Daniel Howard's debut novella brings James of Darkwood out of the shadows to the pastoral Eastlands: a land of magi who commune with the Source to protect the realm and simple folk who work hard to build themselves a better life. But dark things dwell beyond the lights of town... They come in the night. They come for the children. Slavers. Tabitha is a girl who dreams of vanquishing monsters and rescuing the innocent. Then she is sold to a mysterious man of grotesque appetites. She discovers that monsters are very real and innocence is a fragile thing. James of Darkwood is an Eloria'an with a dark secret. Brutally trained as an assassin by the House of Knives, James may be the only hope for children bound for slavery - and worse - as he leaves a wake of death across what was once a peaceful land in his search for vengeance. Can James rescue the children, and with them a small part of his soul? Or will the Void take them all into dark oblivion?