Rising Flood

Hope alone cannot withstand a rising flood

A darkness writhes in the heart of Teren.

 The Academy is unleashing demons on dissenters, and refugees rush to leave the capital with nothing but their lives and a hope.

 That hope brings them to the city of Marek, Teren''s only major port, which harbours dreams of independence. But Marek is not as stable as it seems.

 Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, has spent the last two years fighting to keep Marek safe and prosperous - but with child, her relationship in ruins and the increasing threat of Teren to worry about, can she find her way through? The printing houses of the city run rabble-rousing polemic, penned by an increasingly frustrated majority who feel left out of the rule and riches of Marek. They demand change, and Marcia can''t help but agree with much of what they''re saying.

On the other side of the bridge, the tiny group of Marek''s remaining sorcerers must negotiate their way through troubles of their own. Cato, Marcia''s exiled brother, and Reb, her ex-lover, are trying to train a new generation of sorcerers and both are having problems. Jonas simply won''t take ''no'' for an answer from Cato; and Reb''s two students feel held back, both know that change, and strife, may be coming - and neither are ready to deal with it. But Reb cannot bring herself to move faster.

 Between them, the five sorcerers alongside Marek''s cityangel can expel a single demon. But Teren has many, and other fears loom on the horizon. Out-of-season storms rampage across the Oval Sea, threatening trade - and Jonas'' family, out plying the trade winds - and the unseasonable weather threatens Marek itself.

Menaced by the distant capital, by dissension from within, and even by nature itself - will the rising flood lift all boats?

 Or will they be capsized?

Book 3 of the Marek series

Cover art by Tony Allcock