A MERCILESS BAND OF MAGES MURDERED HER PARENTS, MASSACRED HER TRIBE AND BRANDED HER WITH MYSTICAL SIGILS THAT LEFT HER A REVILED OUTCAST. THEY SHOULD’VE KILLED HER INSTEAD. Stealing, swindling, and gambling with her own life just to survive, Ferius will risk anything to avenge herself on the zealous young mage who haunts her every waking hour. But then she meets the incomparable Durral Brown, a wandering philosopher gifted in the arts of violence who instead overcomes his opponents with shrewdness and compassion. Does this charismatic and infuriating man hold the key to defeating her enemies, or will he lead her down a path that will destroy her very soul? Through this outstanding tale of swashbuckling action, magical intrigue, and dazzling wit, follow Ferius along the Way of the Argosi and enter a world of magic and mystery unlike any other.

A brilliant story of adventure, wit and philosophy from the origins of the SPELLSLINGER series to enrapture devotees as well as newcomers alike. New to the ways of the Argosi, the tribe of wandering philosophers who seek to defeat evil by wit and guile, Ferius Parfax encounters a hideous plague - the Red Scream. Highly contagious, caught by the hearing of a deadly verse, it turns its victims into mindless monsters that destroy all human life they come into contact with. With the help of a deaf boy whom she has saved from two horrifying victims of the plague, she sets out to find the source of the Red Scream and overcome it's terrifying power. Along the way she is joined by another Argosi, Rosie, who purports to be so much wiser and more adept than Ferius, but who turns out to have her own dark secrets. Peopled with extraordinary characters and gut-wrenching drama, Ferius' story teaches her hard lessons about the limits of the Argosi's ways. Readers will delight not just in this amazing masterclass in plot pacing and narrative drive, but in the seemingly bottomless well of wit, thought and wisdom that the story brings up and that has changed lives down the ages. It takes the reader on a journey like no other.

There are three things that earn you a man’s name among the Jan’Tep. The first is to demonstrate the strength to defend your family. The second is to prove you can perform the high magic that defines our people. The third is simply to reach the age of sixteen. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn’t be doing any of those things. Magic is a con game. Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage's duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is gone. As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen falls back on his cunning in a bid to avoid total disgrace. But when a daring stranger arrives in town, she challenges Kellen to take a different path. Ferius Parfax is one of the mysterious Argosi - a traveller who lives by her wits and the three decks of cards she carries. She's difficult and unpredictable, but she may be Kellen's only hope...

Set during the events of the first Spellslinger book, Mer’essan, a Dowager Magus of the Jan’Tep finds her contemplations interrupted by a mysterious stranger who brings unexpected danger into Mer’essan’s life. This is one of several short stories that you can read for free after signing up for the author's newsletter: htt ps: //decastell. com/secrets/

The second book in the page-turning Spellslinger series for all teen, YA, adult and fantasy readers. It's a few months since Kellen left his people behind. Now aged sixteen, Kellen is an outlaw, relying on his wits to keep him alive in the land of the Seven Sands. He misses home, he misses family and more than anything, he misses Nephenia, the girl he left behind. Then he meets Seneira, a blindfolded girl who isn't blind, and who carries a secret that's all too familiar to Kellen. Kellen and Ferius resolve to help - but the stakes are far higher than they realise. A Shadowblack plague is taking hold - and Kellen can't help but suspect his own people may even be behind it. Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, The Hunger Games and Guardians of the Galaxy.

A deleted scene from Shadowblack. I really liked this little moment between Kellen and Reichis, but in the end it would’ve slowed the story down at a moment when things needed to speed up. Hope you enjoy it! This is one of several short stories that you can read for free after signing up for the author's newsletter: https://decastell.com/secrets/

The third book in the page-turning Spellslinger fantasy series. 'I was getting almost as good at running away from enemies as I was at making them in the first place. Turns out, I wasn't running nearly fast enough.' Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people's lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . . Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

Ferius Parfax is a patient woman . . . most of the time. But when powerful mages start trying to use her to hunt down her friends? She's prone to getting ornery. The Red Lily is a short story that takes place shortly after the events of Charmcaster.

The fourth book in the page-turning SPELLSLINGER fantasy series. Kellen and his murderous squirrel cat, Reichis, are on their own. They've heard rumour of a mythical monastery, known as the Ebony Abbey. It's a place that outsiders can never find - but Kellen is getting desperate. He's been told that the monks inside the Ebony Abbey know more about the Shadowblack than anyone else - and that they even know how to cure it.Then Kellen and Reichis are separated and for the first time, Kellen must face the world alone - and venture deeper into shadow magic than he ever knew he could. Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

The fifth book in the page-turning SPELLSLINGER fantasy series. Kellen and Reichis have just finished fighting a duel in the desert when Kellen inadvertently smears blood on the Daroman flag - an act of treason for which the Marshals have no choice but to arrest him. Just before he's put before the Queen to be executed, Kellen is given a strange piece of advice from one of his fellow prisoners: kill the Queen and he'll be given clemency by those who take power. But when Kellen comes face-to-face with the eleven year-old monarch, he realises she's vastly smarter than he expected - and in a great deal more danger.