Vessel by Lisa Jane

“The war of the Sun and Moon rages on. The light fades. Death stirs.” Zach has only ever known a life of servitude, living as a slave and servant to the powerful magus Magister Rashid. Yet Zach is no ordinary slave, for he shares his body with the soul of a dormant death goddess, Almaw. The extraordinary slave lives an ordinary life, that is until his master is called on a perilous military expedition deep into the desert. Zach soon feels dark forces stirring within him, and as they trek across the vast desert empire, with the goddess of death strengthened by the scent of war. And this war is Zach’s only opportunity to escape the bonds of slavery, an opportunity which he takes with the help of two mysterious strangers- the grim magus Tenin and a proud warrior from the enemy nation, Taia. Freedom proves to be a hard-won prize as Zach and his new companions find themselves pursued by the mysterious Cult of Almaw that would see Zach slain and the goddess unleashed with his death. Zach and his companions must enlist the help of unlikely allies to out-manoeuvre the cult, while Zach comes to terms with new, dark powers growing within him, as well as distrust of those that call themselves his allies. A sudden strike by the cult leaves Zach dying from a magical wound, and it becomes a race against time to reach an ancient order hidden deep in the mountains to save Zach’s life and the world as they know it. Zach must learn to trust his new companions or perish. But everything is not always as it seems, and secrets hide behind every face. As his life continues to slip away like sand in an hourglass, Zach soon learns that the distinction between friend and foe is not always clear… A new, fantastical adventure steeped in myth, magic, and the mystery of the desert.