Sigmund is First Blade to King Emrik—it's his duty to fight duels on Emrik's behalf.  He's also in love with the King's wife—with Queen Islana When Emrik is found dead, his heart torn out, Islana is suspected as the killer. Captured and imprisoned, she's sentenced to die by the week's end.  Sigmund is determined to prove Islana innocent. In search of the truth, he finds more than he was bargaining for...Horrors lurk in the shadows of Emrik's castle. Sigmund soon finds himself not just fighting for the Queen's life, but for the future of all humanity. Pitched as John Carpenter's THE THING meets medieval Germany, FIRST BLADE is a thrilling fantasy horror novel where no one is as they really seem...