Well of sorrows

Colin Harten and his parents flee to escape the family wars in Andover. But the Hartens and others are ill-prepared for the dangers they face in the unexplored plains and coastal cities. Pursued to the very edge of a dark forest--a place to be avoided at all costs--they have no choice but to continue on. Colin survives the forest, and by drinking the Lifeblood from the Well of Sorrows, becomes something not entirely human and someone who will prove to be the only defense against the dark spirits of the forest who are determined to destroy all life.