It is the beginning of the end ... The end of the axe-age, the sword-age, leading to the passing of gods and men from the universe. As all the ancient prophecies fall into place, the final battle rages, on Earth, across Faerie, and into the land of the dead. Jack Churchill, Champion of Existence, must lead the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in a last, desperate assault on the Fortress of the Enemy, to confront the ultimate incarnation of destruction: the Burning Man. It is humanity's only chance to avert the coming extinction. At his back is an army of gods culled from the world's great mythologies - Greek, Norse, Chinese, Aztec, and more. But will even that be enough? Driven to the brink by betrayal, sacrifice and death, his allies fear Jack may instead bring about the very devastation he is trying to prevent ...

Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theo--and only Theo--who is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum. When Theo’s mother returns from her latest archaeological dig bearing the Heart of Egypt--a legendary amulet belonging to an ancient tomb--Theo learns that it comes inscribed with a curse so black and vile that it threatens to crumble the British Empire from within and start a war too terrible to imagine. Intent on returning the malevolent artifact to its rightful place, Theo devises a daring plan to put things right. But even with the help of her younger brother, a wily street urchin, and the secret society known as the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers, it won’t be easy . . . she quickly finds herself pursued down dark alleys, across an ocean, through the bustling crowds of Cairo, and straight into the heart of an ancient mystery. Theo will have to call upon everything she’s ever learned in order to prevent the rising chaos from destroying her country--and herself!

Have fun while you expand your powers of deductive reasoning! Every one of these puzzles calls for conclusions based only on the information provided; the answers don't depend on previous knowledge, memory, wordplay, or deception--just a logical mind. Accept the alternatives that lead to the correct response and discard all faulty assumptions until you've arrived at the only possibility that makes sense. There are eight kinds of puzzle, and in most cases diagrams help organize your results. Here's one example: A supermarket theft has occurred. Someone took a fully loaded cart without paying for the groceries. One of the three suspects is guilty--but which one? The guilty party's statement is true; the other two are false. Who is guilty? A. B took the cart loaded with groceries B. A's statement is true C. A's statement is false Answer: C is the guilty party.

In this second volume of The Serpent Trilogy, following The Family at Serpiente, the history detectives discover the relationship between serpents and the ancient cultures of the Americas, uncovering the predictable histories of growth and collapse due to the serpents. Sensing imminent danger, Quetzalcoatl and Kulcalcan declare war on the human tribes throughout Aztlan, their ancestral home. Unaware of the ability of the serpents to control the minds of humans, the military plots to exterminate the serpents but soon thousands of modern humans experience the mind altering abilities of the serpents. In a panic to exterminate the serpents, the government releases a biological agent which destroys most of the serpents. Unfortunately, in time the biological agent mutates and exterminates all but the most isolated humans on earth. The Anderson family survives by sealing themselves off from all contact with other humans in Serpiente. Quetzalcoatl and Kulcalcan make a truce with the Anderson family and teach their children how to communicate in the serpent's telepathic hieroglyphic language. Will history repeat itself?

New in town and feeling isolated, Julian stumbles upon The Castle, a mysterious nightclub on the outskirts of the city. Within, he finds himself drawn to the lithe form and smoldering gaze of Rio, whose seductive charm arouses Julian's most secret desires and awakens a primal hunger within him. With every caress, every new discovery about his inhuman partner, Julian finds his heart more thoroughly entwined by the serpent shifter. And when Rio reveals his own deepest desire - to mate, and have Julian bear his young - the human can't resist the lure of forbidden pleasure Rio offers.

Have fun while you expand your powers of deductive reasoning! Every one of these puzzles calls for conclusions based only on the information provided; the answers don't depend on previous knowledge, memory, wordplay, or deception--just a logical mind. Accept the alternatives that lead to the correct response and discard all faulty assumptions until you've arrived at the only possibility that makes sense. There are eight kinds of puzzles, and in most cases diagrams help organize your results. Here's one example: "A supermarket theft has occurred. Someone took a fully loaded cart without paying for the groceries. One of the three suspects is guilty--but which one? The guilty party's statement is true; the other two are false. Who is guilty?" A. B took the cart loaded with groceries B. A's statement is true C. A's statement is false Answer: C is the guilty party.

According to ancient records, the patriarchs and founders of the early civilizations in Egypt, India, China, Peru, Mesopotamia, Britain, and the Americas were colonized by the Serpents of Wisdom-spiritual masters associated with the serpent-who arrived in these lands after abandoning their beloved homelands and crossing great seas. While bearing names denoting snake or dragon (such as Naga, Lung, Djedhi, Amaru, Quetzalcoatl, Adder, etc.), these Serpents of Wisdom oversaw the construction of magnificent civilizations within which they and their descendants served as the priest kings and as the enlightened heads of mystery school traditions. The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom recounts the history of these “Serpents”-where they came from, why they came, the secret wisdom they disseminated, and why they are returning now.