Meet Mary Catherine “Mick” Kelly — death mage, Pinkerton operative, and the last person you want on your trail. As a field agent for the shadowy Bureau of Magical Investigation, Mick rides the energy of the dying to fuel her deadly magic. Every soul she Gleans brings her closer to power but further from peace. In the summer of 1869, the Santa Fe Trail runs red with blood. Wagon trains are left in carnage, their passengers either slaughtered or driven mad by unseen forces. The Bureau suspects magical outlaws, but something darker stalks the Kansas plains. Mick’s mission: go undercover as a merchant’s wife on a westbound train and root out the cause. Her magic falters. Her usual protections fail. And what she’s chasing may be older and hungrier than anything she’s ever faced. With her loyal crew and the restless dead at her shoulder, Mick must stop a spreading darkness before it devours everything in its path. But power always demands a price, and the trail remembers every sin. A gritty historical fantasy with supernatural menace, The Phantasm Prism is a story of haunted landscapes, hard choices, and uncanny encounters—perfect for fans of Red Rabbit, Gunnie Rose, and Even Though I Knew the End. A standalone prequel in the World of Bad Magic.