It Takes Death To Reach A Star

THE WORLD YOU KNOW IS DEAD.WE DID THIS TO OURSELVES.The epidemic struck at the end of the Third World War. In just five years, the Earth was annihilated. Only one city survived-Etyom-a frozen hell-hole in northern Siberia, still engulfed in conflict.The year is 2251.Mila Solokoff is a Robust who trades information in a world where knowing too much can get you killed. Caught in a deal-gone-bad, she's forced to take a high-risk job for a clandestine organization hell-bent on revolution.Demitri Stasevich is a Gracile with a dark secret-a sickness that, if discovered, will surely get him Ax'd. His only relief is an illegal narcotic produced by the Robusts, and his only means of obtaining it is a journey to the arctic hell far below New Etyom.Thrust together in the midst of a sinister plot that threatens all life above and below the cloud line, Mila and Demitri must master their demons and make a choice-one that will either salvage what's left of the human race, or doom it to extinction ...

Four years have passed since the lillipads fell and Etyom slipped into darkness. The New Black Death has mutated again, spreading to near epidemic proportions. What little order existed in Earth's last city has disintegrated into chaos. Rippers roam the Vapid, robbing and leaving their victims butchered. The Robusts have spilled out of their broken enclaves and hide in any dark corner that will conceal them. Meanwhile, the elite Graciles, fallen from their pristine towers in the sky, have all mysteriously disappeared. Demitri is a prisoner in his own mind. His demon, Vedmak-now known as the Vardøger-is manipulating Demitri's body to execute a secret plan far more disastrous than even the Gracile Leader dared. Mila, her status among the fractured resistance elevated to that of Paladyn-a protector of the people-leads the fight against zealots intent on destroying what little remains of Etyom. It is a responsibility she never wanted, a calling that prevents her from doing what she truly desires. Yet, Mila should be careful of what she longs. Caught between annihilation and loyalties that refuse to die, she must reconcile a single immutable truth: following your heart comes at a price.