Table of Contents
Praise for the Morganville Vampires Series
Feast of Fools
Rachel Caine brings her brilliant ability to blend witty dialogue, engaging characters, and an intriguing plot.
Romance Reviews Today
A rousing horror thriller that adds a new dimension to the vampire mythos... a heroine the audience will admire and root for.... The key to this fine tale is... plausible reactions to living in a town run by vampires that make going to college in the Caine universe quite an experience.Midwest Book Review
An electrifying, enthralling coming-of-age supernatural tale.The Best Reviews
Midnight Alley
A fast-paced, page-turning read packed with wonderful characters and surprising plot twists. Rachel Caine is an engaging writer; readers will be completely absorbed in this chilling story, unable to put it down until the last page.... For fans of vampire books, this is one that shouldnt be missed!Flamingnet
Weaves a web of dangerous temptation, dark deceit, and loving friendships. The nonstop vampire action and delightfully sweet relationships will captivate readers and leave them craving more.Darque Reviews
The Dead Girls Dance
It was hard to put this down for even the slightest break.... Forget what happens to the kid with the scar and glasses; I want to know what happens next in Morganville. If you love to read about characters with whom you can get deeply involved, Rachel Caine is so far a one hundred percent sure bet to satisfy that need. I love her Weather Warden stories, and her vampires are even better.The Eternal Night
Throw in a mix of vamps and ghosts, and it cant get any better than Dead Girls Dance.Dark Angel Reviews
Praise for Rachel Caines Weather Warden Series
Youll never watch the Weather Channel the same way again.Jim Butcher
The Weather Warden series is fun reading... more engaging than most TV.Booklist
A kick-butt heroine who will appeal strongly to fans of Tanya Huff, Kelley Armstrong, and Charlaine Harris.Romantic Times
Hugely entertaining.SF Crowsnest
A fast-paced thrill ride [that] brings new meaning to stormy weather.Locus
An appealing heroine with a wry sense of humor that enlivens even the darkest encounters.SF Site
I dare you to put this book down.
University City Review (Philadelphia)
Rachel Caine takes the Weather Wardens to places the Weather Channel never imagined!
Mary Jo Putney
A spellbinding... thought-provoking, action-packed thriller.Midwest Book Review
THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRE NOVELS
Glass Houses
The Dead Girls Dance
Midnight Alley
Feast of Fools
Lord of Misrule
To Ter Matthies, Anna Korrati, and Shaz Flynn
courageous fighters, each one.
And to Pat Flynn, who never stopped.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book wouldnt be here without the support of my husband, Cat, my friends Pat, Jackie, and Sharon, and a host of great online supporters and cheerers-on.
Special thank-you recognition to Sharon Sams, Shaz Flynn, and especially to fearless beta readers Karin and Laura for their excellent input.
Thanks always to Lucienne Diver.
THE STORY SO FAR...
Claire Danvers was going to Caltech. Or maybe MIT. She had her pick of great schools, but because shes only sixteen, her parents sent her to a supposedly safe place for a year to matureTexas Prairie University, a small school in Morganville, Texas.
One problem: Morganville isnt what it seems. Its the last safe place for vampires, and that makes it not very safe at all for the humans who venture in for work or school. The vampires rule the town... and everyone who lives in it.
Claires second problem is that shes gathered both human and vampire enemies. Now she lives with housemates Michael Glass (newly made a vampire), Eve Rosser (always been Goth), and Shane Collins (whose absentee dad is a wannabe vampire killer). Claires the normal one... or she would be, except that shes become an employee of the town Founder, Amelie, and befriended one of the most dangerous, yet most vulnerable, vampires of them allMyrnin, the alchemist.
Now Amelies vampire father, Bishop, has come to Morganville and destroyed the fragile peace, turning vampires against one another and creating dangerous new alliances and factions in a town that already had too many.
Morganvilles turning in on itself, and Claire and her friends have chosen to stand with the Founder, but it could mean working with their enemies... and fighting their friends.
It was all going wrong, and Morganville was burningparts of it, anyway.
Claire stood at the windows of the Glass House and watched the flames paint the glass a dull, flickering orange. She could always see the stars out here in the Middle of Nowhere, Texasbut not tonight. Tonight, there was
Youre thinking its the end of the world, a cool, quiet voice said behind her.
Claire blinked out of her trance and turned to look. Ameliethe Founder, and the baddest vampire in town, to hear most of the others tell itlooked fragile and pale, even for a vampire. Shed changed out of the costume shed worn to Bishops masked ballnot a bad idea, since it had a stake-sized hole in the chest, and shed bled all over it. If Claire had needed proof that Amelie was tough, shed certainly gotten it tonight. Surviving an assassination attempt definitely gave you points.
The vampire was wearing graya soft gray sweater, and pants. Claire had to stare, because Amelie just didnt do pants. Ever. It was beneath her, or something.
Come to think of it, Claire had never seen her in the color gray, either.
Talk about the end of the world.
I remember when Chicago burned, Amelie said. And London. And Rome. The world doesnt end, Claire. In the morning, the survivors start to build again. Its the way of things. The human way.
Claire didnt particularly want a pep talk. She wanted to curl up in her warm bed upstairs, pull pillows over her head, and feel Shanes arms around her.
None of that was going to happen. Her bed was currently occupied by Miranda, a freaked-out teenage psychic with dependency issues, and as for Shane...
Shane was about to leave.
Why? she blurted. Why are you sending him out there? You know what could happen
I know a great deal about Shane Collins that you dont, Amelie interrupted. Hes not a child, and he has survived much in his young life. Hell survive this. And he wishes to make a difference.
She was sending Shane into the predawn darkness with a few chosen fighters, both vampire and human, to take possession of the Bloodmobile: the last reliably accessible blood storage in Morganville.
And it was the last thing Shane wanted to do. It was the last thing Claire wanted for him.
Bishop isnt going to want the Bloodmobile for himself, Claire said. He wants it destroyed. Morganvilles full of walking blood banks, as far as hes concerned. But itll hurt you if you lose it, so hell come after it. Right?
The severe, thin line of Amelies mouth made it clear that she didnt like being second-guessed. It definitely couldnt be called a smile. As long as Shane has the book, Bishop will not dare destroy the vehicle for fear of destroying his great treasure along with it.
