The Valens Legacy

In his junior year at college, Sean's only goals are finishing his degree and escaping the poverty he has lived in since his father died. When a failed kidnapping attempt leaves his oldest friend dead and his mother missing, Sean is thrown into a hidden world of magic and the supernatural — and suddenly wanted, dead or alive, by every magical society in the city. His one advantage is what his friend did for him just before he died, and the track star next door who has taken a very personal interest in his problems.

Sean has been dropped into a secret world of magic users, lycanthropes, and creatures of the night. The councils that had his father killed believe Sean will inherit his father's work when he turns twenty-one — just days away — and most of them want him dead before that happens. His only path forward is to complete what his father started, but first he must learn magic, find shelter, raise allies, and stay alive. Fortunately he has Roxy, a cheetah lycanthrope, and Jolene, a tantric witch with connections in the supernatural black market.

Sean has finally found an example of his father's work along with his notes. Holed up in a cold war era bomb shelter, he wants to keep his head down and his family safe while he solves the one problem his father never could. But the events he has already set in motion will change the future for every mage and supernatural being — whether they welcome that change or not.

Things are looking up: Sean has a safe house, allies, and a growing pack that includes some dangerously capable werefoxes. But the other councils have noticed him after his raid on Gradatim, and battle lines are being drawn. The Council of the Vestibulum, the most powerful in the country, is growing concerned — and the assassin hired to deal with Sean's father twelve years ago has been brought back to deal with the son.

The Vestibulum used Sean's victory over the Ascendants as cover for a mass murder of their old enemies — revealing just how ruthless they truly are. After two centuries in power, they have no intention of giving anything up. With the other Ascendant chapters calling for revenge and other councils maneuvering for position, Sean's promise not to start a war may not be his to keep.

Sean's home has been hit by an overwhelming Vestibulum strike. He wins the fight but is seriously wounded and taken out of action. Saving his life becomes the priority for Roxy and the others, but battles must still be won without him. The Vestibulum, sensing his weakness, begins planning a follow-up attack — and word of Sean's difficulties reaches other enemies eager to capitalize.

Fresh from his victory in Reno, Sean travels to Las Vegas to honor his promise to help the lycans there with their slavery problems. There are no mage councils in Vegas — the mob took care of that long ago — but many casinos are deeply entrenched in lycan exploitation, and the magic users who come to sin city play rough. What happens in Vegas could send a message to councils across the nation that things are changing.

The Sacramento Vestibulum council is acting in unexpected ways, and Gradatim's national leadership is not standing idle either. When several councils band together to eradicate Sean's followers, he has no choice but to teach them a painful lesson. Meanwhile, the sheer weight of his responsibilities — leading people, fighting battles, managing money, doing magical work — is stretching Sean to his limits.

With Gradatim's pet demon destroyed, Sean moves on Portland — a true Gradatim stronghold. When Gradatim breaks the silence with an attack on his family, Sean's response is drastic and immediate, triggering an escalating cycle that sends shockwaves through both magical and governmental organizations. As politicians wrangle and council heads settle scores, allies begin to appear in the most unexpected places.

With his home secure, Sean tries to catch up on a long list of deferred tasks — but life is never simple. His armies are finding signs that the Vestibulum isn't finished fighting, and the government remains deeply divided on how to handle him. When the President attempts to open a line of communication, those opposed to the idea move quickly to stop it.

With the President on his side and the Vestibulum's last-ditch effort defeated, Sean's goal seems almost within reach. Then the First accelerates his timetable, pushing him into Canada and Mexico. A fractious Congress begins pushing back against the President's executive order, and the forces behind that opposition are not what anyone expected. Things that never made sense before begin to take on an ominous meaning as Sean learns the true face of his enemy — one he will meet far sooner than anticipated.

The war has begun and Sean must bear the weight of fighting it — if only he could convince the world the threat is real and not another stunt at Burning Man. Funding a war is expensive and Sean is spending faster than he earns. Meanwhile, the demon gates are growing larger and the forces coming through are increasingly coordinated, stretching Sean's resources and people to the breaking point.

Sean finds himself trapped in the demon realm, where he encounters a mystery: a lioness who may know the lay of the land. Back home, Adam does his best to hold things together while the war heats up without Sean's leadership. People are pulling together and beginning to understand just how high the stakes truly are.

Fanatics and opportunists have decided that Sean and the lycans are a problem that needs to be eliminated. There is also a leak in Washington that they thought they had cleared of demonic influence. Despite the added complications, Sean is glad to be home again — and Estrella is adjusting to life on the right side of the gateway, having found a husband and a family, though things have changed considerably since she left.

Until now Sean has only been fighting individual battles. That changes as the main gateway — which will remain open for two years — draws near, with millions of demons preparing to come through and conquer the world. Help and reinforcements are flooding in, but people must be trained, supplies organized, and plans constantly revised. It is a tall order for a young man barely past his twenty-second birthday.

The main gateway has opened and the Onderwereld's forces are coming through in ever-growing numbers. For now they can hold the line, but when an enemy reincarnates a week after being killed it becomes a war of brutal attrition. Sean knows there are weapons capable of permanently killing demons and is determined to acquire them — even if it means sneaking back through a gateway into the heart of enemy territory.

Sean returns to the Onderwereld on his own terms, bringing allies with him. Their investigations into the djevels and the race behind the gateway mechanisms yield unexpected discoveries with far-reaching consequences. Back in Reno the situation is desperate as the djevels reveal tricks of their own. When it is all over, the world Sean and his friends return to will be unrecognizably different.

Years have passed since the war with the djevels ended, their realm was destroyed, and their king killed. But the roughly one million djevels still loose in the world must be hunted down. The largest infested area has been fenced off to prevent further spread while teams handle the rest — a constant, dangerous job, if far easier than the war itself. The world has changed irrevocably: everyone now knows about magic, lycans, dwarves, and elves, and the lions' work will stretch centuries into the future.