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

::They did not lie, did they? This really is hell, whatever it may be called.::Clay shuffled at Aron’s side, gazing around in shock.


::Aye. I believe stones cannot lie. Their spirits are so ancient, among the first to emerge when creation began. They never needed or learned prevarication.::


::We just came through.Could the control gate we seek be close?::


Turning slowly in a circle to look around, Aron shrugged. ::I know not. I think those stones could have sent us anywhere, no gates needed. The charge of energy they provided was so intense, a mere trace more would have fried us! I’m not sure how long it will last, though, so we need to act quickly. We cannot stand this heat too long, either.::


At least this world was not flat and featureless. Ragged mountains and deep gashes marked its surface. Shimmering mirages came and went all around them—some, tempting visions of oases and palaces; others, horrific glimpses of demons and monsters.


Chapter 22