Lucius is a tall, lanky, perpetually clumsy human college
student completely out of balance with his body; yet his
strong talent in reading and deciphering Mayan text is
attracting some unwanted attention. He unknowingly begins
his journey with the Nightkeepers when a demon enters his
body and mind during a battle. And if that isn't enough, an
ancient spell marks him as the next prophet. After a near-
death experience, Lucius must figure out his purpose and
where he fits in with the heroes attempting to keep the
world from coming to an end. Unfortunately, when he is
unable to tap into the prophet magic, the Royal Counsel
sends his former lover, Jade, to assist him. Though Lucius
will not turn down the offer, he will proceed on his own
terms. He is no longer a scared and unsure kid.
Jade is becoming restless with her part as a Nightkeeper.
She belongs to the Harvest Clan, which keeps her buried in
the Nightkeeper archives away from danger, since she
doesn't have the Warrior glyph tattoo. Six months ago,
Lucius was keeping Jade company, buried in books and
research. However, after his tragic experience, Lucius has
distanced himself from Jade and their former relationship.
She understands that in order for him to tap into the
prophet magic, he needs to get to the Nightkeeper library
and use Sex Magic to boost his power. Jade gladly
sacrifices herself for the duty, making sure Lucius
understands they are just friends with benefits. The magic
they generate together takes Jade on a journey through her
Nightkeeper past, unlocking secrets and confusing her more
than ever.
This is the fourth book in the Final Prophecy series and
it's just as powerful as the first three. The characters
are impressive and deeply emotional, and the plot weaves an
extraordinary tale you don't want to miss. I am excited to
see where Jessica Andersen's imagination takes me
next. An awesome read!
According to Mayan doomsday prophecy, 12/21/12 marks the end
of the world in a global cataclysm that can only be
prevented by the Nightkeepers, magical warriors enlisted to
fight the rise of the underworld demons. To fulfill the
final prophecy the Nightkeepers must find their mates, but
when Lucius and Jade are charged with rescuing the Mayan sun
god, they try to ignore their growing attraction. Unless
they can confront their own demons and accept that love
isn't a weakness, even destiny might not be able to save
them...
Excerpt
“What’s this?” Jade moved to the TV and raised a hand to
trace the stylized figures of six men arranged in an
asymmetrical pattern, two on the left, four on the right.
Five wore elaborate, feather-worked headdresses made from
the skulls of jaguars and coyotes, along with protective
shielding that covered only one side of their bodies. The
sixth stood at the far right, apart from the others.
Wearing a musician’s loincloth and lacking a headdress, he
held a conch shell to his lips. Glyphs emerged from the
crude instrument as though they were musical notes, though
no such scheme had been identified for the ancient Maya.
The paint colors ranged from pale mauve through rusty red
to charcoal black. The earthy hues reflected on Jade’s face
as she frowned, trying to parse out the glyphs.
“Don’t bother, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “The
current theory is that the artist was illiterate, and just
copied a bunch of cool-looking glyphs from other places.
It’s just gibberish.” He didn’t say why he’d been studying
the painting, why it was important to him.
Under other circumstances, with another woman, talking
translation would’ve spoiled the mood. With Jade, though,
it only served to heighten the sense of intimacy provided
by the small, quiet cottage and the rust-red light. They
shared a love of language, and although he couldn’t
honestly say he was more attracted to her brains than her
body, the two together had made a hell of an impression
when he’d first met her.
Or rather, once he’d gotten past her habitual reserve,
which came across as shyness, but he’d learned was her way
of hiding in plain sight. They each suffered from their own
cultural conditioning, he’d long ago realized, though hers
had come from a too-demanding winikin and a set of writs
rather than a disappointed family and the gods of football.
“There’s something …” She trailed off, still frowning at
the glyphs, but then she shook her head and turned back to
him, expression going from intrigued to warmth with a hint
of nerves. “Never mind. We’re here for a different reason,
aren’t we?”
Which was true—it wasn’t like this was just about sex, for
either of them.
There was a far larger goal, one that hung over them,
weighing on him as it had for nearly half a year now, only
this time edged with a sharp sense of anticipation.
Determination. He was getting his ass into the library,
whatever it took. And if that meant that the Nightkeepers’
needs and his own desire to be part of things wound up
getting all mixed together with the desire he felt for Jade—
had felt for her from that first day they’d worked together—
then that was part of the Nightkeepers’ culture, wasn’t
it?
Sex was magic, magic was power, and power could save the
world.