As head of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Paranormal Operations Unit, Clay Chiles has found a place where he can serve with honor and a surrogate family to replace the one he never truly enjoyed. When he meets Elven warrior Arondel and begins to build the partnership he had never hoped to find, life seems good. Still for two life-long loners to merge their lives, hearts and minds, an occasional conflict is bound to arise.<br><br>Clay’s discovery he has not only a father but a half-brother on Arondel’s home world of Elvenheim creates new and different challenges -- can he accept and trust relatives so different from all he has known? Can they accept him? Finally, faced with incredible tasks and dangers, Clay and Aron are torn asunder. Will the strength of their still- fragile bond be enough to bring them through hell and back to one another’s arms?

Runes of Redemption

Clay could feel the energies flowing from his being into his partner to add fuel to the force of the incantation. His hand burned with it, as if he served as a conduit for a massive flow of electricity. He expected to see the sleeve of Aron’s gray tunic begin to smoke, but it did not


Suddenly, there was an explosive burst of light and sound. The crystal pillar blew up before them. Clay blinked against the brilliant flare. When he opened his eyes, the dragons were gone. The remnants of the pillar scattered across the floor of the chamber like a snowfall of diamonds. Far above, a fracture in the ice roof revealed a jagged patch of blue sky.


The Shags surged forward, shouting and capering around. Clay could almost hear them singing, “Ding dong, the witch is dead.”


Chapter 14