SYNOPSIS:

Teenager ROWAN PENDRAKE is captured along with his village by SOLDIERS from Verdun, who poison the prisoners and tell them their only salvation is to find a bloodstone, an artifact with the power of the god of death.

Verdun’s king, LEUPOLD, is on his deathbed and his son STEPHANOS hopes a bloodstone will save his father’s life. Stephanos is unwittingly being manipulated by THE CABAL, dark wizards plotting to return the god of death to the mortal plane.

While imprisoned at an ancient temple to the god of death, Rowan’s mother, PERSEPHIA, finds a bloodstone, but learns the promise of a cure was a lie. She helps Rowan escape but is mortally wounded and bequeaths the bloodstone to Rowan with a directive to not let the poison kill him.

To find Rowan, Verdun dispatches CONRAD GARRISON, the king’s personal assassin. But Conrad has no loyalty to Verdun. He has one objective: prevent anyone from finding a bloodstone and kill whoever does. Centuries before, Conrad lost everything he loved in his own kingdom’s pursuit of a bloodstone, and all he has to show for it is an immortal body.

When Conrad finds Rowan, he’s ready to kill the boy. But seeing Rowan is already poisoned, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to first learn what Rowan knows about the bloodstones and discern how close Stephanos is to reaching his goal. Frightened, Rowan tries to kill Conrad, but as Conrad is undying this proves ineffective.

Rowan decides he probably needs help exacting revenge on Verdun, and Conrad wouldn’t mind having a partner for a couple months, especially since he blew his cover to keep other soldiers from finding Rowan. When Rowan’s quest is side-tracked by the anger and guilt he feels about his circumstances and inevitable death, Conrad is forced to confront emotions he’s kept stuffed inside for the last 800 years.