Familiar (with an illustrated cross-section)

For readers aged 16+ and fans of gothic atmosphere, magic, and intense plots.

In a rundown house on a rundown street in Madrid, Lucia Cotado secretly uses magic to ease her days filled with endless scullery maid duties. But upon discovering that the clumsy maid actually possesses a knack for small miracles, her intriguing mistress demands that Lucia use her gifts to secure a better social status for the family.

What begins as a simple diversion for the gentry takes a dangerous turn when the girl attracts the attention of Antonio Pérez, a disgraced royal secretary. The king, still reeling from defeat, is ready to exploit any advantage in the war against the English heretic queen; and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain royal favor. Determined to improve her own destiny, Lucia plunges into a world of prophets and alchemists, zealots and speculators, where it is never possible to draw a precise line between magic, science, and fraud. However, with renown comes increasing danger, as her Jewish blood could doom the girl to persecution by the Inquisition.

She will have to fully use her wit and will to live, even if it means seeking help from Guillén Santángel, a malevolent immortal familiar whose secrets could prove deadly for both of them.