has always had an affinity for wolves, and used to keep a wolf-dog hybrid as a pet. Her current four-footed children are a Lipizzan stallion and an orange-and-black cat named Samhain. She enjoys Irish social dancing and is an ardent supporter of live Irish music. Shawna also likes to play with the Society for Creative Anachronism and can sometimes be found in medieval garb on a caparisoned horse, throwing javelins into innocent hay bales that never did anything to her. A Pennsylvania native, she currently lives in the beautiful wine county of Oregon.
