Jones, J. V. The Barbed Coil (0446606235)
Tessa McCamfrey has always so avoided roots and relationships that now, as her car winds up the California mountains, she no longer knows if she's driving away from her life, or being driven toward it. When she turns off the road and discovers an abandoned crime scene she also comes across an intricately designed, barbed ring. She slips it on her finger, points pierce her, and Tessa is suddenly in another world. Here in the colorful, thriving city of Bay'Zell, she'll face both immediate danger and a possible ally: Lord Ravis of Burano, an enigmatic, tormented mercenary. But Tessa's adventure is only beginning. Bay'Zell is on the brink of war; Ravis is the target of fanatical assassins from several lands; and Ravis and the girl from California are both about to be drafted into Camron of Thorn's campaign to avenge his noble father's murder.