Why do teenagers keep disappearing in Potterfield? Is it the monsters rumored to be lurking in the forest? The ghost ship that plies the waters of the lake? Something sinister afoot in the halls of the abandoned mental hospital? Or hostile spirits roaming the ruins of the old burnt capitol building? Seven high school kids are about to learn these answers as they face the dangers of a town with more darkness than they ever imagined. And come to grips with a faith they had always taken for granted...until now.

“There is adventure and intrigue, swordplay and dark sorcery aplenty.”—Realms of Fantasy When the legendary Briar King awoke from his slumber, dark magics awoke with him and spread across the Kingdom of Crotheny. In Eslen, King William has been murdered, Queen Muriele is stalked by treachery from every side, and their last surviving daughter, Anne, has fled the assassins bent on destroying her family. The queen’s one trusted ally, young knight Neil MeqVren, is sworn to rescue the princess from her pursuers. As spies in the service of the powerful Churchman embark upon a mission to destroy the Briar King, a sinister conspiracy threatens to engulf the land. Personal fates will be decided, and a kingdom’s destiny will hinge upon the ultimate conflict between virtue and malevolence, might and magic. “Keyes’s world is rich, detailed, and always believable; the twisty plot is delightful and frightening in turns.”—Locus “Strong world building and superior storytelling.”—Library Journal