by Lauren Dane
“Now, I suggest you make sure the Vampire citizens of Las Vegas realize she’ll kill them should they stray and then continue about your business.”
Clive erased all irritation from his voice. He was smooth as glass. “Yes, Sir. Thank you.”
The First chuckled again. “I know her better than most ever will. She will ruffle you because it’s in her nature to do so. And because she will find pleasure in it. But she’s deadly and righteous. She will kill you without blinking. She’s quite exceptional that way.” The admiration and pride in his voice were unmistakable, and, Clive had to admit, she was an astonishing specimen.
Chastened, and knowing he could only push so far on the issue, Clive thanked him and hung up.
He straightened his tie and went down several floors to his next meeting. Once the sun went down his schedule was unremarkably like a lot of other executives. He attended a great many meetings. Signed a great many documents. Since he’d fallen into a routine in Vegas it hadn’t been as bloody as his first days in town.
Five months earlier he’d come to a territory lacking any sense of moderation.
Undisciplined people had been running neighborhoods like fiefdoms. Infighting. Skimming of the books, which he’d ended within minutes of finding out of every incidence. The Nation did not tolerate theft. There were no second chances to steal from The First.
After the first few Vampires simply disappeared, they began to understand and fall in line. He’d learned several centuries earlier just how effective a beheading at a conference table or around a campfire could be at correcting any behavioral issues among his people.
Upon entering, he surveyed the room. All the most powerful Vampires in Las Vegas—the ones left alive and those who’d risen to replace those who were no longer—sat utterly still, eyes lowered in deference.
Momentarily satisfied, he nodded, smoothing his tie down.
“The Hunter has returned to Las Vegas. I’ve just met with Rowan Summerwaite. China, you need to tell those mongrels at the Vampyre Theatre to keep their activities in check and I want each of you to underline, with all of your people, the importance of avoiding entanglement with her.”
“How could they let her come back after what she did to Jacques?”
The room chilled as Clive turned all his focus on the female who’d spoken. “I believe we’ve had this discussion before, Wendela. To rehash it is a waste of my time. Is there some reason why you’d want to waste my time? Or perhaps you’re questioning my leadership?”
Wendela shook her head vehemently, lowering her eyes again. They’d all seen a demonstration of just how their Scion could be if he was angry.
Alice, Clive’s personal assistant, sighed and tapped her pen against the tabletop and he repressed a smile at her impertinence.
She looked to him and he nodded slightly, urging her to speak. “We know what Jacques was and what he did. Aside from the messy complication of the human women he killed for sport, he stole from the Nation. Jacques should have been glad the Hunter killed him before The First’s lieutenants arrived.” A unified shudder ran through the room at the memory of the five who’d arrived, silent and stinking of death, and’d gone by the following moonrise.
Clive looked each one of them in the eyes for a moment as he scanned the room. “Many of you are new to Las Vegas so I understand you may not be that impressed by stories of what the Hunter can do. But I want you to believe me when I tell you she will kill you as easily as she draws a breath. She’s a killing machine. We trained her and then the Hunter Corporation finished the job.
“The treaty allows her to kill any of our kind who break the law. I will not tolerate any rule breaking. Do you understand me? I want to be exceedingly clear on this point. I will kill you before she can if I hear about any lawbreaking. And I will enjoy every moment of it. I do not care if you fuck humans and take their blood. But if you kill them? You’re on your own and you’d best walk into the sun rather than face me. I won’t make it fast or easy.”
“What is she, anyway?” China asked. “Sure she’s a Hunter. But what makes this one so special?”
Clive sat a little straighter. “A history lesson? Why not.” He shrugged. “Brigid is a Celtic triple goddess. Which means her power is threefold—the forge and martial arts, inspiration, and healing and fertility. It’s the first one you should worry about. Rowan carries a blade, a blessed blade forged by warrior shamans and monks of silver and steel. The blade was created to kill Vampires and you shouldn’t forget that.
“Rowan Summerwaite is the first true Vessel of Brigid in centuries. There’s obviously a dearth of information on just exactly her strengths, but from what I understand, she’s able to channel the power of the Goddess in battle. She’s also arrogant and unafraid, and willing to kill us if she has to.
“Most important to all of you, however, was that she was raised by The First. He was her foster father after his personal servant, her father, was killed. The Hunter knows us all very well, which makes her all the more effective.”
Clive stood, straightened his jacket and went to the door. “Get your quarterly accounting statements to my people by the end of the week.”
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GODDESS WITH A BLADE by Lauren Dane,
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Copyright © 2011 by Lauren Dane
Acknowledgments
I’d be remiss not to mention my appreciation and love for my family, who live with a crazy author on deadline all the time. Thank goodness you all love pizza, huh?
Also available from Lauren Dane
and Carina Press
Second Chances
Believe
Wolf’s Ascension
Goddess with a Blade series
Goddess with a Blade
Blade to the Keep
Blade on the Hunt
At Blade’s Edge
From Lauren Dane
and HQN Books
The Best Kind of Trouble
Broken Open
Back to You
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and Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin
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Coming Soon from Lauren Dane and Carina Press
Sworn to the Wolf
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Diablo Lake: Protected
Also watch for the next book in the Goddess with a Blade series, coming soon!
Author Bio
The story goes like this: While on pregnancy bed rest, Lauren Dane had plenty of downtime, so her husband took her comments about “giving that writing thing a serious go” to heart and brought home a secondhand laptop. She wrote her first book on it before it gave up the ghost. Even better, she sold that book and never looked back.
Today Lauren is an award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over sixty novels and novellas across several genres.
Find out more about Lauren’s books at www.laurendane.com.
Twitter.com/LaurenDane
Facebook.com/AuthorLaurenDane
Discover the fantastic adventures of Rowan Summerwaite in the Goddess with a Blade series!
Rowan Summerwaite was raised by the leader of the Vampire Nation and is a supercharged Hunter with the power to slay any Vampire who violates the age-old treaty.
GODDESS WITH A BLADE, Goddess with a Blade, book one
BLADE TO THE KEEP, Goddess with a Blade, book two
BLADE ON THE HUNT, Goddess with a Blade, book three
AT BLADE’S EDGE, Goddess with a Blade, book four
“If you have not tried the versatile and oh-so-gifted Dane’s absorbing [Goddess with a Blade] series, then you’ve been missing out. This ride is filled with high-stakes action, sizzling sensuality and devious politics!”
—RT Book Reviews
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Craving more sinfully sexy wolf shifter romance?
Don’t miss TAMING HER WOLF by Dee Carney!
TAMING HER WOLF, Fire Creek Shifters, book one
“Chock-full of passionate sex, this romance from Carney keeps readers satisfied. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal, starred review
For disgraced physician Kim Sharpe, Fire Creek was supposed to be a sanctuary, a place to hide from media scrutiny and the public eye. But when a group of wolf shifters breaks into her clinic and demands she save the life of a pack mate, her serene world unravels. And when the wolf dies despite Kim’s efforts, she’s dragged into a hunt she can’t control, led by a man she desperately wants to understand.
All shifters live with their beasts, but Chris “Brick” Preston’s is dangerously close to the surface. And it wants Kim. Sex keeps the beast sated for now, but unless Kim can help him find a more permanent solution, Brick risks becoming a feral, banished—or put down—by his pack.
With each incredibly intense encounter, Brick and Kim grow closer. But time is not on their side. When Kim is faced with betraying the pack in order to save Brick’s life, the consequences may be more than they can survive.
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ISBN-13: 9781459293519
Wolf’s Ascension
Copyright © 2016 by Lauren Dane
This is the revised text of the work Ascension, first published by Ellora’s Cave in 2007
This edition published by Carina Press, 2016
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