Larin shouts random nonsense words, turning him into a pariah in the gang-infested Wormpile district. When he finds that those outbursts have marked him as servant to an ancient malevolence, he knows he’s in big trouble. For although he doesn't *have* to follow the dark creature ruling his dreams, refusing will only plunge his empire into a greater darkness--an abyss so deep, it will turn mankind's soul to ash.