Cadman's Gambit

Book 1 of the SHADER series.Dr Ernst Cadman has led a quiet life, but that's how he's wanted it all these hundreds of years. With a secret like his, anonymity and caution are the best friends a man can have. Nothing could tempt him from the safety of his parasitic existence at the heart of the city of Sarum-at least nothing this side of the Abyss.Cadman stakes everything on obtaining the artefact that once destroyed an entire civilization, but in so doing he draws the gaze of a sinister presence from beyond the stars.Meanwhile, Deacon Shader, veteran of the war against the undead armies of the Liche Lord, has one last fight in him. This time it's just a tournament, with the prize a sword steeped in myth. Win or lose, Shader intends to defy his Templum master and retire to the Abbey of Pardes.When a horror from the past wrecks Shader's monastic dream and leads him to plague torn Sarum, he finds an ancient power unleashed that imperils more than he could possibly imagine-a power now in the hands of Dr Cadman.Gods tremble, and worlds will fall unless Shader can conquer his personal demons and accept the fate he's been prepared for since birth.