From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon and debut authors Hinako and Madaug Hishinuma comes a middle-grade fantasy adventure unlike any other, where demons rub shoulders with gods and one boy must learn to control his power before it’s too late.

Banished, isolated, and hunted for a destiny he doesn’t understand, Ryuichi must learn to master the powers he inherited from his mother in order to protect the sacred gates that separate the mortal world from the realm of demons. If he doesn’t, kami, yôkai, and demons who are hell-bent on making humanity suffer will flood the human realm.

No one can be trusted. Not even his own guardian … And here he thought puberty was the worst thing to threaten his sanity.

If he’s going to survive, Ryuichi must figure out who his real allies are—and who wants him dead. He’ll learn that sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right, and to overcome evil, you might have to bend the rules—and believe in people others tell you not to trust.

Sherrilyn Kenyon has had more than eighty novels on the New York Times bestseller list and has more than seventy million copies of her books in print in over one hundred countries. Her ongoing fiction series include the Dark-Hunters, The League, Deadman’s Cross, Chronicles of Nick, Eve of Destruction, Nevermore, and the Lords of Avalon.


A Japanese native, Hinako Hishinuma spent her college years volunteering to help underprivileged children in the Philippines and working to improve farming with nonchemical fertilizers in Indonesia. She studied Kendo for sixteen years and participated in national tournaments where she became the number-two champion for all of Japan. A licensed teacher in Japan for middle and high school students, she loves reading, origami, and calligraphy. She currently lives in the US with her husband and son, and a hound dog that doubles as her son’s pony.


Madaug Hishinuma, intense gamer, former Japanese teacher, and current mastermind of all-around mayhem, first started writing in grade school … on his mother’s walls. Deciding that near-death experiences weren’t exactly his thing, he traded his crayons for a computer, and once he broke away from his severe gaming addiction, he realized that his keyboard could also be used to create his own worlds. He’s been doing that ever since. He currently lives in Georgia with his wife, son, and dog that doubles as a pony.