Blood Road
Month9Books | 25 April 2017
The Empire seals its borders in blood. Nineteen-year-old Torien Risto knows that; he’s seen dissidents dealt with before. He knows the young local girl who just knifed him will hang for assaulting an Imperial officer. And he swears on his life to keep that from happening, because he knows—whatever the authorities say—it isn’t justice.
Someone inside the provincial government is kidnapping Imperial citizens and selling them across the desert to the salt mines, silencing anyone who tries to intervene. The girl’s brother is one of those who has been taken. Rejected by the courts, she’s waging personal war against the Empire as a last resort. Determined to save her life, even if it’s too late for the boy, Torien sets out in search of answers on the Salt Road, the ancient trade route running deep into the heart of the desert—territory claimed by the hostile Mayaso tribe.
Now, Torien must decide how far he will go to honor his oath, risking both his freedom and his life on the Blood Road.