Balthazar's Bane (Gaslamp Gothic)

Count Balthazar Jozsef Habsburg-Koháry tries to lead a simple life.Oh, he enjoys a few hobbies.Hunting necromancers with a wire garrote. Impersonating a filthy rich Hungarian noble. Seducing innocent women who never suspect the price of the count's attentions. Nursing a nice brandy by the fire.But considering what Balthazar used to be like, these pastimes are harmless. He's turned over a new leaf and deserves his moment in the sun. What could be better than a holiday cruise up the Nile with his secretary Lucas Devereaux? Surely they deserve a reward for assassinating the famously paranoid necromancer John Mortlake in the middle of Cairo's teeming bazaar.With a first-class cabin and flowing champagne, it's a merry little Christmas for Count Koháry.There's just one thing that might ruin his mood.Say, for example, if someone stole the talisman that keeps him from burning for all eternity in the forges of Hell.That would really suck.Unfortunately for Balthazar, he just killed the wrong necromancer - one with a vengeful daughter and her own problems with a gang of djinni. To get his mojo back, he'll have to win a legendary sword and liberate a desert kingdom of magical misfits. For centuries, the people of Al Miraj have sought a champion. A valiant hero willing to face the terrible wrath of the arch demon Fulad-zereh!What they get is Balthazar.But the gods always did like a good joke.