Thomas East was meant to be the youngest Arch-Mage in history, a magical genius and a solver of problems. But he hadn’t expected quite so many problems -- not to mention the endless meetings, bureaucracy, and political negotiations. So he’s currently hiding in a sleepy California seaside town, working in an ice cream parlor and avoiding everyone he’s let down ... until a firebird in need of rescue crashes into his shop.
Nicholas Incandesco has far too many problems. He’s a firebird, a shapeshifter, and a power source, and a lot of magicians could use someone with his gifts. He’s also technically a murder suspect with two magical bounty hunters on his trail. He just wants someplace safe to land, and the attractive witch behind the ice cream counter might offer a sweet refuge.
This encounter might be exactly what both Nicholas and Tom need to find themselves ... and rescue each other.
The Arch-Mage’s Firebird By K.L. Noone The wizard’s apprentice came sprinting into Tom’s Seaside Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor on a Wednesday morning, dove over the counter, and pleaded from behind double-cherry chip and butter-rum refrigerated tubs, “Hide me.” “From what,” Tom demanded, looking down, “why are you on the floor, and that was my favorite scoop you made me drop—” and then looked up automatically as the bell rang again. Two men ambled into the shop. They did not look like men hunting strawberry-cheesecake swirl, unless they planned to trap it with binding-spells and compulsion collars. Knotwork and herb-pouches dangled at hips; their expressions might’ve come out of a badly-scripted low-budget Western film. Sunshine and ocean breeze peeked in behind leather jackets, curio