Sun Wolf had always been counted the best of the mercenary captains, and he attributed much of his success to two unshakable rules: never mess with magic, and never fall in love. Then, unexpectedly, he discovered that he possessed a natural gift for working magic, and, unschooled though he was, his first rule crumbled...folio wed soon after by the second.
Unable to deny the power in his blood, the Wolf resigned his command. With only Starhawk beside him--the woman who was both his most trusted lieutenant and his lover-he set out in search of a wizard who would train him to use his abilities. But wizards were a rarity in the land since Sun Wolf and an army of determined women had overthrown the evil Sorcerer King Altiokis. And to compound his problems, the dangerous, difficult quest for enlightenment had scarcely begun when it was interrupted by a band of mercenaries from his former command.
They reported that his crack troops, currently engaged in the bitter siege of Vorsal, were being demoralized-and defeated-by a run of brutally bad luck. A hex, they believed, spawned by the curse of some unknown wizard--the sort of enemy only Sun Wolf could hope to vanquish.
The Wolf reluctantly agreed to put aside his own urgent need for a magical mentor and, with Starhawk, join his men
at Vorsal. He never anticipated that the foe would attack before they even reached the besieged city, bringing the battle to him...and nearly killing Starhawk.
For that, Sun Wolf vowed the mysterious master of dark magic would pay. But first he had to learn the identity of his enemy and discover what object was being used as the hidden focus of the curse that undermined the mercenaries' campaign. Fortunately, he had in his possession the valuable tomes that had once belonged to a full-fledged wizard. Unfortunately, he'd never had a chance to learn any of the spells. And so he was completely unprepared when his treacherous foe struck again--this time seeking to enslave Sun Wolf himself with magic, and turn him against the very comrades he had been desperately trying to protect!
