She Consumes Poison
Scarlet Eye: Homecoming is book six of Ashen Blades and book one of the sub-series Scarlet Eye, which centers on the adventures of a half-demon girl (the Hunter) and her friends in an ancient order of monster hunters (The Order of Ash and Smoke, also known as Ashen Blades).
The Hunter’s faithful companion, Mashu’ra, was killed in the line of duty. The little demon in the form of a kitten has always lived in her hat and he’s like a brother to her, leaving her deeply upset and unable to calm down.However, there’s a slim ray of hope, which from another perspective becomes a ray of horror: the imp originally arrived on Earth through summoning magic and dying merely returned him to Hell. Unfortunately, nearly every demon in the place knows he’s a turncoat and the Hunter’s arch-nemesis, Vogerath, has been waiting centuries for this to happen.
The Ashen Blades immediately tried a summoning spell to retrieve their friend, but another imp appeared in place of Mashu’ra, informing the kitten’s friends who has him. If they want him back, they’ll have to visit Hell and promise an unacceptable measure of cooperation that would surely doom the human race.
Meanwhile, Mashu’ra endures a nightmarish ordeal at the hands of his old boss, starting with magically-enhanced interrogation, then torture and brainwashing using means both magical and mundane.
The Hunter and her friends mount a desperate rescue mission and open a portal to that infernal world. The Hunter leads the way, using all of her power to cut a blood-soaked path through the streets of Castigation City, where Mashu’ra is held captive.
Will they be in time to rescue their dear friend before it’s too late? Will they manage to save his soul, or will they rescue only his body? Will Mashu’ra ever be the same again?
Release Schedule and Details
The first chapter was published to Royal Road on Friday, February 20, 2026 and further chapters will come one at a time, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Looking For More?
There’s two options for what may be the next book in Ashen Blades:
She Hunts Witches will center around a small handful of demon witches with an ax to grind with the main characters.
On the other hand, She Hunts Gremlins centers around a plot involving demonic gremlins making their way into the internet, in a very amusing twist on their usual theme of invading Earth.
The order of these two novels has not yet been decided, since they haven’t been written, but She Hunts Gremlins is most likely next, to give the author time to find the means to research Japan, rather than changing the setting to either Chicago or possibly Los Angeles.