Rogues of the Black Fury

When a band of shadowy fanatics abducts Javin Wollstone's little sister, Bella, from his care, his only hope to bring her home is following a hard-bitten band of special warriors through a maze of political intrigue, religious fanaticism, and centuries of distrust. Little do they know that little Bella Wollstone could be the spark that sets off a war of Armageddon.Janus Wollstone, Javin and Bella's father and the grand general of Cusca, is still trying to rebuild his country from the decades-long war with Fartha. Now, after a few months of uneasy truce, forces within Fartha seem intent on provoking Cusca back into open conflict. Javin is too young and inexperienced to embark on his journey alone and he will never make a seasoned officer without hard experience, so Janus chooses his only alternative. He enlists the aid of a unique band of mercenaries, the Black Furies, led by Commander Rusk, to find his daughter and train his son in the process. That Rusk is an insubordinate, foul-mouthed ex-officer with a criminal past does not sit well with the Cuscan noble houses-even House Wollstone. Nor does Janus's order that Javin accompany the Black Furies sit well with either Rusk or Javin. But the Furies' special brand of warfare, forged by Rusk's iconoclastic genius for molding ruffians and rogues into a new breed of soldier, is the best hope they have. Their expendability makes them doubly suited. And still, the question persists: Was Bella abducted by the Farthi or by some rival noble house within Cusca? The investigation unfolds into a frantic chase that leads Javin, Rusk, and the Black Furies across trackless, pirate-infested seas into the ancient heart of Fartha, the religion-steeped land of prophets and priest-kings. Hot on the trail of Bella's abductors, they find that their adversary is an influential splinter sect of religious fanatics-or perhaps deadly warrior-monk assassins-known as the Brotherhood of the Ib'satha. Their leader, Hassaad, wants only to fan the flames of war, in hopes that the gods will send another son to cleanse the Earth with flame and flood. Using stealth, guile, and sheer audacity, the Furies fling themselves into the teeth of the serpent, trying to snatch Bella back before she is swallowed up forever. Javin finds himself torn between his genteel, noble upbringing and the raw, brutal necessity of what he must do to save Bella's life. Through hair-raising chases, narrow escapes, and bloody battles, the Furies confront the assassins in their ancient mountain citadel in a last desperate fight for the fate of the entire world. They emerge victorious, with Bella safe in hand, perhaps even altering the course of history, but the fanatical Hassaad manages to escape, almost certainly to rebuild his plans. And after all of their trials, neither Javin nor Bella will ever be the same.