RK Ashwick Books The Stray Spirit

A bard and a forest spirit uncover a deadly magical threat...and the key to survival lies within their own forgotten songs. Struggling bard Emry Karic has only one path home: impress the Auric Guild, join its ranks of elite musicians, and return to his family with his honor in hand. Difficult to do on a good day. Impossible to do with a possessed lute. Hours before Emry's big break, an unnatural earthquake strikes, forcing a forest spirit named Aspen to take refuge in his lute. Aspen is loud, talkative...and not leaving anytime soon. Panicked, Emry swears the spirit to silence on stage, in exchange for a favor: he will help investigate the mysterious quake that nearly killed them. But Emry is a bard, not a scholar, and his research leads straight to the person who resents him the most: Cal Breslin, his studious ex-girlfriend. Despite their history, Cal can't pass up the opportunity to study a mythical being. Yet as the trio delves into the forgotten folklore of spirits and gods, they uncover a magical threat-and lingering feelings-looming beneath the surface... ...