Book excerpt: There are no monsters on Ose. People can be monstrous enough. Long-lost artifacts lure people from a lost population out on a secret quest. At the same time, an unexpectedly strong winter storm forces Erin to take refuge in an isolated cabin. Unbeknownst to her, this was the last known location of the missing items that Kai, one of the lost, is looking for. Dismayed to find Erin at the cabin, he reacts in the only logical way: Kill any witnesses to protect his people. With a ferocious blizzard ravaging the realm, will the sages be able to prevent bloodshed? And what would it take to avoid war with THE LOST ones?