How do you kill a Saint?

Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, barely survives a deadly judicial duel when a mysterious woman invades the palace and sends the royal guardsmen dropping to their knees by the power of her will alone. Falcio resists just long enough for her to collapse into his arms, only then noticing the hideous iron mask attached to her face. Removing it reveals her to be the Saint of Mercy, and a chill sweeps the country as realization dawns that even the Saints, long worshipped as greater than human, can be murdered with impunity.

The Dukes, who had already been searching for a way out of their agreement with the Greatcoats to put Aline on the throne, wonder aloud whether the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. And as more Saints turn up dead, the churches of Tristia bring back the long-forgotten military orders of religious knights, assassins, and, worst of all, the Inquisitors.

With the country teetering on the edge of becoming a brutal theocracy, Falcio and the Greatcoats are forced to hunt for the killer. Their only clue is the terrifying iron mask that drives Saints mad. But even if Falcio can find the killer, he’ll still have to face the enemy in combat.

And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

Sebastien de Castell's profile page

SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist. His only defence against the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doing these things and that, in one way or another, each of these fields plays a role in his writing.

You can visit him at www.decastell.com or talk to him on Twitter @decastell.