The Talon and the Flame

Time is Running Out!

Dara of Westwood, called the Hawkmaiden, has always been caught between two worlds: born to a humble clan of woodsmen, her unexpected magical Talents had seen her apprenticed to Minalan the Spellmonger, the greatest wizard in the world, to fight for years against the goblin invasion that threatened all of humanity. She had been a war hero before her first kiss, riding giant hawks into battle in defense of her people.

But the war is over, now, and Dara finds herself ennobled, wealthy, respected, admired . . . and completely alone. Her comrades, friends, and fellow apprentices are settling down to enjoy their hard-won peace, but Dara has few prospects for happiness now that the war is done. Her command over the other Sky Riders is in jeopardy, as missions dry up, and she discovers she lacks much purpose in this new world. The sacred Flame her family adores beckons her, promising simple home life and domestic happiness . . . but she knows no life without her sword Talon in her hand. While her friends dream of love and marriage Dara's nights are filled with horrific nightmares about her violent past.

Then the Goddess of Fire, Briga, takes an interest in her love-life . . . and everything changes. Charged by the goddess to rediscover her youthful passions after a lifetime of military service, Dara embarks on a quest to fill the lonely place in her heart . . . only to be distracted by a new danger lurking in the hills near her home. Some insidious force is kidnapping the poor peasant children and inflicting them with a horrible curse, while raising an army of undead and no one but Dara seems to care to stop it.

Supported by her friends Laretha and Alurra, Dara considers the few motley suitors who may have an interest in her – her childhood friend Sir Festaran, her former suitor Gareth, the roguish mage Daro – and she even flirts with the handsome young Baron of Taravanal. But it's hard to take romance seriously when some dark, necromantic force is rising and preying on the innocent so close to home, a power so terrifying it's even scaring the hill bandits away.

Dara has to make a decision: does she put aside her sword and her vocation as a magical guardian and embrace her passion, or does she eschew the Flame her people hold sacred and devote her life to defending the innocent against powers only she can confront? While peacetime brings hope and prosperity to others, Dara is torn between the allure of the Talon . . . or the Flame!