A deal for ownership of a volcano-fed Onsen; a deal almost too good to be true. As the owner, magician Scott Freeman would have access to an almost inexhaustible source of magical energy. Enough energy and status to force the kitsune queen to acknowledge his worth and approve of his relationship with Kitty-Sue, Scott’s kitsune girlfriend. Or if not a blessing, at least a reduction in the queen’s efforts to kill or expel Scott from Japan.
Kitty-Sue hopes that by helping Scott gain the queen’s approval, she will be able to make their unusual relationship permanent.
The only reason no one has claimed this prime location is that the ghost of a disgraced Samurai haunts the Onsen. This spirit has spent centuries trapped there, each year adding to his rage and power. All Scott has to do is exorcize the mad ghost; induce or compel him to pass on to the next world.
As an inducement, the Samurai spirit asks for a small favor, a favor that sends Scott and his team to Thailand to retrieve the ghost’s treasured mementos. Mementos that could add to the power of this malevolent ghost.
If the inducements don’t work to make the ghost pass on, compulsion will. But can Scott and his team win a fight to the death against an opponent who is already dead?
NOTE: This contemporary urban fantasy book contains violent magical battles, sexual sparring with friends old and new, dancing with a Thai tree-spirit, and multiple magic swords.