Table of Contents
Karen Chance will enthrall you with her world of vampires, mages, and a fair maiden tough enough to kick their butts.
USA Todaybestselling author Rebecca York
Praise for the Cassie Palmer Novels
Embrace the Night
Cassie is a well-rounded character, and the intensity and complexity of the plot puts her through her paces physically, emotionally, and psychically.
Publishers Weekly
If you thought Touch the Dark and Claimed by Shadow were action-packed, well, buckle your seat belt.... Lara Croft would have a hard time keeping up.... Once again, Chance has written an action-packed story with very few places to put the book down for a nights sleep.
SF Revu
Quick pacing and imaginative use of some old mythologies blend into a captivating read that will leave readers clamoring for more.
Monsters and Critics
Ms. Chance continues to expand her well-built world with time travel, fantastical beings, steamy romance, and the nonstop action her wonderful series provides. This is a fast-moving read thats hard to set down, and it will no doubt leave readers eager for future installments in the Cassandra Palmer series.
Darque Reviews
Cassie is a great character.... As far as supernatural and paranormal series go, this is one of the best.
The Romance Reader (five-star review)
Entertaining.... Subgenre fans who have not read Cassies saga should take a chance as these are well-written horror-fantasy tales.
Alternative Worlds
A wonderfully refreshing step away from the cookie-cutter regime of the usual vampire novels... this novel has it all. Believable characters, descriptive settings, and thrills and chills kept this reader on the edge of her seat.
Roundtable Reviews
Fast-paced and filled with faeries, kids, vampires, mages, ghosts, incubi, gargoyles, magic spells, evil plots, backstabbing, and surprisesthis one follows the lead of the first two and adds in a bit more of each to kick it up a notch, so to speak.
Fantasy Book Spot
If you love vampires and youre looking for something a little different, then you definitely need to check out this series. Karen Chance is easily becoming one of my top authors.
Literary Escapism
Thrilling... each revelation adds intriguing twists to the already knotty plot. Highly entertaining.
Romantic Times
Claimed by Shadow
A nonstop thrill ride from beginning to end, a wildly entertaining romp with a strong, likable heroine. The story is fast-paced and barely lets up from the word go, lightened with plenty of wry humor and more than a dash of romance.
Rambles
Ms. Chance is a master... a series well worth getting hooked on.
Fresh Fiction
A great writer of supernatural fantasy that is on a par with the works of Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, and Kelley Armstong.
Midwest Book Review
Magic aplenty populates this fast-moving, rather dark tale of power, corruption, double-dealings, and painful attractions as Cassie comes to grip with her new role in this follow-up to Touch the Dark. It is nice to see a strong, capable heroine taking charge with a kick butt attitude while attempting to balance right and wrong in the face of impossible odds.
Monsters and Critics
Touch the Dark
Exciting and inventive.
Booklist
Fast and heavy on the action, Touch the Dark packs a huge story.... A blend of fantasy and romance, it will satisfy readers of both genres.
Fresh Fiction
A very promising start to a new series, and an exceptionally entertaining first novel.
Locus
A grab-you-by-the-throat-and-suck-you-in sort of book with ... sexy-scary vampires. I loved itand Im waiting anxiously for a sequel.
Patricia Briggs, New York Times bestselling author of Bone Crossed
A wonderfully entertaining romp with an engaging heroine. Heres hoping theres a sequel in the works!
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong
Karen Chance takes her place along with Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, and J. D. Robb to give us a strong woman who doesnt wait to be rescued.... The action never stops... engrossing.
SFRevu
[A] plucky heroine with special powers dealing with the supernatural... exciting and fun.
Philadelphia Weekly Press
A fast-paced, entertaining adventure in the best tradition of contemporary supernatural fiction.... I look forward to seeing what Karen Chance does next.
Emerald City
A fast-paced action novel that never lets up.... Karen Chance is one of the most original voices in paranormal fiction.... A do not miss novel for fans of vampires or fans of great story-telling... compelling, heart-racing, [and] erotic.
Pink Heart Reviews
Sexy vampires and interesting magical powers set up a thrilling and suspenseful environment in Touch the Dark... combines humor, action, and the paranormal into a scintillating story that will leave readers begging for more.
Romance Reviews Today
ALSO BY KAREN CHANCE
CASSIE PALMER NOVELS
Touch the Dark
Claimed by Shadow
Embrace the Night
Midnights Daughter
To MBB
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Laurence P. Lehman for a fun conversation on voivodes.
Chapter One
Stalking a time traveler is hard work, even if you are one. Especially when said traveler totally has you made. Can we talk? I screamed as I dodged behind a column to avoid a spray of bullets.
The woman hunting me through the cellar slung her flashlight beam in my direction. Sure, she said amiably. Hold still for a second.
Yeah, right.
My name is Cassie Palmer and a lot of people think Im not the sharpest pencil in the box. My strawberry blond hair, which usually resembles Shirley Temples in a windstorm, is part of the reason. My blue eyes, slightly pudgy cheeks and tip-tilted nose might be another, except that most mens gazes never make it up that far. But dumb blonde or not, even I wasnt buying that one.
My own weapona new 9 mm Berettawas crowding the waistband of my jeans and poking me insistently in the hipbone. I ignored it. Years from now, the woman with the gun would leave a little message that would save my life. I kind of wanted her to be around to write it. Not to mention that shooting people is a good way to ensure that they dont want to talk to you, and we really needed to have a chat.
When did the Guild start employing women? she demanded, getting warmer.
I stayed utterly still, pressed against the back of one of the wooden columns holding up the roof. As hiding places go, it pretty much sucked, but there werent a lot of alternatives. The cellars walls were stone, except for areas that had been patched with brick. The ceiling was wood and flat, I guess because it served as the floor of the building above. And that was it, except for a few old barrels, some mildew and a lot of dark.
