Amarant—Book One by R Díaz

From new Australian author R Díaz, the first book in the Amarant series: Steve wished the chinkasqa would die, wished he could help Juana, and Tamya. Golden trails moved along the surface of his body, swarming along the enemy blade. The chinkasqa released the weapon in alarm, and there was an explosion as the blade disintegrated into a powdery ash. Steve focused again, lifted one hand off his own blade and reached out. Golden trails of dark energy streamed down his arm and started to cross the intervening space between him and the chinkasqa. Steve had not seen any of this coming. He had been hiking high in the Andes with Juana, some Germans, Brits and Kiwis, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. A group of four yachaq warriors had risked their lives reaching out across the void between stars. Steve and Juana had been pulled through a vortex and plunged headlong into a titanic struggle between Light and Shadow.