Darkness Devours
Authors: Keri Arthur
Praise for Keri Arthur and Her Novels
Nominated for the
Romantic Times
2007 Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Career Achievement in Urban Fantasy
Winner of the
Romantic Times
2008 Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Career Achievement in Urban Fantasy
“Keri Arthur’s imagination and energy infuse everything she writes with zest.”
—Charlaine Harris
Full Moon Rising
“Keri Arthur skillfully mixes her suspenseful plot with heady romance in her thoroughly enjoyable alternate reality Melbourne. Sexy vampires, randy werewolves, and unabashed, unapologetic, joyful sex—you’ve gotta love it. Smart, sexy, and well conceived,
Full Moon Rising
left me wishing I was a dhampire.”
—Kim Harrison
“A deliciously sexy adventure through a supernatural underworld that pulls you in and won’t let go. Keri Arthur knows how to thrill! Buckle up and get ready for a wild, cool ride!”
—Shana Abé
“Strong, smart, and capable, Riley will remind many of Anita Blake, Laurell K. Hamilton’s kick-ass vampire hunter.… Fans of Anita Blake and Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse vampire series will be rewarded.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fun and feisty… [an] effective crossbreeding of romance and urban fantasy that should please fans of either genre.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Well-done and entertaining.”
—The Sunday Oklahoman
“A sexy and fast-paced novel.… The author excels at showing not just characters, but how they interact as a society.”
—The Davis Enterprise
“[This] is a great story that’s suspenseful, has hot werewolves, sexy vampires, a huge amount of butt kickin’, and no-holds-barred sex. If you like a twist to your paranormal romance, you’ll love this book.”
—Fresh Fiction
Kissing Sin
Finalist for the 2008 Fantasm Award for Best Werewolf Romance
“Strong world building, vivid personalities, and the distinctive cultures of each of the various paranormal strains combine for a rich narrative, and Arthur’s descriptive prose adds texture and menace.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The second book in this paranormal guardian series is just as phenomenal as the first.… I am addicted!”
—Fresh Fiction
Tempting Evil
“This paranormal romance series gets better and better with each new book… an exciting adventure that delivers all you need for a fabulous read—sexy shape-shifters; hot vampires; wild, uncontrollable sex; and the slightest hint of a love that’s meant to be forever.”
—Fresh Fiction
Dangerous Games
Finalist for the 2008 Fantasm Award for Best Urban Fantasy Romance
“By far one of the best books I have ever read.… With this series, Ms. Arthur has a real winner on her hands.”
—Coffee Time Romance and More
“The depths of emotion, the tense plot, and the conflict of powerful driving forces inside the heroine made for [an] absorbing read.”
—SFRevu
“This series is phenomenal!… An incredibly original and devastatingly sexy story. It keeps you spellbound and mesmerized on every page. Absolutely perfect!”
—Fresh Fiction
Embraced by Darkness
“Arthur is positively one of the best urban fantasy authors in print today. The characters have been well drawn from the start and the mysteries just keep getting better. A creative, sexy, and adventure-filled world that readers will just love escaping to.”
—Darque Reviews
“Arthur’s storytelling is getting better and better with each book… suspense, interesting concepts, terrific main and secondary characters, well-developed story arcs, and the world building is highly entertaining.”
—Reuters
“Reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton… Arthur’s characters inhabit a dark, sexy world of the paranormal.”
—
News and Sentinel
(Parkersburg, WV)
The Darkest Kiss
“The paranormal Australia that Arthur concocts works perfectly, and the plot speeds along at a breakneck pace. Riley fans won’t be disappointed.”
—Publishers Weekly
Bound to Shadows
“Riley’s journey has never been easy, but this book ratchets things up to a whole new level. This series just keeps getting better and better.”
—RT Book Reviews
Destiny Kills
2008
Romantic Times
Reviewers’ Choice Nominee for Best Contemporary Paranormal Romance
“The always exhilarating Arthur begins a most intriguing new supernatural series.… Good pacing and plenty of action are highlighted by Arthur’s own patented sizzle.”
—
Romantic Times
Also by Keri Arthur
The Dark Angels Series
Darkness Unbound
Darkness Rising
A D
ARK
A
NGELS
N
OVEL
KERI ARTHUR
A SIGNET SELECT BOOK
SIGNET SELECT
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet Select, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, July 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Keri Arthur, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
ISBN: 978-1-101-58876-5
SIGNET SELECT and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
I’d like to thank my editor, Danielle Perez, and everyone else at NAL, for making me feel so welcome. May we work on many books together.
This book is dedicated to my agent, Miriam; thanks for the advice, the hand-holding, and the friendship.
Chapter 1
We do what we have to do—we track these people down by whatever means necessary.
The words weren’t mine, but they ran through my brain nevertheless, going around and around, chased by echoes of pain and heartbreak as I stood on the footpath and stared up at the multistory building in Southbank.
I’d never been inside but I’d driven past it many a time. And, more than once, I’d stopped here at the curbside, sharing a lingering kiss, reluctant to let what we’d experienced the night before come to an end.
I’d been so in love. Stupidly, foolishly in love. And it had all been a lie. Not on my part, but his.
Jak Talbott—the werewolf I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with—had wanted nothing more than a good story. And he’d got that, mixing lies with reality so deftly it was hard to pick them apart. Mom had sued both him and the paper over the story, but in the end had settled out of court rather than have her name—and possibly mine—dragged endlessly through the gossip mags while the court case was ongoing. But mud tends to stick, even if it isn’t true, and she lost several lucrative TV spots
because of it. Not that
that
had particularly worried her. She’d been more concerned about the effect of Jak’s actions on me.
And my reaction had been fairly intense. Even now, two years later, I avoided anything resembling a deep or lasting relationship, preferring the fun but emotionally sterile liaison with my Aedh lover, Lucian.
Meeting Jak Talbott again was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
I crossed my arms and rubbed them lightly. The midday sun held plenty of warmth, but it didn’t chase the chill away from my flesh.
