Curse Keeper
Book One in the Keeper Saga
Magic. Mayhem. Madness.
After being rescued from a brutal kidnapping by the fearsome Scythes, a fleet of magellan terrorists burning through the seas, mining heiress and physics wunderkind Ava Vale finds herself in the middle of a political storm that’s been brewing between islanders and mages for centuries. Her father’s draconian policies against mages have made him a popular mayor with islanders fearing magic—and a threat to the entire magellan race, whom he regards as second-class citizens. As her father’s reelection looms and Ava becomes the poster girl for continued prohibition of magic, Ava discovers the real reason behind her capture by the Scythes and their sadistic leader, Morganus Thorne: she herself is a mage, one with abilities locked away inside her by her mother, who has gone underground to protect Ava, as she is one of the magellan race’s only Keepers—clan mages who are walking grimoires. Problem is, in binding Ava’s magic, her mother has cursed her with an unintended side effect: madness.
As Ava attempts to untangle the mystery of her secret magellan identity, her own mind begins to unravel, her sanity threatened by powerful visions of an impending war on Brink’s shores. When Ava finds herself on the run after her magic unleashes itself on a mage hunter, she’s unexpectedly aided by Everett Zane, disgraced heir of Zane Shipping…and the son of her father’s opponent. Thrust into Rhett’s world—an infamous underground magical cabaret filled with a rowdy coven of bohemian mages and magellan gangsters—Ava’s ideas about right and wrong begin to crumble, along with her ability to resist Rhett’s affections…and his persuasive efforts to recruit her for the magellan resistance.
As civil unrest between mages and islanders sends the city into chaos, the Scythes begin drawing closer to Brink’s shores and the mayoral election turns deadly. Her magic bound for far too long, Ava must find a way to use her research on the energetic properties of verite, the stone her father mines, in order to cure both her and her mother before the madness takes them—and their magical knowledge—off the deep end. When Ava makes a shocking scientific discovery that could annihilate the magellan race, Ava must choose between protecting her people or giving Brink City its only chance of survival.
Steeped in 1930’s fashion and culture with a maritime twist in a Chicago-meets-New Orleans setting, the action-packed novel is filled with romance, intrigue, nods to noir, and, of course, magic.