Results by "D. K. Holmberg" in All categories

Executioners don’t solve crimes; they punish those who commit them. Or, so Finn thought before apprenticed to one. Poverty-stricken Finn Jagger would give anything to heal his ailing mother. With his father imprisoned, Finn has joined a thieving crew to earn the money he needs to save her. When the latest heist turns to disaster and lands him on death row, Finn’s future seems to be tied up with a noose. Until the king’s executioner claims him as an apprentice. Finn soon learns an executioner has far more power and greater responsibility than he’d ever realized.

The northern mountain village offers protection from the threat of dragons, but is a difficult place, especially for a misfit like Jason Dreshen. His days are spent hunting for food for his family, praying for warmth, and trying to hide his strange silver eye that grants him dragon sight. When a stranger visits during the local Freedom Festival searching for a different kind of dragon, everything changes.

With the threat of rogue elementals escaping from the element bond and fear of another attack by the Draasin Lord, life at the edge of Terndahl is difficult for Tolan. Without any magic of his own, he spends his days working a menial job as a carpenter’s apprentice. When an elemental attack draws the attention of the Inquisitors from the Academy, everything changes.

Stories with depth, strong protagonists, high tension, all told while pulling at your heartstrings, or making you smile with understanding. In this anthology, you'll find fifteen stories, including many novelettes. Go on adventures with heroes old and young, a couple of war pigs, and visit many new fantasy worlds. Watch out for the dragons! Deep Magic: Volume 3 has stories that will satisfy your hunger to escape.

Trained to destroy sorcery from a young age, Imogen Inaratha left that life behind, having come to see magic differently. When her brother asks for help, she embarks on a dangerous journey - and must face a part of her past she wanted to forget. An encounter with one of the mythical Porapeth changes the course of the journey. Protecting him forces her to face dark magical creatures and a powerful sorcerer determined to destroy the Porapeth in his quest for even more power. To succeed, she must learn the truth of the blade she’d long thought she’d mastered.

The Disciples of the Draasin Lord have again been defeated, yet a traitor remains within Terndahl. The Inquisitors have come, and their presence has everyone on edge. With the help of the Keystone, Tolan has discovered the ability to shape each of the element bonds. Now that he’s passed testing to the second level at the Academy, he finally feels as if he belongs. Still, he can’t shake the feeling that his shaping is different than others - and tied to the elementals.

The Inquisitors have been stopped, but the one who leads them remains at large. Tolan discovers a dangerous plot against the Academy - and all of Terndahl - the Inquisitors have planned for far longer than any have suspected. The power involved is unlike anything ever encountered by those within the Academy. Tolan isn’t sure he’s capable of understanding what has happened, but with his connection to the elementals, he might be the only one able. The key to what’s happening is tied to something in Tolan’s past.  

Dark power builds. The Khalan prepare for their final attack. Only a few understand the true nature of the threat, and each must overcome their past to secure their future. In Atenas, the dark summoners of the Khalan press their attack. Alena's discovery of how to use spirit gives them an...

An ancient artifact that must be found... Terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin... And long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world. As an earth senser, Tan is tasked with helping guide the king's servant through the dangerous mountain passes in search of the artifact before Incendin can reach it first. But after losing his father to the war, Tan wants nothing to do with the king's demands.

The powerful draasin - elemental creatures of fire not seen for a thousand years - have returned. Not all are convinced they should have been freed. As Tan struggles to learn earth shaping, he discovers dangerous fire shapers from Incendin have come to Ethea. When the city is attacked by the draasin, Tan must use his connection with them to learn why. Doing so leads him from the city and forces him to once more face the terrible shapers of Incendin, but this time bound to the draasin for help.

Jason has returned to the normalcy of the mountain village, but nothing is as it had been. Now connected to the Ice Dragon and responsible for keeping his presence a secret, it won't be long before the Dragon Souls return. They know the Ice Dragon exists and will stop at nothing to control him. When the Ice Dragon makes a request of Jason to search for other dragons like him, how can he refuse? The search leads Jason away from home and into direct conflict with those searching for another dragon misfit. 

As myth and history clash, old heroes will rise again. Treylen’s last mission revealed a clue in Oara Valley. This deserted elven kingdom, now an overgrown forest and the emperor’s hunting grounds, may be home to a den of dragons. With Marziel’s rise to power Treylen is given his own team to investigate the threat. It’s his chance to get away from the war and the cruel whims of their queen. For his team it’s an opportunity to finally show off their skills at hunting and wildcraft. But there’s a second team working in the valley.

Treylen never thought he’d be hunting his own people. Least of all, family. In the mines of Wetherdin, a foul plot is unfolding. Someone’s stealing dragon eggs for the Jaul, and it’s up to Treylen, Aaron, and their dragons to infiltrate and root out the traitor. This time he’s ready. His spycraft is stronger, his bond with Rime is better than ever, and his mentor has come along for the mission. Under the guise of visiting nobility, they’ll have all the comforts of a cozy mountain lodge while untangling the mystery at their leisure.

The day Treylen's mentor died, the chance to become a real assassin died with him. Or so it seemed, until one day a message arrived, sending Treylen and his dragon on their first mission: hunt down a traitor behind enemy lines. To stay alive, he and Rime must learn all the skills their old mentor never had time to teach. Their new spymaster might be up to the task, if they can find him at his safehouse. But the same comforts that make the Dragon’s Hide Inn a welcome respite for weary travelers also make it a favorite watering hole of enemy rangers and a deadly training ground.

There are none at the university who can teach Torian what it means for him to be a valsahir. When the headmaster suggests he convince the Viper to teach him, Torian must first prove he’s worthy. As secrets begin to unravel, the distinction between friend and foe blurs. The Viper, once thought an adversary, becomes an enigma, compelling Torian to grapple with a dangerous dilemma. Is the Viper genuinely the sinister force they have all feared?

The Great Serpent grants a gift of powerful essence to those who come before him. The experience, and the gift, is unpredictable but all have a vision of the Great Serpent so they can understand the purpose of their essence.

Torian Ranth is no longer the struggling student he once was. Now a skilled sahir to be reckoned with, Torian arrives at the devastated university. It still stands amid the remnants of the Rusav onslaught.

Torian Ranth wants nothing more than to master his sahir magic. Having spent years training, he still can’t form even his primary patterns consistently, let alone attempt any higher tiered power. His continued failures mean that his time in school must come to an end.

A job pits Jonathan and his team against Heziah, where they finally find a way to fully rid themselves of him. Now jailed, Heziah is no longer a threat. The team can finally relax—and Jonathan can retire with his newfound wealth.

Kanar Reas, an ex-soldier known as the Blackheart, hides a dangerous secret. Exiled from the Realmsguard, he wants nothing to do with the kind of magic that destroyed his life. That is until his team of mercenaries is offered a job they can’t refuse.