Capturing the electric short fiction energy that led Robert E. Howard to be one of the top fantasy writers of the century, with exclusive serialized eBook stories starring Conan, Solomon Kane, and more by many of today's top writers in fantasy and sword-and-sorcery. "Those who possess the codex come to a bad end." The Shemite shaman N'yaga is in his village when he is visited by the young Bêlit, there in pursuit of the Codex Osyrania. The Codex is a magical book that contains the location of all the secrets ever buried, each spot marked by a golden cross. Some crosses lead to treasure, some spell doom. The book was given to N'yaga by Bêlit's father, who asked that he safeguard it. N'yaga reveals that a captain he served lost his ship gambling and took the Codex to buy it back. He throws the bones to tell her future, and sees her fate entwined with a black-maned lion. Yet he also sees in the bones that he is destined to go with Bêlit to the island of Knefetalla to retrieve the Codex. Together they set out in search of the legendary book.