Donald Hanley

Despite Metraxion's dire warning, not one demon has shown up on my doorstep to kill me and claim my Philosopher's Stone. Either they're all biding their time, waiting for me to let my guard down, or Metraxion was just messing with me. Since demon lords aren't known for their sense of humor, I have to believe it's just a matter of time before we're fighting for our lives once again. Meanwhile, life is astonishingly good. Melissa and I are still together, Daraxandriel and Olivia are still together, Mrs. Kendricks and Agent Prescott are still together, even Susie and Cameron are still together. The only blight on my existence is Amy, the Spawn of Darkness. She's acting like a spoiled teenager who's been grounded indefinitely but refuses to believe she did anything wrong, as if trying to coerce Melissa into slaughtering all of us was just an innocent prank that got out of hand. That's the problem, everything is going too well. I keep waiting for the sky to turn black or a hoard of hellhounds to rampage through the streets or Metraxion to open a portal to Hell in my living room. My personal doomsday clock is ticking louder and louder with each passing day and sooner or later, all hell is going to break loose again. I just hope we're ready for it when it does.

In pretty much every action/adventure movie ever made, the good guy overcomes overwhelming odds to defeat the bad guy, rescue the girl, and ride off into the sunset to a stirring orchestral score. I got killed within the first two minutes, the girl rescued me, and there was no music whatsoever. We did manage to defeat the bad guy, though, so there's that. What we didn't do was finish off the evil mastermind behind all this. Daraxandriel's twin sister Lilixandriel is still out there somewhere, busily recruiting demons to kill me (again) and take the Philosopher's Stone from my mutilated corpse. I, on the other hand, have no magical powers whatsoever, so I have to hope that the motley group of women I've accumulated over the last few weeks - a succubus, a witch, and a ghost, plus my sister Susie - can somehow keep me alive until we figure out a way to eliminate Lilixandriel's threat once and for all. I'm not holding my breath on this one, frankly. We barely managed to take down Bellaxragor Stormreaper and that was mostly blind luck. The next demon Lilixandriel sends our way could easily be a hundred times worse. If we can't find a way to harness the power of the Philosopher's Stone soon, there'll be two ghosts haunting the Collins household instead of one.

For fifteen minutes last month, I was a hero. I saved seven women - well, six women and a succubus - from being killed by a four-hundred-year-old sorcerer, kept an angry demon from rampaging through town, and sent the villain to his just rewards. Not bad for a high school student who just turned eighteen the week before. Unfortunately, the magical powers I bargained my soul away for vanished the instant Metraxion dragged Dr. Bellowes down into Hell and now I'm just plain ordinary Peter Collins again. Fortunately, Daraxandriel screwed up our contract - deliberately, as it turned out - so my soul is safe and she's a mere mortal until her Dread Lord decides to forgive her and lift His curse. He can take His time with that, as far as I'm concerned. You'd think I'd be happy to be ordinary again. No one should ever have to face imminent death at the hands of a power-obsessed madman or worry about their friends and family being horribly murdered by some otherworldly creature, but I miss it. I miss the excitement. I miss being important. I miss making a difference.I want to be a hero again.

When teenagers turn eighteen, they often receive gifts commensurate with their new-found status as responsible adults, something like the latest cellphone or a contribution to their college fund or maybe even a new car. I got something a little bit different: my own personal demon. Not that anyone actually meant for that to happen, mind you, it was just an accident, but now I'm stuck with an honest-to-goodness succubus who's determined to claim my soul for herself. The problem is - well, there are a lot of problems with this, frankly, but the main one is that no one actually believes she's a demon. Instead, everyone thinks she's an exchange student from England, despite the fact that she has horns and a tail and weird glowing eyes. To make matters worse, she's decided that the best way to persuade me to give up my soul is to hook me up with the head cheerleader at school, despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend, a very big and jealous one at that. It's not completely hopeless, though. It turns out that there's a coven of witches operating out of the town library dedicated to eliminating demons and they've called in an expert to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, that expert and my demon have crossed paths before and it didn't go well for anyone involved. I'm rather fond of my soul and I'd like to hang on to it for a while longer, but not if the people I know and love are going to get hurt. We only have one chance to get this right or there'll be Hell to pay. Literally.

Who is Trying to Kill the Duke of Albion?It's been nearly twenty years since Forrest Chandler was executed for conspiracy and treason. His plans to bring down the Martian government failed and Mars has enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity since then. But a fatal explosion in Tholus, one of the domed cities on Mars, reveals that Chandler's separatist movement is still active and willing to use any means at their disposal to achieve their goals. The question is, who's leading them now? A chance encounter provides a possible lead: one of the original conspirators, Hamber Maycock, is living in Tholus under an assumed name. He may hold the key to ending the separatist threat once and for all, but only if someone can get close to him. The Martian authorities have no choice but to turn to the woman Maycock shot in cold blood and left to die in a damaged airlock years before: ParSec Senior Agent Jennia Bennett.Jen and her Angel Elise journey to Mars to confront Maycock and uncover what the separatists are planning, but they must move quickly. All signs point to Arthur, the Duke of Albion and Crown Prince of Avalon, being the next target, but they don't know when, where, or even why the separatists intend to kill him. If they don't discover the answers quickly, Mars will descend into civil war and Jen and Elise will be blamed.

Trisha Macmillan isn't anyone special, just an ER nurse in a busy Boston hospital, with no love life to speak of and only her cat Marco to keep her company on the cold winter nights.All that changes when the police bring in a man discovered unconscious in the snow, viciously mauled by a wild animal in the very heart of the city. Two men have come looking for her mysterious patient and they couldn't be more different. Lionel, the detective investigating the case, is handsome, charming, and wealthy. Hawk, powerful, rough-edged, and cynical, claims to be a friend of the victim. They seem to know each other and both are drawn to her for some reason, but she's not sure either of them can be trusted.Trisha's world is suddenly turned upside-down when her patient disappears without a trace, leaving her with too many questions and no answers. Who is he and why are Lionel and Hawk so anxious to find him? Who - or what - attacked him? And where is he now? The sketches he left behind must hold the key, but time is running out quickly. Someone - or something - is stalking her but who can she turn to for help? If she chooses the wrong man, the consequences could be fatal.

Where is Clarence Woolsey?The Apollo project ended thirty years ago. The few survivors live in quiet obscurity, all but forgotten by a government would like nothing better than pretend it never happened. But now one of the original test subjects, Clarence Woolsey, is contacting the others, desperately searching for a baby born of two Apollo parents. The problem is, the records show Woolsey died shortly after the project was cancelled.An old acquaintance asks ParSec Agent Jennia Bennett to find out what's going on, but nothing makes sense. There are only three Apollo children on Earth. One is in prison for murder. Another is the daughter of a famous holo star. And the third is Jen's unborn baby. Why would someone pretend to be Woolsey and what does he want with these children? This case is especially important to Jen, because she knows something very few others do: Clarence Woolsey is very much alive, calling himself Christopher Wolf now. He's also the father of Jen's child. Jen and her Angel Elise embark on a frantic journey into the past to find Woolsey and discover why he needs a child of Apollo parents. If they're not careful, Jen may lose everything: her lover, her job, and her baby.

Is there another Archangel?Anonymous letters threaten a prominent politician's career and place the entire Guardian Angel program at risk. New ParSec Agent Jennia Bennett is pulled into the investigation, which leads her to Port Dallas and a tangle of conflicting clues to the identity and motives of the blackmailer. The problem is, Jen has less than two days to unravel the mystery before the upcoming election is thrown into complete chaos.Meanwhile, her best friend Elise is pursuing a mystery of her own. A young Angel named Leah has gone missing and the leader of the Free Angels has asked for Elise's help in tracking her down. Making the situation even more urgent, Leah has demonstrated new capabilities that should be impossible for a normal Angel, but perhaps not for an Archangel. Elise decides to start her search in the city where Leah grew up and where she may have gone to hide: Port Dallas.There, Jen and Elise combine forces to discover who is behind the damning messages and locate the missing Angel before her new-found powers lead her into even greater trouble. They're in a race against time, where one misstep could spell disaster for Angels everywhere.

I know how to get the Sword of Light, but I can't do it by myself. I need the help of an old acquaintance, but I don't know where to find him and he probably isn't on my side anyway. Still, I have to try. If I fail, both Ireland and the Otherworld will suffer.The problem is, I'm not sure the Sword will be enough to stop Cichol, the vengeful Fomori king I inadvertently freed from his eternal prison. Once he reforges Calabolg, he'll be almost unstoppable, and he's sworn to kill every last person in the Otherworld. The entire Order of the Shamrock will have to risk their lives to save both worlds, and we're going to have to convince our ancient enemy, Maeve, the Queen of the Sidhe, to risk hers as well.There won't be any second chances this time. Either we defeat Cichol and keep Maeve from betraying us, or everyone I know and love will die.

I always thought leprechauns were happy little cobblers dressed in green, until I met one for real. Blathmac was angry, rude, and smelled like an old tomb, but he made me an offer I couldn't refuse: the means to defeat Maeve, the Queen of the Sidhe, once and for all. The problem is, he didn't tell me what it was, and now he's dead, horribly mutilated by someone or something that's still out there somewhere.He did leave me a clue, though, and so the Order of the Shamrock set out to a remote island off the coast of Ireland in order to uncover Blathmac's secret. We didn't realize that one of us was a traitor, ready to do almost anything to keep us from succeeding.Frankly, I wish the spy in our midst had stopped us, because we unleashed a monster from its prison deep beneath the ruins of an ancient fortress, one that promised to slaughter the Sidhe and us and anyone else foolish enough to get in its way. We have to stop it somehow, without any weapons and without any idea of how to find it, before we all end up like Blathmac. But the Stone of Destiny proclaimed me to be the true Queen and Defender of Ireland and I will prevail against my enemies.I hope.

Who will get Apollo?The Kingdom of Avalon needs its Martian colony in order to survive. The Angels have offered to help, but a militant separatist movement is pushing Mars to the brink of a civil war. The SID is hunting for the separatist leader, code-named Ares, but no one knows who he really is or where he can be found.Everything hinges on Apollo, the genetic modification process that grants those that survive its devastating changes extraordinary health, strength, and endurance. Whoever gets it first - Avalon, the Angels, Ares, or the SID - will determine how the coming battle unfolds, but Hammond, Apollo's creator, has gone into hiding.Detective Jennia Bennett is the only person who may be able to find Hammond, but it won't be easy, even with her Angel Elise's help. She's in jail, charged with aiding and abetting the Apollo conspirators, and Elise is undergoing a transformation that may alter the relationship between humans and Angels forever. Somehow, Jen has to escape from prison, track Hammond down while evading everyone's attempts to stop her, and decide who should have Apollo. The future of an entire planet rests in her hands, but none of that will matter if Elise dies. The race is on.

The bargain I made with the Queen of the Sidhe was supposed to keep us safe for one year. Her forces are forbidden to leave the Otherworld, giving us a chance to rebuild the Order of the Shamrock and figure out how we're going to thwart her plans to conquer Ireland. But Maeve found a loophole in our agreement and she's ready to go on the offensive again.Fear Dorcha, the Dark Man, has been sent to find the Dalcassian, the one man who knows how to enter the tower in Rath Solais and retrieve the Sword of Light, a weapon of devastating power. If Maeve gets her hands on it, she wins, it's that simple. The Dalcassian just arrived here in Boston, and Fear Dorcha has orders to bring both of us back to the Otherworld. I can't help Maeve get the Sword; she just wants to kill me herself, slowly.Now I only have until midnight tonight to find the Dalcassian, rescue my best friend from Fear Dorcha's trap, and keep the Dark Man from dragging us all back to Maeve's stronghold. I've never been so scared in my life, but if I don't succeed, my friends will die and Ireland will fall to the Sidhe. I am the Defender of Ireland, proclaimed by the Stone of Destiny to be its Champion. Everyone is counting on me to save the day, but I don't know if I can. I'm just a sixteen-year-old girl with a shamrock tattoo that's supposed to bring me luck. Today, I wish it would bring me a little faith instead.

Who Sabotaged the Harlequin?Detective Jennia Bennett is on enforced medical leave as she recovers from the after-effects of the Apollo genetic modification forced on her by Bennick Vanderberg. The Director of the Serious Incidents Division no longer trusts her, and she may never be allowed to return to the SID. Her best friend Elise is preoccupied with her new job, and the man she loves is a wanted fugitive, hunted by every security force in the USNA. It hasn't been a good month for her.At Elise's suggestion, Jen goes to Manchester Spaceport to meet a close friend returning from an extended stay on Mars. There, she watches in horror as his ship, a lander from the freighter Harlequin, suffers a catastrophic malfunction and plummets from the sky. There are no survivors. Jen is devastated, and Elise rushes to her side to comfort her.Preliminary reports blame a faulty field generator, but something isn't right. The Harlequin was under investigation for its possible involvement in Vanderberg's criminal activities, and the sudden destruction of the lander raises questions. Jen's older sister Laini persuades her to help with the investigation, and Jen and Elise quickly discover evidence of a conspiracy that reaches all the way back to Mars. Someone tampered with the ship, hoping to kill everyone on board and destroy whatever evidence it carried.Jen and Elise don't have much time. If they can't identify the conspirators quickly, they'll shift their operations to Mars, where they'll disappear for good. But someone on Earth is shadowing Jen as she follows the clues, ready to prevent her from discovering the truth - or kill her if she does.

Who is the Southside Angel?A young woman lies in a coma. The only witness to what happened is an Angel, a simulated human, but she is behaving erratically and has gone into hiding without revealing what she knows. With no other leads to go on, the authorities call in the only person with experience dealing with rogue Angels: Detective Jennia Bennett.It seems like a hopeless task. How can Jen possibly locate a holographic simulation of a woman who doesn't leave traces and doesn't want to be found? Digging into the victim's past, however, Jen finds clues pointing to a popular actress, a failed research project that was canceled thirty years before, and a series of shipments from the Martian colonies. But what do any of these things have to do with the assault that left the woman on the edge of death?Determined to track down the missing Angel and discover the identity of the assailant, Jen searches for the thread that ties the pieces together. Jen's best friend Elise is obsessed with helping an orphaned Angel find a new home, and Jen herself is distracted by the Metro police officer assigned to the case, Christopher Wolf. When Jen gets too close to the truth, however, Elise and Wolf must race to rescue her, before she becomes the next victim.

Are Angels dangerous? Detective Jennia Bennett never imagined that the sophisticated holographic simulations could possibly harm anyone. But now, as she delves deeper into her very first murder investigation, she is very much afraid that the answer to that question may be "Yes."A researcher claimed he found a fundamental flaw in the Angels, one that leads inevitably to madness and chaos. Now the man is dead, and his proof is missing. If he was right, millions of citizens who depend on the "sims" to keep the country running smoothly may be at risk. But powerful figures rely on the success of the Angel program to support their own ambitions, and they pressure Jen to close the case quickly. Jen enlists the help of her best friend Elise to locate the original Angel, Adam, who may hold the key to understanding the threat posed by the Angels. But Jen soon discovers that both Adam and Elise share a unique bond with the designer of the Angels. Dr. Arno Marchand is fiercely protective of his creations and denies that the Angels are flawed, but Jen senses that the reclusive scientist may not be quite what he appears.As the list of suspects grows, Jen must hurry to untangle the threads and uncover the truth about the Angels, before she herself becomes the killer's next victim.