Eye of the Tempest (42 page)

Authors: Nicole Peeler

The earl snorted his amusement and then tried to pretend he hadn’t. “How about glassicals?” he suggested, apparently unable to resist a contribution. There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it that Alexia found rather unsettling.

Professor Lyall looked up from his examination and glared at the both of them. His right eye was hideously magnified. It was quite gruesome and made Alexia start involuntarily.

“These are my monocular cross-magnification lenses with spectra-modifier attachment, and they are invaluable. I will thank you not to mock them so openly.” He turned once more to the task at hand.

“Oh.” Miss Tarabotti was suitably impressed. “How do they work?” she inquired.

Professor Lyall looked back up at her, suddenly animated. “Well, you see, it is really quite interesting. By turning this little knob here, you can change the distance between the two panes of glass here, allowing the liquid to—”

The earl’s groan interrupted him. “Don’t get him started, Miss Tarabotti, or we will be here all night.”

Looking slightly crestfallen, Professor Lyall turned back to the dead vampire. “Now, what
is
this substance all over his clothing?”

His boss, preferring the direct approach, resumed his frown and looked accusingly at Alexia. “What on God’s green earth is that muck?”

Miss Tarabotti said, “Ah. Sadly, treacle tart. A tragic loss, I daresay.’ ”

BLOOD RIGHTS

HOUSE OF COMARRÉ ♦ BOOK 1

By Kristen Painter

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré—a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world… and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.

♦

“Painter scores with this one. Passion
and murder, vampires and courtesans—
original and un-put-downable.
Do yourself a favor and read this one.”

—Patricia Briggs,
New York Times
bestselling author

♦

HOUSE OF COMARRÉ

Blood Rights

Flesh and Blood

Bad Blood

RED-HEADED STEPCHILD

SABINA KANE ♦ BOOK 1

By Jaye Wells

In a world where being of mixed blood is a major liability, Sabina doesn’t really fit in. And being an assassin—the only profession fit for an outcast—doesn’t help matters. But she’s never brought her work home. Until now.

Her latest mission is uncomfortably complex and threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races. As Sabina scrambles to figure out which side she’s on, she uncovers a tangled political web, some nasty facts about her family, and some unexpected new talents. Any of these things could be worryingly life changing, but together they could be fatal…

Sabina Kane: She’s down, but she’s not out.

♦

“
Red-Headed Stepchild
is action-packed suspense at
its best. And urban fantasy doesn’t get much better
than this. Steeped in mystery, intrigue, and magic,
this debut is one of the best I’ve read in months.
Jaye Wells is a promising new talent.”

—
scifichick.com

♦

THE SABINA KANE SERIES

Red-Headed Stepchild

The Mage in Black

Green-Eyed Demon

Silver-Tongued Devil

Contents

Meet the Author

A Preview of
Soulless

Praise for the Jane True series

By Nicole Peeler

JANE TRUE NOVELS

Tempest Rising

Tracking the Tempest

Tempest’s Legacy

Eye of the Tempest

Tempest’s Fury

Praise for the Jane True series

“Great pacing and layered character development meld to provide a story that is exciting and heart-stopping. Peeler is on the rise!”

—
RT Book Reviews
Top Pick!

“Jane is sure to endear herself to new readers with her charm, sass, and vulnerability, while longtime fans will be thrilled by her magical and emotional growth.”

—
Publishers Weekly

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Excerpt from
Soulless
copyright © 2009 by Tofa Borregaard

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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First eBook Edition: August 2011

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ISBN: 978-0-316-20124-7