The Last Rite

Maggie Stuart’s life begins to fall apart the day her estranged father returns to town, apparently in a botched kidnapping attempt. Soon, she is in the middle of a deadly struggle for magical supremacy, a prisoner in a subterranean catacombs of a creature she calls the "Burnt Man."

She is not his only captive — others from Maggie's school have also fallen into the Burnt Man's clutches, including Aaron Scribner, who she thinks might just be as smart as she is; Scott Saunders, who thinks Maggie's weird; and Jason Lawson, her embarrassing secret crush. But they all seem to know what she does: it's Maggie the Burnt Man wants.

While Maggie's mother makes an uneasy alliance with her ex, determined to find her daughter and bring her home, she is pursued by a dogged detective trying in his own way to make sense of a bizarre crime.

From the favorite teacher dabbling in the occult to the little albino boy whose singing works magic to the lone detective with dark secrets of his own, Maggie finds herself surrounded by unforgettable characters and faced with unimaginable peril.

Far from home, trapped deep underground by an ancient being and his two murderous, immortal children.

Caught in a deadly game where she is tested, tortured, and taunted.

Afraid to trust new friends, more afraid of the changes in ones she thought she knew.

Will Maggie remain a pawn in a game she can't win? Will she be a player herself? That's harder than it sounds. After all, to succeed she would need to overcome her greatest fear — of what she herself is becoming...