Orphaned and left to fend for herself in the slums of Averalaan, Jewel Markess-called Jay by her friends-is rescued by reclusive Rath. Haunted by visions after her recovery, Jay begins to form a den of other rescued children in Rath's home. Meanwhile, beneath the slums the demons that once nearly destroyed the Essalieyan Empire are stirring again.

Jewel has drawn powers she doesn't understand and can barely control, transforming the very structure of both the Terafin manse and the palace of the Twin Kings.

Lieutenant Peter Cochrane of the Quantar Royal Navy believes he has his future clearly mapped out. It begins with his new assignment as an officer on Her Majesty's Spaceship Starbound, a Lightship bound for deep space voyages of exploration. But everything changes when Peter is summoned to the office of his father, Grand Admiral Nathan Cochrane, and given devastating news: the death of a loved one. In a distant solar system, a mysterious and unprovoked...

August, 2140, Los Angeles region, motorcycle courier Kris is stuck with a package that everyone seems to want, and the corporations are willing to go to any length to make her gone. Is there any place for Kris to run?