<p>Everyone loves a good ghost story, at least until the ghost ends up spewing fire on their front lawn. </p> <p>I had hoped to get a good piece for the lifestyle section. What I got was a mess, in every sense of the words - potion bottles exploded, fire and smoke damage, and an argument between a subscriber and a potion master who hates my guts. A little digging shows that it's not just a bad batch of potions, either - it's a ghost. </p> <p>Exorcism would be the best option, except that the only local exorcist is busy, and without knowing the ghost's identity there's no quick way to remove it. If I can find out who left the ghost behind, I might be able to solve the problem and mend a few fences along the way. If I'm wrong, though, there's no telling how dire the consequences might be.</p>

Even when I'm not chasing kidnappers, I don't keep normal hours. I'm a journalist; late nights, burnt coffee, and energy potions come with the territory. When I get lost in a story or deep in pre-publication crunch time, I can't quit just because the sun's been down for eight hours. So when my best friend called me well after midnight to say she was being followed, I was already halfway out the door before the call could be hexed. I wasn't fast enough. By the time I arrived she was gone; vanished from within an impenetrable magical ward. Now I'm running out of time to discover who took her and why. There's no time for sleep: The clock is ticking, my leads are thin, and the few confidants I've got aren't playing straight with me. The monsters and thugs scurrying around the city won't make clue gathering any easier. At the start, I was afraid that if I didn't find her fast, she'd wind up dead. Now I know that if I don't get her back in time,...

<p>Levi Lawson isn't much of a wizard, but he knows the rules of magic - in particular, the rules that can land you in a Council jail if you break them. First on the list, and greatest of them all: Magic remains secret from the mortal world.</p> <p>When a stranger starts bragging online about her spellcasting ability, it becomes a race - Can Levi warn her about the consequences of her magic before the Council finds her and stops her the hard way?</p>