The Thirteen Hallows

The Thirteen Hallows, by Michael Scott and Colette Freedman, begins a new saga centered on ancient magic and modern times. The Hallows are ancient artifacts possessing primal and deadly power, though their true purpose—protection or destruction of the world—remains unclear. A murder in London uncovers a plot connected to a two-thousand-year-old secret. For decades, the Keepers have guarded these Hallows separately and hidden. Now the Keepers are being murdered and their artifacts stolen, bathed in blood. Few remain. With her final breath, one Keeper asks Sarah Miller, a stranger, to deliver a broken sword with devastating powers to her American nephew, Owen. Sarah and Owen become suspects in a series of murders while being pursued by police, a sadistic figure called the Dark Man, and his mistress. As they search for surviving Keepers, they uncover the deadly secret the Keepers were sworn to protect. Their investigation takes them through England and Wales and into history itself, revealing that the sword may be humanity's only defense against an unimaginable horror.