For Mage Alex Verus, everything is on the line in the tenth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Marked.Once Alex Verus was a diviner trying to live quietly under the radar. Now he's a member of the Light Council who's found success, friends...and love. But it's come with a price—the Council is investigating him, and if they find out the truth, he'll lose everything. Meanwhile, Alex's old master, Richard Drakh, is waging a war against the Council, and he's preparing a move that will bring Alex and the life mage, Anne, under his control. Caught between Richard and the Council, Alex's time is running out. To protect those he cares for, Alex will have to become something different. Something darker...

Things are going well for Alex Verus. He's on moderately good terms with the Council, his apprentice is settling in and his shop in Camden is gaining quite a reputation.But when a mysterious woman bursts into the Arcana Emporium one night with an assassin on her tail, Alex is thrown into a plot to revive a long-forbidden ritual. His old enemies are after the secret, as well as a Council mage named Belthas and a mercenary named Garrick, and at least one of them is trying to get Alex killed - if he only knew which.He can see the future, but knowing who to trust is something else.

Alex Verus must keep his friends close—and his enemies closer—in the epic conclusion to the bestselling urban fantasy series about a London-based mage. Mage Alex Verus has gone from a Camden shopkeeper to one of the most powerful mages in Britain. Now his last and most dangerous battle lies before him. His lover, the life mage Anne, has fallen fully under the control of the deadly creature she made a bargain with, and it is preparing to create an army of mages subject to its every whim. Alex, the Council, and the Dark mage Richard Drakh agree to call a truce in their war, and plans are made for a joint attack. But Alex knows that it's only a matter of time before Drakh and the Council turn on each other . . . and neither cares about keeping Anne alive. Can Alex figure out a way to stop Anne and to free her from possession before time runs out?

The super-rich control everything—including magic—in this thrilling and brilliant, contemporary fantasy from the author of the Alex Verus novels.The wealthy seem to exist in a different, glittering world from the rest of us. Almost as if by . . . magic.Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat. But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge. To survive, Stephen will have to take his talent and build it up into something greater—for only then can he beat them at their own game.

Alex Verus faces his dark side in this return to the bestselling urban fantasy series about a London-based mage. To protect his friends, Mage Alex Verus has had to change - and embrace his dark side. But the life mage Anne has changed too, and made a bond with a dangerous power. She's going after everyone she's got a grudge against - and it's a long list. In the meantime, Alex has to deal with his arch-enemy, Levistus. The Council's death squads are hunting Alex as well as Anne, and the only way for Alex to stop them is to end his long war with Levistus and the Council, by whatever means necessary. It will take everything Alex has to stay a step ahead of the Council and stop Anne from letting the world burn.

With his talent for divining the future, Alex Verus should have foreseen his friends’ reactions to the revelations about his previous life. Anne Walker no longer trusts him—and has also cut all ties with the mage community after getting kicked out of the apprentice program. As a favor to Luna, Alex’s own apprentice and Anne’s best friend, he checks in on her only to be told to leave her alone. Then Anne gets kidnapped. The Council Keepers of the Order of the Star believe Dark mages from her past may be involved. Working with the Keepers, Alex and Luna discover that Anne has been taken into the shadow realm of Sagash, her former Dark mage mentor, and they must find a way to rescue her. But another shadow from the past has resurfaced—Alex’s former master may be back in London, and Alex has no idea what his agenda is… ReviewWhoop-ass excitement from the new master of magical London Charles Stross Harry Dresden would like Alex Verus tremendously - and be a little nervous around him. I just added Benedict Jacka to my must-read list. Jim Butcher About the AuthorBenedict Jacka is the author of the Alex Verus series and the Ninja series. He earned a BA in philosophy from Cambridge University and has held positions ranging from civil servant to bouncer to teacher. He lives in London. With acting credits that span stage and screen, Gildart Jackson is most often recognized for his role as Gideon on Charmed. Other notable TV roles include Jackson Palmer on Providence and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital, and his theater roles include Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and Adrian in Private Eyes at the Old Globe.

National bestselling author Benedict Jacka returns to the world of Alex Verus... I thought I'd escaped my past. But my old master is back and making a new play for power. And he's not the only one targeting me... Diviner Alex Verus and the Council that governs the magical community have never gotten along. But with his former teacher back in Britain, Alex is in desperate need of allies, and he'll do whatever it takes to get them—even if it means accepting a job with the Keepers, enforcing magical law. Alex forms an uneasy alliance with his new partner, Caldera, but his attempt at legitimacy quickly turns lethal when a mission puts him in possession of an item that factions both inside and outside of the Council would kill to get their hands on. Once again caught in the middle of a deadly conflict, Alex will need all his abilities to figure out who his friends are—especially when enemies are hiding on all sides...