Ever since he can remember, Warren Wilkes has felt an affinity to the wilderness around him. The air, the soil, even the animals living within the Cascade mountains - they call to him, inciting the urge to explore the secrets the mountains hold. The sheer beauty that surrounds him is breathtaking and the mere thought of that beauty being marred by housing developments sits ill with him. So much so that he decides to take matters into his own hands. Yet never once has he given thought to the consequences of his actions.

Vandalizing a neighbor's property in retaliation, Warren's only option is to run into the wild for safety. He knows he's done something wrong, yet he justifies it with the fact that he was paying the developers back for the ruin of his beloved wilderness. Trying to stay one step ahead of those he's angered, he stumbles upon a 500-year-old skeleton dislodged from within the soil's grasp because of the rainy weather as well as an ancient, and quite magical, artifact.

Unwilling to part with his treasure, he's determined to keep it at all costs. Sent to do community service as a result of what he's done, Warren knows that it's a matter of time before his nemesis takes his revenge for his little prank. It's not long before Todd J.R. discovers his secret, lusting after the treasure himself.

Inadvertently unleashing an ancient evil intent on recovering what it feels rightfully belongs to it, Warren sets into motion a series of events that leave him questioning his entire existence. He soon understands that it's up to him to set all wrongs to right, while trying to come to terms with the secrets he's now privy to. Secrets that were kept from him in order to keep him safe. Secrets that threaten life as he knows it.

This was such a delightful read. Kenneth has a way of pulling the reader in from the very first sentence that it's hard to put the book down. I also found myself so intrigued with the history that he painstakingly put together. I confess I tried researching to see if the Denelai really existed. The history was that well-developed!

It's such a fascinating story. I truly recommend reading it and look forward to reading Battle For Cascadia, the next book in the series, soon.