Long ago the Mages of Alasea, beset by a dark and implacable evil, made a last desperate stand to preserve some remnant of their once-beautiful land. Knowing their own destruction to be inevitable, the Mages gathered the last of their magic and stored it away against the need and peril of a distant time. In doing so the Mages gave the people of Alasea a future and a hope -- and damned themselves forever ...Now, five centuries after their destruction, a young girl, Elena, inherits the powers that the Mages had so carefully hidden from their enemy. But though the Mages are long dead their ancient foe is not -- and when the Dark Lord learns of Elena's power he turns all of his terrible strength against her. Desperate and alone, fleeing from disaster, escaping into darkness, Elena seeks out the allies and knowledge that can help her to master her bitter gifts and cast down the evil that shattered the land of Alasea ...Find out more about this and other Orbit titles at www.orbitbooks.co.uk