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They killed me. They healed me. They changed me.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced theirexistence to the world-and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker… and this one decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I’ve traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four hundred year old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude-and servitude. Right…

But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I’m surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan’s attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone’s still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches?

My initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood….

Ellos me mataron. Ellos me curaron. Ellos me cambiaron.

Está claro que la vida de una estudiante graduada no era precisamente glamurosa, pero era mi vida. Lo estaba haciendo bien hasta que un grupo de vampiros anunciaron su existencia al mundo, entonces un vampiro despiadado me atacó. Por suerte éste sólo consiguió un sorbo antes de que fuese asustado por otro chupasangres... y este otro decidió que la mejor manera de salvar mi vida era convertirme en un muerto viviente.

Al final resulta que mi salvador no es otro que el maestro vampiro de la Casa Cadogan. Ahora he cambiado el desvivirme por mi tesis doctoral por aprender a encajar en una mansión en Hyde Park llena de vampiros leales a Ethan “Señor de la Casa” Sullivan. Por supuesto, al tratarse de un antiguo vampiro de 400 años de edad, alto y de ojos verdes, cuenta  con siglos de merecido encanto; desgraciadamente él espera mi gratitud, y servidumbre.

Pero mis crecientes poderes (de repente soy sorprendentemente hábil con armas pesadas), una inconveniente alergia al sol y la actitud de Ethan son la menor parte de mis preocupaciones. Alguien está todavía ahí fuera buscándome. ¿Es el vampiro que me atacó? ¿Será un vampiro de una casa rival? ¿O una muchedumbre enfadada equipada con antorchas?

Mi iniciación en la vida nocturna de Chicago puede ser el primer paso en una guerra- y habrá sangre

Vamps in Chicago!
You’d think headlines like that would have provoked the fine citizens of the Windy City to take up arms against us bloodsucking fiends. Instead, ten months later, we’re enjoying a celebrity status reserved for the Hollywood elite—fending off paparazzi only slightly less dangerous than cross and stake-wielding slayers. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Public isn’t exactly thrilled to be living side-by-side with the undead, but at least they haven’t stormed the castle yet.
But all that will change once they learn about the Raves—mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle and drink themselves silly. Most civilized vampires frown on this behavior, putting mere mortals at ease with their policy of asking a person’s consent before taking a big gulp of the red stuff. However, that doesn’t make good copy for a first time reporter looking to impress his high society family.
So now my “master,” the centuries old, yet gorgeously well-preserved Ethan Sullivan, wants me to reconnect with my own upper class family and act as liaison between humans and vampires—and keep the more unsavory aspects of our existence out of the media. But someone doesn’t want people and vamps to play nicey-nice—someone with an ancient grudge.

¡Vampiros en Chicago!
Alguien podría pensar que titulares como este habrían provocado a los buenos ciudadanos de la Ciudad del Viento a levantar sus armas contra nosotros, los chupasangres enemigos. En su lugar, diez meses después, estamos disfrutando de un estatus de celebridades que normalmente está reservado sólo para la élite de Hollywood – esquivar paparazzi sólo es ligeramente menos peligroso que esquivar cazadores de vampiros con estacas y crucifijos en mano. No me malinterpretéis, pero Público Joe no está especialmente emocionado de vivir lado a lado con los no muertos, pero al menos no han derrumbado el castillo todavía.
Pero eso cambiará una vez que descubran sobre las Raves -masivas fiestas de alimentación, donde los vampiros acorralan a los humanos como ganado y beben hasta no poder más. La mayoría de los vampiros civilizados miran con el ceño fruncido este comportamiento, tranquilizando a los meros mortales con sus políticas de pedir el consentimiento firmado de una persona antes de tomar un gran sorbo de sustancia roja. Sin embargo, eso no sirve como un buen artículo para un reportero primerizo buscando cómo impresionar a su familia de la alta sociedad.
Así que ahora mi “maestro”, el cientos de años de edad, aún así impresionante y bien conservado Ethan Sullivan, quiere que reconecte con mi propia familia de clase alta y actúe como enlace entre humanos y vampiros – y mantenga los aspectos más desagradables de nuestra existencia lejos de los medios. Pero alguien no quiere que la gente y los vampiros jueguen como amiguitos- alguien con un antiguo rencor.

Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.
Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire..

Merit, la vampiro más nueva de Chicago, está aprendiendo cómo actuar con los demás. Con los demás supernaturales, eso es. Los cambiaformas de todo el país se están reuniendo en la Ciudad del Viento y como un gesto de paz, el Maestro vampiro Ethan Sullivan ha ofrecido a su líder un guardaespaldas muy peculiar: Merit, el vampiro más nuevo de Chicago. Merit está destinada a proteger al Alpha, Grabriel Keene – y espiar para los vampiros mientras que está en ello. Y afortunadamente Ethan está ofreciendo algunas eróticas sesiones de combate cuerpo a cuerpo para ayudarla a prepararse para la misión.
Merit debe aceptar la misión, incluso a pesar de saber que posiblemente lo lamentará. Y no está equivocada. Alguien está apuntando a Gabriel Kane, y Merit pronto se encuentra a sí misma en la línea de tiro. Necesitará toda la ayuda que pueda conseguir para atrapar al aspirante a asesino, pero por donde quiera que vaya, las tensiones entre supernaturales van en aumento – y no será menos entre ella y cierto maestro vampiro de ojos verdes y siglos de edad.

Chicago is beset by supernatural tensions, and Merit-vampire protector of a safe haven called Cadogan house-is worried that the humans will be reaching for their pitchforks any minute. It doesn't help that yet another vampire rave is broken up by the mayor, and a new inhibition- reducing drug is circulating through the community.

It's up to Merit to put her house in order-literally. And if that takes getting a little blood on her hands, so be it.

Chicago está plagado de tensiones supernaturales y Merit,  vampiro protectora de un seguro refugio llamado Casa Cadogan, está preocupada de que los humanos vayan a agarrar sus horcas en cualquier momento. Tampoco ayuda que una nueva Rave sea desmantelada por el alcalde y que una nueva droga supresora de las  inhibiciones esté circulando entre la comunidad.
Depende de Merit el poner su casa en orden, literalmente. Y si ello conlleva mancharse con un poquito de sangre sus manos, que así sea.

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

Nubes se ciernen sobre la Casa Cadogan, y la recientemente convertida en vampiro Merit no puede decir si es la oscuridad antes del amanecer o la calma antes de la tormenta. Con la ciudad misma en confusión sobre los paranormales y el Estado amenazando con pasar un acta de registro paranormal, los tiempos no habían sido tan precarios para los vampiros desde que salieron del armario. Si sólo pudiesen pasar inadvertidos por un momento y dejar que los mortales se calmasen…
Entonces es cuando las aguas del Lago Michigan se vuelven de repente totalmente negras y las cosas empiezan a ponerse realmente feas.
El alcalde de Chicago insiste en que no hay nada de lo que preocuparse, pero Merit sabe que sólo la más oscura magia puede haber creado un conjuro suficientemente poderoso para cambiar el mismísimo tejido de la naturaleza. Ella tendrá que acudir a antiguos y nuevos amigos para encontrar quien está detrás de esto y pararles antes de que sea demasiado tarde tanto para  los vampiros como para los humanos.

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

Transformada en vampiro en contra de su voluntad, Merit de 28 años, ha encontrado su camino hacia el oscuro círculo del submundo vampírico de Chicago, donde ha aprendido que hay más sobre los supernaturales que lo que el ojo ve, y más supernaturales que lo que el público jamás imaginó. Y no todos los secretos que ha descubierto son para compartir, ni entre humanos ni no humanos.
Ahora Merit está de caza,  cruzando el inhóspito Medioeste Americano, persiguiendo a un supernatural corrupto decidido a robar un antiguo artefacto que podría desencadenar un mal catastrófico sobre el mundo. Pero Merit es la presa también. Un enemigo de Chicago está cazándola y él no se detendrá ante nada para conseguir el libro para él mismo. Sin misericordia permitida. Sin reglas que se apliquen. Sin perdonar vidas. La carrera está en marcha.

It shone like a beacon. More than a thousand feet of skyscraper, the lights at the top of its antennas blinking through the darkness that blanketed the city. The Willis Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world, was nestled in downtown Chicago, surrounded by glass and steel and the waters of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Its bulk was a reminder of where we’d come from . . . and where we were going.

We’d left Hyde Park, our home turf, and were heading west across the plains toward Nebraska and the Maleficium, an ancient book of magic that my (former?) best friend, Mallory, was evidently intent on stealing.

My nerves on edge, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel of my companion’s sleek Mercedes convertible.

That companion, Ethan Sullivan, smiled at me from the passenger seat. “You needn’t look so morose, Sentinel. Nor should you keep looking at the postcard of the city you’ve taped to the dashboard.”

“I know,” I said, sitting up a little straighter and scanning the freeway before us. We were somewhere in the cornfields of Iowa, about halfway between Chicago and Omaha. It was November and the corn was gone, but the acres of wind turbines arced in the darkness above us.

“It’s just weird to be leaving,” I said. “I haven’t really been out of Chicago since I became a vampire.”

“I think you’ll find life as a vampire is fairly similar regardless of the location. It’s really only the food that’s different.”

“What do you think they have in Nebraska? Corn?”

“And steak, I imagine. And probably most everything else. Although your Mallocakes may be hard to find.”

“That’s why I packed a box in my duffel bag.”

He burst out laughing like I’d told the funniest joke he’d ever heard, but I’d told the absolute truth. Mallocakes were a favorite dessert—chocolate cakes filled with marshmallow cream—and they were exceedingly hard to find. I’d brought some along just in case.

Regardless of my culinary choices, we were on our way, so I smiled and worked on adjusting to the fact that Ethan, the once and future Master of Chicago’s Cadogan House, was sitting in the seat beside me. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he’d been completely and utterly deceased. And now, by a trick of ill-intentioned magic, he was back.

I was still pretty dumbfounded. Thrilled? Sure. Shocked? Absolutely. But mostly dumbfounded.

Ethan chuckled. “And are you aware you keep looking over here like you’re nervous I’m going to disappear?”

“It’s because you’re devastatingly handsome.”

He grinned slyly. “I wasn’t questioning your good taste.”

I rolled my eyes. “Mallory brought you back from ashes,” I reminded him. “If something like that is possible, there’s not much in the world that’s impossible.”

She’d raised Ethan from ashes to make him a magical familiar . . . and to release an ancient evil that had been locked away in a book by sorcerers who thought they were doing the world a favor. They had been, at least until Mallory decided releasing the evil would fix her weird sensitivity to the locked-away dark magic.

Fortunately, her spell had been interrupted, so she hadn’t actually managed to set the evil free or make Ethan a familiar. We assumed that was why she’d escaped her bonds and was chasing down the Maleficium—she wanted another try.

Familiar or not, Ethan was back again: tall, blond, fanged, and handsome.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Fine,” he said. “Unnerved that you keep staring at me, and pissed that Mallory has interrupted what should be a very long and involved reunion between me and my House and my vampires.” He paused and looked over at me, his green eyes fire bright. “All of my vampires.”

My cheeks burned crimson, and I quickly turned my gaze on the road again, although my mind was decidedly elsewhere. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“As well you should.”

“What, exactly, are we going to do if we find Mallory?”

“When we find her,” he corrected. “She wants the Maleficium, and it’s in Nebraska. There’s little doubt our paths will cross. As for the what . . . I’m not entirely sure. Do you think she’d be amenable to bribery?”

“I’m aware of only one thing she wants,” I said. “And she has a head start, which means she’ll probably get there before we do.”

“Assuming she manages to evade the Order,” Ethan said. “Which seems pretty likely.”

The Order was the union of sorcerers that had been overseeing Mallory in rehab and was responsible for keeping the Maleficium safe. All around, they’d done an embarrassingly bad job of both.

“That’s funny, Sullivan. Especially for someone who’s been alive for barely twenty-four hours.”

“Don’t let my youthful good looks confuse you. I now have two lifetimes of experience.”

I made a sarcastic sound but said a silent thank-you. I’d grieved for Ethan, and it was glorious—all the more for being so unexpected—to have him back again.

Unfortunately, my gratitude was matched by the icy gnawing in my stomach. He was here, but Mallory was out there, inviting an ancient leviathan back into our world.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I can’t shake the Mallory funk. I’m furious with her, mad at myself for missing the fact that she was the one trying to destroy Chicago, and irritated that instead of celebrating your return, we have to play supernatural babysitters for a woman who should know better.”

I rued the day Mallory had learned she had magic; things had gone downhill for her—and by extension, her friends and family—since then. But she’d been my friend for a long time. She’d jumped to my defense the first day we’d met, when a thug tried to snatch my backpack on the El, and it was her shoulder I’d cried on when Ethan made me a vampire. I couldn’t abandon her now, even as much as I might have wanted to.

“We’re on our way to find her. I’m not sure what else we can do. And I agree that you should be basking in my glory . . . especially since I took a stake through the heart to save your life.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “And it didn’t even take you twenty-four hours to remind me.”

“One uses the tools at one’s disposal, Sentinel.”

There was a twinkle in his eye, even as the telltale line of worry appeared between his eyebrows.

“Do you have any idea where we’re actually supposed to go when we get to Nebraska? Where the silo is? It’s a big state.”

“I don’t,” he said. “I’d planned to give Catcher time to get his bearings and then ask for details.”

Catcher was Mallory’s boyfriend. He’d been employed by my grandfather, Chicago’s supernatural Ombudsman until Diane Kowalcyzk, the city’s new mayor, stripped him of the title. Like Mallory, Catcher was a sorcerer, but he’d been on the outs with the Order much longer than she had.

My cell phone rang, a herald of news, good or bad.

Ethan glanced at it, then propped it up on the dashboard between us. “I guess he’s ready to talk.”

“Ethan, Merit,” Catcher said in greeting. His voice was gravelly, his tone even lower than usual. He wasn’t one for displays of emotion, but Mallory’s disappearance had to be wearing on him.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“The woman I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with is trying her best to open Pandora’s box, and damn the consequences. I have had better days. And weeks.”

I winced sympathetically. “So fill us in. What do we know?”

“She was staying at a facility not far from O’Hare,” Catcher said. “There were armed guards to keep an eye on her and medical staff to make sure she was stable.”

“I thought the Order didn’t have operations in Chicago?” Ethan asked.

“Baumgartner claims it’s not an Order facility. Just an inpatient medical facility where Baumgartner has friends,” Catcher said. Baumgartner was the head of the Order. From the sound of Catcher’s voice, he wasn’t buying Baumgartner’s excuse.

“So what happened?” Ethan asked.

“She slept for a while, woke up, and started talking about her addiction. She seemed self-aware, remorseful, so they removed her restraints for a med exam.”

“That’s when she attacked the guard?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah. Turns out, she wasn’t groggy. The guard’s still in the hospital, but I understand they’re releasing him today.”

“Where did she go?” I asked.

“Transit authority security cameras have a record of her,” Catcher said. “She caught the El and then took the train to Aurora. She was spotted at a truck stop, catching a ride on an eighteen-wheeler headed to Des Moines. The trail ran cold in Iowa. She hasn’t popped up again since.”

Catcher had been the one to put a stop to Mallory’s familiar spell by knocking her out. Pity he hadn’t knocked her out a little harder.

“So she’s probably headed toward Nebraska,” I guessed. “But how did she know to go there? How did she know the Order would send the Maleficium there instead of to a new guardian?”

“Simon told her about the silo,” Catcher said. “And he and Baumgartner visited and talked about the book being transported when she was supposedly asleep.”

“That’s two more strikes against Simon,” I said.

“Yep,” Catcher said. “He’d be out of the Order if Baumgartner wasn’t afraid of him. Too much knowledge, too little common sense. If he’s still a member, Baumgartner still has some authority.”

“Tough position to be in,” Ethan mused. “Any thoughts on our strategy?”

“First step is to get closer,” he said. “You’ll want to head toward Elliott, Nebraska. It’s about five miles northwest of Omaha. The Order’s archivist lives in a farmhouse outside the silo. I’ll send directions.”

“The archivist?” I asked.

“The recorder of Order history.”

“And will he be the only sorcerer guarding the book?” Ethan asked.

“Her name is Paige Martin. She’s the only sorcerer at the farmstead; she’s also the only sorceress in Nebraska. The Maleficium isn’t always kept there. Since it travels, there’s no need for a full contingent. I’ve asked them to reconsider letting me go,” Catcher quietly added. “I want to be there if things go bad. If worse comes to worst. But they’re afraid I can’t be objective.”

We were all quiet for a moment, probably all imagining just how bad things might go, and the possibilities that we couldn’t save Mallory . . . or that she wouldn’t want to be saved.

“But they’ll allow this archivist to be there?” Ethan asked.

“She doesn’t know Mallory,” Catcher said, “and she’s part of the Order. They think she can handle herself.”

And they probably thought they could handle her, too. Just like they could handle Simon, Mallory, and Catcher, before he was kicked out. The Order had an awful track record for managing its employees.

“You’d think they could spare one or two more soldiers to stop a problem they created in the first place,” Ethan mused.

“Unfortunately,” Catcher said, “this isn’t the world’s only magical crisis, and there aren’t many sorcerers to go around. They’re assigned as they’re available.”

I’d been taught as Sentinel to make do with what I had, but that didn’t mean I had to like a bad set of odds, or the thought of similar crises around the world.

“We’ll chart a course for Elliott,” Ethan said. “Mallory got a head start, so it seems unlikely we’ll reach the book before she does. You might warn the archivist, if you haven’t already.”

“She knows. And there’s something else.” Catcher cleared his throat nervously. At the sound, Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“It’s possible you and Mallory aren’t the only ones on the road. Seth Tate was released this morning.”

I swore under my breath. Seth Tate was the former mayor of Chicago, deposed after we’d discovered he’d been running a drug ring.

Tate was also a supernatural with an old, unfamiliar magic, one that had lifted the hairs on my neck more than once. Unfortunately, we knew nothing else about his powers.

“‘This morning’ was hours ago,” Ethan said. “Why are we just learning this?”

“Because we’re just learning it. We aren’t employees anymore, so Kowalcyzk didn’t feel the urge to fill us in. Our new mayor has decided Tate was framed, in part because one of the individuals allegedly killed at his residence was spotted outside Cadogan House earlier tonight.”

“That would be you,” I whispered to Ethan.

“And no thanks to Tate,” Ethan said. “Do we think he’s looking for the Maleficium, too?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Catcher said. “He was pardoned by Kowalcyzk, so the CPD didn’t feel they had the authority to follow him, even if they had the resources. And we’re short staffed today.”

“Short staffed?” I wondered. There were three unofficial Ombuddies, as I liked to call them, in addition to my grandfather: Catcher; computer wizard Jeff Christopher; and the admin, Marjorie. None seemed like the type to miss work.

“Jeff called in today. Said he had some things to take care of. Which is only fair since he’s not an employee and isn’t actually paid to be here.”

Logical, sure, but it still seemed weird. Jeff was uncommonly reliable, and he was usually planted in front of his very large computer. Of course, if he’d needed our help, he wouldn’t have been shy about asking for it.

“We can’t be sure he’s looking for the book,” I said, “but I wouldn’t be surprised to find him in the middle of the action. After all, he was the one who told me about the Maleficium.” He’d been clearly intrigued by the magic, and it wasn’t hard to imagine he’d cash in on an opportunity to grab it. It was too bad I hadn’t brought along my worry wood, a token of magic from my grandfather that gave me protection from Tate’s more subtle forms of magic.

“No argument there,” Catcher said.

“In the unlikely event Tate causes problems in Chicago, you can call Malik,” Ethan said. “He can rally the rest of the Cadogan guards.”

Malik was the official Master of Cadogan House, Ethan’s second until he’d been killed and still in charge until Ethan was officially Invested as Master again.

“You can also call Jonah,” I offered, but the offer was met with silence. Jonah was captain of the guards of Chicago’s Grey House, and he’d been my substitute partner while Ethan had been gone. Although neither Catcher nor Ethan knew it, Jonah was also my official partner in the Red Guard, a secret organization dedicated to keeping an eye on the vampire Masters and the Greenwich Presidium, the British council that ruled us.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Catcher said. “For now, I need to wrap this up. I’ll call you if I learn anything else.”

We said our good-byes, and Ethan switched off the phone.

“He seems to be holding up,” Ethan said.

“He doesn’t have much of a choice. He loves her, or I assume he still does, and she’s out there head over heels in danger, and he can’t do a damn thing about it. For the second time.”

“How did he fail to see what she was doing the first time around?” Ethan wondered. “They were living together.”

Mallory had set Chicago ablaze in her attempt to make Ethan a familiar. She’d made the magic in the basement of the Wicker Park brownstone she and Catcher shared.

“I think part of it was denial. He didn’t want to believe she was capable of the mess she put the city through. And she was studying for exams—and taking them, apparently—the entire time. If Simon didn’t suspect anything, why should Catcher?”

“Simon again?”

“Unfortunately. And that’s not the end of it. Catcher thought she and Simon were having an affair. Not a romantic one, maybe, but they were becoming too close for his comfort. He was afraid she was going to take Simon’s side—the Order’s side—against Catcher.”

“Love does strange things to a man,” Ethan said, his voice suddenly distracted. He tapped a finger on the dashboard. “There’s something in the road there. A dog?”

I squinted at the freeway ahead, trying to ferret out what Ethan had spotted. After a moment, I saw it—a dark mass on the centerline a quarter mile ahead. It wasn’t moving. It also definitely wasn’t a dog.

Two arms, two legs, six foot tall, and standing in the middle of the road. It was a person.

“Ethan,” I called out in warning, my first thought that the figure was McKetrick, a Chicago-based vampire hater who’d guessed our route and was ready to launch an attack against the car.

The sudden punch of peppery magic that filled the car—and the cloying scent of sugar and lemons that accompanied it—proved this was a magical problem . . . and a problem I knew all too well.

A cold sweat trickled down my back. “It’s not an animal. It’s Tate.”

We didn’t have time to decide whether to fight or take flight. Before I could speed up or change course, the car began to slow.

Tate had somehow managed to take control of it.

I wrenched the wheel, but it made no difference. We were heading right for him.

Fear and anticipation tightened my chest, my heart fluttering like a frightened bird beneath my ribs. I had no idea what Tate was capable of, or even what he really was. Well, other than an asshat.

We slowed to a stop in the middle of the westbound lanes, straddling the centerline. Fortunately, it was late and we were in the middle of Iowa; there wasn’t another car in sight. Since Tate had rendered the car useless and there was no point in wasting gas, I turned off the ignition but left the headlights on.

He stood in the beam in jeans and a black T-shirt, his hair ruffled into dark waves. There was a glint of gold around his neck, and I knew instantly what it was. Every Cadogan vampire wore a small gold disc on a chain, a kind of vampire dog tag, that identified their name and position. I’d bargained mine away to Tate in exchange for information about the Maleficium.

Ethan had given me the medal, and although I’d gotten a replacement, I didn’t like to see Tate wearing it.

“I’m open to any suggestions you might have, Sentinel,” Ethan said, eyes fixed on Tate.

Unfortunately, our sharp and sleek Japanese swords were in the trunk, and I doubted Tate was going to give us time to grab them.

“We face him,” I said. “And in case we need to make a run for it, leave your door open.” Knowing Ethan could maneuver the Mercedes more effectively than me, I handed him the keys, sucked in a breath, and opened the door.

In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps. At  the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.
It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house  in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

En una ciudad llena de vampiros, los problemas nunca duermen. A la temprana edad de 27 años, Merit se convirtió en una vampiro espadachín. Desde entonces, se ha convertido en la protectora de su Casa, casi vió a Chicago quemarse hasta los cimientos, y ha visto a su Maestro caer y levantarse de nuevo. Ahora verá a como su entereza, y su acero, será probado como nunca antes.
Todo empezó con dos... Dos villanos desvaneciéndose sin rastro. Alguien está apuntando a los vampiros de Chicago, y cualquiera puede ser el siguiente. Con su casa en peligro, Merit y su Maestro, el centenario Ethan Sullivan, deben apresurarse para detener las desapariciones. Pero mientras que desenentrañan una red de alianzas secretas y antiguos demonios, se darán cuenta de que su enemigo es más familiar, y más poderoso, de lo que ellos podían haber imaginado nunca.

ya sabes que Ethan muere estacado en el 4to, entonces se forma todo ese rollo con Mallory, cosa que me disgutó muchísimo que la autora hiciera lo que hizo con su personaje, entonces está eso de que si Ethan regresaba, lo haría como un zombie esclavo y descerebrado de Mal, entonces en pleno ritual, entonces Catcher interrumpe el ritual y aún así Ethan regresa y sin ningún problema??? o sea que eso como que me dejó bastante confundida no se suponía que si el ritual era interrumpido no pasaba nada??? y cómo es que él regresa y todo sigue normal con él??? ves fue eso lo que no me convenció mucho en cuanto al libro y sobre todo cómo es que Catcher siendo todo un poderoso brujo, viviendo bajo el mismo techo con ella no intuyó lo que estaba sucediendo con Mallory eso para mi no tuvo sentido, qué explicación sensata puede haber allí para que lo pueda entender y por qué es que ella siendo la mejor amiga de Merit ahora queda como si se fuera a convertir en una enemiga más, aiiiinnsss eso me decepcionó bastante

En cuanto a lo de Ethan yo creo que si va a haber alguna consecuencia, igual no inmediata, pero si que la habrá. En lo del ritual te doy toda la razón, pero me imagino que será algo que la escritora irá explicando poco a poco, igual me equivoco, pero según he visto que tiene organizada la serie, me extrañaría que dejase eso colgando.
Por Mal, a mí en cambio me pareció un puntazo que fuese ella, no me lo esperaba para nada y no lo veo horrible. Ten en cuenta que muchos personajes de los buenos tienen su lado "oscuro" también y sobretodo por lo que han dado a entender, los brujos (si no mira como Catcher huyó/le echaron) y esa organización no huele nada bien. Mal es una bruja a la que han descubierto de mayor y que además es más poderosa que la mayoría, por lo que si todo hubiese salido bien desde el principio, controlando sus poderes a la perfección, eso sí me hubiese molestado. Así lo veo como un desliz moral, como si fuera una adicta y tuviese que ir a rehabilitación y creo que una vez que supere este bache es cuando vamos a ver realmente a una Mallory más fuerte. Lo de Catcher, pues yo lo achaco a como se dice en el libro, ella estaba bajo mucha presión de los exámenes por lo que estaba encerrada estudiando y además él creía que tenía una aventura y no supo como lidiar con ello, todo ello investigando a la vez los problemas con el lago.

me dió mucha pena que Mallory cayera de esa manera pero tienes razón en lo que dices en cuanto a esas benditas "Organizaciones" ya sea de "La Orden de los Brujos" o el "Presidio de Greenwich de los Vampiros", defintivamente que ninguna de las dos huelen bien, si no tenemos de ejemplo al estúpido de Frank, a ese tipo sí que lo DETESTOOOOO cada vez que salía en el libro lo quería mataarrrrr

el idiota, anormal e imbecil retrasado mental y envidioso que el PG le asignó a la Casa Cadogan para que vigilara e investigara los manejos de Ethan como Maestro Vampiro de esa Casa luego de todas las marronadas que hizo Celina la Vampiro Maestro de la Casa Navarro y el que les hizo parir chayotes a los pobres vampiros de la Casa Cadogan y los tenía en abstinencia de sangre y que Malik se puso en serio los pantalones como Maestro y League de los Cadogan y los echó de ahí luego que le exigió a Kelly que renunciara a su juramento a la Casa

lo odiooooo seguro en el futuro lo volveremos a ver, porque estoy segura que no se quedara con esa

van a estar atravesando medio eeuu, pero en los siguiente si. Lo que sí que tengo muchas ganas ya de saber es que coj&%nes es Tate, ¿será un ángel caido?¿será alguna clase de fae? me tiene loca eso ya jajaja

sí qué es me mata la curiosidad por saber

es un ángel caído basándose en la imagen del cuadro que tiene en su despacho en el cuarto libro, veremos si al final se confirma esa u otra cosa. Yo lo del ángel no sé que opinar si se cumple, habrá que ver cómo trata el tema porque igual ya sería ponerse a meter demasiadas "especies" para mi gusto, que yo creo que con vampiros, hombres lobo, ninfas histéricas y otros fae y hechiceros ya estamos surtiditos

de donde sacan lo de angel cáido, porque igual puede ser demonio también si me refrescas la memoria, que la mía para los detalles como lo del cuadro no da para mucho la cosa es que espero podamos saber qué diablos es él pero sabes algo para mi en el fondo él no es tan perverso, porque en este 5to libro él le dió bastantes pistas a Merit sobre lo que estaba sucediendo y que tal con el aromita que se lanzaba el de limón y galletas, aiiiii ya se me antojó algo dulce

Both the desk and throne stood beneath an ominous five-foot-wide painting. Most of the canvas was dark, but the outlines of a group of suspicious-looking men were visible. They stood around a man positioned near the center of the painting, his arms above his head, cowering as they pointed down at him. It looked like they were condemning him for something. It wasn't exactly an inspiring painting.

He sat down in the throne behind his desk, the onlookers in the portrait now pointing down at him. Tate gestured toward two smaller chairs that sat in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat."

y sí puede ser que esa teoría sea cierta porque lo que no se puede negar es que él tiene pinta de ser muy poderoso