The Search for the Sword of Justice (Dark Fighter's Apprentice #1)

Many moons ago, Johnson Shindlemire embarked on one of the most perilous quests of his life, when he rescued a newborn infant boy from the cold, lifeless cabin where his mother died. That very night, Johnson made a promise to himself that no matter what, no matter the cost, he world raise this boy so that one day he might become a Dark Fighter and carry on the legacy that thousands before him had left. He would vanquish the darkness that dwelled within Churaco-Ronda so that he might earn the honour of the people who inhabited the land.
However, now Seth is the right age to begin his duties as a Dark Fighter's apprentice and Johnson must tell him the truth about who he is and why he had to lie to him for so long. He than tells Seth that his days of living a sheltered life within the walls of King Albert I's castle are over and if he truly desires to live out his long-foretold destiny, he will have to leave his best friend Ana Kemptwell and that life, behind him.
But, when Ana's father King Albert I is suddenly murdered, Seth Shindlemire must take up the task of finding the murderer with the help of his mentor Johnson and a palace servant boy named Lin, who bears a cryptic-looking mark that he himself, does not know why.
Unfortunately, before Seth can figure out who assassinated the late King of Churaco-Ronda, Ana is kidnapped by someone with the initials 'M.A.'. Someone Seth has no such recollection of, but Johnson seems to know all too well...

In this exciting debut to the Dark Fighter's Apprentice Series, mystery, murder and mayhem are about to unleash like never before and it's up to our hero and his wise teacher to save Ana and others from the clutches of an evil that's lying beneath. One that waits forever to take the living and bring them to their death.