The Many Deaths of Barnaby James (2023)

In the shadow of the city's oldest cemetery, Barnaby James makes a final, desperate appeal to the necromancer Azlon. His request to resurrect Delilah is met with cold refusal. Driven by grief, Barnaby steals Azlon's arcane focus and flees into a hostile countryside. His path is blocked by opportunistic murderers, desperate cannibals, and the predatory networks of sex slavers. Each encounter strips another layer of his hope and his humanity. Meanwhile, Azlon’s pursuit is a silent, gathering storm. The stolen magic offers no clear path, only a faint, fading trace of a woman who may no longer exist. The mud on the road is thick and cold.