ONE SILENT NIGHT - On Sale November 4, 2008

Hero Name: Stryker
Hero Birth: Atlantis & Delphi
Hero Motto: Life is short. Mess with me and it's even shorter.

Description:

In the world of the Dark-Hunters, all hell’s breaking loose…

Stryker has sent word and is gathering his forces.

While the world carries on unawares, Stryker, who leads an army of demons and vampires, is plotting an all out onslaught against his enemies—which, unfortunately for us, includes the entire human race. To avenge his sister, Stryker prepares to annihilate the Dark-Hunters. But things go awry when his oldest enemy returns. Enter his ex-wife. Zephyra. Just when he thought nothing could stop him, he’s now embroiled in a centuries-old war with a shrew who gives new meaning to pain.

It’s Christmas Eve and new battle lines are being drawn as the Dark-Hunters rally for a final showdown on ONE SILENT NIGHT.

ACHERON

Hero Name: Acheron a.k.a. Akri
Hero Birth: 9548 BC, Atlantis or Didymos (depends on who you ask and how Ash feels when he answers)
Hero Motto: I'm the top of the food chain, and well, you're the food.

Excerpt from Acheron:

Acheron sat on the railing of his balcony completely drunk as he watched the elaborately dressed guests arriving for the birthday party in the palace below. His back was pressed against the building while his legs were stretched out before him in a precarious balance. He wasn’t sure how much he’d imbibed at this point.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to kill him. But if he were lucky, he might yet tumble from his perch to the rocks a hundred feet below and die horribly there.

That would definitely fuck up his brother’s birthday celebration. For the first time in weeks, he laughed at the thought of Styxx dropping dead in front of the gathered nobles and dignitaries.

It would serve them right.

“It’s my birthday too,” he shouted, knowing no one could hear him. Even if they could, they wouldn’t care.

Not even Artemis could be bothered to celebrate with him. Why? Because she was afraid someone would see her with him...

Gods forbid.

Acheron turned his head and winced as pain cut through him. He hated the fact that she alone could give him so much anguish. So careful he’d been to shield himself from the callousness of those around him. But Artemis, she cut him on a level no one else could touch.

And like everyone else, she didn’t care how much she hurt him.

THE DARK-HUNTER® COMPANION

An essential, wildly imaginative guide to the Dark-Hunter world with an in-depth break down of Dark-Hunter rules and codes of conduct, a directory of known Dream-Hunters and Were-Hunters, indispensable instructions on how to deal with a Daimon, an Atlantean pronunciation guide, an original interview with Sherrilyn Kenyon, and much, much more!

Featuring original artwork from the world of the Dark-Hunters!

Test your Dark-Hunter knowledge with this quiz.

DEVIL MAY CRY

Hero Name: Sin a.k.a. Nana
Hero Birth: Before the dawn of time
Hero Motto: Do unto others first.

Excerpt from Devil May Cry:

“You're immortal. What do you know of dying?”

A cold look descended on his features as pain glowed in those golden depths.

“Immortals can and do die. Some of us more than once.”

There was something there...something she needed to know the answer to. “And have you ever taken the life of an innocent to live another day?”

His eyes were harsh and cold. “I've done many things in my life that I didn't want to. I'm not proud of them, but I'm still here and I intend to be here for a long time to come. ”

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Hero Name: Ravyn
Hero Birth: 304 BC, Athens, Greece
Hero Motto: Vengeance is a dish best served cold

Excerpt from Dark Side of the Moon:

“So tell me something, how did you do that earlier trick?”

Ravyn grimaced. “What trick?

“The cat thing. How did you switch?”

Why did humans always want that question answered? Even if he explained it, it wasn’t like they could do it. “It’s magick,” he said sarcastically. “I mumble hocus-pocus and the next thing you know, I’m a cat.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I suppose it’s a step up. The last guy I had in my house could only turn into a beer-drinking pig.”

UNLEASH THE NIGHT

Hero Name: Wren
Hero Birth: ?
Hero Motto: The tiger lies low not from fear, but for aim.

Excerpt from Unleash the Night:

Peltier House had long been a refuge for creatures like himself... creatures who had been thrown out of their clans for all manner of reasons. As Aimee so often said, they were all refugees and misfits.

Wren was more so than most. He’d never had an animal clan that he belonged to. Neither tiger nor leopard would tolerate his mixed presence. He was a mutant hybrid that should never have been allowed to live.

Wren pulled his wet shirt off as he headed up the stairs. Marvin came bounding up behind him. He’d only climbed halfway up when a bad feeling went through him.

The woman...

She was in trouble.

Wren mentally willed a black t-shirt on his body as he sensed imminent threat for her. Without a word to Marvin, he flashed himself out of the building, onto the street.

SINS OF THE NIGHT

Hero Name: Alexion
Hero Birth: ?
Hero Motto: Be Good, Be Gone or Be Dead

Excerpt from Sins of the Night:

Danger’s reaction to her “guest” was swift and automatic, and it happened without any premeditation on her part. She pulled out her dagger and threw it straight into the man’s heart.

To her shock, he burst apart into a golden dust just like any good Daimon would.

“Mere de Dieu,” she breathed. Kyros had been right. The man was…

Entering the room from the doorway on her right!

Her jaw dropped as he sauntered into the room with an arrogant swagger and a less-than-amused smirk. He pinned her with a droll stare as he moved to stand in front of her. Her dagger shot from the floor, where it had fallen after he exploded into dust, and into his hand. He held it out to her, hilt first. It was painfully obvious that he wasn’t the least bit afraid she’d use it in him again.

“Could you please refrain from the theatrics? I really hate doing that. It seriously pisses me off and it ruins a perfectly good shirt.”

SEIZE THE NIGHT

Hero Name: Valerius Magnus
Hero Birth: 152 BC, Rome
Hero motto: Carpe Noctem

Excerpt from Seize the Night:

She turned in his arms and seized him. Before he realized what she was doing, she literally flipped him onto the bed and was on top of him, straddling his hips.

Valerius laughed. “You know, a lesser man might actually be afraid of you.”

Laughing, she slung her hair over her shoulders to trail down her back. “Are you afraid of me, Val?”

“No,” he said honestly. “I like that you know what you want and aren’t afraid to take it.”

NIGHT PLAY

Hero Name: Vane Kattalakis
Hero Birth: 1463 AD, Essex, England
Hero motto: Better a killer than a victim

Excerpt from Night Play:

“So let me see if I got everything straight from your mother. This,” she turned her hand over to show the mark, “means that we are somehow meant to be husband and wife. But if I refuse you, you spend the rest of your life impotent and alone? But I, on the other hand, am free to live my life however I see fit?”

He nodded.

“It really sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”

KISS OF THE NIGHT

Hero Name: Wulf Tryggvason
Hero Birth: 750 AD, Hammerfest, Norway
Hero motto: Kill Them All and Let Odin Sort Them Out

Excerpt from Kiss of the Night:

“Out of my way, Dark-Hunter,” the Daimon holding her said, “or I’ll kill her.”

Appearing amused by the threat, Wulf shook his head like a parent scolding an angry child. “You know, you should have stayed in your bolt-hole one more day. Tonight’s Buffy night, and it’s a whole new episode, too.”

The Dark-Hunter paused to sigh irritably. “Have you any idea how angry it makes me that I have to come out here in the freezing cold to slay you when I could be at home all toasty warm and watching Sarah Michelle Gellar kick-ass in a halter top?”

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

Hero Name: Zarek of Moesia
Hero Birth: 155 BC,Viminacium, Moesia
Hero motto: I don't suffer from my insanity—I enjoy every minute of it.

Excerpt from Dance with the Devil:

“Does your life truly have no value or meaning to you?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Then why haven’t you killed yourself?”

He snorted at that. “Why should I? The only enjoyment I have in my life is knowing I piss off everyone around me. If I were dead, it would make them happy. God forbid I should ever do that.”

NIGHT EMBRACE

Hero Name: Talon of the Morrigantes
Hero Birth: 532 AD, Northern England
Hero motto: If you make me leave my chicory coffee, beignets and bedmate, you won't live to regret it.

Excerpt from Night Embrace:

“I have no money, no pants, no keys. Do I still have my jacket?”

“Yes, it’s safe. And I saved your Snoopy Pez dispenser from the washer, too. And your boots are right here,” she said, holding them up from the floor by the bed.

Talon nodded, feeling strangely relieved by the knowledge that she hadn’t destroyed everything he’d had on him last night. He looked uneasily at the woman and the faint sunlight in the room. He wondered which one of them was the most lethal to him.

NIGHT PLEASURES

Hero Name: Kyrian of Thrace
Hero Birth: 179 BC, Thrace
Hero motto: When the going gets tough, the tough reload.

Excerpt from Night Pleasures:

“So, how long have you been a vampire?” Amanda asked.

“I told you,” he said, his jaw tight, “I’m not a vampire. I’m a Dark-Hunter.”

“What’s the difference?”

 Kyrian gave her a hard glance. “The difference is I normally don’t kill humans, but if you don’t stop quizzing me, I might make an exception.”

“You are one seriously testy creature of the night.”

“I love you, too.”