Jak Barley, Private Inquisitor and the Case of Hades' Gate

PI Barley is burned out and ready for mediocre crime. No angry mages, court intrigues, irate assassins, hordes of ghouls or vampires. Unfortunately, he finds himself kidnapped by a mob boss and dragged into a war between criminal gangs. Worse still, a forgotten gate to Hades is about to unleash a demonic apocalypse.

Barley's only allies are:

•  His intended, the Witch Morgana.

•  Lorenzo Spasm, a spell-immune outsider from a world without magic, whose presence turns curses into boomerangs.

•  Larry, an SI (Simulated Intellect) spellware downloaded into an elk skull.

•  Adalbert, a cantankerous dragon with a soft spot for Barley's brand of doomed heroism.

As the city teeters on the edge of hellfire, Barley must stand tall – or get trampled by hooves, spells, and fate itself.