The End of the Beginning - Hell Gate, #4

"The question is not who is going to save me, demon, " she said steadily. "It's who is going to save you." Randia, broken by loss, must find the courage to complete a desperate quest, or see her land utterly conquered by the demon horde. An ancient enemy returns with the opening of the Hell Gate. Chaos reigns as the people rally to fight a desperate battle for survival, and many wonder bitterly why the gods seem to have abandoned them.
Their only hope lies with the magic of the Archmage - and his, with a free-spirited princess who never wanted to rule. She must find the strength to set aside her bard's calling and take up a battle against impossible odds, or surrender her land and people to the Black Magus and his demons. The End of the Beginning is the last of four novella length episodes in the miniseries Hell Gate, which is also now available as a full novel.