Alisha is the newest Talon of the Raptor Clan, mercenaries prized by rulers, nobles, and the wealthy as elite bodyguards. Like all Talons, she survived five Ordeals and ten years of grueling training. Alisha is not the strongest mercenary in the Raptor Clan, but she is the craftiest. Only tricking her opponents into underestimating her got her through the long years of Clan training. Those years honed her weapon skills, but not as much as her sharp wits. Even the ability she gets from the rune she was given by the Unknown Goddess depends on her guile. Her first assignment for the Clan, to guard a young princess, requires all Alisha's skill, wit, and her newly acquired rune to keep the young heir to the kingdom alive. 2010 Epic Award Finalist for Fantasy