Freshly-minted shaman Joanne Walker was enjoying a moment of quiet in her usually-chaotic life—right up until vengeful ghosts possessed her partner-in-solving-mystical-crime, Detective Billy Holliday. With Billy's life and soul on the line, Joanne is called to put herself between her friends and the legendary Black Cauldron's powers to waken the dead...

...which might be somewhat easier if she wasn't terrified of the undead.

Holding herself together in the face of spectral horrors is one thing. Holding a new relationship together is another—and even Joanne's barely-acknowledged thing with her boss, Captain Morrison, may not be able to withstand the overwhelming power of the Wild Hunt, unleashed once again on Halloween, as the walls between worlds grow thin. Faced with the tantalizing Horned God, leader of the Hunt, and a personal life that's falling apart, Joanne realizes saving Billy may mean sacrificing a world—or finding a way to...]]> Fri, 06 Dec 1991 22:25:40 +0200 https://christmas.library.land/c-e-murphy/626664-skymaster.html https://christmas.library.land/c-e-murphy/626664-skymaster.html

Disaster follows Rasim al Ilialio wherever he goes.

Ilyaran witches are prized by the slaving countries that surround Rasim's peaceful desert home, but the city's magical prowess has always kept them safe. The Northlands, however, are not so forgiving, and a shocking raid shatters what remains of the already- shaken Seamasters' Guild.

Now Rasim is torn between pursuing the truth behind the continent-wide plot he's discovered, or helping to rescue a handful of enslaved Ilyarans. But taking on the slaver city of Moran may, in the end, be the key to unlocking the conspiracy that has already cost the Ilyaran people, and the Seamasters' Guild itself, so much.

And when things go wrong, his friends will pay the price if Rasim doesn't set aside his reservations and embrace a new magic, becoming, against all the odds...

...a Skymaster.

Rasim al Ilalio doesn't mean to cause trouble wherever he goes, but a year of disasters lies in his wake. A war is brewing, but returning home to his beloved city of Ilyara isn't an option—not until he's brought a friend home again, and has warned their people of the conspiracy he believes affects them all.

But in the distant Shenryalan steppelands, a new threat emerges: not just human scheming, but magical beasts that have slumbered for centuries are now raising their heads again...and they seem to be drawn to Rasim himself.

Every magic Rasim has learned has been a matter of personal survival. This time, though, there may be consequences that reach far beyond himself if he cannot become...

...a Sunmaster.

When CIA Agent Alisha MacAleer's cover is blown by ex-lover Frank Reichart, she's forced into a spy game that draws a curtain back on a world she never even suspected existed…

The clandestine Sicarii have hired Brandon Parker, the brilliant, estranged son of Alisha's handler, to develop an artificial intelligence capable of enforcing their divine right to rule. No one, not even Brandon's father, imagines he can do it—not until Alisha herself faces one of the AI's battle drones in combat. It's suddenly a race between the CIA, the Sicarii, and Alisha's mercenary ex, to see who can keep—or steal—the AI for themselves.

No matter which way Alisha turns, she faces new dangers and heartbreaking betrayals. In the end, she has no choice but to adhere to the cardinal rule…

Trust no one but yourself.

The last thing reluctant shaman Joanne Walker wants is to be assigned to a case of ritual murders. It'd be creepy enough all on its own, but her boss, already trusting her magic more than Jo does herself, suspects there's more to it than just a serial killer. As Joanne is pulled more deeply into the bloody mire, she begins to realize this is a murderer with a deadline—the changing winter moon seems to be key to the power they're building.

But Joanne's not the only one entangled in the increasingly dangerous magic raised by the killer: she has a protector, someone who has already given up their life to keep Joanne safe...and who may be the only person able to stand between Joanne and a dark power far greater than she's ready to handle....

Some things do go bump in the night.

It used to be that run-of-the-mill monsters were the Cassidy brothers' bread and butter. Then Nick chose college over bounty hunting, and Chris was left to keep up the good fight on his own. They haven't spoken in years, and resentment seethes between them.

But when solving the mystery of their father's death draws Nick home and unlocks a freakish magical power within him, the brothers must set aside their differences as they are drawn toward a celestial war that will spill over into the earthly realm—unless their bond is stronger than the powers of Heaven and Hell themselves.