Barb Hendee

Ever since raiders from the north began attacking villages, Lady Nicole Montagna has known that defending her people would come at a cost. The betrothal of her sister Chloe to a neighboring lord seems the perfect solution, forging a powerful alliance. But shortly before the wedding, Nicole is shocked to discover that her sister is with child--and not by her husband-to-be. Now she must make a choice. She has just hours to decide . . . Should she tell her soldier brother--who will take swift, ruthless action to ensure the family's safety? Should she hold her tongue, let her sister deceive her husband into believing the child is his--and then hope Chloe can get away with the lie? Should she tell her family, hoping they will know the right thing to do? With the help of a magic mirror, Nicole lives out each path, fighting to protect herself and those she loves with the weapons she has: wits, herbs, and fortitude. But no matter her cleverness, neither she nor her family can escape unscathed--for there are repercussions she could never have foreseen, involving her own heart . . . A Choice Of Secrets New York Times bestselling author Barb Hendee spins a tale of intrigue, integrity, and the bonds of love and loyalty as one young woman finds her place in a turbulent world...

""Kara, as a ward with no parentage and no future, has been raised knowing nothing outside her ladys chambers. Until Royce Capello, a visiting nobleman, is struck by her ice-pale looks, and demands her as payment for the land the family needs. With barely time to protest, Kara is sold and packed off for a life as a concubineuntil a raiding party descends on Royces company and shes kidnapped for the second time in as many days. Whatever happens, Kara will be alone in the world, inexperienced and fearing even the vast unfamiliar sky. But one raider gives her a choiceand a magic mirror appears to show her where each path will lead She can leave with her protector Raven and journey with his performing troupe, competing for his mercurial affections. She can flee the raiders settlement, and return to Royces manor, chattel among devious nobility. Or she can stay in the settlement, bound to firm, silent Caine, who is as gentle as he is staid and inscrutable. Her fates twist and turn to affect far more than she could have guessed, tangling the bitter with the sweetand Kara must choose which consequences she can live withA Girl Of White Winter New York Times bestselling author Barb Hendee reveals a hidden world where the twists and turns of one womans path will be determined by a crucial choice . . . ""

""Olivia Geroux knew her king was reluctant to marry her, whatever the negotiations had arranged. But she never expected to find handsome, arrogant King Rowan obsessed with his stepsister instead. And before she can determine what course to take, she overhears her greatest ally plotting to murder the princess. Olivia must act quickly-and live with whatever chaos results. As the assassin hunts his prey, a magic mirror appears to show Olivia the three paths that open before her . . . If she hesitates only a moment, the princess will die-and she will become queen. If she calls for help, she will gain great power-but she must also thrust away her own happiness. If she runs to stop the murder herself, she will know love and contentment-but her whole country will suffer. As she lives out each path, her wits and courage will be tested as she fights to protect her people, her friends, and her heart. And deciding which to follow will be far from easy . . . A Choice Of Crowns New York Times bestselling author Barb Hendee reveals a world of ruthless desire, courtly intrigue, and compassion as one woman shapes the fate of a nation . . . ""

Young journeyer Wynn Hygeorht sets out with her companions, the vampire Chane Andraso and Shade, an elven wolf, in search of a dwarven stronghold that may well be the last resting place of a mythical orb--one of five such mysterious devices from the war of Forgotten History. And now a direct descendant of that war's infamous mass murderer--the Lord of Slaughter--is tracking Wynn. If only that were all she had to worry about....

Magiere, Leesil, and elven dog Chap are continuing their quest to find the powerful Orb of Air. But they are not alone. Aging elven assassin Brot'an has forced his company on them while also offering his protection. Chap doesn't believe his ruse, however. As they sail, Magiere struggles with her own dark nature, using Leesil's love as an anchor to keep her grounded. For the personal price she paid to procure the Orb of Fire was more than she thought--and more than she wants to reveal to anyone. But that is exactly what the cunning Brot'an wants to know. And he is willing to do whatever it takes--even if he must reveal his own dreaded secrets, which may cost the entire party their lives...and their very souls.

Born a half-breed to an elven mother and human father, Leesil was raised in the Warlands as an assassin, spy, and slave for Lord Darmouth, ruler of an independent province. But Leesil's mother trained him well, and he used his skills to escape, leaving his parents to suffer Darmouth's wrath for all such traitors and their kin. Now with newfound purpose in the company of his beloved Magiere, Leesil returns to confront the sins of his past and uncover his parents' fate. Unable to turn him from this dangerous course, Magiere follows Leesil into the darkness of his past in the Warlands. Knowing what may happen should Darmouth learn of Leesil's return, she is prepared to slaughter any who try to take him from her. But Magiere's own past may well pose a more deadly threat. Two creatures of unfathomable power continue to stalk her--one who believes she's the key to his salvation, and one who seeks to destroy her... and all those she loves.

On the heels of Dhampir, Barb and J.C. Hendee's acclaimed Fantasy debut, comes Thief of Lives, the new novel featuring Magiere and Leesil, Slayers of the Undead.... Magiere the dhampir thinks that her nights of hunting vampires are over. After settling down in her newly adopted village of Miiska--now vampire free, thanks to her and her half-elf partner, Leesil--she looks forward to quiet days tending to her tavern. But far away in the capital city of Bela, a prominent councilman's daughter has been found dead on her own doorstep...and all signs point to a vampire. Knowing that the battered and burned village of Miiska could use an infusion of cash, Bela's town council offers a generous bounty to the dhampir if she will slay their vampire. Magiere resists, wanting nothing more than to forget her past and ignore her half-vampire nature. Only Leesil can persuade Magiere to follow her destiny--before more innocent lives are claimed by darkness.

The New York Times bestselling authors of The Night Voice present the penultimate chapter in the Noble Dead Saga. Waylaid in their quest for the orb of the Air, Magiere, Leesil, Chap, and Wayfarer have all been wrongly imprisoned. But it is Magiere, the dhampir, who suffers the most at the hands of a cloaked interrogator employing telepathic torture. Arriving at the Suman port city in search of Magiere, Wynn Hygeorht and her companions--including vampire Chane Andraso--seek out the Domin Ghassan il'S nke for assistance, which proves no easy task. The domin is embroiled in a secret hunt for a spectral undead with the power to invade anyone living and take the body as its host. Even if Wynn manages to free her friends from prison, battling this entirely new kind of hidden undead may be a challenge none of them can survive....

The Noble Dead Saga continues... In her quest to find the orb of Spirit, Wynn Hygeorht is torn between two men who hate each other--her vampire protector, Chane Andraso, and the elf Osha, who has feelings for her. Now a strange series of clues leads them to a remote keep built on the dark cliffs of the coast of Witeny--where an old enemy lurks, ready to destroy her. At the same time, dhampir Magiere, Leesil, and Chap continue their desperate search for the orb of Air. Still hunted by a team of assassins, they escape on the first available ship, only to find themselves under the power of a sadistic captain. Yet even if they manage to survive this voyage, what waits for them at the journey's end is beyond anything they can imagine....

Homeward contains six connected stories set in the world of the Noble Dead Saga as taken from the "Homeward" collection in T-N-D-S: Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga. Follow the adventures and budding romance of Jan, a half-gypsy peasant turned vassal, and Julianna, the strong-willed young woman taken in by Jan's family. In "The Keepers," Jan and his parents arrive at the keep above the village of Chemest k, where Jan's father must become the vassal lord of the fiefdom. Determined to prevail, despite the place's dark reputation, they find the ugly rumors concerning the keep are all too true. "The Reluctant Guardian" and "Captives" follow the terrors of civil war as Jan, Julianna, and those they love are faced with everything from military conscriptions to roaming gangs of violent deserters. "Claws," "The Sleeping Curse," and "Silent Bells" take Jan and Julianna out on the open road with Jan's extended family of traveling gypsies. Amid encounters with shape-shifters, magic, curses, and intrigue, their feelings for each other deepen but grow more confusing. Will either one of them ever confess such feelings to the other?

The co-author of the bestselling Noble Dead novels continues her ?exhilarating?(SF Revu) new vampire series. Eleisha Clevon has begun a correspondence with fellow vampire Rose de Spenser. Both reluctant predators, they venture outside only when the hunger becomes unbearable, trying not to draw attention to themselves?and feel guilty when ending human lives. But Eleisha has learned a way to draw blood from her victims without killing them. She wants to share this knowledge with like-minded vampires and create a haven where they can exist together?and forge a united front against Julian Ashton, a vampire who has been hunting down and destroying his own kind?

For years, Magiere and Leesil have sought a long-forgotten artefact, even though its purpose has been shrouded in mystery. All Magiere knows is that she must keep the orb from her murderous half-brother Welstiel, one of the deadly so-called Noble Dead. And now, dreams of a castle locked in ice lead her south - on a journey that has become nothing less than an obsession.Among Magiere's protectors are two elven assassins-turned-guardians who must fight their distrust of this sister of the dead. Forces more powerful than they are also rallying around Magiere, arming her for conflict. But finding the orb may be just the start of the dangers that await.

Determined to free his mother from her elven assassin captors, Leesil joins forces with his beloved Magiere, the sage Wynn, and their canine protector Chap to embark on a perilous quest through the dangers of the wilderness and the Elven Territories, unaware that they have been brought together to force an alliance against the forces of dark magic. Reprint.

Born a half-breed to an elven mother and human father, Leesil was raised in the Warlands as an assassin, spy, and slave for Lord Darmouth, ruler of an independent province. But Leesil's mother trained him well, and he used his skills to escape, leaving his parents to suffer Darmouth's wrath for all such traitors and their kin. Now with newfound purpose in the company of his beloved Magiere, Leesil returns to confront the sins of his past and uncover his parents' fate.Unable to turn him from this dangerous course, Magiere follows Leesil into the darkness of his past in the Warlands. Knowing what may happen should Darmouth learn of Leesil's return, she is prepared to slaughter any who try to take him from her. But Magiere's own past may well pose a more deadly threat. Two creatures of unfathomable power continue to stalk her - one who believes she's the key to his salvation, and one who seeks to destroy her ... and all those she loves.

Magiere the dhampir--a half-human, half-vampire sired for the purpose of killing the undead--and her half-elf partner, Leesil, journey to the village of Chemestúk, where Magiere searches for the secrets of her past, and confront an evil creature of unimaginable power that holds the inhabitants of the town in the grasp of a terrible curse. Original.

Magiere the dhampir thought that her nights of hunting vampires were over. Settling down in her newly adopted village of Miiska--now vampire-free thanks to her and her half-elf partner, Leesil--she looked forward to quiet days tending to her tavern. But far away in the capital city of Bela, a prominent councilman's daughter has been found dead on her own doorstep--and all signs point to a vampire. Bela's town council offers a generous bounty to the dhampir if she will slay their vampire, knowing that the battered and burned village of Miiska could use the infusion of cash. Magiere resists, wanting nothing more than to forget her past--and ignore her half-vampire nature. Only Leesil, her partner and confidant, can persuade Magiere to follow her destiny--before more innocents are claimed by darkness... Praise for Dhampir "Take Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and drop her into a standard fantasy world and you might end up with something like this exciting first novel." --Chronicle "A mix of The Lord of the Rings and Buffy the Vampire Slayer...an engaging adventure."--New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson