The Silk Merchant's Daughter — John Salonia

A WARRIOR-WOMAN'S DARK PAST . . . Born to luxury and idleness, Seralya Torrell is torn from her safe and comfortable life by a horrific family betrayal. Enslaved in a harem and framed for the murder of her lover, Seralya fights her way to freedom - only to find herself lost in the vicious streets of the criminal quarter, where Seralya has a temptingly high price on her head. Seralya survives these dangers by reinventing herself as a streetwise, glamorous thief and warrior, whose motto, "Never start a fight, but always finish it," becomes a byword of terror to the skulking predators of her lawless world. For awhile, Seralya has the world balanced on her sword-point. Then past entanglements and current crimes enmesh her in a fatal web of betrayal and vengeance . . . and murder. From starvation on the merciless streets to mistress of the criminal underworld, from embodying the thief-goddess Ilx to serving as bodyguard to a sorceress whose shadowy past holds the clue to her present peril, the passionate and intrepid Seralya survives through wits, brains, indomitable courage and superlative skill. Yet danger comes from within as well as without - and the overpowering need for revenge may prove to be Seralya's downfall . . . The 8-volume WIZARD OF EARTH'S END series: THE STAFF AND THE STONE QUEST FOR THE HYDRA MADMAN OF GHAVIER THE HOUNDS OF CHAOS THE SHORES OF SARGOTHROND THE SILK MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER THE CHAMPION OF NIGHT APPARITIONS AND OTHER DARK DOINGS