Book excerpt: I had new cupcakes to bake, a new treasure to hunt, and a new dragon in town — literally. Who wouldn’t be ecstatic filling their days with chocolate, trinket collecting, and martial arts training? Yeah … me. Because no matter how much chocolate I ate, I couldn’t fill the dark pit in my soul. A darkness born from blood alchemy. A darkness that reeked of the black magic I now knew I was capable of creating. Maybe it was time to walk away. But what if there were important things left to do? What if I was the only one who could do what needed to be done? I wasn’t sure I could handle the responsibility, but as long as I had my chocolate stash and a good friend to back me up, I was willing to give it a try. Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic is the fourth book in the Dowser series, which is set in the same universe as the Oracle, Reconstructionist, Amplifier, Archivist, and Misfits of the Adept Universe series. While it is not necessary to read all the series, in order to avoid spoilers the ideal reading order of the Adept Universe begins with Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).