The Ryan Thayer Saga: Ryan and the Dark Sword (Paperback)

While serving a lifetime grounding thanks to a revenge attempt gone wrong, social outcast and oft-bullied Ryan Thayer spots a girl in the house next door. This wouldn't be so strange, except the house has been abandoned for over a decade and is on the verge of collapse.Unable to control his curiosity, Ryan gives chase, following the girl through a gateway into a strange world known as the Middle Age. There, Ryan is taken in by a caring family. But when his attempt to return home is foiled, a mage named Dardanus warns that Ryan is in danger from a group known as the Donati, who seek to unleash an ancient demon not only on this new world, but on Ryan's home as well.Eager to escape his tormentors back home, Ryan is only too happy to join the battle against the Donati. But at Avengarde Keep, Ryan finds the same old bullies awaiting him. Worse, the sword Ryan is given still carries the dark past of its previous owner, a past which no one seems to want to talk about.As Ryan learns to control a magic power known as spectra, he must also navigate new friends and new enemies, all while keeping his sword's past from destroying him.