Book excerpt: Mediaeval England where cruelty and hardship are a way of life. And where not only wild beasts roam the forests at night beneath the moon. LORD SEBASTIAN OF DEAN, called from his home on the continent to inherit his father’s title, fi nds he is in possession not only of hall and lands but also a curse. A curse never intended for him, but a curse that may only end with his own death—and then he meets a lad in the forest...... RAVEN, grown to womanhood in the forest, fl ees for her life as a witch is burned. She discovers she may have inherited her mother’s powers –- powers that could cost her life— and unwillingly accepts the protection of her feudal lord. The lords of Dean are known to be evil and are feared for their cruelty. Raven fears the lord— but for a very different reason.