Engineer's Apprentice

This alternate-history steampunk western contains action, adventure, magic, and a mystery that will change the Western Native Lands forever. In 1860s Dallas, Texas, Annie Sakdavong has just graduated top of her class from college as a steam engineer but must still do an apprenticeship with a master steam engineer. No man is willing to take her, and she fears she may have to become a Sword Maiden for a merchant of her father's choosing when she runs into an African man who wants an apprentice as much as she needs a master, Issa Obasi. One of the premier steam engineers of the age, Issa wants to leave a legacy in the form of apprentices and the publication of groundbreaking research combining rune magic with steam power. These two sources of power are at odds with each other, but Issa sees there could be a better way to unite them. Their world changes when a Native American from the Western Native Lands who can walk through walls comes to steal that research and destroy Issa's laboratory during a fight. After seeking help from the police, Issa and Annie are left to fend for themselves when the police don't want to help the black man and the Asian woman with the investigation. Now, their adventure takes them to the Western Native Lands while death tolls rise and villains close in on Issa and Annie's life and work. As they get closer to the truth, will they overcome dangerous enemies and their own self-doubts to win the day?