Cirrus@Austlit

'The powerful wizard, Alloran, lurks in the stinking muck of the back alleys of the city of Ehsan. Posing as a common labourer, he struggles to hide from his lover, his best friend, the authorities – and his past. But beneath the garbage of the backstreets he discovers a new horror: a trail of gruesome bodies, gnawed on by demons, and left gift-wrapped for him to find. Someone is brutally murdering people from his past, and threatening to finish with his lover, Gisayne. What dark secret of Alloran's youth cripples his ability to fight back? In a world where hellcats stalk the shadows, and a flaming demon lays waste to the citadel of the wizards, Alloran must risk losing himself to a powerful addiction, or abandon Gisayne to hell.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Six months ago, the disgraced wizard, Alloran, sacrificed his hand and risked his life and soul to rescue the woman he loves from his traitorous friend. Despite saving the city from a demon, his reputation remains ruined, and the council of wizards has punished him severely for practicing banned magic. Now he learns his desperate attempt to banish the demon was a mistake that threatens to send the whole world to hell. To unravel the damage he has done, Alloran is compelled to break the rules and venture into forbidden places against the order of the council. Alloran must choose between saving himself and everything he holds dear.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.