I hope you’re sitting down…

…because the cover for PROTECTOR (Darkblade #2) is going to knock you flat.

I’ve gotten EIGHT covers done for the Darkblade series (just missing a few later-in-series covers that I’ll have to plan once I outline the books), but I think this one is probably my favorite.

Not only does it make the Hunter look totally badass, but it also brings in something totally epic—something I didn’t initially have in the original storyline.

Let me explain…

In the original Hero of Darkness version of Darkblade Assassin, the First of the Bloody Hand wielded a sword that was pretty much a longer, bigger version of Soulhunger.

Straightforward, no frills, just another of those Bucelarii weapons, but in the hand of the demon.

But that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Otherwise, why did he need Soulhunger?

So when I sat down to rewrite the series, I knew I had to change things up.

I gave the First a sword that wasn’t like Soulhunger, but had a sort of “corruptive magic” that poisoned/rotted its victims from within.

Which is why the Hunter almost died even after the iron was cleansed from his body.

Cool addition, right? When I moved on to PROTECTOR (Darkblade #2), that was pretty much the end of it (after the Hunter buried it outside Voramis). One magical sword—okay, I like it, now time to keep going.

But then my cover artist came up with the design you’ll see below, and I KNEW I had to change the story to fit in something REALLY COOL.

Are you ready?

Check it out:

I’m not going to tell you how or where, but when I saw this cover, I immediately found a place to write in a super cool sword like the one he drew.

And yes, now magical weapons are going to be a THING in the Darkblade world.

The First’s sword was the first he’ll encounter, but there will be many more to come.

I’ve already found a really cool way to add one into SLAYER (Darkblade #3), and of course you know about the Scorchslayers in SAVIOR.

But you’ve got all kinds of cool things to look forward to now—and it’s all thanks to the artist who drew this cover.

PROTECTOR (Darkblade #2) launches on Friday, Oct 22nd.

Mark it on your calendars–just a few more days to go…

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