Darkmage

It had been a sleepless night for Caris, a sasennan warrior pledged to the Council of Wizards. Alone in the darkness, feeling oddly dazed, he was shocked back to reality by a senseless murder... and the killer's escape into a blackness deeper than the night. Never before had he heard of the Gate of the Void and the other worlds to which it led. The mages avoided such subjects, for the magic involved was perilous; each use of the Gate weakened the fabric of reality. But plainly someone was using the Void now. It explained the assassin's presence and escape, and the recent reports of abominations terrorizing the countryside as well. Antryg Windrose, Suraklin's former student- a wizard who had been locked away in a prison that nullified his magic, the Silent Tower: With Caris as his guard, the Archmage set off to see Antryg. Joanna Sheraton was frightened. Working in the vast, empty offices after hours had never bothered her before, But since being attacked a few nights earlier she'd been understandably jumpy, and the fact that Security had found no trace of an intruder was small comfort. Her assailant had simply vanished, like magic. Yet Joanna had vague, crazy memories of those terrible moments just before she passed out- a candle set incongruously on a computer monitor desk... the sight of a shimmering rune or symbol on the wall. Somehow, against all logic, she knew the awful truth: her familiar California world had been invaded by evil- and the invader was after her! Antryg Windrose was quite mad, as only a wizard cut off from his powers can be, and his enemies were still not content. If they found a way to link him with abominations entering the empire- or any other crime- they'd excite him. Oh yes, he knew about the Void, but he wasn't about to confess to opening it. Insane he might be; stupid he definitely was not. And the Archmage could not be sure whether the info Antryg shared reflected knowledge, insanity, or some hidden purpose.