Informationen zum Autor Kim Harrison is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series, including Million Dollar Demon , American Demon , and The Witch with No Name . She has published more than two dozen booksfrom young adult to speculative thrillerhas written short fiction for various anthologies, and has scripted two original graphic novels set in the Hollows universe. She has also published traditional fantasy under the name Dawn Cook. Kim was born and raised in Michigan and between other projects is currently working on a new Hollows book. Klappentext Rachel Morgan must keep her friends closeand her enemies closerin the next Hollows novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison, now in mass market. Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, has one unspoken rule: take chances, but pay for them yourself. With it, she has turned enemies into allies, found her place with her demon kin, and stepped up as the subrosa of Cincinnatiresponsible for keeping the paranormal community at peace and in line. Life is...good? Even better, her best friend, Ivy Tamwood, is returning home. Nothing's simple, though, and Ivy's not coming alone. The vampires' ruling council insists she escort one of the long undead, hell-bent on proving that Rachel killed Cincy's master vampire to take over the city. Which, of course, Rachel totally did not do. She only transformed her a little. With Rachel's friends distracted by their own lives and problems, she reaches out to a new ally for helpthe demon Hodin. But this trickster has his own agenda. In the end, the only way for Rachel to save herself and the city may be to forge a new understanding with her estranged demon teacher, Al. There's just one problem: Al would sell his own soul to be rid of her.... Leseprobe CHAPTER 1 It wasn't even ten yet, and the cicadas were already screaming in the hot, muggy air. Uncomfortable, I fidgeted, my sandals scraping the time-warped porch boards as I impatiently waited for Pike to pick the lock of the dilapidated Victorian he'd tagged as an unregistered blood house. It was stifling under the overhang and scraggly street trees. My camisole and shorts seemed woefully inappropriate to be kicking vampire ass in, but Pike had promised it was a five-minute thing. In, out, iced coffee and Band-Aids before noon. Traffic was a distant hum, the bars and restaurants a comfortable two blocks away. It was a perfect location for a blood house where consenting vamps could finish out their evening or, more often, where others could hide from unwanted attention. Working on all levels, blood houses gave the highly charged, highly dangerous vampires a secure place to indulge and find refuge-often at the same time. The age-old dichotomy didn't make sense until you saw it in action, but vamps, both living and dead, had an unfailing need to protect the distressed even as they endangered those they professed to love. When it went bad, the abuse went bone-deep, fueled by the trust these houses engendered. Why it was up to me, a witch-born demon, to ferret out and "gently" correct the problem was a long story with a short motive. I didn't like bullies. Tired, I tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. The humidity was breaking through my anti-curl charm and the red mass was frizzing right out of my braid. "I thought you had a key," I muttered, and Pike, crouched at the lock, softly swore. "Yeah. Me too." Pike's low, intent voice pulled an unexpected pulse of libido from me, and I shifted to put more space between us in the hopes he wouldn't notice. It was the pheromones he was unconsciously kicking out, not a real attraction. It didn't help that Pike wasn't your usual living vampire, his unerring, classic beauty still showing under a disturbing number of scars. There w...

Autorentext
Kim Harrison is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series, including Million Dollar Demon, American Demon, and The Witch with No Name. She has published more than two dozen books—from young adult to speculative thriller—has written short fiction for various anthologies, and has scripted two original graphic novels set in the Hollows universe. She has also published traditional fantasy under the name Dawn Cook. Kim was born and raised in Michigan and between other projects is currently working on a new Hollows book.

Klappentext

Rachel Morgan must keep her friends close—and her enemies closer—in the next Hollows novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison, now in mass market.

Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, has one unspoken rule: take chances, but pay for them yourself. With it, she has turned enemies into allies, found her place with her demon kin, and stepped up as the subrosa of Cincinnati—responsible for keeping the paranormal community at peace and in line.

Life is...good? Even better, her best friend, Ivy Tamwood, is returning home. Nothing’s simple, though, and Ivy’s not coming alone. The vampires’ ruling council insists she escort one of the long undead, hell-bent on proving that Rachel killed Cincy’s master vampire to take over the city. Which, of course, Rachel totally did not do. She only transformed her a little.

With Rachel’s friends distracted by their own lives and problems, she reaches out to a new ally for help—the demon Hodin. But this trickster has his own agenda. In the end, the only way for Rachel to save herself and the city may be to forge a new understanding with her estranged demon teacher, Al. There’s just one problem: Al would sell his own soul to be rid of her....

Leseprobe

CHAPTER

 

1

 

It wasn't even ten yet, and the cicadas were already screaming in the hot, muggy air. Uncomfortable, I fidgeted, my sandals scraping the time-warped porch boards as I impatiently waited for Pike to pick the lock of the dilapidated Victorian he'd tagged as an unregistered blood house. It was stifling under the overhang and scraggly street trees. My camisole and shorts seemed woefully inappropriate to be kicking vampire ass in, but Pike had promised it was a five-minute thing. In, out, iced coffee and Band-Aids before noon.

 

Traffic was a distant hum, the bars and restaurants a comfortable two blocks away. It was a perfect location for a blood house where consenting vamps could finish out their evening or, more often, where others could hide from unwanted attention. Working on all levels, blood houses gave the highly charged, highly dangerous vampires a secure place to indulge and find refuge-often at the same time.

 

The age-old dichotomy didn't make sense until you saw it in action, but vamps, both living and dead, had an unfailing need to protect the distressed even as they endangered those they professed to love. When it went bad, the abuse went bone-deep, fueled by the trust these houses engendered. Why it was up to me, a witch-born demon, to ferret out and "gently" correct the problem was a long story with a short motive. I didn't like bullies.

 

Tired, I tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. The humidity was breaking through my anti-curl charm and the red mass was frizzing right out of my braid. "I thought you had a key," I muttered, and Pike, crouched at the lock, softly swore.

 

"Yeah. Me too." Pike's low, intent voice pulled an unexpected pulse of libido from me, and I shifted to put more space between us in the hopes he wouldn't notice. It was the pheromones he was unconsciously kicking out, not a real attraction. It didn't help that Pike wasn't your usual living vampire, his unerring, classic beauty still showing under a disturbing number of scars. There was a hint of gray in his short-cut hair, evidence of his early-thirties maturity. His light shirt and slacks were cut for ease of movement, his languid grace held a definite pull, and when his eyes went black? Da-a-amn.

…