Hotter Than Hell

by Kim Harrison

  Edden’s reach for the bottle didn’t hesitate, but he eyed me speculatively as he cracked the cap and then handed it to me. “You’re still working Kalamack’s security?” he said, clearly disapproving.

  “If you call that working,” Ivy said, and I gulped as the cool water went down. “Edden, I’ve been listening to the radio the past three hours—”

  “As she held poor Rachel’s little hand,” Jenks smart-mouthed, darting off her shoulder when she frowned.

  Edden’s brow furrowed, and he half turned to look back where I’d woken up. “You could hear the radio from there?”

  Ivy smiled, flashing her small and pointy living-vampire canines. Her hearing was that good. Almost as good as Jenks’s. “I’ve heard nothing new since the bridge. If I had access to the FIB’s database, I could confirm it, but I’m guessing the misfires are contained in a narrow band that’s moving about forty-five miles an hour, roughly paralleling 71.”

  I lowered the bottle, cold from more than the water. Across from me, Edden took a breath in thought, held it, then exhaled. “You know what? I think you’re right.”

  Suddenly everyone was looking at me, and my stomach clenched. “This isn’t my fault.”

  Again Edden took a breath, and Ivy cut him off. “No, she’s right. The first incident was just outside of Loveland. Rachel was nowhere near there.”

  Head down, I recapped my water, a bad feeling trickling through me. I hadn’t been out to Loveland this morning, but my ley line was out there. Crap on toast, maybe it was my fault.

  “So you’re off the hook!” Jenks said brightly, and I lifted my eyes, finding Ivy as worried as me.

  Clueless, Edden looked over the heads of everyone as if having already dismissed it. “I don’t like you working for Kalamack,” he muttered.

  “He’s the only one who comes knocking on my door looking for something other than a black curse,” I said, worried. Damn it all to hell, I had to talk to Al. He’d know if my line was malfunctioning. Again.

  Making a small grunt of understanding, Edden touched my shoulder. It meant more than it should, and I managed a small smile. “Sit tight, and I’ll see if I can get your car before it goes to the I.S. impound. Okay?”

  “Thanks,” I whispered as I took a swig of water. It was too cold, and my teeth hurt. Jenks noticed my grimace and the hum of his wings dropped in pitch.Sitting tight sounded fine to me. I wasn’t up to dealing with vampires yet, especially if everything was hitting me twice as hard.

  Ivy seemed to gain two inches as she scanned for someone wearing an I.S. badge and a tie. Across the cleared pavement, the last of the charmed people were finding their feet. The only one still on a stretcher was the kid. “Mind if I go with you?” she asked Edden. “I don’t recognize anyone, but someone out here probably owes me a favor.” She looked at me as if for approval, and I nodded. I was fine, and if anyone could get my car back, it would be Ivy.

  “Great,” Edden said, scanning for a familiar face. “Jenks, stay with Rachel. I don’t want anyone from the press bothering her,” he said as he hitched his pants up and tightened his tie. “We’ll be right back. Someone needs a refresher on this sharing information thing we’re supposed to be doing.”

  I rolled my eyes, wishing him luck as Ivy looped her arm in his and they started across the bridge to the Hollows end of everything. “They’re just afraid, Edden,” I heard Ivy say as they left, a sultry sway to her hips. “FIB forensics can put them in the ground, and they’re tired of looking bad.”

  I couldn’t help my smile as I watched them, her svelte sleekness next to his round solid form, both very different but alike where it counted.

  “Ah, ‘scuse me, Rache,” Jenks said, a pained look on his face. “I gotta pee. Don’t move.”

  I looked around, seeing a car I could lean up against. “Okay.”

  His wing hum increased as he hovered right before my nose. “I mean it. Don’t move.”

  “Okay!” I said, leaning against the car, and he darted over the edge of the bridge.

  Sighing, I turned to the insistent beeping of the last car being towed off. Most of the news crews had left with the recovering spell victims, and it was beginning to thin out. A man in a trendy black suit drew my attention, up to now hidden behind the Toyota being carted out, and I frowned as he looked at his phone, fingers tapping. It wasn’t his dress, and it wasn’t his haircut—both trendy and unique—it was his grace. Living vampire? Since when do they like the gadgety toys?

  A distant pop across the bridge sounded, and the man looked up, his eyes scanning until they fastened on mine.

  A chill dropped through me as I took in his blond hair shifting in the wind, the grace with which he tucked it behind an ear, the knowing, sly smile he wore as he looked me up and down. Suddenly I felt alone. “Jenks!” I hissed, knowing he was probably within earshot. This guy wasn’t FIB, and he definitely wasn’t I.S., even if he was a living vampire. The suit said he had clout, and confidence almost oozed from him. “Jenks!”

  Putting his attention back on his phone, the man hit a few more keys, slipped the phone in a pocket, turned, and walked away. In three seconds, he was gone.

  “Jenks!” I shouted, and the pixy darted up, his dust an irate green.

  “Good God, Rache, give me a chance to shake it, huh?”

  My hands on the warm car burned, and I curled my fingers as I scanned the crowd. Slowly my pulse slowed. “Are you sure my aura is okay?” I asked out of the blue.

  Hands on his hips in his best Peter Pan poise, he said, “You called me back about that?”

  “I think it might be linked to the misfires,” I said truthfully, and he looked askance at me.

  “Yeah, but you were nowhere near any of the other ones. It wasn’t you, Rache.”

  “I suppose.” Heart pounding, I leaned back against the car, arms wrapped around my middle. I couldn’t tell Jenks I had been spooked by a vampire, not under the noon sun, and not by a living one. He’d laugh his ass off.

  But as we waited for Ivy to return with good news about my car, I shivered, unable to look away from the crowd and a possible glimpse of that figure in black.

  He’d looked like Kisten.

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  LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

  TANYA HUFF lives and writes in rural Ontario with her partner Fiona Patton, six cats and an unintentional chihuahua. Her third novel in the Confederacy of Valor series, Heart of Valor, was published from DAW Books in the summer of ’07 and she is currently working on book four, Valor’s Trial. When she’s not writing, she’s keeping an eye on the production of Blood Ties, her Vicki Nelson books adapted for televison. She’s recently become addicted to homemade chai latte and thinks life would be pretty much perfect if the crawlspace would just quit flooding.

  MARJORIE M. LIU is an attorney who has lived and worked throughout Asia. She hails from both coasts, but currently resides in the Midwest, where she writes full time. For more information about her books, which include the bestselling Dirk & Steele series, as well as her upcoming urban fantasy, The Iron Hunt, please visit her website at www.marjoriemliu.com.

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CHEYENNE MCCRAY has been writing ever since she can remember. She always knew one day she would write novels, hoping her readers would get lost in the worlds she created, as she did in her favorites.

  For St. Martin’s Press, Chey writes the bestselling “Magic” series, most recently Shadow Magic and the upcoming Dark Magic. She also writes romantic suspense novels, including the high-octane thriller Moving Target and the soon-to-be-released Armed and Dangerous: Zack. Cheyenne is married to her college sweetheart, has three sons, three dogs, a messy house, and will do anything to get out of cleaning, which may be why she writes so much. Visit Cheyenne’s website at www.cheyennemccray.com.

  L.A. BANKS, (aka, Les
lie Esdaile Banks) is a native of Philadelphia and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program, as well as holds a masters in fine arts from Temple University’s School of Film and Media Arts. After a ten-year career as a corporate marketing executive for several Fortune 100 high-tech firms, Banks changed careers in 1991 to pursue a private consulting career—which ultimately led to fiction and film writing. Now, with over twenty-seven novels plus ten anthology contributions in an extraordinary breadth of genres, and many awards to her credit, Banks writes full time and resides in Philadelphia. Look for her Vampire Huntress Legends series and a full listing of her published works at www.vampire-huntress.com or www.LeslieEsdaileBanks.com.

  Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, SUSAN KRINARD received a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts and “fell” into writing after her dream of becoming a SF/fantasy cover artist fell through. The author of fifteen novels and several short stories and novellas, Susan focuses on the combination of fantasy and romance in her work. Her most recent novel, Lord of the Beasts, reached the New York Times bestseller list. She now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband Serge, a cat named Jefferson, and her dogs Freya, Nahla, and Cagney. You can reach her at susankrinard@comcast.net.

  KERI ARTHUR was born and bred in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up sharing her life with dragons, elves, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and the occasional talking horse. Which worried her family to no end. Of course, now that she actually makes a living sharing her life with the above-mentioned creatures, they no longer contemplate calling the men with the little white coats. When not at her keyboard, she can be found with her hubby in front of the TV, or taking her two dogs for a walk. For more information about all her books, head on over to www.keriarthur.com.

  Bestselling, award-winning author HEIDI BETTS combines believable characters with compelling plotlines to create stories that focus on the commitment of one man and one woman to each other. She has written more than a dozen historical and contemporary romances, with several more projects in the works. Her first book for Silhouette Desire hit number one on the Waldenbooks Series Romance Bestseller List, where her books have continued to make an appearance ever since. Heidi loves to read, write, watch movies (and just a little too much television), and surround herself with furry, four-legged friends in her home in the beautiful hills of Central Pennsylvania. You can visit her website at www.heidibetts.com.

  LILITH SAINTCROW was born in New Mexico and transplanted to England at an early age, where she imbibed some very odd notions about tea and language before being violently uprooted and returned to the U.S. She is the author of the Dante Valentine series as well as other interconnected books about Santiago City, which exists only in her head—despite what you may have heard. You can learn more about both the city and the books at her website, www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

  Bestselling author SUSAN SIZEMORE lives in the Midwest. She loves canines, basketball, and coffee. When she isn’t writing she’s knitting, or wasting time on a couple of blogspots. These blogs can be reached through her website http://susansizemore.com.

  DENISE LITTLE is a writer, editor, anthologist, and former bookseller. Her recent and forthcoming releases include The Official Nora Roberts Companion, The Valdemar Companion (with John Helfers), and the anthologies Mystery Date and Front Lines. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

  CARRIE VAUGHN is the author of a series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk radio show. The most recent is Kitty and the Silver Bullet. She’s also published over thirty short stories in magazines such as Weird Tales and Realms of Fantasy. She has masters in English literature and lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she seems to be collecting hobbies. For more information about Carrie see www.carrievaughn.com.

  USA Today bestselling author LINDA WINSTEAD JONES has written more than fifty romance books in several subgenres, including historical and fairy tale romance as well as romantic suspense. In the paranormal genre, she’s written both contemporary and historical stories of ghosts and ghost-hunters, time travel, psychic phenomena, and fantasy set in alternate historical worlds. She’s an award-winning author and three-time RITA® finalist. Writing as Linda Fallon, she won the 2004 RITA® for paranormal romance. Her recent releases include her popular Columbyana-set fantasy stories for Berkley Sensation and the contemporary paranormal romance Raintree: Haunted. You can find occasionally updated news about Linda at www.lindawinsteadjones.com.

  New York Times bestselling author KIM HARRISON is presently living in the more sultry climates of the Southeast, where she can enjoy missing the snow of her childhood more efficiently. She has been known to venture into the kitchen when her taste for chocolate becomes unbearable, but her favorite pastime is shopping for good music, good food, and sexy boots—in that order. Kim has been hanging out with the same guy in leather for about twenty years, and since the publication of her latest, For a Few Demons More, has been working steady on the next Hollows novel and “loving every minute of it.”

  The following list serves as an extension of the copyright page:

  Introduction copyright © 2008 by Kim Harrison

  “Music Hath Charms” copyright © 2008 by Tanya Huff

  “Minotaur in Stone” copyright © 2008 by Marjorie M. Liu

  “Demon Lover” copyright © 2008 by Cheyenne McCray

  “Equinox” copyright © 2008 by L. A. Banks

  “Ride a Dark Horse” copyright © 2008 by Susan Krinard

  “To Die For” copyright © 2008 by Keri Arthur

  “Curse of the Dragon’s Tears” copyright © 2008 by Heidi Betts

  “Brother’s Keeper” copyright © 2008 by Lilith Saintcrow

  “(Like a) Virgin of the Spring” copyright © 2008 by Susan Sizemore and Denise Little

  “Life is the Teacher” copyright © 2008 by Carrie Vaughn

  “Moonlight Becomes You” copyright © 2008 by Linda Winstead Jones

  “Dirty Magic” copyright © 2008 by Kim Harrison

  About the Author

  Born and raised in Tornado Alley, New York Times bestselling author KIM HARRISON now resides in more sultry climates. She rolls a very good game of dice, hangs out with a guy in leather, and is hard at work on the next novel of the Hollows.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  Books by Kim Harrison

  Books of the Hollows

  THE WITCH WITH NO NAME

  THE UNDEAD POOL

  EVER AFTER

  A PERFECT BLOOD

  PALE DEMON

  BLACK MAGIC SANCTION

  WHITE WITCH, BLACK CURSE

  THE OUTLAW DEMON WAILS

  FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE

  A FISTFUL OF CHARMS

  EVERY WHICH WAY BUT DEAD

  THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UNDEAD

  DEAD WITCH WALKING

  Short Story Collection

  INTO THE WOODS

  Short Story

  SUDDEN BACKTRACK

  PET SHOP BOYS

  World Guide

  THE HOLLOWS INSIDER

  And Don’t Miss

  UNBOUND

  HOLIDAYS ARE HELL

  DATES FROM HELL

  HOTTER THAN HELL

  Juvenile Fiction

  ONCE DEAD, TWICE SHY

  EARLY TO DEATH, EARLY TO RISE

  SOMETHING DEADLY THIS WAY COMES

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  HOTTER THAN HELL. Copyright © 2008 by Kim Harrison and Tekno Books. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, t
ransmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub © Edition MAY 2008 ISBN: 9780061983344

  Version 10112013

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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