Flight

Book 1 of the Land of Green and Gold Trilogy

Escape. That had been Max's goal since the day he and his little sister, Lucy, had been torn from their mother and sold to a new master. A goal that would whisk Lucy away from the hard labor, skimpy meals, and cruelty of the taskmaster. But the opportunity never arose.
Then one day magic-a thing of stories, of something humans had stifled long ago-returns, and all Elder are given the mysterious command to travel to the unheard-of Land of Green and Gold. Chaos erupts as slaves use their new powers to escape. Max and Lucy plan their escape as well. Night comes. And everything goes wrong.

To Max's horror, Lucy is randomly selected to be beaten-a warning to those considering flight. Max escapes with his friend, Mary, instead, and they hide on the outskirts of the master's land to wait until Lucy is healed enough to flee. Then, a botched rescue mission and gun injury later, Max finds himself running even further away from his sister to rush Mary to a nearby Elder haven for help. During their stay at the haven, Max is confronted with a new problem; a chest-squeezing, cold-raking fear of the taskmaster hunts him. The hunt creeps into his nightmares and disconnects him from the shadows he should be able to control. And no magic means no way to save Lucy.

As the nightmares grow worse and the arrival of a serial killer further complicates things, Max fights to grow in his powers and overcome the hunt of fear. He will save Lucy. Even if it costs him his life.