At the turn of the last century, in a world of romance, fantasy, and adventure where the old myths and legends exist alongside wondrous new creations, dirigible pilot Elle Chance navigates the realms between Light and Shadow. With her husband, Hugh Marsh, missing in the netherworld and presumed dead, Elle Chance loses herself in the task at hand: piloting the airship Water Lily on commissions across the globe. But as it turns out, her beloved is very much alive—the once-powerful warlock reduced to a wraith. When Water Lily is threatened by pirates, Elle will have to channel all her power as the Oracle— the keeper of the barrier between the two Realms—to try to save what she loves most. As the dark forces of Shadow converge around her, Elle must find a way to breach the curse that binds Marsh. But once released, will Marsh return to her—or is their love destined to die so that he can live?
In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun. When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr. Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse. Discover the thrilling new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.
That might as well have been the wedding vow of Elle Chance and her new husband, the ex-Warlock Hugh Marsh. For the couple has scarcely returned from their honeymoon when the ancient battle between Light and Shadow tears them apart. As Elle devotes herself to her duties as the Oracle — who alone has the power to keep the dark designs of Shadow at bay — Marsh finds himself missing the excitement of his former life as a Warlock. So when Commissioner Willoughby of the London Metropolitan Police seeks his help in solving a magical mystery, Marsh is only too happy to oblige. But in doing so, Marsh loses his heart, literally. In place of the flesh-and-blood organ is a clockwork device — a device that makes Marsh a kind of zombie. Nor is he the only one. A plague of clockwork zombies is afflicting London, sowing panic and whispers of revolution. Now Elle must join forces with her husband’s old friend the Nightwalker Loisa Belododia to track down Marsh’s heart and restore it to his chest before time runs out.
They gather at night.
The steady click keeping them in time, unified, controlled. Their maker made them that way.
As more Londoners disappear, their numbers grow.
One has joined their ranks. A special one, with power more potent than any other. Old warlock magic, and something else... an enchantment wound so tight it's near impossible to unravel.
And only Eleanor Chance - the oracle; the girl they call Pythia - has a hope of saving these unfortunate souls...
... souls that are burdened with the slow death from a clockwork heart.
In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun.
When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse.
Combining the best elements of nineteenth century gothic fiction with contemporary Steampunk, adventure, romance and the supernatural, Liesel Schwarz has crafted a truly exceptional debut, the first book in The Chronicles of Light and Shadow trilogy.
