The Mirror and the Mage: A novel of Ancient Rome (Master Mage of Rome Book 1)

Fourteen-year old Lucius Junius Brutus yearns to join the army of King Tarquin the Proud, Etruscan ruler of Rome. When he successfully swims the Tiber River before sundown on the longest day of the year, he counts on the King choosing him as a warrior. But Lucius' father has other plans: to make Lucius a priest and guardian of the dusty scrolls of Rome's legendary lawgiver, Numa Pompilius. Obeying his father, Lucius arrives at the shrine only to find it is a place of magic empowered by Numa's grammarly scrolls. If Lucius can master the scrolls' potential, he will not only defeat the human and ghostly forces that terrify and threaten Rome, he will become the master of the city and even the world. Can Lucius resist the temptation of becoming a king even prouder than Tarquin?