The Red Ring

Maggie Stuart, now 16, feels alienated and lost - her former friends ignore her, and magic, something that once came naturally, has deserted her entirely. But when she interrupts a dangerous occult ritual, it is the beginning of another baptism by fire for both her and the boys she once saved: Jason Lawson, Scott Saunders, and Aaron Scribner. And she discovers that the supernatural world has never been as far away as it had seemed. . . In book two of "Blood & Magic," Maggie is swept into the world of the occult after witnessing a ritual performed in the school gymnasium that is eerily reminiscent of the "last rite" she endured three years earlier. Even stranger, the participants include three boys who were also present at that momentous event - Scott Saunders, Aaron Scribner, and her grade eight crush Jason Lawson. Unlike Maggie, they haven't maintained any known connection to that previous time - so how on earth did they manage to find a book of magic AND learn how to use it? Her previous adventures unlocked a deep desire to work magic in Maggie, an urge that has been frustrated at every turn. Now, isolated and lonely, she sees a chance to become involved again in the occult, even if it means becoming a sidekick to her former friends. Where there's magic, though, you can be sure that Mr. Hunt isn't far away, or that he's working for his own ends, even when those ends match up with Maggie's. Or, at the very least, an uneasy truce can be struck. Maggie pulls in the full force of her prior experiences to draw in the reluctant Metro Toronto Police detective John Tamblyn, Tamblyn's suspicious colleague Carla Szaba, and even uses a budding friendship with an older student, Irene. Can she find the line between getting help and flat-out using people as she battles an invisible force which seems determined to frighten, maim and kill on its way to an unknown goal? From the placid streets of suburban Toronto to the terrifying depths under the city, from the corridors of law enforcement to the bitter heart of a young girl's dreams, THE RED RING will take you on a journey far beyond the average fantasy. Follow Maggie into the darkness, if you dare.