Ashai Larish is an assassin from the brutal Denari Lai order. Religious zealots, Denari Lai are kept loyal through an addiction to the same magic that makes them unstoppable. They have become the main weapon for the nation of Nishi'iti, and in a hundred years, they have never failed.Until now. Ashai just has to kill Pushtani King Abadas Damar and his daughter/heir, Markari. He infiltrates the king's inner circle, putting him in the perfect place to strike. Only the venerable Captain Bauti of the Royal Guard, whose love for Makari is well-known in the palace, suspects Ashai of anything.Except Ashai has fallen for Makari and cannot complete the hit. When a second Denari Lai strikes, Ashai finds himself fighting for Makari's life instead of taking it. To make matters worse, the order cuts him off from his magic, leaving him weakened and in withdrawal.Meanwhile, far north, in the Pushtani mines that border Nishi'iti, a slave named Pachat learns that his love, a...

Gunfighter Frank Butcher is in Hell, and that's where he wants to stay. Unable to forgive himself for killing his father and his only son when he was alive, Frank wants nothing more than to spend eternity suffering. When the soul of Jesse James escapes from Hell and picks up where he left off in the old west, the judges of the underworld send Frank to bring him back. But James has a darker purpose than just robbery and trouble-making, meaning Frank and his misfit posse must send the killer back to Hell before he plunges the United States into war. **