The Gunman's Ride

Book excerpt: On a lonely road in the kingdom of Sarven, lone outlaw Jack Spade robs an unsuspecting merchant. This is no random crime, however. He was hired to steal a very specific thing: the mysterious Box of Andelaine, which has remained sealed for millennia despite the best efforts of all the world's most powerful sorcerers. It remained sealed, at least, until out of idle curiosity the gunman tried the lid, only for it to swing wide without protest. Even the simple act of opening a box and removing the seemingly unassuming necklace inside has dire consequences for the solitary roughrider. Between the cult of deadly warriors in the service of angels and the demonic rider who won't stay dead for long, the hounds of heaven and hell are out for blood. The worst part for their increasingly desperate quarry is that no one will even tell him why. Seemingly the only solution for the man is to trust the word of an enigmatic sorceress known only as Lucy and travel across a wide, trackless frontier to the foreign, unwelcoming land on the other side. Through it all, the lone gunman can never be quite sure whether or not he's on his last ride.