THE BITTEN

Fourth entry featuring destiny-driven Damali Richards, Vampire Huntress (The Awakening, 2003, etc.).

A New Orleans orphan whose father was turned by a master vampire, Damali is still grieving the death of her beloved, Carlos Rivera. But Carlos is not dead, as reported. He’s doing penance for his misdeeds. Though now a master vampire with the Vampire High Council, he has been saved by monks dedicated to overcoming the Dark forces. When the Council orders him to bring in Damali while she ovulates, Carlos turns untrustworthy vamp. He and Damali face a 500-year-old female vampire, while other flesh-eating demons and were-cats make their first showing. The scope widens biblically, with the living Blood of Christ falling into the hands of one of the four top Master Vampires, allowing him to open the Sixth Seal of Revelation and bring on the final war behind the Seventh Seal holding off Armageddon. Through their lovemaking Carlos finds Damali running with blood, her powerful extrasensory skills transforming her, leaving her befanged by moonlight—and perhaps even pregnant. Can mother-seer Marlene save her? Is Damali the Neteru, a creature born once in a millennium to save the planet from demons? And by what miracle can Damali save Carlos from the sweet agony of eternal darkness should he, shall we say, deliquesce?

In fantasy, anything can be saved.