House of Shadows [Enchantment In Crimson Book 1]

by Morgan Hawke

Overview

Rick Holt is a successful architect. Little does anyone one know, he learned his talents at the actual Bauhaus school of design in Germany, back before it was closed in 1943 by the Nazis. Rick has a secret--he's a vampire. Rowan Broom is fortune telling in her corner of the Goth club when she throws down a few tarot cards and discovers that the darkly handsome guy at the bar possesses a literal heart of darkness. Rowan has a secret: her magic is powered by sex--in its rawest and basest form. Evil, in the form of a demonically possessed sorcerer walks into the club and targets Rick as his victim of choice. Using her tarot Rowan discovers the grave danger that the entire club is in. Suddenly Rowan has to set herself the to bizarre task of rescuing a vampire. With the Goth bar in flames behind them, Witch meets Vampire face to face to discover that they have absolutely nothing in common--but unearthly desire. And this is only the Beginning... Rick and Rowan are caught up in a whirlwind of dark adventure that carries them to the hidden heart of ancient and mysterious Russia where the good guys are less trustworthy than the bad guys--and the bad guys are literal creatures of nightmarish legend.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940000081082
Publisher:	eXtasy eBooks
Publication date:	03/15/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

Read an Excerpt

He had turned his back to her and was chatting with a small group of enthusiastic girls in black plastic, fishnet and heavy eyeliner. Stools were dragged over and he shifted to make room for them.

Rowan frowned, mulling over the impressions that she was picking up from his presence. He can't be what I think he is? Even from this far away she could feel the shimmer of disquiet that drifted from him. There's no such thing. She shook her head. I'm going to need to check the cards for this.

Rowan focused on the guy at the edge of the bar and shuffled her tarot cards. Okay, is he or isn't he? Two cards slipped through her fingers, the Ace of Swords, yes, and the Devil, subtitled: the Vampire.

So this guy really is a vampire. She made a sour face. Terrific. There's a for-real vampire sitting at the bar in with all the vampire wannabes. She smiled tightly. Talk about protective coloring.

Jennifer, her tastefully made-up face wreathed with a deep scarlet smile, came thumping up the tiny staircase in her shiny, black plastic platform boots. She practically danced with excitement into the circular booth.

"Anything for you, Jenn." Rowan smiled and pulled her long black skirts to one side, making room for Jennifer on the red plastic seat of the booth. Terrific, another love-life reading?

Jennifer giggled, struggling to sit in her exquisitely short, super tight, red plastic skirt. Daintily, she crossed her legs, exposing a long line of trim, black-fishnet-encased thigh.

Rowan shuffled the oversized cards, then spread them across the table. "How detailed a reading can I give you?"

Jennifer leaned over the small table, her breasts swelling over the neckline of her sheer blackblouse. "Just a quickie, I want to know if this guy is, well? You know."

Rowan's brows shot up. "You want to know if he's 'The One'?" She smiled and shook her head. Jeeze, how many times do I get asked this question? When are they going to learn there is no such thing as a One True Love?

"Well, um." Jennifer licked her artfully painted lips and darted a look over her shoulder, tossing the short and stylish bright blond bob that curled around her ears. "Yeah, is this guy the one for me?" She smiled, then bit into her painted lip.

Rowan let her draw five cards at random, then set them in her Answer spread. Center card, the Devil; subtitled: the Vampire, meaning manipulation and compulsion. Uh, oh. This guy is a user. The card on the right was the Page of Wands. Well that pretty much describes Jennifer; immature and talkative. The card on the left was the Tower, subtitled the Dragon, meaning personal and possibly mental destruction. Definitely not good...Crossing at her feet was the Seven of Swords, meaning lies and theft. Oh, boy, he doesn't just use them, he throws them away. The very last card at the root or outcome: Temperance, subtitled: the Alchemist, also known as the Physician, indicating a visit to the hospital. Oh, shit.

Rowan blinked, realizing what she was looking at. She had seen this same exact set of cards in this layout with a few of her friends before. She had ended up visiting each of them in the hospital a few days later for shock and blood-loss.

Shit, shit, shit... According to the tarot cards, Jennifer was the vampire's next intended victim.