The Orb of the Dead — Thomas W. Brucato

The land of Davanon is healing from three centuries of tyrannical rule by a diabolical emperor, a powerful sorcerer who had fed upon the souls of his own people to sustain his life. The scourge of his evil is gone, and the old kingdoms are slowly being restored. But peace is not so easily won. Bandits roam the countryside, politics are at the heart of border and trade disputes, and a new wizards' council struggles to agree on how to bring the practice of magic back into the world. And then a new evil begins to arise, one every bit as terrible as that of the late emperor. A young sorceress and a younger swordsman find themselves at the center of the fray, a fray that is focused on the ancient magical artifact called the Orb of the Dead. Their desperate fight will lead to Davanon's salvation…or to its ultimate destruction.