This is the beginning of an epic saga of books featuring the savage and brutal realism of Dark Ages conflict with domineering rulers and stardust legends. A veneficus is a Dark Ages hybrid of sorcerer, magician, hermit, alchemist, oracle, wizard and wax-pale ghost. Savage death stalks the venefical gift, those who oppose it and those who support it. The fate of Wessex lies in the enchanted hands of Merlin, the current manifestation of the 10,000 – year – old Avebury Stones dynasty of Wessex venefici. But time races against him. He has only seven years left to live; seven short years in which he must train his successor in the enchantments. Twilight, formerly the village boy Will Timms, has the aura of the one chosen to be taught by the mighty Merlin and eventually take his place. Meanwhile, Wessex has fallen into peril, consumed by conflict and death as the Northern King, Penda, and his wolf woman veneficus, Elelendise, invade the land in search of conquest and power. Elelendise also covets Merlin’s title and will stop at nothing to obtain it. Penda and Elelendise are not the only threats. Forces even darker still are gathering as the God of the Cowering Dead strives for domination in an immortal struggle entwined with the fate of Wessex.

The French and English kings are at war, the Viking invaders are still causing mayhem having integrated into the Wessex landscape, and local warlord’s battle to gain a foothold on the Celts territory in any way they can. Twilight, the now old veneficus of Wessex, finds his replacement in Tara, a curly red-haired little girl from Ireland with special powers. As he trains Tara in the enchantments amidst the conflict raging around them, they must also maintain the crucial venefical presence at Stonehenge and Avebury. But while the old veneficus and his young novice attempt to deal with weak monarchs, a flesh-eating sorceress and three deviate and particularly evil Francian venefici, the Duke of Normandy invades England at the Battle of Hastings...

This book picks up where Book One, Veneficus – Stones of the Chosen, left off... The Viking are coming! The most savage and vicious raiders of Britain’s history have sent a large force of ninety longships to capture Wessex under the command of Guthrum, the Viking king. A desperate King Alfred enlists the enchanted aid of Twilight, veneficus of Wessex, and his troubadour companion, Desmond Kingdom Biwater, in a frantic fight to protect Wessex and its poetic Celts, from the horn-headed berserker hoards streaming across their green and peaceful land. Assisted by their own twin venefici, the enchanted Go-ian and Go-uan, the Viking put Twilight’s abilities to the severest test. As the death toll mounts King Alfred loses vital battles at Winchester and Chippingham and is forced into hiding in the dense swampland of the Summerland Levels...