Immortal Hunters

For hundreds of years, humanity has held the line against the Khemrids — monstrous creatures that serve the divine thousand-eyed snake living in the planet's core — and the only institution capable of fighting them is the Church. In exchange for that protection, the ruling Cardinals demand absolute obedience. Ancient texts that challenge the established order are burned. The disobedient rot in church cells. The compliant are made Saints and subjected to martyrdom. From their bodies, the churchmen draw the Holy Fire — a weapon the Khemrids cannot stand. The Church's deadliest asset is its immortal Hunters, warriors who can face Khemrids as equals. Into this world: a girl fleeing pursuing Khemrids, an old man who knows far more than he reveals, and a city destroyed by invasion that becomes a battlefield where the Church's ambitions will clash with the will of one brave heretic who refuses to accept the Cardinals' version of truth.