Blood in Her Veins (Nineteen Stories From the World of Jane Yellowrock)

“A lot of series seek to emulate Hunter's work, but few come close to capturing the essence of urban fantasy: the perfect blend of intriguing heroine, suspense, [and] fantasy with just enough romance.”

—SF Site

“Readers eager for the next book in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series may want to give Faith Hunter a try.”

—
Library Journal

“Hunter's very professionally executed, tasty blend of dark fantasy, mystery, and romance should please fans of all three genres.”

—
Booklist

“In a genre flooded with strong, sexy females, Jane Yellowrock is unique. . . . Her bold first-person narrative shows that she's one tough cookie, but with a likable vulnerability.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Seriously. Best urban fantasy I've read in years, possibly ever.”

—C. E. Murphy, author of
Shaman Rises

“The story is fantastic, the action is intense, the romance sweet, and the characters seep into your soul.”

—Vampire Book Club

“An action-packed thriller. . . . Betrayal, deception, and heartbreak all lead the way in this roller-coaster ride of infinite proportions.”

—Smexy Books

“A perfect blend of dark fantasy and mystery with a complex and tough vampire-killing heroine.”

—All Things Urban Fantasy

“Mixing fantasy with a strong mystery story line and a touch of romance, it ticks all the right urban fantasy boxes.”

—LoveVampires

“A fabulous tale with a heroine who clearly has the strength to stand on her own.”

—Darque Reviews

The Jane Yellowrock Series

Skinwalker

Blood Cross

Mercy Blade

Cat Tales

(short story compilation)

Raven Cursed

Have Stakes Will Travel

(short story compilation)

Death's Rival

Blood Trade

The Jane Yellowrock World Companion

Black Arts

Broken Soul

Dark Heir

The Rogue Mage Novels

Bloodring

Seraphs

Host

Published by New American Library,

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

This book is an original publication of New American Library.

Copyright © Faith Hunter, 2016

“
Wesa
and the Lumber King,” “Haint(s),” and “Cajun with Fangs” first appeared in
Have Stakes Will Travel
(Roc, 2012).

“The Early Years,” “Cat Tats,” “Kits,” and “Blood, Fangs, and Going Furry” first appeared in
Cat Tales
(Roc, 2011).

“Signatures of the Dead” first appeared in
Strange Brew
, edited by P. N. Elrod (St. Martin's Griffin, 2009).

“First Sight,” “Dance Master,” and “Beneath a Bloody Moon” first appeared in
The Jane Yellowrock World Companion
(Roc, 2013).

“Golden Delicious” first appeared in
An Apple for the Creature
, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner (Ace, 2012).

“The Devil's Left Boot” first appeared in
Kicking It
, edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price (Roc, 2013).

“Black Water,” “Snafu,” and “Off the Grid” first appeared in
Black Water
(InterMix, 2014).

“Not All Is as It Seems” first appeared in
Temporally Out of Order
, edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray (Zombies Need Brains LLC, 2015).

“Cat Fight” and “Bound No More” appear for the first time anywhere in this volume.

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For more information about Penguin Random House, visit
penguin.com
.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-19698-8

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGIN
G-IN-PUBLICATION DAT
A:

Names: Hunter, Faith, author.

Title: Blood in her veins: nineteen stories from the world of Jane

Yellowrock/Faith Hunter.

Description: New York: New American Library, 2016. | Series: Jane Yellowrock | “A ROC book.”

Identifiers: LCCN 2015035983 | ISBN 9780451475756 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Vampires—Fiction. | Shape-shifting—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION/Fantasy/Urban Life.

| FICTION/Fantasy/Contemporary. | FICTION/Fantasy/Paranormal. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3608.U59278 A6 2016 | DDC 813/.6—dc23

LC record available at https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/K2WvBxCGV05luR

PUBLISHER'S NO
TE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Praise for the Jane Yellowrock Novels

Also by Faith Hunter

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Letter from the Author

Timeline

Wesa
and the Lumber King

The Early Years

Snafu

Cat Tats

Kits

Haint(s)

Signatures of the Dead

First Sight

Blood, Fangs, and Going Furry

Dance Master

Golden Delicious

Cajun with Fangs

The Devil's Left Boot

Beneath a Bloody Moon

Black Water

Off the Grid

Not All Is as It Seems

Cat Fight

Bound No More

About the Author

Sometimes someone enters your life and, because they believe in you, in your ability and talent, your life changes. Their passion for your work gives you faith in yourself, your stories, your career, and your future. Jessica Wade, my editor at Penguin Random House, is that person. She makes me a better writer. She makes me strive for more action, deeper characters, better stories, darker outcomes, and she accepts nothing but my best. For that reason alone I should dedicate every single thing I write to her.

This is for you, Jess. Thank you for the long hours, the mental gymnastics you do for my stories, and mostly for your belief in me. I couldn't do it without
you.

To my fans,
you
made this happen. Thank you!

To my wonderful agent and friend, Lucienne Diver, for her help in putting this compilation together, my great thanks!

To Isabel Farhi, thank you for all you did for this compilation and all the work you shoulder for me and for my stories.

To my editor, Jessica Wade, there are not enough words to say thank you . . . soooo . . .

Hi, all,

This is a first for me. An almost complete collection of my own short stories—nineteen of them, to be exact. I've been writing shorts since almost the beginning of telling Jane Yellowrock's story. I love them because I can explore things that don't make it to the novels—new ideas, new perspectives, new characters. This is the first time they've all been collected together (with a very few exceptions, plus all the stories I intend to write in the future!).

I hope you find that they help you understand Jane's world better—writing them certainly helped me see her world through new eyes. I've also included a timeline, so you can see where each story fits in relation to the novels.

I gotta tell you, I am psyched about this collection, and it's all totally because of the fans. You asked for all the shorts in one place. And you asked. And asked! And that persistence worked, because now you have them!
Thank you!
And to make that thanking mean more, I have written two brand-new novellas.

Let me tell you about those stories, “Bound No More” and “Cat Fight.” “Bound No More” is about Angie Baby and an
arcenciel
and the future. We get to see Angie's powers in new, and possibly frightening, ways, because she is growing up fast. It's a fight to save the Everhart/Trueblood clan, and it's downright fun!

In “Cat Fight,” Jane is tasked by Leo Pellissier to return to Bayou Oiseau, a pretty little Cajun town on the banks of the bayou of the same name. She takes Eli and Alex Younger—natch—but she also has a tagalong in the person of the undead Edmund Hartley. The four quickly discover themselves in the midst of what looks like a love triangle among a vamp, a witch, and a prickly tempered human. It looks as if Jane is expected to play therapist—and then it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

I had a pure blast writing all of these stories. I hope you love them half as much as I do!

Faith
Hunter

Here's a timeline of the stories in this collection and when they take place in relation to the Jane Yellowrock novels.

Enjoy!

“
Wesa
and the Lumber King”
—Short story from Beast's point of view, set in the Hunger Times

“The Early Years”
—Short story about Jane Yellowrock just after she left the children's home

“Snafu”
—Jane interviews for an internship with a PI.

“Cat Tats”
—Short story about how Rick LaFleur got his tattoos

“Kits”
—Short story about Jane, with Molly Everhart Trueblood as a secondary character

“Haint(s)”
—Short story from Molly's point of view, with Jane as a secondary character

“Signatures of the Dead”
—Short story about Molly, with Jane as a secondary character

Skinwalker
—The first Jane Yellowrock novel

“First sight”
—From George “Bruiser” Dumas' point of view, when he first sees Jane

Blood Cross
—The second Jane Yellowrock novel

Mercy Blade
—The third Jane Yellowrock novel

“Blood, Fangs, and Going Furry”
—Short story about Rick LaFleur's first full moon after being bitten by a were. From Rick's point of view, with Jane as a secondary character.

“Dance Master”
—From Bruiser's point of view. He calls Jane to investigate a problem in the Royal Mojo Blues Company. And, oh my, do they dance . . .

Raven Cursed
—The fourth Jane Yellowrock novel

“Golden Delicious”
—Rick is in PsyLED school with his dual nemeses Brute and Pea. His fellow students go missing, and everything starts to go wrong.

“Cajun with Fangs”
—Jane is stranded in Bayou Oiseau when her Harley, Bitsa, has engine trouble. And she walks right into a war between witches and vampires that seems destined to drag her and her boss, Leo Pellissier, down with them into flames.

Death's Rival
—The fifth Jane Yellowrock novel

Blood Trade
—The sixth Jane Yellowrock novel

“The Devil's Left Boot”
—The Everhart witch sisters are asked to find a missing woman who had great taste in boots.

“Beneath a Bloody Moon”
—Jane and her team investigate a series of possible werewolf attacks outside of Houma, Louisiana.

“Black Water”
—Jane is back in the Deep South, near Houma, this time chasing a human predator, racing to save the lives of the two women he has kidnapped.

Black Arts
—The seventh Jane Yellowrock novel

“Off the Grid”
—Jane is in Knoxville to do a favor for her boss, the chief fanghead of the southeast U.S. It's supposed to be an easy investigation, but a very important vampire has gone missing and Jane is drawn into the search. This is where Jane meets Nell Nicholson Ingram for the first time.

Broken Soul
—The eighth Jane Yellowrock novel

“Not All as It Seems”
—A short story featuring Molly, who gets a surprise visit from vampires looking for a relic their master lost long ago

Dark Heir
—The ninth Jane Yellowrock novel

“Cat Fight”
—Jane is back in Bayou Oiseau, where the witches and vamps are again at war, this time over a magical talisman called
le breloque
.

“Bound No More”
—Angie Baby and Molly come to visit Jane. When an
arcenciel
also shows up, bent on mischief, Angie proves she is growing up—into the most powerful witch in Everhart history.

Shadow Rights
—The tenth Jane Yellowrock novel, releasing in April of 2016