Chained By Fear: 2

“Adult Harry Potter and Eragon fans can get their next fix with Jim Melvin’s six-book epic The Death Wizard Chronicles
 . . .
Melvin›s imagination and writing equal that of J.K. Rowling, author of the fantastically popular Harry Potter series, and Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and Eldest. Some of his descriptions—and creatures—even surpass theirs.”

—The Tampa Tribune

“Jim Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles crackle with non-stop action and serious literary ambition. He has succeeded in creating an entire universe of interlocking characters—and creatures—that will undoubtedly captivate fans of the fantasy genre. It’s a hell of a story
 . . .
a hell of a series
 . . .
”

—Bob Andelman, author of Will Eisner: A Spirited Life

“Jim Melvin is a fresh voice in fantasy writing with a bold, inventive vision and seasoned literary style that vaults him immediately into the top tier of his genre. The Death Wizard Chronicles
 . . .
is scary, action-packed and imaginative—a mythic world vividly entwining heroes, villains and sex that leaves the reader with the impression that this breakthrough author has truly arrived.”

—Dave Scheiber, co-author of Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob
and Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress

“Action-packed and yet profound, The DW Chronicles will take your breath away. This is epic fantasy at its best.”

—Chris Stevenson, author of Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars and The Wolfen Strain

“Triken truly comes alive for the reader and is filled with mysteries and places that even the most powerful characters in the book are unaware of. That gives the reader the opportunity to discover and learn with the characters
 . . .
Melvin has added to the texture of the world by integrating Eastern philosophies, giving the magic not only consistency but depth. He has worked out the details of his magical system so readers can understand where it comes from and how it works.”

—Jaime McDougall, the bookstacks.com

Novels

Forged In Death (Book One: The Death Wizard Chronicles)

Short Stories

Torg’s First Death

The Black Fortress

Rise of the Sun God

The Death Wizard Chronicles

Book Two

by

Jim Melvin

Bell Bridge Books

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.

Bell Bridge Books
PO BOX 300921
Memphis, TN 38130
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61194-228-6
Print ISBN: 978-1-61194-216-3

Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 by Jim Melvin
Shadowed by Demon
s (excerpt) copyright © 2013 by Jim Melvin

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

We at BelleBooks enjoy hearing from readers.
Visit our websites – www.BelleBooks.com and www.BellBridgeBooks.com.

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Cover design: Debra Dixon
Interior design: Hank Smith
Photo credits:
Girl (manipulated) © Bblood | Dreamstime.com
Background - © Mel Gama
Sword (manipulated) © Jaguarwoman Designs

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Mfc
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In Book 1 of
The Death Wizard Chronicles
, the sorcerer Invictus imprisons Torg in a pit bored into the frozen heights of Mount Asubha. The warrior Sōbhana attempts to rescue the Death-Knower wizard from his terrible predicament, but instead, a huge and hideous spider captures her and tortures her mercilessly, eventually leading to her death.

Despite Sōbhana’s demise, Torg manages to escape the pit. He then battles a slew of monsters and is forced to slither through a claustrophic labyrinth of tunnels beneath Asubha before finally emerging from the darkness and fleeing into the northern wilds. He and several new friends eventually make their way toward Kamupadana, commonly known as the Whore City, where Torg hopes to learn more about Invictus’ plans.

Meanwhile, Laylah, the sister of Invictus, appears briefly as a sorceress whom he also has imprisoned. Unlike Torg, she has not yet managed to escape. In fact, she has been her brother’s captive for more than seventy years.

In Book 2, the tale is told of Laylah’s escape. Chapter 1, titled
Brother,
begins eighty-five years before the start of Book One, when Laylah is only five years old.

—Sister Tathagata, in a lecture to the nuns of Dibbu-Loka

From his hiding place among the trees, the teenage boy had spied on the little girl for months. Though darkness was not his friend, he had endured it to be near her. How daring she was to leave her house all by herself in the middle of the night, seemingly undeterred by the specter of ghosts and goblins. How foolish of her, too. She would learn one day that monsters did exist, and that some of them were far deadlier than any her imagination might conjure. She would learn that it was better to stay locked in her room than wander the wilds after dark. She would learn because he would teach her.

Though she was little more than four years old, she already was beautiful. He admired her golden hair, which so matched his own. And though her gray-blue eyes were in stark contrast to his deep brown ones, he permitted her this fallibility. No one was perfect. Well, almost no one.

When they were king and queen, she would birth many of his children. The first would be a son whom he would mold in his own image. After that, he didn’t care so much about the rest. But the more products of his seed that walked the world, the better.

Yes, the little girl would become his bride—whether she liked it or not. He was a god, after all. And who in their right mind could refuse the hand of a god?

Not even the god’s sister could do that.