Excerpt: Fire Hopper

The old magicks were weakening, their hold on the world they once called their own was slipping and the humans were now beyond saving. The Fox woman had been the first to flee, calling it not cowardice, but sense, to run while she still held her life intact. Of course the wolf lord would be of no help, his armies had been destroyed years ago when he foolishly ran into battle with no understanding of his enemy. He’d fled with his tail between his legs, nursing his wounded pride and returning to a dumb beast once more. The bear queen was nowhere to be found and even the shadow dukes had disappeared. That left him, The Bird King. Always the weaker of the old magicks, preferring to aid humans with knowledge and understanding rather than with power. Of course he knew everything about his enemy, their strengths, their weaknesses; it was just how to implement this information that escaped him. If only that damn wolf hadn’t charged off so fecklessly he would have a powerful army. But there was no helping it now, he was loosing the war, and the wolves where at the gate…