Exhausted with life, Dakota tries to end his -- only to be saved at the last moment by his friend Terrell, who then drags him into a world of magic and intrigue that's always been right there, hidden beneath the surface.<br><br>Powerful magic users are steadily pulling the planet into a violent war, and evil forces will stop at nothing to take the talismans possessed by Dakota and his newfound family. Dakota soon finds himself deeply in over his head ... with love, with family, with fighting for all their lives.

The Pyre Starter

Laying back in the snow, Dakota turned off the mammal-calling necklace and tried not to inhale the terrible smell of burnt fur and flesh. Mere seconds later, Eddie and Eleanor came running to his aid, too late to see which way the man went and too wary to go looking for him. Dakota groaned. He’d been so close to stopping that asshole. Why couldn’t he have just beat him senseless or been more careful? A man with at least two gunshot wounds and a host of animal-related injuries shouldn’t be able to run away.


The women helped him up. His ears still rung from the deafening gunshots, and an overwhelming sense of failure flooded through him. He went toe-to-toe with the bastard who tortured one of Terrell’s cousins and possibly killed another, and he let him escape.


“Holy shit, did you fight the guy yourself?!” he heard Eddie ask.


“You crazy son of a bitch, you could’ve got killed! Why the hell didn’t you call us?!” was Eleanor’s contribution.


Chapter 28