From the award-winning pens of Kim Iverson Headlee and short-fiction veteran Patricia Duffy Novak comes this darkly humorous mage-out-of-water tale:
A funny thing happened on the way to the battlefield.
Arthur, High King of Brydein, must fight the last of the rebel kings to acknowledge his right to govern them all: his old nemesis, King Urien of Dalriada. Before he can lead his army to where Urienâs forces sit ensconced, however, a fey man appears from the midst of a sudden, eerie storm to block the way. The man claims to be the high king of an altogether unknown land⌠and he wields uncanny power the likes of which Arthur has never seen.
Garrin, High King of Helvar, steps into a patch of mist. A breath later, heâs standing toe to toe with a man claiming to be the high king of an altogether unknown land⌠and this warrior-king is leading an army into Helvar, wielding a sword that resists Garrinâs magic. Only, the man insists that his sword isnât enchanted and that Garrin isnât in Helvar anymore.
What the bloody hellâor five hells, in Garrinâs caseâis a high king to do?
Their encounter reeks of an enemy mageâs dark arts, and no one is laughing.