I expected aging out of the foster care system to be hard. I wasn't expecting it to include finding out I was a Warlock, destined to be hunted by the most powerful Witch Families so they could bind me to a coven of thirteen witches and spend the rest of my life "harvesting mana". Add to that a set of magical resonants that made me an even bigger target to some of those Witch Families, some of which would rather kill me than let a rival get me.

The local wolffolk mafia longs for their glory days, and their alluring don, Alessia Lionetti, wants a powerful enforcer to bring them back. That's Vince. This is his big break from his days as a hired thug. Working for the mafia has a short life expectancy, though. Especially in a world where the masquerade shattered long ago. Demons run banks, birdfolk ferry people across town, and the police possess crack teams of sorcerers to keep the peace. Bad news for Vince and his dreams of mafia wealth.

The world changed the day the rifts happened. Trolls, elves, and other races from fantasy and myth emerged into a modern world, bringing magic with them. The world governments worked to segregate these new arrivals into refugee camps, which eventually became the nation of De’Vas. A nation of paranormals.

The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive, and my focus—what they call Will—to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

No one enters the doom-haunted Barrowlands without royal sanction. But Hesk Atterley has. Accompanied by seedy companions and a hunger for riches, what he finds may change his life forever...if it doesn't kill him first.