Book Thingo » Cheat sheets

Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet (Part 1)

Decadence — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:00:07 +0000

These cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here. LAST UPDATED: 27/3/2012 (shown in italics)

The Scribe Virgin and her single act of creation

We’re not sure exactly who the Scribe Virgin is, other than the mother of the vampire race. Her father (don’t know who he is either) gifted her with a single act of creation, which she used to create a race of beings who:

cannot walk in the sun
must drink the blood of a member of the opposite sex within the race (to supplement a standard human food and drink diet)
live for almost 1000 years
dematerialise to different locations (but are trapped by heavy metals like steel or lead and cannot carry large or heavy objects)
are stronger and faster than humans and are often quite beautiful and may have unusually coloured eyes and hair. They have no body hair below the neck (how many of us wish we could be vampires?)

When males fall in love, they bond with their female, making them feel possessive and extremely protective of her. They love watching her eat and well… *ahem* climax. Their eyes glow in her presence and their bodies also emit a dark, spicy, sensual fragrance used to mark the female during mating as a warning to other males that she is off limits. Mating ceremonies for bonded males include the female’s name being carved into the male’s back and sealed with salty water to show her ownership of him. She becomes the primary focus of his existence.

Vampires can breed with humans and half-breed offspring will inherit any or all of the above characteristics, depending on the strength of the lineage of the vampire parent. Humans cannot be made into vampires, you either have vampire blood or you don’t.

The biggest issue facing the vampires in JR Ward’s world is extinction. The vampire population is under threat from the Lessening Society, created with the express purpose of wiping out the race, and also faces difficulties with procreation due to infrequent fertility cycles and high mortality rates.

The Scribe Virgin likes to play a meaningful role in the race’s traditions and there is a very definite code of conduct when in the Scribe Virgin’s presence. First and foremost, no questions. Be extremely polite and respectful. If you want something, make sure you include the phrase, “If it would not offend…” She has been known to melt vampires who offend her. She also believes in balance, so a request granted often requires a sacrifice, so far the only exception was the gift of creation given to her.

Wrath’s father had a good relationship with her and was even allowed to call her by her name, Analisse.

She is small and beautiful in appearance and usually wears black robes with a white glow spread out on the floor around her. But lately, the glow is dimmer and the force of her personality has diminished. The Scribe Virgin is at a loss and feels as though she has no purpose while her race is in trouble, partly due to her traditions. In a last ditch attempt at survival, some of those traditions have changed, leaving her feeling more superfluous to her race.

In addition to creating the vampire race, the Scribe Virgin wanted children of her own bloodline. She took vampire form and made a deal with the strongest, most cunning male she could find. She would bear him a son who would be given to his father at the age of 3 for the next 300 years. Her son would be hers again at 303. She also had a daughter who would be raised as a Chosen.

Because she had broken the rules by creating life outside of the initial gift she had been given, her children would suffer and so would she in watching their pain.

Her son Vishous grew up in the harsh environment of a warrior camp, where he fought for and stole everything he ever ate. When his father deemed him a threat after his transition, he had V tattooed and partially castrated before banishing him from the camp with nothing. V eventually became a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Out of honour for the deal she’d made with the Bloodletter, or maybe because she didn’t want to risk inflicting more pain on her son, the Scribe Virgin had no direct contact with Vishous as his mother until his 303rd birthday approached. She had decided he would live a life of comfort as the Chosen’s Primale. He reluctantly agreed, but then fell in love with a human doctor who was later murdered.

The Scribe Virgin sacrificed the birds who made her happy to restore the life of her son’s mate.

Her daughter Payne was too wild and aggressive to truly embrace the Chosen’s traditions. In 1761, she left the Other Side and killed her father, whom she believed killed her twin brother.

Afterwards, she placed Payne in stasis for centuries until she restored Jane’s life for Vishous, but Payne is not allowed to leave the Other Side. Could it be because she believes more pain will result from her children being reunited, or does she fear losing her son as a result of having withheld all knowledge of his sister?

She held fast to her decision not to release her daughter Payne, despite the damage it does to their relationship until Payne is injured while sparring with Wrath. Her daughter refuses to allow her to repair the injury, so Wrath demands she release her daughter to be cared for on his side. It is a sign of her emotional state that she doesn’t even bat an eye at Wrath’s demand when before she was offended by the slightest question.

She was also absent from JM and Xhex’s mating, when tradition states that couples from within the Brotherhood or the Chosen intending to mate must be presented to her for approval.

Who is the Black Dagger Brotherhood?

Under threat from the Lessening Society, the vampires as a race began to breed their strongest warriors with their strongest bloodlines to the point that they evolved into a subspecies of vampire warrior, with more physical strength and extra mind powers than the average civilian. This subspecies formed the Black Dagger Brotherhood, named for the daggers Vishous calibrates specially for each Brother to stab lessers through the heart and send them back to the Omega.

A notable exception is the Dhestroyer, who can absorb a lesser’s essence, preventing his return to the Omega. He has the potential to absorb all of the Omega’s power, which makes him a huge threat to the evil.

All the Brothers have a star-shaped scar over their left pectoral caused by being punched in the chest with a spiky glove by the rest of the Brotherhood during initiation.

There used to be twenty to thirty Brothers at a time, but as of the end of Lover Enshrined, there were only four fighting Brothers. Due to decreased numbers in the Brotherhood, for the first time in history, the Primale has joined the fight against the lessers, bringing the total to five. Although they are not actually Brothers, John Matthew, his ahstrux notrum (bodyguard) Qhuinn, Blaylock and Xhex have joined the war.

Even though the race has scattered after Lash’s raid, the Brotherhood remains based in Caldwell, NY, as the Tomb is located there.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Wrath, son of Wrath

Born around 1664, Wrath is the last purebred vampire and for over 300 years, he was the race’s absent king. Before his transition, he lived a sheltered life until his family was betrayed by a servant to the lessers. He was hidden away while the rest of his family was slaughtered.

He then worked as a stable hand in the human world until his promised shellan (or wife) Marissa tracked him down and fed him her blood to see him through his transition. He also went through the change, which transformed him from a scrawny bag of bones into a 6’6 brick shithouse in a matter of hours. His eyesight was already poor, but worsened after his transition. He recently became completely and irreversibly blind.

Instead of stepping up to rule his people, Wrath decided to fight against the lessers, as a way of compensating for his pre-transitional weakness while his family died. He viewed his father as someone who sat on a throne and was adored while he fights for his people, but really carries around a load of survivor’s guilt.

One of his Brothers, Darius, kept trying to reach out to him because he believed Wrath was needlessly making himself into a loner, having very little contact with anyone (particularly his “fragile” arranged shellan, Marissa). When Darius discovered that he had a living daughter who would be old enough to go through her transition, he asked Wrath to help her as his blood would ensure she had the best chance of survival.

Wrath goes to Darius’ daughter, Beth Randall out of obligation to his fallen Brother but soon finds himself becoming attached to her. She warms him up and by guiding her into the vampire world, she shows him that he wouldn’t have been able to help his family and that staying safe was the best thing he could have done.

Marissa released him from their arrangement (Wrath never claimed her so they were never actually mated – there was no ceremony before the Scribe Virgin) and Wrath feels free to take Beth as his shellan (even though males are allowed to take more than one shellan, bonded males typically only have eyes for one female). He seeks permission from the Scribe Virgin who demands a favour (yet to be named) as well as for Wrath to take the throne and live up to his duty, something he wasn’t prepared to do until his love for Beth opened him up to love himself and see himself as worthy of leadership.

Beth wants to try for a young during her first needing, which is only a couple of years away, if that. Wrath has refused for two reasons: first, many females die during childbirth and second, if his young is male, he has no choice but to become king and inherit the mess Wrath has left behind. But with no heir, the race cannot afford for Wrath to die because there is no royal to step up and take his place. The next king would have to come from the next most pure bloodline.

After the lessers wiped out most of the glymera, Wrath has secretly joined his Brothers in fighting, with only Butch aware of this. With his civilians dying, Wrath feels he should be more active in keeping them safe rather than sitting on a throne and passing laws.

Wrath lied to Beth about going out to fight, but on V’s advice, he came clean and officially rejoined his Brothers in the field. Wrath’s lie put a strain on their relationship, not just because of his ongoing deception but because he risks making her a widow while refusing to start a family with her. They reconcile and Wrath tells Beth about the upcoming Council meeting that is even more vital for him to attend after Rehvenge told him of the failed assassination attempt. He must show strength. She compromised by asking him to wear a bulletproof vest.

Following a long series of headaches, Wrath loses the remainder of his sight and is now completely blind. Mary helps his rehabilitation and he has a guide dog called George, whom he spoils. Wrath must now work even closer with Beth in ruling the race.

During his visit to the Other Side to find out that The Scribe Virgin had nothing to do with his blindness, he meets Payne and they spar. Although as a male he normally would not try to hit a female, she instigated their sessions and her smaller size and relative lack of strength is balanced by Wrath’s blindness. She gives as good as she gets and their matches are good for him. He realises that the world is still there even if he can’t see it and he still has his muscles and fighting skills.

A document sent to Wrath for approval came from glymera lawyer Saxton, who asks him not to exercise his legal right in seizing traitor Montrag’s estate, but to pass it on to Montrag’s next of kin, a nurse called Ehlena and her father, who have fallen on hard times and had nothing to do with Montrag’s treason. Wrath agrees.

After the Brothers leave to rescue Rehvenge, Wrath stands outside in the cold. Beth asks him if he wants a coat, reminding him that he loves because she hadn’t asked him to go back inside, she asked how she could make it easier for him to be where he wanted to be. She told him that fighting doesn’t make him courageous, he has to live and rule from the heart. Wrath then begins to see himself as a king in his own right, not just a fighter pushed into a desk job by his blindness and inheriting his father’s obligations.

He moves in the royal desk and throne that Darius had brought across from the Old Country.

He asks Rehvenge to remain symphath king to quell any instability and despite Rehv’s protests, he points out the destiny has something in mind for people like them.

During a sparring session with Payne where she really forced him to defend himself, he broke her back. When Payne refused to allow the SV to heal her, he demanded she be allowed to go to the Other Side (our side) to see a doctor. He was shocked to hear Payne call the Scribe Virgin her mother.

When the SV released her, he got Jane, who was stunned to see the obvious physical resemblance to V.

At JM and Xhex’s mating, Wrath declared them a good match, instead of having the presentation to the Scribe Virgin.

Class Structure and Civil Unrest

In the vampire world, the king is on top (answerable only to the Scribe Virgin) and the First Family (the king’s family) is ranked directly below that. Wrath’s bloodline is in charge because their lineage is pure and should anything happen to Wrath before he can beget an heir, the kingdom is transferred to the male with the next strongest bloodline as females cannot rule in their own right.

The Brotherhood is also way up there, along with the Chosen (female offspring of the union between a Brother and a Chosen – basically their bloodline makes them the female equivalent of the Brotherhood), however they spend most of their lives on the Other Side worshipping the Scribe Virgin.

Above the average Joe or civilian vampire, there is also an aristocratic class, referred to as the glymera, which has a lot in common with the ton of Regency England in terms of wealth and snobbishness and is largely a patriarchy. The usual double standards concerning female behaviour definitely apply, especially relating to sexual behaviour and political power.

Homosexuality is OK, but only if a vampire is mated to a member of the opposite sex and keeps their lifestyle hidden. If a gay vampire is caught out, he (or she, assuming the same rule applies to females, which it may not) and their family is ostracised.

The upper echelons of the glymera are the Princeps. The Princeps Council (chaired by an elected leahdyre, which I think is pronounced “leader” but don’t quote me on that because Ward’s letter groupings can make pronunciation confusing and misleading – “Primale”, anyone?) was set up to advise the king, but their decisions or rulings were more like recommendations than actual law. Although the doors have opened to more aristos, only the six founding bloodlines can vote.

Not everyone is eager to embrace their king after he spent so long shirking his royal duty and letting vampire civilisation deteriorate. (For example, there are no longer any soldiers to act as vampire police and the race’s traditions and festivals aren’t really being observed anymore.) The glymera in particular have tried to be helpful by making recommendations to suit only themselves and Wrath has put their noses further out of joint by (quite rightly) filing them in the circular cabinet.

There was an attempt to either force Wrath’s hand into complying with the Council or undermine public confidence in him by passing a motion to protect and shelter (read: oppress) unmated females from the lesser threat. Given that Wrath outlawed the keeping of blood slaves, he would be highly unlikely to uphold a ruling to strip away females’ civil liberties, despite the argument presented by recent lesser activity. In the end, the motion was blackballed by Marissa (who had control of her family’s vote by being older than her brother Havers) before it reached Wrath’s desk.

The war against the lessers has reached a turning point where most of the ruling class was wiped out and Rehvenge was made the new leahdyre. Although Rehv has his own problems, Wrath has found him to be an asset. We haven’t seen the full effects yet, but I believe that the latest massacre may undermine confidence in Wrath.

A member of the glymera, Montrag, son of Rehm, approaches then-Princeps Council leahdyre Rehvenge about assassinating Wrath on the grounds that he has done nothing in response to the raids on glymera houses. He did not prevent them, is not investigating the property losses and has not assured the glymera that the raids will never happen again. His plan is to install a state of democracy, limited to the glymera, with all other classes being ruled by them and his ultimate goal is to rule the race himself, arguing that as the Brotherhood’s prime duty is to protect the race, they will be forced to follow where the race leads (do you really see that happening?). Best of all, he gets to keep his role in the conspiracy hidden, leaving Rehvenge to take the fall.

Rehvenge instead has Montrag killed and tells Wrath of the attempted assassination, but not before Montrag has a sworn statement from Rehvenge’s father denouncing him as his killer and a symphath.

At the next Council meeting (which the glymera refused to attend on the grounds that Montrag’s assassination is reason enough for them to remain safe at home), the statement is delivered by a glymera lawyer.

Then the symphath princess emails the Brotherhood with the old news that Rehv is a symphath and unless he is delivered to the colony, she will email the glymera telling them about Rehvenge and that the king did nothing about it.

Rehvenge defanged the princess by faking his death in the human and vampire worlds and going to the colony.

As Montrag committed treason, upon his death, his estate legally goes to the king, unless Wrath chooses not to exercise that right, which in this case, he has not.

Wrath also rules the symphaths, claiming he has the power to take away the symphath colony and that the king rules only because Wrath lets him.

Xcor and his band of bastards resurface and travel to Caldwell with the intent of overthrowing Wrath. His second in command, Throe is related to five out of the six founding families and would have been a member of his glymera until he was denounced for training under Xcor. Still, he has the contacts to stir up discontent and show the glymera how many lessers have been dispatched since their arrival.

Wrath the Fair

Unlike the Brother Hharm, Wrath the Fair King loves his son. When he brought Wrath the younger to Brotherhood meetings when he was as young as 7, he was proud of his son’s lack of fear of his warriors.

Wrath remembered his father being adored by his subjects.

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PRE-RELEASE SPOILERS: Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 10) – Part 4

Decadence — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:00:42 +0000

If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo

The Lover Reborn cover has finally been unveiled! The book came in just under 195,000 words, which is longer than Lover Mine, but shorter than Lover Avenged. I think this makes it the second longest book in the series.

The following blurb has also been revealed:

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Now back in the Brotherhood – and unrecognisable as the vampire leader he once was – Tohrment is physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair. When he begins to see his beloved in his dreams – trapped in a cold, isolating netherworld – Tohr turns to a self-serving fallen angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost. When he’s told he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed …Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past, and a very hot, passion-filled future …but can his heart let go and set all of them free?

Ward had posted quotes from Lover Reborn on Facebook, but after some fan drama, all quotes were removed. They included:

A junkie lesser trying to keep Tohr at bay by threatening to kill himself (he’s obviously used to using the threat of self-harm to get his own way in the human world, but Tohr tells him to go ahead and jump)
Tohr, JM and Qhuinn discover their new neighbour, Xcor
Lassiter introduces himself as a badass to a female
Someone who doesn’t know that Wrath is completely blind sees him tell V to shut up and V obeys (my speculation is that it may be either No’One or Layla)
Lassiter is naked and bleeding, and when Jane comes to help, he teases her about V’s reaction to her seeing him. She responds that the most offensive bit was assuming V would think she looked at Lassiter in any way except professionally.

So in the lead-up to Lover Reborn‘s release, Ward has been reposting Tohr and Wellsie’s greatest hits.

Also, this book makes her editor and beta readers cry.

But if you visit the Notes, Ward posted a short excerpt where Throe is getting a beating from the Brothers for eyeing off a female, and based on the writing style, it seems to have taken place recently.

The Lover Reborn virtual signing is unfortunately closed well before the cut-off date of the 16th of March because they ran out of stock. Ward even placed a second order with the supplier and all of those books are gone, too. I ordered mine two days into the pre-order period and there were over 3000 orders ahead of me. They have also posted notes on the various shipping options available. I have always chosen the cheapest and, so far (knock on wood), I’ve always received my book about a week or so after the US release date, but your mileage may vary. This year it cost me around $45.

Ward knows who the next hardcover BDB book will be about, but she’s not allowed to say anything until our autumn. She’s really excited about it and is hoping to be asked at the beginning of the Lover Reborn in-store signing at B&N Cincinnati at the end of March. Later, she’ll be at the RT convention general signing in Chicago.

Have you heard any new BDB spoilers? What are you looking forward to most in the series? Let us know!

More at Book Thingo:

PRE-RELEASE SPOILERS: Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 10) – Part 3

Decadence — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:05:59 +0000

If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

Part 1 | Part 2 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo

Last week, J. R. Ward signed books in Cincinnati and Bex beat me to posting a link to a blogger who was there and took notes. If you haven’t already seen it, go to Liza’s blog for confirmation of Tohr’s HEA (no surprise) and other news.

Chat with Christine Feehan

This is the J. R. Ward part of the joint chat she hosted for Christine Feehan this morning. She wasn’t able to stay long because she had a migraine and the Christine Feehan portion had run for two hours. It was easier for her to just pick random questions in a free chat format, but it was difficult to keep up and connect questions with answers because with minimal mod intervention, the chat runs really quickly. I’ve tried to stick as closely as I could to what was said, but the questions and some answers have been paraphrased. This is not a transcript.

I haven’t noted down everything that has been asked before, like ‘Is Lash coming back?’ (She says that question was answered at the end of Lover Mine.) and ‘Does Wrath get his sight back?’ (No.)

And beware: there is one major spoiler on Envy.

J. R. Ward on Christine Feehan

Both writers have great respect for each other and could found a mutual admiration society. When Feehan mentioned her newest release or convention, Ward posted the links for her.

Before the chat started, Ward told us about the first time she met Feehan. It was at a conference a couple of years ago and Wardsaw her across the room and was all like, ‘OMG, it’s Christine Feehan! Don’t be an ass. Just go over and introduce yourself.’ So she walked over and in this mousy little voice said, ‘Hi, I’m J. R. Ward.’

‘Hi, I like your books.’ Ward apparently fell over in a dead faint, although maybe not literally.

Feehan helped Ward get her agent and gives the best advice, especially on promotion. She’s the reason we have the paranormal romance genre and is its reigning queen.

Ward: Christine and her family have done nothing but support me and Team Ward and I couldn’t respect her more. Thank you for coming tonight and having my back. I know you don’t like ass kissing… Please know my success is a direct result of so much advice you have given me.

Feeahan: You’re making me cry. Your success is a direct result of your own talent.

Black Dagger Brotherhood

Lover Reborn includes some very steamy scenes between Tohr and No’One, and the band of bastards will have a huge presence in the book because Xcor is going for the throne. Although he was relatively absent from recent books, Phury will be in Tohr’s.

‘Assail is a very interesting male. An old school vampire. I love Assail.’ In a chat she did earlier in the week to test the software, Ward confirmed that Assail is his own male and not one of Xcor’s bastards. Nor is he wolfen (no word on when she is going to introduce any wolves).

‘Read the end of Lover Reborn for Layla’s HEA, but don’t jump to conclusions.’

[Teasing Christine] ‘Blay’s been pursuing something else in his down time and fighting. So no playing doctor for real yet. But it’s coming.’ Could this be why she doesn’t see Blay becoming a Brother? He’s going to become a healer? Or does she mean playing doctor in a different sense?

She hopes to write Blay and Qhuinn soon. She gave a KR (keep reading) when asked if Saxton will still be around after Blay and Qhuinn have their HEA.

Does Murhder cause trouble for JM and Xhex? ‘JM and Xhex are solid, but he could cause trouble for others.’

Xhex has never been pregnant.

In future books, we can expect Manny to go through the transition and John to become a Brother.

‘I believe Butch and Manny have other siblings.’

Why are Shadows the only ones who can kill symphaths? ‘You’ll find out more about their powers later.’

Trez and iAm will get separate books. They share intertwining plots but are too big to do together.

Will we ever see Butch and V get intimate? ‘Who says they haven’t already? ;)’ Evil, EVIL woman!! This is twice now she’s said that.

Was it hard for V to forgive Jane for almost helping Payne kill herself? ‘Absolutely. But he understood it was Payne’s choice, not hers.’

Do the Brothers ever get nostalgic for other music from earlier eras they’ve lived through, like jazz or classical? ‘Good question. I haven’t seen them getting nostalgic, but they’re busy defending rap against Manny’s onslaught.’

What was the inspiration behind the way the Brothers speak? ‘No inspiration, that’s just how they talk.’

Does Lassiter know Eddie and Ad? KR.

What’s the Omega’s name? ‘The Omega.’ It’s not as silly a question as it may sound because we learned the Scribe Virgin’s name is Analisse in Dark Lover.

Will Michael from ‘Story of Son’ meet the BDB? ‘I’m not sure. I love love love him and wonder about his kids, but he and Claire are happy doing their own thing. But their kids, that’s what’s going to be interesting, LOL.’

Fallen Angels

She teared up over Eddie. KR regarding Eddie coming back.

Writing and general stuff

‘As long as I stay out of the way, I’m drafting. I can always pull pages. If I try to impose my own view or influence the storyline, the pictures and voices dry up. So I record what I see.’

Which authors would you recommend while I’m waiting for your next book? ‘Christine Feehan. Thea Harrison rocks. Darynda Jones. Suzanne Brockmann. Jessica Andersen. [In agreement with Christine Feehan] Nalini Singh. I think she has a new book this month…. I love KMM (Karen Marie Moning).’

Would you go to DragonCon at some point? ‘I’d love to, but travel is hard.’

‘I’m focussed on the books. If the right movie deal came along, sure, but the books are my main focus.’

What inspired you to write paranormal romance? ‘I have no choice. The Brothers are what they are, but seeing the Brothers in leather make me very glad I write paranormal romance.’

Which was the fastest book to write? ‘None of them were fast. They’re like pulling teeth because the Brothers are big and complicated.’ And yes, she was aware of the double entendre there.

‘I don’t read other vampires so I don’t get subconsciously influenced. The Brothers are what they are and the clearer I keep my vision of them, the better they talk to me.’

What is the best and worst advice you received when you were breaking into publishing? ‘The best was not to hurry to send a piece to an agent or editor. Take your time, get it right. And there was something specifically from Christine that changed the trajectory of my career. She knows what it is. I must have blocked out the worst because nothing comes to mind.’

She hopes to finish the Jessica Bird contemporaries.

Dark Lover virtual signing

Until the 27th of September (US time), you can pre-order a signed hardcover of Dark Lover from Ward’s official virtual signing page. The cheap international shipping option is available, so the book and delivery cost less than AUD50. The Dark Lover hardcover (collector’s edition) is officially released on October 4.

Have you heard any new BDB spoilers? What are you looking forward to most in the series? Let us know!

More at Book Thingo:

Book 10 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series…and beyond – Part 2

Decadence — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:51 +0000

If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

Part 1 | All BDB-related posts on Book Thingo

Some you may have seen this cover for Lover Reborn on Amazon, Goodreads and other bookish sites, but I’m not convinced it’s the final official cover because I haven’t seen Ward release it herself on her Facebook page, and it’s not in her photo albums or on her website. But the cover for Envy appeared suddenly as her new profile pic.

There are small excerpts from upcoming releases on Facebook from Qhuinn where he’s jealous of his cousin for being with Blay (Lover Reborn), Rhage’s love for Mary (their novella) and the size of a male’s (presumably Veck) appendage in Envy.

With Envy coming in less than a month, Ward has been devoting her efforts to promoting the next Fallen Angels instalment, with daily quotes and weekly videos posted on Facebook.

But the recent Envy signing also produced some amazing BDB spoilers, with highlights from The Obscured Vixen (Click on the link to find out about Layla’s talent. I swear it’s worth it!) and My Secret Private Playground:

Unlike the other books, which take place over a short period of time, Lover Reborn spans a year. Tohr is still in love with Wellsie and he needs time for his heart and mind to catch up to his body. But still no confirmation of whom he will ultimately end up with.
Lover Reborn introduces a new character, Assail, who is second only to Z in Ward’s opinion. It’s implied he is male.
Someone is inducted into the Brotherhood in either Lover Reborn or the next book, but it is not revealed who. (JM? Payne?)
Ward has an idea for a third series, but she isn’t saying anything because it may not happen since she is already so busy with the two series she’s writing now.
Jose de la Cruz will appear in both Envy and an upcoming BDB book where he’ll see Butch, only he won’t be allowed to remember.
She already knows who Trez and iAm will end up with, and their stories will be told in the same book as they happen sort of around the same time. We’ve met one of them, but not the other. (Could one of them be Layla? Are they both Chosen? — Decadence)
She is three-quarters through Rhage and Mary’s novella, which has turned into a short book. She also saps out over Phury and Cormia’s son Aggy (Ahgony).

Follow the links for the full story.

Ward’s message boards made a welcome return last month, but unfortunately Ward continues to focus on Facebook. I find the Facebookpage harder to keep up with, and if you live outside the US everything has hundreds of comments before you even see it, so you can’t tell if she’s answered someone’s question without extensive scrolling. It’s a shame because I had looked forward to the ease of use the boards offer.

More of Ward’s earlier Jessica Bird titles have been reissued, with The Rebel (Silhouette Special Edition) and An Irresistible Bachelor (from the same series as An Unforgettable Lady) having been given a facelift.

Have you heard any new BDB spoilers? What are you looking forward to most in the series? Let us know!

More at Book Thingo:

Book 10 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series…and beyond – Part 1

Decadence — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:00:58 +0000

If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next.

This post contains spoilers from previous books including Lover Unleashed, so we’re starting over with a new speculation post. It also contains some seriously spoilery info on the BDB. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

For those of you wondering, even with the cheapest shipping option I received my copy of Lover Unleashed from the virtual signing exactly a week after its release.

Outstanding spoilers

Here is a summary of the info from the previous speculation post that has not been included in Lover Unleashed:

Something will pull the Scribe Virgin out of her funk.
As a compromise, J. R. Ward’s publisher is allowing her to write Qhuay’s story as a novella, but she has promised that the novella will be long enough to satisfy their fans. It will not contain any world building so that readers who aren’t comfortable reading a gay romance won’t miss out.
Rhage and Mary will get their own novella (Ward is finishing this now) and so will Beth and Wrath, both of which will be about how they have young. They may be released together in paperback towards the end of this year.
Tohr will not end up with Layla, Rhym (she was the female Bella tried to set Phury up with, and who later became the Safe Place therapist), Nalla or the Scribe Virgin. We’ve met his future shellan in Lover Mine, but she may or may not have been introduced in that book. Doesn’t rule out No’One.
No’One is staying on this side to build a relationship with Xhex.
Lassiter will also get a book but it will have to be after Tohr’s.
John Matthew and Qhuinn will definitely be inducted into the Brotherhood, but Ward isn’t saying anything about Blay.
Murhder will come back with a whole heap of secrets. He and Xhex have more in common than she realises and we will get their back story.
Ward knows who iAm will end up with, but isn’t saying anything. There are female Shadows, but it may not be one of them.
The Chosen Selena and Layla will get HEAs, but Layla will not end up with Tohr, Lassiter or Blay.

Lover Reborn — Tohr’s story

Since the release of Lover Unleashed, J. R. Ward has done a few book signings in the US, making me wish I lived there. On her Facebook page, she posted a video, where she announced that book 10 would be about Tohr. It will be called Lover Reborn.

Ward has finished writing Envy, which has come in at 125 000 words and is 40 pages longer than Crave. She expects it to become even longer, presumably during copyediting. Envy’s release date is 6 September, 2011.

Around the blogs

The rest of this information comes from bloggers who were at the signings, not Ward directly, so I especially can’t promise that it will not change between now and when the books actually come out.

For ease of reading, I’m going to combine the highlights from Blogging by Liza (thanks to Steph for the link) and the Twilight Lexicon forum with my own thoughts.

Manny may go through the transition later. His blood helps Payne, but since he’s an untransitioned half-breed, it’s not strong enough. My question is who will she ultimately feed from? Just because they chose not to explore Manny’s heritage and make him a vampire in Lover Unleashed, doesn’t mean they won’t ever. But will she have to feed from someone else before then?

Payne cannot restore Wrath’s sight, but George will live forever.

Tohr is going to end up with No’One. I’m just wondering how she’s going to square that with their time together before Xhex’s birth while Tohr was promised to Wellsie. Wellsie will appear in Tohr’s book, but we don’t know what form the scene will take. So it could be a flashback, or a visit from the Fade or something else that hasn’t been thought of yet.

Lassiter will appear in Tohr’s book and ultimately get his own book. I believe it will be part of the BDB series rather than the Fallen Angels. (If you noticed that V and Jane hadn’t been properly mated with the ceremony and carving and the whole shebang by Lover Unleashed, even though V was so excited by the idea of Jane doing the carving in Lover Unbound and we got to read about it on the boards, it turns out that the boards can be quite some time ahead of the books, which makes me wonder when Lassiter helped Wrath and V found and saved him. Because there haven’t been any scenes in the books where he’s looking for his jesses and pining for his female. Doesn’t mean it never happened, just that we didn’t get to see it, such as when No’One brought Payne a scrying bowl in a deleted scene, making me wonder how Payne could see that V’s life is better with Jane, but didn’t know he was still alive.)

Ward really likes Xcor (Core) and he will get his own book, but he really needs to work out some issues first. He has a really interesting back story and we’ll find out about his true father.

The Bloodletter was very bitter about being booted from the Brotherhood. Is that why his book on the Other Side is blank? Is Murhder’s also blank?

There is too much conflict between the Brotherhood and the band of bastards for Throe to join the Brotherhood. When asked if No’One was his defiled sister, Ward was prevented by her people from answering. Instead she gave a KR (Keep Reading). Sampsone was the leahdyre—is it possible he was an ex-Brother? Would a warrior have hung around at home crying instead of going out and kicking some symphath arse?
She won’t name the 3 cousin bastards, but she loves Zypher.

Murhder will be in the books again soon. He and Xhex have something in common even Xhex doesn’t know about, and JM and Murhder will have a confrontation.

We will go back to the symphath colony and Ward believes they will become a threat again. (I’m still wondering how Xhex and Rehv can be ‘of no age’ when we witnessed Xhex’s birth. Could it be that symphath is a continuous essence, kind of like the Omega’s power in a lesser, which doesn’t end just because the lesser is dead and existed before their ‘birth’ as a lesser? But even that must have had a beginning. Theories?)

We will get to find out what happened to Qhuinn’s (still living, if less than happy and healthy) brother, whom Lash had kidnapped and Ward implied that we may get to see Lash again (because he was staked, not inhaled) before her people put the gag on her.

There will always be the Omega because he must balance out the Scribe Virgin. Looks like there may always be lessers, too.

We will see in book 10 who the glymera’s new leahdyre is. Things are very different with them now. Makes me wonder what effect Throe’s return and stirring of the pot had.

Those of you who followed my #LoverUnleashed livetweet would have noticed that I queried the use of the word ‘wolfen’ on page 2 of Lover Unleashed. Apparently this does actually relate to a new species that will be introduced at a later date.

Again, the Qhuay novella will not have any world building so people who don’t want to read an m/m romance don’t miss out, but those of you who feel that the boys are getting ripped off don’t have to worry. A BDB book is around 140,000 words, while an average romance novel is said to be 100,000-120,000. The novella will be 90,000-100,000 words and will be as hot as the threesome in Lover Unleashed.

Qhuinn is reinventing himself, and even though he removed a lot of his piercings, the holes are still there. He still has metal down under and I think he still has his tongue stud, too, so it’s interesting that he’s kept the more discreet ones that could be used to pleasure a partner even though he’s celibate.

Apparently, Qhuinn’s vision of Layla (which I believe is what led Ward to say initially that she believed Qhuinn would be with a female) means that she will bear young for Blay and Qhuinn, who cannot reproduce together as a couple. Her people won’t let her say anything else about Layla’s HEA.

Trez and iAm will get their own books and Trez may perform a special Primale-style duty for the Chosen. Shadowy vampire young? Will they grow up to be Brothers?

Jose de la Cruz will never find Butch.

JM is never supposed to remember that he was Darius, but Xhex is getting suspicious, which is about time, because I don’t remember the Scribe Virgin’s conditions saying nobody else could pick up on all the hints that have been dropped throughout the series.

Ward’s theory on the coffins is that they are the remains of the original Brothers, brought from the Old Country. No idea why they aren’t in the Tomb, which I would have thought is a more fitting place.

Dark Lover will be reissued in hardcover and reissuing the rest depends on Dark Lover’s sales. The artwork is unlikely to change.

Veck will be the hero of Envy, which will be released in September.

Ward plans to release a BDB every autumn (or spring in the US) and a Fallen Angels each spring.

Have you heard any new BDB spoilers? What are you looking forward to most in the series? Let us know!

More at Book Thingo:

Book 9 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series…and beyond

Decadence — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:10:21 +0000

Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward - Australian/UK paperback

If you’re hungry for clues about upcoming books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has put together what we think we know about what’s coming next. LAST UPDATED: 28/3/2010

This post contains spoilers from earlier books in the series, including Lover Mine, and spoilery speculation about future books. None of this stuff is set in stone, so please don’t blame us if something changes between now and when the books are released.

The ninth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, titled Lover Unleashed, is about Payne, blooded daughter of the Bloodletter, and Manuel Manello, MD.

Payne has just been revealed to everyone as V’s sister and you might remember Manello as Jane’s boss at the human hospital, who V thought the word ‘Brother’ about. (Bear in mind that it was a single-word sentence, so it could be either Brother as in a warrior in the Brotherhood or brother as in family, so yes, it does make a difference.)

Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward - US hardback

We can expect to see Vishous play a larger role in this book as his relationship with his estranged twin develops, and I’m betting Jane will show up quite a bit, too, as support for both her hellren and her old boss and friend. Ward has suggested in a recent chat that V will not be happy to see someone putting the moves on his sister and that Butch will also be a huge buffer. She has confirmed that V will go to a dark place after the recent revelations of Payne, her injury and his mother’s lies. Even though his relationships with Butch and Jane have helped him to open up, his default mode is very shut down and in times of great stress like what he’s going through with Payne, he’s going to revert back to his default setting and it will take something very hardcore to bring him out of it.

Because it’s V, it would need to be hardcore because he doesn’t do soft, but I think Ward will get us through it intact. I didn’t think submission on him would work, but I found him even hotter after the penthouse scene, so it looks like we’ll need to keep an open mind. Ward is warning readers on her message board that it may be disturbing for some readers as it looks like it will involve self-harm. It’s not necessarily something Ward is happy with and she’d like to make his journey easier on him and us and this seems to relate to The Lie from the companion. His scenes are giving her a hard time. Again.

In this book, something happens to pull the Scribe Virgin out of her depression, but Ward isn’t saying what.

Layla and No’One will also appear in the next book, but no details yet (if ever).

Black Dagger Brotherhood Box Set (Books 1 to 6)

At this stage, Ward will start writing book 9 in 3-4 weeks and doesn’t yet know who book 10 will be about. Apparently she gets told on a need-to-know basis and the Brothers have decided she doesn’t need to know yet.

I’m sure we will see the love triangle between Qhuinn, Blay and Saxton continue, but it looks like Qhuinn and Blaylock’s HEA will be in a novella, which I understand is meant to appease everyone. Those who are comfortable reading a romance (and sex) between two men can happily devour it, but if their story is completely self-contained, readers who are less comfortable with this plotline can leave it alone. Ward wants to call the novella Blay and Qhuinn so that readers know before buying that it’s about two males. They aren’t yet ready to have a story, a few things need to happen in the series first.

Crave by J. R. Ward (Fallen Angels, Book 2)

Ward’s publisher has also bought another two novellas: the first is about Rhage and Mary’s desire to start a family (which she is writing now, having finished Crave, the second Fallen Angels book) and the second is about Wrath’s son, Wrath, who will be the future king (the kings are always named Wrath) to be written in the Australian summer, between writing Payne and Manny’s book and the third Fallen Angel book. These novellas will be released together in paperback format around late 2011.

Tohr will get his own book at some stage, but Ward is being very tight-lipped about who his heroine will be (No’One?). She has denied that he will end up with Layla, Rhym (she was the female Bella tried to set Phury up with, and later became the Safe Place therapist), Nalla or the Scribe Virgin. Lassiter will also get a book but it will have to be after Tohr’s.

Speaking of whom, we will see more of No’One. She is staying to build a relationship with Xhex, although I’m not sure how much of that we’ll get to see with everything else going on.

Murhder will come back into the fold, bearing surprises. I had expected more questions on who the symphaths are and what makes them tick to be answered than I found in Rehvenge and Xhex’s books, but since Murhder went mad after going to the symphath colony, we may get more info on them in Murhder’s book. I just don’t know when that will be or whom he ends up with.

Somewhere along the line we’ll get to see more of the Chosen as well, with Layla and Selena, the Chosen who feeds Tohr and was the only one other than Cormia to stay at the great camp when Rehv showed up each month, both getting HEAs. Ward has confirmed that Layla will not end up with Tohr, Lassiter or Blay.

John Matthew and Qhuinn will definitely be inducted into the Brotherhood, but Ward isn’t saying anything about Blay.

We’ll get to meet some new characters in the future, with three males currently in the Old Country (not even Ward knows when they’ll be introduced) and the training program will make a comeback.

And people looking ahead to Nalla’s HEA are getting way ahead of themselves. Because she is currently an infant in the books, it will be years—if ever—before her story is written. Z will not be happy about his baby attracting male attention, but Bella will be on Nalla’s side and will allow her more freedom to find a mate. Not that it’s a surprise, but Ward has confirmed that it will not be Qhuinn.

SEPTEMBER UPDATE: Lover Unleashed is around 700 pages and has a release date of 29 March 2011.

Qhuinn listened to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz while running on the treadmill. It’s a song about not being in a good place now,but knowing your future is brighter. I think it’s part of a scene from Lover Unleashed.

During a scene between V and Manny, Eminem’s Cinderella Man is playing. The song is about having had it tough but doing the impossible anyway and features a lot of grandstanding and posturing, I’m-better-than-you stuff.

Ward has also hinted that there will be a new bad boy. That’s all. She’s not allowed to say more than that, so we don’t know if he’s a villain or a badass.

OCTOBER UPDATE: Crave (second in the Fallen Angels series) contains an excerpt from Lover Unleashed, where Jane drives Manny to the Brotherhood mansion to operate on Payne’s spine. We learn that he’s hit the scotch since the events of Lover Unbound and interestingly, it’s the same brand that Butch drinks. Vishous still hates him, even though he’s the one mated to Jane, not Manny. Maybe it’s because Manny’s better able to help his new sister than V is and V really doesn’t like not being in charge (except under certain circumstances with Jane).

Manny instantly falls in love with Payne on sight and he doesn’t react like a human. I wonder if Xhex will say anything about what she saw in him or if she will assume they know like she did with Lash.

From the chat, we learned that his mother is Italian, but nothing about his father, which is interesting since his surname sounds Italian.

Lover Unleashed will have so much of Payne, Manny and V (and by extension Jane and Butch) that there will be room for Qhuay, but not much else. I’m not sure if Murhder will make an appearance in this book, but he will see Xhex again and their back story will be revealed.

Manny has changed after V got into his head and his mind can’t handle the interference (maybe this is another sign that he is something more than human) and he becomes essentially useless. There has to be a way out (maybe another forced transition?) because I don’t see Ward giving Payne a broken hellren.

Something is going to happen between Butch and V and Ward hinted that they will be giving in to a craving. Butch feels a lot of black, which if V has anything to do with it, is likely to be along the lines of leather or candle wax. The connection to V is purely my speculation.

One of the new vampires we’ll meet is called Xcor (pronounced Core). I’m not sure if Xcor is male or female, but would be too surprised if he or she is the badass Ward mentioned earlier since this was the only name she gave us.

Lover Unleashed will include the hero of the next Fallen Angel book, Envy.

Right now, Ward still doesn’t know whose book is going to be after Payne and Manny’s, but it’s not likely to be Tohr’s because she wants more time to prepare. But I might speculate that her preference could be why she hasn’t been told yet. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Speaking of Tohr, Ward said in a video for Borders that we’ve met his female in Lover Mine. But knowing that Ward can be tricky, don’t read that as his female was necessarily introduced in Lover Mine, she was in that book.

Ward confirmed the silver lining of giving Blay and Qhuinn their own novella—it will focus on them and cover everything.

We have not met who iAm ends up with, but Ward knows who that will be. There are such things as female Shadows but she hasn’t said if it’s one of them.

NOVEMBER UPDATE: J. R. Ward just finished writing Lover Unleashed, but she and her teams still have to look at the copyedits when they come in from her publisher. The Lover Unleashed cover and blurb are finally up!

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself—only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can—but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separate them?

She is expecting to finish the Rhage and Mary novella in about a month. They start their novella in a hard spot but the story of how they become parents is said to be beautiful and a tearjerker.

Saxton shows Qhuinn and Blay how much he loves them in Lover Unleashed and that teaser was finished with a *sniff* so I’m speculating that he walks away to let them be together, but I could be wrong and he sacrifices himself for them in some other way. She gave a KR (Keep Reading) when asked if he will have a HEA.

There has been another tease about who Manny may be related to. Someone asked if it was Butch and Ward replied that BROTHER didn’t just refer to Payne.

Murhder has another side to him, but Ward left the tease at that.

Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz will be included in a scene from Lover Unleashed.

Butch cried because his heart was broken over something devastating he did for V, but it’s okay in the end. Let the speculation fly!

DECEMBER UPDATE: Ward promised that Lover Unleashed would contain a threesome and that there would be some hot scenes between V and Jane (I don’t know if that’s separate from the threesome) and a scene between Payne and Manny in his Porsche is particularly hot.

At the time of reviewing copyedits, Lover Unleashed will have 59 chapters and is expected to be only slightly shorter than Lover Mine by around 40 pages or 10,000 words.

Just a reminder: Both the local and US editions of Crave contain an excerpt from Lover Unleashed.

Vishous posted a link to the video for Aston Martin Music by Rick Ross, ft. Drake and Chrisette Michele. The verses don’t make much sense to me, but the song seems to be about someone who became distant from the one he loves because he needed to get something sorted out or accomplished and he wasn’t able to completely let go of the life he used to live.

FEBRUARY UPDATE: Still no news on whose book comes after Payne and Manny, but it’s possible that they’re keeping quiet until she writes Qhuinn and Blay’s story.

Ward is writing Envy, the third in the Fallen Angels series, which picks up immediately after Lover Unleashed (Envy’s hero appears in Lover Unleashed).

There are more than three males coming from the Old Country, but I’m unsure if they’re Brothers or civilians. I could guess they’re Brothers, but I could equally be wrong.

Payne’s feeding arrangements are a KR. If she answered that Payne feeds from Manny, it opens up speculation that he becomes a vampire and maybe also a Brother, as suggested in the November update.

Ward has raised her profile on Facebook and is posting quotes from the series, including Lover Unleashed on her official page.

There is a virtual signing for Lover Unleashed, open worldwide. This is the only way to get a signed book without flying to America. Until Thursday 24th of March (US time), you can place your order with Ward’s nominated store online and let them know how to personalise it. She receives a whole heap of books to sign and personalise, which are then returned to the store for shipping. Unfortunately, even if they know the book is going overseas, they can’t post it until release day, so it’s a bit of a wait. Their system has been upgraded since last year, with two international shipping rates to choose from. To be honest, I can’t remember what the actual difference is in delivery times, but the cheapest international shipping rate is USD21, so the total price of USD50.49 isn’t much different to what we normally pay for hardcovers in Australia. And it’s just awesome to open your new book to a personal message from Ward herself.

MARCH UPDATE: Early reviews of Lover Unleashed are out and some spoilers were dropped but even though I’m avoiding the major ones for my own sake, be warned if you decide to read any further.

From the Book Reading Gals:

V has a breakdown over not being able to help Payne, the sister he has only just found, but is finally able to heal from the abuse he’s suffered with help from Jane and Butch. This is one of the most amazing scenes in the book.

Payne really is V’s other half in the way that twins complement each other. As she was raised Chosen, she also has the traditional, innocent Chosen side as well as the warrior. (Since in earlier books she has expressed little to no interest in males, I see her as like the tomboy Chosen if that makes sense. It also implies that she is a virgin before Manny – Decadence) Her relationship with Manny is sweet.

When Jane died, his world fell apart and her return to his life isn’t much easier on him. He has some things to work through before he can feel like it was all worth it.

Qhuinn hits a low point (“He had to own his shit, even if it made him hate himself to his core..”) but grows from it.

We find out who Butch’s father is.

Xcor (pronounced Core with a silent X, like Xhex) is a male with a whole bunch of other males who are loyal to him and hold a grudge against Wrath and the Brotherhood, which seems related to his mission.

From Rex Robot Reviews:

V has a huge presence in Lover Unleashed and it looks like he and Butch will get together. (I’m not sure how I feel about that, given they are both mated, but we’ll see how it’s handled – Decadence)

Xcor and his male posse arrive with somewhat evil motives, but may somehow still be likable. They interact with Payne, but none of the Brothers yet.

Ward’s Facebook page will be updated in the lead-up to Lover Unleashed’s release day with videos from her virtual signing and she will be talking about Payne. She has posted a pic of the first page of the book, but be warned, it contains a huge spoiler!

If you need a recap of everything that happened in the rest of the series, the updated Black Dagger Brotherhood cheat sheets will soon be reposted with details from Lover Mine.

Happy reading everyone!

BONUS MARCH UPDATE: Ward announced the launch of her CafePress store where you can get official BDB clothing, jewellery, keychains, covers for iPhone, iPad or your car’s number plate and all sorts of other things. She is giving all of the profits to no-kill animal shelters.

Something that really stood out to me was that (with the exception of the mugs, which have almost every main character), most of the merchandise was general BDB, with the occasional “You feel me?” or Fritz reference. But the characters that had more items dedicated to them than any others were Qhuinn and Blay. I wonder if their book is the next to be written?

If you have a Shelfari or Amazon account, sign into Shelfari to read the prologue and first 2 chapters of Lover Unleashed.

More at Book Thingo:

Introduction to the Chronicles of Nick (Part 3)

Decadence — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:39 +0000

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick, Book 1)

If you’ve read (or are planning to read) the Chronicles of Nick, these are cheat sheets you won’t want to miss. Decadence summarises what we know about Nick Gautier from the Dark-Hunter series. You can read the first two parts here and here.

The Mavromino, Noir

Noir is a first generation offspring of the Source, making him the closest thing to the source of creation short of the source itself. For some as yet unknown reason (maybe just because he is the source god of darkness?), he turned against the Source and tried to take over as the major power.

The source gods had the Sephirii as their security, so Noir created the Malachai as their natural enemy to wipe them out. Despite setting traps that reduced Sephirii numbers, they were poised to decimate all the Malachai, until they were betrayed by their leader, Jared. A truce was made between both parties and the Malachai and Sephirii were both made extinct, except for the Sephiroth Jared and the Malachai Adarian.

At some point, Adarian and Noir had a falling out, resulting in a huge loss of Noir’s powers. Without anyone to worship or give him power by thinking of him, Noir lay dormant.

Nick’s powers being unlocked was also a huge power boost for his creator, who becomes even stronger the more Nick uses his powers. Old habits die hard, so Noir wants to destroy the world again—not to mention that the chaos caused by attacking other gods is believed to be likely to draw the Malachai to him, making him invincible.

Noir is joined by his sister Azura (the source god of air), but their other sister Braith (I don’t know what source god she is), who is a valuable counterpoint in the war, is missing.

He drugged the skoti (renegade Dream-Hunters who have become outlaws through their addiction to the rush of emotion they feel by immersing themselves in a human’s dreams and draining their energy through that dream) to keep them pliant and having them onside strengthens him even more. For that reason he has also brought over some of the Dolophoni (children of the Fates) and the oneroi (Dream-Hunters who hunt the skoti). Another advantage is that his skotos/oneroi army can hunt his enemies through their dreams and kill them as they sleep. He enticed another source god Cratus (now Jericho) but betrayed him, which led to his present defeat and the restoration of the Dolophoni, oneroi and skoti to our side. He’s down but not out as long as he is able to draw power from the Malachai, whom he must either kill or convert to his cause in order to win.

As the original gods of darkness and air, Noir and Azura could be defeated by the original gods of sun and fire, Cam and Rezar, but his enemies have to find them. After the first war with the Source, Cam and Azura withdrew in disgust and no one knows their whereabouts now.

Noir and Azura have an unknown ally that the Greek pantheon would never suspect. He declared war on the Dark-Hunters and Dream-Hunters, promising to make their existence hell unless they surrender the Malachai.

The Sephiroth Jared

The Sephirii, who have been compared to fallen angels, had ten warriors called the Mimoroux and Jared was one of them. They were chosen by a sentient sword to ‘guide’ that sword, and Takara, the most powerful sword, chose Jared as her Shiori (guide). Wielding Takara made Jared the leader of the Mimoroux. But he betrayed them all in the war against Noir and his army of Malachai, resulting in the deaths of his brethren, so he believes he deserves his fate.

Jared is owned by Stryker’s wife and new Daimon queen, Zephyra, and his weakness is Nim, an adolescent demon who adopted him after Jared saved his life and sleeps as a tattoo on Jared’s skin (like Simi chooses to do with Ash, only Nim is not a Charonte and is actually scared of them).

As the balance to the Malachai, Jared’s form is black with red marks, the reverse of Nick. He’s trying to kill the Malachai to end his own life.

Jaden bargained for a green amulet which he then gave to Jericho (formerly Cratus) to buy Jared’s freedom from Zephyra. As Jared’s new master, Jericho told him to live as he chooses. Jericho has no room for a slave but will always welcome a friend and ally. Although Jericho refuses to be Jared’s new master, Jared will always be a slave until the Source releases him. He wears a collar that will kill him if anyone but the Source tries to remove it.

The Broker, Jaden

Jaden is the go-between for demons and the source gods and would be powerful enough to destroy Noir and Azura, but is owned by Azura and therefore forbidden to attack them. He is also able to identify and find Cam and Rezar, who could imprison Noir and Azura.

He bargained with Xypher (the skotos hero of Dream Chaser) for a green medallion that renders a god powerless when placed over their heart. He then passed the amulet to Jericho to trade to Zephyra for Jared’s freedom, to which Jericho added the condition that it never be used against Acheron or Apollymi. When asked why it was so important that Jared go free, Jaden confessed that Jared was damned because of him. We don’t have any more detail than that at this stage, but there seems to be a close bond between them.

More at Book Thingo:

Introduction to the Chronicles of Nick (Part 2)

Decadence — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:51 +0000

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick, Book 1, US hardback)

So what the hell is a Malachai?

In short, one of the most powerful beings on the face of the planet.

When the Source of creation’s darkest power known as the Mavromino turned against the Source and tried to end the world, he created the Malachai to wipe out the Sephirii (companions to the first order of gods, and soldiers who upheld the original laws of the universe and kept its fabric from unravelling, they’ve been likened to fallen angels) who opposed them. But although many of the Sephirii flew into the Mavromino’s traps, they looked set to destroy the Malachai until they were betrayed by one of their own, Jared, and the battle ended in a truce.

As punishment, Jared was allowed to live in shame and servitude while his brethren and all but one of the Malachai (I believe this was Nick’s father, Adarian) were annihilated by their respective makers. This Malachai was allowed to live to maintain the balance of the last Sephiroth’s existence and to kill him if he ever escapes.

The Malachai is powerful enough to kill War, the original offshoot of the Source. To put this into perspective, it took the combined strength of all the gods and Chthonians (god killers like Savitar) to contain him, but they weren’t strong enough to kill War and absorb his powers. The Mavromino has acknowledged that the Malachai has the power to wipe out all of the source gods and absorb their powers (and we need him to absorb their powers so the world doesn’t end when a god dies). Should this ever happen, not even Jared (his natural enemy and mirror equivalent) can stop him. It’s safe to say that Nick is now stronger than Acheron and such extreme power makes him a threat a lot of the gods, demons, etc. would love to kill. On his own, the Malachai has enough power to realign the universe, leaving his destructive creator in charge, so it’s really important that he never uses his power like that.

War’s attack unlocked Nick’s powers because they both draw their powers from the Source, as does Savitar, which is why he didn’t train Nick as a Dark-Hunter. Sparring with Savitar would have unlocked the Malachai powers.

Nick’s father, Adarian, wasn’t just a repeat offender who spent more time in prison than out, he was the last Malachai who preferred to stay incarcerated because he believed his enemies (including his creator the Mavromino, with whom he had a falling out for an as yet unknown reason) wouldn’t think to look for him there. He was also able to thrive by feeding on the evil and negative energy of the criminals. He chose Cherise to bear his child because she was such a beautiful and pure soul, but underestimated her influence on Nick. Once Nick became old enough to replace Adarian as the last Malachai, Adarian died.

Menyara (who is actually Ma’at, the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice who upholds the laws of the universe), who Nick had believed was simply a family friend, was there when Nick was born and immediately bound his powers to keep him safe from those who want him dead. When those powers were activated, she told him that although he killed himself, he could reclaim his soul and be reborn, but he has to choose his path. Would he be kind and loving like his mother or a violent corrupter like his father? And would he choose to kill Acheron now that he has the power?

As Ash has experience with training destroyers and with fighting his own negative urges, he has taken over Nick’s training (he has to grow into his powers and learn how to use them if he’s going to be useful to either side). Even though Ash is now a god, he was once half human and half Charonte. Nick still hates Ash, but they’re slowly trying to work out their issues with each other.

The easiest way to neutralise the threat Nick poses is to kill him, but since Ash tied their life forces, he would die along with Nick. Once Ash dies, Apollymi is released from Atlantean hell Kalosis and will destroy the world in her rage.

Ash brought the Dogs of War back from hell to protect Nick. Eight of the most badass Dark-Hunters evah, they don’t drain each others’ powers when they’re in proximity, although this is more a case of them being so powerful to begin with that the energy drain that normally incapacitates a Dark-Hunter has no effect on them. Like Dark-Hunters, when a Dog of War hits another, they feel it ten times more than the one they hit, but this doesn’t matter either, since they enjoy the pain. They will be policed by Zarek, Jericho and Jared.

Nick is somehow related to Dream-Hunter Madoc (formerly M’Adoc), but we don’t yet know how or who else knows this besides Madoc and Jared.

As a Malachai, Nick’s true form is red with black marks, black eyes that flash red and red-streaked black hair.

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Introduction to the Chronicles of Nick (Part 1)

Decadence — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:16 +0000

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick, Book 1)

If you’ve read (or are planning to read) the Chronicles of Nick, these are cheat sheets you won’t want to miss. Decadence summarises what we know about Nick Gautier from the Dark-Hunter series.

Origins of Nick

Nicholas Ambrosius Gautier (pronounced Go-shay, the Cajun way) was born to 15-year old Cherise, whose rich parents disowned her when she fell pregnant with Nick. Without a complete education, she became an exotic dancer to support Nick, but never resented him for the direction her life had taken. Cherise used to take Nick to the clubs with her so that she could remind herself why she did her job and find the will to keep doing it. She was a loving and nurturing woman who even tried to feed Acheron while she worked as Sanctuary’s chef and bartender.

Nick was always told his father was an abusive felon who was killed during a prison riot. Nick found his share of trouble until he met the Dark-Hunter Kyrian, who gave Nick a job as his squire at the age of 14.

The sarcastic smart-arse proved himself to be honest and loyal and took the opportunity provided by his job to get himself an education. He is a skilled computer hacker as well as a Blood Rites squire (authorised by the Council to kill if necessary). He was also a player who was rarely seen with the same girl twice.

Nick bought his mother a house with his salary and since she was never aware that Dark-Hunters or Were-Hunters existed, she sometimes worried that he was dealing drugs, but loved him anyway.

Nick’s role as Kyrian’s squire introduced him to Atlantean god Acheron Parthenopaeus, whom he treated like everyone else. Acheron found this a refreshing change, and Nick became the closest thing Ash had to a best friend.

One night, Nick met a strange girl who seemed to know him, but whom he’d never met before. He took her out on a date and after they had sex Nick found out that she was Acheron’s adopted daughter, Simi. Nick tried to apologise, but Acheron was so enraged he cursed Nick to commit suicide to save Ash the effort of killing him.

As a god of fate, Ash’s hastily spoken curse not only affected Nick, but caused a chain reaction in which a Dark-Hunter was killed and possessed by the uber-daimon Desiderius, who killed Cherise. When Nick saw his dead mother, he called Artemis and killed himself in front of her so that she would be forced to turn him into a Dark-Hunter. His bow and arrow mark is on his face and neck, since Artemis was cradling his head when she created him. She gave Nick’s soul to Acheron.

Nick was fated to settle down and start a family with Tiyana Devereaux, Amanda and Tabitha’s sister, but she was killed in the same killing spree that claimed Cherise, and Nick is unaware of his original fate.

Nick hasn’t been able to forgive Ash for letting Cherise die when he was able to raise Kyrian and Amanda from the dead and blames Ash for Hurricane Katrina. Unlike everyone else who forgets almost instantly that Ash is a god, Nick is aware of what Ash can do.

Ash gave Nick to his own mentor Savitar to train, who then assigned Ravyn Kontis to train him.

Stryker’s sister Satara fooled Nick into joining forces with Stryker in return for revenge on Acheron. By drinking Stryker’s blood and turning Daimon, Nick’s own powers have increased along with the powers he has from being a special kind of Dark-Hunter. Theoretically this might have been explained by him having been created from a suicide, something Artemis promised Ash she would never do, but is actually a clue that Nick is something more than he appears.

Nick is potentially a useful weapon against Acheron as Ash promised Cherise not to let anything bad happen to her boy, which means that Nick can hurt Ash, but Ash can’t hurt Nick, even in defence. Also, because Ash cares for Nick, he cannot see Nick’s fate, so he would be completely unaware that the newest Dark-Hunter has turned Daimon.

Although Nick has been told that the price for access to Stryker’s powers must be paid by bringing Kyrian and Amanda’s daughter Marissa into Kalosis, he has yet to make any progress.

Nick killed Satara to protect Soteria, so Stryker wants him dead. He sent the spirit of War to kill Nick, but when their blood mixed during the attack, Nick’s dormant Malachai powers were activated.

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Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet (Part 9)

Decadence — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:15:19 +0000

The cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here. LAST UPDATED: 24/3/2011 (shown in italics)

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Tohrment, son of Hharm

Tohrment spent time at the Bloodletter’s warrior camp until he attracted the Brotherhood’s attention. For his test, he was assigned to help Darius track down the leahdyre’s kidnapped daughter. His father neglected him, so Darius took him under his wing, stepping on Hharm’s toes in the process. Hharm disowned Tohr. Being now ruined in society, Tohr promised Darius he would be an asset, not a hindrance.

Having nowhere else to go, Tohr slept in the Brotherhood’s cave until Darius discovered him and took him back to Sampsone’s house for a meal. Tohr’s pride was dented, but Darius told him he would serve the most use by being strong and well-fed.

He spent the day at Darius’ modest house before tracking down the symphath, who used the female as a shield. Tohr took aim and killed the symphath with a single shot to the head. Darius assumed he’d missed, but Tohr told him he wouldn’t have taken the shot if he hadn’t been sure he’d hit his target.

The female lived with him and Darius until she delivered a healthy baby girl who bore no resemblance to her symphath ancestors. She took Tohr’s dagger and killed herself. Full of guilt and pain, Tohr took her outside despite the rain and buried her under their apple tree. He felt despair that the female had condemned herself to an afterlife outside of the Fade.

He and Darius took the young to a vampire family whose young died during birth.

Tohr is different from the other vampires in that he showed no signs no hint of a tortured past. He was promised to Wellesandra, blooded daughter of the Princeps Relix, and was fortunate enough to have bonded with her. Sheer luck that the one female he would want above all others happened to be the one he was honour-bound to mate.

Tohr showed his love by doing small, practical things to show he was thinking of his shellan, such as making sure her truck had snow chains. He was very respectful of her—when she told him off over the phone about his untidiness, he apologised in front of JM and didn’t play the macho dickhead when he hung up. He was together, level-headed, could be tough, but ultimately fair, and was the logical choice to take over as head of the Brotherhood when Wrath ascended to the throne.

But misfortune came to him twice. First, he lost his best friend, Darius, in a lesser car bomb. But then a young pretrans going by the human name John Matthew was brought to the Brotherhood, and Tohr and Wellsie took him in and they liked having him as a son. He was really happy to learn that the boy was Darius’s son.

Tohr was often on edge since Wellsie fell pregnant as there was a risk that she might die during the pregnancy or childbirth. But what happened was even worse than that.

It was just a normal day. Wellsie cancelled the vampires’ order for apples to be used in a solstice festival because the lessers found out about them and the vampires were vulnerable. She and her cousin Sarelle went to visit a spiritual leader, Madalina (who was also Bella’s mother), to discuss options. But Mr O, who was there to find Bella, didn’t miss the opportunity to kill the two females.

Tohr felt a sudden chest pain and told himself it was indigestion, but he knew something was wrong and tried to call Wellsie. When the Brotherhood arrived to formally tell him she had been murdered, he lost it. His power created a whirlwind inside the room and eventually he just seemed to implode.

For eight months no one knew where he was, although Wrath was convinced he could still feel his brother in his veins.

Tohr lived in the mountains, somewhere in the same region as Rehvenge’s great camp. He’d meant to send himself to the symphath colony up north and ended up in the Adirondacks by mistake, frustrated that there were no lessers. He fed on deer blood and waited for death because suicides don’t go to the Fade and he would never get to be with Wellsie again.

Eventually he was found by the angel Lassiter and returned to his Brothers, but he felt out of sync without Wellsie and even had trouble connecting with his son, John Matthew. But he stopped JM from walking away and they cried together over their loss.

Vishous was making daggers for Tohr because even though he didn’t know it yet, he will start fighting again.

Four months later, Tohr was still waiting to die. He dreamed of being with Wellsie every day, and every night he was stunned into waking with all trace of her gone. He ate in front of JM but would throw up when he left. He still showered even though there was no apparent reason behind it because it didn’t advance him to his goal of going to the Fade to be with Wellsie forever.

One night Lassiter told him that that night was different and reminded him of when Wrath had been hit by a car while chasing lessers in 1958. Tohr found him and took him to Havers. Although Marissa fed him, Wrath was in a coma for around 24 hours, during which time all the Brothers phoned for updates and the hospital staff prayed for the recovery of the king who refused to be king. Then when Wrath woke up, he didn’t acknowledge Tohr in any way for saving his life, even though Tohr hadn’t expected to be thanked. It made him realise that he was treating his brothers and JM the same way.

He decided to go back to the beginning and took Lassiter with him to the Tomb, where the first Brother’s skull is kept and the Brothers’ names are inscribed on the wall. Lassiter tried to tell him that he wouldn’t find any answers there because he’s asking the wrong questions. Lassiter dropped the bomb that Wellsie died exactly one year ago and he can’t leave Tohr because Wellsie sent him to look after Tohr.

Hearing someone else say Wellsie’s name woke him up and when Wrath found him, Tohr said that he was ready to rejoin the Brotherhood and Wrath took him back.

The Chosen Selena (who is the only Chosen aside from Cormia who will stay on this side when Rehvenge makes his monthly visit to the Adirondacks) was sent to feed him. With her traditional Chosen robes, blue eyes and black hair, she is nothing like Wellsie. Despite not wanting the intimacy with another female, once she offered her wrist, he fed hard and almost killed her in his need.

Afterwards, he was hungry for food and on the way to the kitchen he thought about Darius, looked in on Wrath and saw his old office chair next to Wrath’s, who updated him on his adoptive son. He began to realise how his decline had hurt JM.

He dressed and armed for the Princeps Council meeting, but Wrath told him he wasn’t yet strong enough to go. He waited until V turned his head before shooting the cigarette out of his mouth, proving he was still an asset.

A month later he was part of the rescue team sent in to save Rehvenge, so he must have regained most of his health.

After Xhex’s return, John noticed that Tohr was regaining his fighting weight. He also doesn’t seem to need Lassiter around as much any more.

He told JM he was glad he had Xhex and it made “cosmic sense” for them to be together, which makes me wonder how much he knows about the connection between JM and Darius. When he learned John was taking Xhex through his past, he gave JM he keys to his house and Lash’s drug money for the orphanage.

In a reversal of his abandonment of JM, he finds himself on the outside looking in when he quietly follows JM to make sure he’s OK on the streets. He realised that you have to take care of those you have left and couldn’t stand to lose JM the way he lost Wellsie. But when Lash is dead, he will dedicate himself to wiping out lessers in her memory until the day he dies.

He told JM he and Xhex made so much sense and they apologised for how they’d neglected the other. When JM asked him to be there when he killed Lash, it was like they’d never been apart.

When Wrath was late returning from the Other Side, Tor resumed leadership of the Brotherhood and broke them up into teams for the night.

Xhex tracked Lash and saved JM’s life but left herself open so Lash used her as a shield. Just the way he rescued her mother centuries ago, Tohr fired a perfect shot into Lash’s head.

He returned to the home he shared with Wellsie and repaired the door JM blew apart. He collected an old LV trunk and took it to Xhex. It contains Wellsie’s mating dress and he thinks it;s appropriate that Xhex should also wear it for her mating, but has no intention of telling her why.

No’One appears and tells Xhex it was because Tohr had been there at the beginning. Tohr is shocked that the female who killed herself with his dagger should be alive and present on her daughter’s mating day.

Hharm

Hharm gave Tohr his blue eyes, dark hair, broad shoulders, strong chest and not much else. Instead of being in the party who collected Tohr from the camp, he was having sex and failed to provide quality weapons for his son.

When Darius tried to take Tohr under his wing, Hharm took offence and disowned his son as he knew he could not beat Darius (after his loss to Darius, the Bloodletter himself punished Hharm mercilessly).

He is a misogynist who enjoys fighting and sex and has a low patience for conversation, including Brotherhood meetings. It’s also been suggested that he was the warrior who raped Darius’ battle conquests in the camp and has a strong taste for mead.

He has many sons by many females, but only Tohrment was eligible to join the Brotherhood as the other females were not Chosen.

Lassiter

Lassiter is a fallen angel who seems to be on probation with the Powers That Be because of a plague that decimated a third of the human population in central Europe in the 14th century, and Tohr is his last chance. So, like it or not, he must move in with the Brotherhood.

From the BDB boards, we know that he has a not-very-happy history with V and wants to get mated, but his jesses and female are missing. He took a bullet for Wrath and needed the sun to heal. Unfortunately the sun also prevented V from (grudgingly) going to save him.

He has black and blond hair and a shitload of metal, which most likely includes a Prince Albert piercing (NSFW). Unless he controls it, he glows bright white. His blood is silver and he smells like a bouquet of flowers when he’s dead. Sugar seems to help somehow, so I take it that angels don’t develop diabetes. V’s hand resurrected him and he now owes V.

Murhder, son of Murhder aka Eliahu Rathboone

We don’t know very much about Murhder, except that he was the most recently booted member of the Brotherhood, is still alive somewhere, and that V saved his father as a young (but his grandmother was killed by the lesser) in Italy. Oh, and the very cryptic clue from Ward’s message board: Surfboard. Qhuinn was planning to escape justice over Lash’s murder by joining a faction of vampires out west (largely made up of vampire outlaws), so maybe Murhder is with them and is based near the coast? Maybe there’s a night time surfing culture.

Murhder fell for Xhex, around 25 years ago, without knowing what she was, and when he rescued her from the symphaths trying to experiment on her at the colony, the betrayal of finding out she, too, was a symphath drove him mad.

He went in without backup, which wasn’t unusual for him. I don’t know if this was the last straw for him in the Brotherhood or if his mental state when he came back made him an unsuitable warrior.

Last time Xhex saw him, he had long dark hair, deep-set eyes and scruff on his jaw. He spoke with an Old Country accent, which suggests he’s older than the younger Brothers like Rhage, Phury and Z, unless he left the Old Country later than the others.

He lives in a plantation house turned B&B about 20 miles outside Charleston, South Carolina, run by a Mr Griffin. A crew from TV show Paranormal Investigators bullied their way into his house to investigate the ghostly legend of Eliahu Rathboone, a man who wanted to abolish slavery before the cause took off in the northern states. Until his death, he used to leave his windows lit up to guide those on the run to the safety of his home.

The crew consisted of cameraman Stan, the producer Gregg Winn and presenter Holly Fleet. It was only after Holly went to Gregg for comfort after having sex with the spirit they were investigating, that Gregg was able to see how tired he was of his phony LA life and how wrongly he’d written Holly off as a slutty bimbo.

He confronted the “ghost”, who was very much real and resembled a painting of Eliahu Rathboone. He has red and black hair and peach-coloured eyes.

He promised to leave Holly alone as long as Gregg started treating her right.

I know that his father was also called Murhder, but I’m confused about the timeline and which Murhder came for Darius at the warrior camp and which was the pretrans V saved. The pretrans was the father of his brother Murhder, who I believe is the current Murhder. Hopefully this will become clearer as we learn more about him.

The Coffins

Marissa saw them in Lover Revealed while getting the tour from Fritz. I have no idea of their significance and neither does Ward, and when the question was asked in a chat, Vishous blatantly evaded answering. All we know is that they will mean something at some point because Ward saw them and knew she had to include them in the book.

John wanted to leave the mansion via the back. He went to the garage, turned left to go to the back door and saw 16 coffins, but wasn’t interested in thinking any further on them, so we don’t know how much he knows about them.

No’One

She made a very brief appearance in Lover Unbound as the limping female Cormia wanted to avoid. Her hands were covered, her leg drags behind her, and unlike the other Chosen who wear white, No’One’s robes are black. The only other things I know about this character is that she has her own locked forum on the message board and her little blurb begins with ‘Kyrie Eleison’, which I believe means ‘Lord have mercy’, and she is described as ‘silent’ and ‘forgotten’.

She was once the daughter of Princeps Council leahdyre Sampsone. In 1671 (her age was unknown), she was kidnapped and held for about a week by a symphath who impregnated her before he was killed by Tohr. When she was found, Darius noted that he soul seemed to have already departed. When the symphath died, she told Tohr and Darius they should have killed her instead.

Despite her protests and confession that she had gone into her needing the night she was taken, Darius took her home. Her captor’s father had already arrived to tell her father she had been kidnapped by a symphath, ensuring her ruin to even the scales of his son’s death.

When her father turned her away, she went to live with Darius and Tohr as their family until she gave birth. Once her daughter was born, she swiped Tohr’s dagger and stabbed herself in the stomach. The blood loss during delivery ensured her death.

A suicide does not go to the Fade. As punishment, she must serve the Chosen.

In recent times, Payne asked her why she hadn’t visited the Primale and No’One said it was because simple decisions here can have surprising and devastating consequences. She prefers to live in the order of the Other Side.

When Payne was released to be healed by Doc Jane, No’One was inspired to stop being a coward and she also returns to this side. She reveals herself to her daughter Xhex, who inherited her eyes and says that she prayed for her and would like to have a relationship with her.

By the end of Lover Mine, her real name was not revealed.

Story of Son

This is a short story, published in the Dead After Dark anthology, about a half-breed vampire trapped by his elderly mother and an insane doggen (species of servant to the vampires).

Michael has been imprisoned in the basement since he was twelve years old, and every year his mother, Miss Leeds, lures a suitably biddable young woman to the house for him to feed from over three days.

Claire Stroughton is the lawyer who drafts and redrafts Miss Leeds’s will. Her rich client requests a visit right before the Fourth of July weekend, and when she arrives, Claire is drugged and locked in the basement with Miss Leeds’s son, who doesn’t actually have a name but used to be called ‘Son’. He is shy and reserved, having been treated like a monster for most of his 68 years, but a gentleman.

Instead of meekly accepting the situation, Claire engages her fellow captive and becomes attracted to him—a feeling that he returns. She names him Michael for the archangel’s beauty and tells him that she will find a way to release him.

Michael doesn’t dare to even hope that it could be possible and refuses to risk Claire’s safety, so he obediently erases her memory of her time with him and lets her leave at the end of the three days he is given for feeding.

Claire discovers that she is pregnant and returns to the Leeds estate only to find Miss Leeds is dead. She frees Michael and takes him to her friend and ex, Mick Rhodes, for help. The doggen Fletch fights Michael and is killed.

Claire redrafts Miss Leeds’s, will one last time, leaving everything to Michael.

At the end of the story, they have an eight-year old daughter named Gabriella and a six-year old son named Luke, with another child on the way, tentatively named Michael.

Michael has never met others of his kind, but his story definitely falls into the BDB universe and it’s been suggested that we may see more of him.

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