In the Russian wasteland, a man named Talus bears a secret so terrible that it will cost him no less than his life to share it... a secret so terrible that he must share it in order to find those who will help him protect the knowledge that will one day save humanity. He has chosen two brothers, both hermit monks, to join him in his quest. But time is short... and no man is ready to receive the news that Talus must now share with them both: That they are both already dead. THE KEEPER is the short story prequel to Forbidden, the first novel in The Books of Mortals series. First there was the Circle Trilogy. Now a new stunning epic begins.