Book excerpt: For three heroes, the past is about to come back to hunt them. A renegade warrior, a mystic exile, and a magic-wielding soldier are on the run. Their enemies are closing in. Some want to control them, some want to rob them, and others just want them dead. In a land of monsters and renegades, their one hope for survival may be an ancient device of evil, the long-lost Grieving Tree. . . .