In a fragile alliance, the natives are stirring uneasily under their foreign rulers. Rebellion is brewing, and at the heart of the conflict lies the bloody and powerful cult of the god Aoun, whose followers will stop at nothing to rid their land of alien domination. So civil servant Renille vo Chaumelle, scion of a proud, conquering line mingled with native blood, is conscripted as a spy and ordered to penetrate the fortress-temple known as the Fastness of the Gods. There he is to discover the secrets of the priests of Aoun and - if the chance presents itself - assassinate the lead priest, named in legend as the god's own son. But in the holiest depths of the temple, Renille finds there is more to the cult than his superiors suspect - far more than they will ever believe. What he learns leads him to the beautiful princess Jathondi, daughter of the native ruler, who is fated to be the crux of a violent confrontation between the fanatic followers of a flesh-hungry god and their...

In a land pockmarked with the grim relics of a long-ago war live a people consumed by the fear of magic. Those suspected of sorcery die at the hands of the infamous White Tribunal. And death and terror will reign until a young man pawns his soul for the temporary power to destroy his murdered father's false accusers.Now, disguised as a foreigner and with his time measured by the sands of a magical hourglass, Tradain liMarchborg enters the capital city of Lis Folaze, stronghold of the White Tribunal's power. Here his path will cross that of the beautiful Glennian liTarngrav, whose own mission will lock them together in a vortex of love, revenge, death, and enchantment that could save a land...or thrust them both--as Tradain's hourglass sands run out--into eternal torment.

Paula Volsky, author of The White Tribunal, returns with a spectacular saga of adventure and intrigue, romance and rebellion -- beginning with a wondrous discovery that could forever alter the fate of the free world....In the modern, civilized republic of Vonahr, the need for magic seems a thing of the past. But soon the Vonahrish will find that magic is their only hope -- for an imperialistic race of fanatics, intent on conquering the world, now masses on Vonahr's borders.Vonahr's slim chance for salvation lies in a nearby neutral kingdom, where a brilliant savant has conjured up the ultimate weapon: Sentient Fire, a miraculous flame that responds to the command of its maker.Low Hetz's mad, flamboyant king refuses to relinquish the secret -- so the desperate government of Vonahr sends the exquisitely beautiful adventurer Luzelle Devaire to turn his head and change his mind. But to gain an audience, Luzelle must win the Grand Ellipse, a test of...