Raised by his secretive grandfather, Pop-pop Ian, high school junior Lander’s history had always been shrouded in mystery. His after-school hours were spent in the woods flicking fire on his fingers, tracking Ian, or standing still as a statue, invisible, observing the wildlife that never noticed him. Until the day Ian dies. His final words direct Lander to a buried box. Within it, Lander finds stones that glow when he picks them up and a letter telling him to seek out a man called Castor Elm. Alone and pursued by menacing strangers, Lander sets out on a journey to find not only safety and friendship, but the truth of why his grandfather called him special … the truth of his legacy. A legacy that will take him to the center of the earth.

ar beneath the Earth’s Surface, past the layer of liquefied rock and beyond a barrier of protection lies a series of vast caverns … the Core. Beautiful … mysterious … dangerous … alive.Forced to transport Aurelius Hunt and his men through the tornado-like Vortex and into the Core, Stone Sovereign Lander discovers a world of unexpected light and splendor. But all is not as it was when his parents traveled to the Surface sixteen years ago. With the political leaders now favoring Stone Sovereigns and treating the Ungifted as slaves, can the peace Lander’s mother spoke of be achieved? Lander’s loyalty and integrity are put to the test when he struggles to balance his promise to his mother with his promise to get his friends safely home.