Chest of Souls Series

Talon and Brenna are being hunted.  Brenna doesn't know that her mother is Hi-Sha of Eyes, or that her father was an assassin and he’s supposed to be dead. Brenna is safe because she is oblivious to all but Talon.  Talon felt safe until he met Brenna.  Once he is ordered to protect her, he's had to fight mythical monsters, run from an assassin, and escape a forest full of carnivores. His father burned down their cottage and left him with people he just met. He isn't sure who to trust.  In the meantime, the Chest of Souls waits to be powered and neither child can guess the price.   

Brenna Tybar assumed everyone could modify an entire species, raise the dead, and speak with Deity, because she’s done all of those things and more. Yet, even with all her power, she can’t make Talon Ryhawk love her.  Talon has questions no one will answer. Like why he has to keep moving, what his father does for a living, and what really happened to his mother. The answers he does receive aren’t comforting.  Odd things have started to happen - the ship he is on sinks, a woman from legend rises from the sea, and he has to keep a secret he never wanted to know. Danger tracks him from the Ammon Islands to the far western shore of Utak.  Brenna and Talon are worlds apart, but one step closer to powering the Chest of Souls. 

Talon was born of a woman without a heart and a man without a soul into a world without a conscience. Now he has to fix it.  Too bad he’s in the Sogoian Barracks, where hope of escape is trapped in the jaws of the hounds, the horns of the stone bulls, and the look in his father’s eyes.  The Book of Benamii claims there is a traitor among his men. He’s determined to find out who it is, and save as many of his men as he can, while they all train for the blood sport known as Cubes.  Safe on the other side of time, Brenna is learning things she never wanted to know about the past, present, and future. The past concerns the fact the Five Creators are not myths and they left a deadly surprise beneath the Phoenix. The present concerns what the Forest Wife does to those who disobey, and the future has no guarantees.  

Brenna is on the other side of time to be trained. It is a place she cannot reach or see Talon and others are there including her mysterious teacher - a woman known only as the Forest Wife. This woman is beautiful, as hard as Tasut, and as intelligent as Brenna’s mother. That combination doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. Somehow, the Forest Wife knows Brenna will do whatever she has to do, pay whatever price must be paid, to save Talon and that guarantees her obedience – for now.  Talon is in Sogo – courtesy of his father’s great fist. He is to be sold at auction and join those destined for the Barracks. He doesn’t understand why. He can’t see how he can protect Brenna while he's in Sogo. His plan, at the moment, is to survive the training and the odds are stacked against him: 300-1

Brenna yearns for Talon’s love, but knows he sees her as a child. She’s determined to change that before her parents keep their word to take her away where Talon will never find her.  Brenna is unaware the evil that has been searching for her has found her and if it can’t take her, it will take those she loves.  Talon has read the Book of Benamii and is beginning to understand that if Brenna dies, all hope of freedom perishes with her. He is determined to stand between her and what is coming, no matter the price.   

Talon and his men have been training for seven years, but there is one competition they can’t train for. Stone Dreams is an invitation-only nightmare Nez will arrange with one goal in mind: death of all competitors. There’s a good chance the traitor will make his move because Stone Dreams takes place at night and ‘accidents’ happen in the dark. Brenna now understands what it’s going to take to power the Chest of Souls. There’s only one choice she can make that will save Talon and bring about the fall of Sogo. She’d rather repeat all the traps the Ancients made by herself than tell Talon what will make the constellation Three Sisters fall and what his part in powering the Chest will be.

After powering the Chest of Souls, Brenna’s made her choice and it isn’t Talon.  Her plan is to save as many lives as she can before Sogo falls.  Logic rules her days and remorse rules her nights.  Talon survived Day of Air and must survive the coming days of Water, Fire, and Earth – ending with the travesty of the blood-sport called Cubes. He thought the greatest test was when the Chest of Souls was powered, but his greatest challenge lies ahead.  He has to find a way to heal the division between Brenna and himself. If he can’t, he has to ask himself if he loves her enough to do what must be done, no matter what?

Brenna’s not herself.  In Sogo, she’s discovered what she’s capable of – the streets are littered with living proof. All that keeps her sane is when she can meet Talon in dreams and that becomes impossible when Nez infects her with a Suque. Brenna comes to realize the Suque wants Talon more than it wants Nez and will do anything it can to have him.  Talon’s getting bad news on all sides – the Ammonites refuse allegiance until the storm of prophecy rages, he’s uncovered old secrets that make him question Brenna’s loyalty, and the traitor is one step ahead, leaving Talon and his army to face certain death.  In spite of outward appearances, Talon is sure that somewhere inside Brenna is the woman who loves him – the woman he will risk everything and everyone to free.  

The final battle for the souls of men has come.  Brenna is isolated. Courtesy of Nez, the ruler of Sogo, she now has a Temis Belt to accompany the Suque he infected her with. As a result, she is possessed and no longer has access to her power. Meeting Talon in dreams is no longer safe because the Suque has made plans to betray Nez and rule Sogo - at Talon’s side. Until the city falls, she’ll have to rely on wit and will to deal with the Suque, the Temis Belt, Nez, and his army of Nightshades. She fears she is no match for all that has combined against her.  Talon is out of time. Brenna claims she loves him, but she remains in Sogo with Nez – by choice. He doesn’t agree with her reasoning. Each time he comes close to gaining her freedom, something or someone stands in his way. He’s done all that’s been asked of him and more. If she doesn’t come to him, he will go to her. His choice will end in death or finally having a life with Brenna, who may or may not choose him. It’s a chance he’s willing to take.