Sword Dance of the Puppets

"The last mundane king of Verneece, Nidad Reik, has been overthrown. Now the sorcerers who usurped him have gathered to divide the spoils and to drink wine from the skull of their late king. Yet, even as they engage in revelry and feasting there lurks a hidden presence, making ready to usurp the usurpers. Is it one of the sorcerers, jealous of his or her fellows? Could it be a mundane man thinking to route the sorcerers and bring Verneece back under human rule again? Or is it possible that someone totally overlooked is behind the troubles that are befalling these conquerors? Will the ghost of Nidad Reik be the one to get the last laugh as one by one the sorcerers fall, dying of tragic circumstances? Set in the Blackstone Universe, the history of Verneece before the coming of Queen Spiral is revealed.