Böcker av David A Combs

An ancient evil preys upon the great port city of Tarnath. Terror grips the citizens as aristocrats and commoners alike disappear into the night''s shadows. A foreign nobleman with a personal score against the "Dockside Slayer" offers three condemned men the chance to save their own lives. Before they can stop the Slayer though, a mage with doubts about his own power, a barbarian warrior always in the wrong place and time, and an arrogant cutpurse without caution must first overcome their own differences if they are to prove that there is such a thing as Thieves'' Honor.

Angelica Brighton lies gravely wounded after her magical duel on the front lawn of Pioneer Vale''s High School. Although her classmates'' lives were spared, the lightning magic at her command was revealed to the world. Haunted now by dreams of the growing might of Shade, The Father of Nightmares, the impetuous and headstrong young woman ignores caution and rises to face her adversaries once more.Anne-Marie Carmichael languishes in a stockade in colonial Pioneer Vale awaiting a verdict that could mean her execution. unable to bring her lavender flames to bear without giving the town the evidence it needs to convict her, the proud and fierce farmwife turned witch helplessly watches as Shade''s servants beguile the settlement with promises of safety and security, while secretly strengthening the demon''s bid for power from the shadows.As Shade''s forces sow chaos and bloodshed across the valley in his unholy name, Anne-Marie and Angelica scramble to protect their loved ones from the spreading darkness that threatens their once peaceful home. The time has come for the Witches of Pioneer Vale to prove just what it means to be a Guardian.

Angelica Brighton is a typical 21st Century High School senior - a diligent student, a track star, and surrounded by good friends. Life on her family''s farm is tranquil, happy, and prosperous. The arrival of a mysterious letter turns her world upside down, unveiling a destiny that leads her into the ancient heart of the nearby forest and face to face with the local urban legend of her sleepy New England town.Anne-Marie Carmichael is a compassionate and hard working wife and mother from the late 17th Century. Determined to save her family''s struggling farm from financial ruin, she enters into a hasty bargain that unwittingly turns her into a soldier in a war that has lasted for millennia. Imbued with the primordial magic that extends her life and grants her earth shattering power, the fiery natured farmwife must recruit the children of her family for generations to come to stand against the demonic Shade, Father of Nightmares.As the barriers between our world and the Realm of the Demonkin falter, Anne-Marie must awaken in Angelica the might that lies dormant in the Blood of the Firstborn and shape her into the weapon that fate has called for her to become. For only the Witches of Pioneer Vale can hope to win the battle that threatens to destroy not just the pastoral community that Angelica has known her whole life, but existence itself.