DEMON OF THE BLACK GATE

A blind woman grows close to a demon as she helps him evade a wizard’s control in Scherzinger’s (The Henna Witch, 2019, etc.) fantasy novel. 

In the imperial city of Abbysin, wizard Rovinkar convinces Imperial Chancellor Chenli Menthra that he, Rovinkar, can destroy the impenetrable Black Gate. This barrier may be the only thing preventing the Abbysin Empire from conquering other lands. Rovinkar summons an elemental demon to destroy the gate, but when he momentarily loses control, the demon escapes. The demon ultimately encounters Cerra, a woman who lost her eyesight when she was a child. Cerra sees the demon as a man “in her mind’s eye,” which seemingly breaks the demon from Rovinkar’s spell. The wizard hears of Cerra’s apparent powers and sends a mercenary after her. The demon, meanwhile, wants to find Rovinkar to ensure that he’s completely free of the wizard’s hold and won’t return to the black Void, where he’d resided for an immeasurable time. The demon takes Cerra with him on a journey to Abbysin, along with Cerra’s trusty horse, Sugar, and cat, Kamir. The woman and demon bond during their trek, but later, someone, or something, manages to separate them. Scherzinger deftly combines detailed worldbuilding with a simple story that’s centered on a mere handful of characters. Cerra is an exceptional protagonist; although she has clear superpowers, such as a telepathic link with the demon, they’re largely kept ambiguous. In fact, in one instance, Rovinkar is fearful of a power that readers already know that Cerra doesn’t have (and that, hilariously, involves her cat). The narrative also revels in pithy but vivid descriptions of the environment: “The passing of the great wave roiled the loose silts of the riverbed and boiled the water with great gulps of air shoved into the depths.”

An uncomplicated fantasy plot allows a remarkable world and vibrant characters to shine.