Plagues kill in more ways than one and Merliss soon discovers she has far more to fear than a disease.Merliss is no ordinary cat. She's a young girl's spirit trapped in a cat's body. While the magic that banished her has snatched away her human speech, it has given her a life spanning millennia. For centuries she has lived with the cunning folk, assisting their efforts to heal the sick and ward off malevolent creatures. Now a bleeding sickness has thrown the community into chaos.The cunning man and his apprentice are in danger from the disease. The life Merliss has worked so long to build is in jeopardy. Before she entered the cat, she had trained to be a shaman. Do her centuries of experience hold a secret to a cure? But disease isn't her only nemesis.A pair of malevolent creatures move into the neighborhood threatening more havoc. With disease and monsters ravaging the land, Merliss is up to her whiskers in trouble. It couldn't be worse, until a mob looking for a scapegoat turns its wrath on Merliss.The Great Contagion is the gripping first novel in the dark fantasy Merliss Tales series. If you like strong and dynamic characters, rich description, magic and intrigue, then you'll love Jeff Chapman's imaginative Merliss Tales.Buy The Great Contagion today to watch Merliss use her wits and magic to rescue her friends and herself.