Henchman A Novel

In the Vegas Underworld, magic is money and henchmen wield magic. H is a mob enforcer for the highest-ranking capo in the Vegas Underworld–a city that coexists in a parallel plane with Las Vegas and where dead casinos experience a magical rebirth. He's one of the few wielders with the natural ability to manipulate new magic, a mysterious avant-garde energy allowing him to marry techware with ancient magic. At the start of the annual magic convention in Las Vegas, a sinister mage assassinates a wielder with the potential to represent an unknown benevolent being. The killer pins the murder on the Syndicate, the governing magical body of the Vegas Underworld. The Syndicate belongs to a society of Chambers hailing from all over the world. They have kept the peace among all members through contractual obligations negotiated every 75 years during a magic convention. This uneasy alliance is threatened by the demise of the wielder. To stave off a Chamber war, H's boss sends him on a mission to clear the Syndicate's name or an all-out war will drown the Vegas Underworld in blood.

At seven years of age, Apollo Villa-Real wasn't just bitten by the comic book bug... he was devoured by it. Once it swallowed his imagination whole, all he could think about was transforming "what if" scenarios into thrilling stories. In fact, he wasn't too keen with how one of his comic book issues ended, so he rearranged the pages. Time jump a few years later and he's written screenplays, co-wrote a short horror film, and is the co-creator of an ongoing comic book series—City of Mith. Henchman is his debut novel. Apollo lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and two children.