The Bone Dancer (Tale II of the Valruna Saga)

Epic sword and sorcery fantasy meets weird fiction and horror in this second installment of the Valruna Saga, an ongoing series of tales in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Fritz Leiber. The first tale, "The Temple of Baal-Zebub", introduced the character of Vana Valruna and her reluctant campaign against the Baals, the four demonic Lords that rule the ancient world.

Join this wild northern barbarian warrior woman/sorceress and her trusted guide and companion the wily thief Jerob as they are inexorably drawn into a desperate spiritual battle between the noble gods of the north and the terrifyingly alien deities worshipped in strange desert lands to the south and east.

In this tale, having fled the wicked desert city of Bel-Athis with the wrath of the devil-god Baal-Zebub at their backs, Vana and Jerob stop for a much-needed rest at a caravanserai on their way to the great port city of Rakasad. But there are forces bent on capturing and punishing the infamous desecrators of the Temple of Baal-Zebub, the most formidable of these being led by the Bone Dancer, the bloodthirsty Left Horn of the sinister Baal-Qarnaim, or "Lord of Two Horns", and by his influence it is not long before the ultimate betrayal turns what at first seemed like a safe haven into a most deadly trap.