The Phoenix Fate, Book 2 of the Enchanter's Cycle

The sequel to The Path in the Shadow and the continuation of the Enchanter's Cycle, pitting Surthath's champions against the forces of Dur'Artoth, and perhaps a being even more dangerous... After achieving a bittersweet victory against the rogue enchanter Yokai, the heroes and heroines of Teikoku find an even greater enemy arrayed against them. The Skraul; vampyric children of the Dread Hammer himself, have entered the Human world, bringing with them the combined armies of eight conquered worlds. Kaileena, alongside a redeemed Dur'Arteth, seeks a cure to Yokai's stolen power that, if left unchecked, will kill her. Mikoto, the famed Hitorigami, fights a dual war: one waged in battle against the Skraul, and one waged in intrigue against the upstart Lord Kiromichi, who has become far too entangled in the ambitions of the Pirate Lords to be trusted. And Ryu and his fellow Silkrit; a noble alien race fled from their dying world, take steps in adapting and assimilating in their new home. Lives shall be spent, truths revealed, and perhaps Surthath himself will know fear, for Dur'Artoth the Dread Hammer seeks far more than conquest in the land of humans...