Blood of the Demon

PRAISE
FOR MARK OF THE DEMON

“Mark of the Demon
is a nifty combination of police procedural and urban fantasy. Not too many detectives summon demons in their basement for the fun of it, but Kara Gillian is not your average law enforcement officer. In the course of Rowland’s first book, Kara learns a lot about demons, her past, and above all, herself.”

—CHARLAINE HARRIS,
New York Times
bestselling author of
From Dead to Worse

“Mark of the Demon
crosses police procedure with weird magic. Diana Rowland’s background makes her an expert in the former, and her writing convinces me she’s also an expert in the latter in this fast-paced story that ends with a bang.”

—CARRIE VAUGHN,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Kitty Raises Hell

“If Karen Chance and Kim Harrison’s books had a baby and that baby was a ninja, it would be
Mark of the Demon.”

—ANN AGUIRRE, national bestselling author of
Blue Diablo

“Rowland spins a tale that is riveting, suspenseful, and deliciously sexy. With a unique take on demons, and with one of the most terrifying serial killers ever,
Mark of the Demon
will keep you up late at night turning pages.”

—JENNA BLACK, author of
Speak of the Devil

“Mark of the Demon
is a fascinating mixture of a hard-boiled police procedural and gritty yet otherworldly urban fantasy. Diana Rowland’s professional background as both a street cop and forensic assistant not only shows through but gives the book a realism sadly lacking in all too many urban fantasy ‘crime’ novels.”

—L. E. MODESITT JR., author of the
Saga of Recluce

“A well-woven supernatural procedural that keeps the pages turning, hooking you on both the characters and the crime.”

—LAURA ANNE GILMAN, author of
Free Fall

“In a world full of paint-by-numbers urban fantasy,
Mark of the Demon
is a breath of fresh air. Diana Rowland brings a cop’s cynical eye and gallows humor along with a great sense of storytelling to make this one of the standout books in the field. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

—M. L. N. HANOVER, author of
Unclean Spirits

“A highly polished supernatural crime thriller … From the forensic and police procedures to the descriptions and dialogue, every facet has the ring of authenticity.… A great part of the success of this novel is how well the supernatural elements are integrated and grounded into a real-world crime procedural.… If I had read this book as a ‘blind test’ I would have guessed it to be the author’s seventh or eighth novel. It really is that good.… This is a very exciting urban fantasy debut.”

—SciFiGuy

“Diana Rowland’s
Mark of the Demon
is like an episode of
CSI …
only with more realistic science, better police procedural, and
demons.… Mark of the Demon
is fast-paced and fun. It’s sour, bitter, sweet, salty, and sexy. It’s science without technobabble, and gritty without being gross.… After gobbling up this debut, I’m really looking forward to what Diana Rowland offers us next!”

—
InterGalactic Medicine Show

“Mark of the Demon
floored me. Completely. I could NOT put this book down for a single minute.… Action, arcane witchcraft, demons, and dream travel—I can’t rave about
Mark of the Demon
enough. Part urban fantasy, part romantic suspense,
Mark of the Demon
will grab you, keep you enthralled.”

—
Wild on Books

“Mark of the Demon
is a great novel for those who enjoy a suspenseful crime-solving mystery.… This is one great mystery.… There are twists and turns and great chemistry between Kara and Ryan.… Not to be missed.”

—
Babbling About Books

“Utilizing her real-world experience as an ex-cop/forensic assistant, debut author Rowland pulls together an edgy new urban fantasy novel that’s both a police procedural and a demonic thriller. The collision of heroine Kara’s dual careers sets the stage for an engrossing and gritty tale that also possesses a dangerously sexy edge. Through Kara’s eyes readers get a crash course on a serial killer case with an unholy twist. Brava to Rowland for creating a vivid heroine and several transfixing secondary players.”

—
Romantic Times

“From the opening sequence to the very ending,
Mark of the Demon
never loses its pace and its atmospheric feel.… A very solid debut and I can definitely see a bright future for both the author and the series. Recommended.”

—
The Book Smugglers

“One of those books that starts off with a nice bang and rarely let me down from then on.… Welcome to the urban fantasy genre, Ms. Rowland. Here’s to many more such engrossing reads.”

—
Lurv a la Mode

“A delightful collaboration of genres including urban fantasy, suspense, romance and police procedural. Debut author Diana Rowland takes everything that I love in a book and puts it all together to write an outstanding novel. Take a dash of
Charmed
mixed with some
Dexter
and you have
Mark of the Demon
.… A breathtaking, heart-stopping, white-knuckler thriller that grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go!”

—
Enchanted by Books

“Excellent … Diana Rowland has hit a home run, not only with urban fantasy fans, but I believe anyone who reads forensic science/police procedure books will enjoy
Mark of the Demon
as well.”

—
Preternatural Reviews

“An imaginative new entry into paranormal fiction, filled with suspense, demonic lore and a touch of spice, and let’s hope there will be more of the same.”

—
The Daily Advertiser
(LA)

Also by Diana Rowland

MARK OF THE DEMON

To Mom,

for supporting the arts

Acknowledgments

My name might be the only one on the cover, but there’s no way this book would have happened if not for a number of other people.

Therefore, heartfelt thanks go to:

Natasha Poe, Amanda Kleist, and the rest of the St. Tammany Coroner’s Forensic Science Center, for their valiant attempts to help me understand the science behind DNA testing. Any DNA-related errors in this book are completely mine.

Dr. Michael DeFatta, for answering even
more
forensic pathology questions.

Dr. Peter Galvan, Judge Don Fendlason, Tara Zeller, and District Attorney Walter Reed and his staff, for answering numerous questions concerning campaign financing, public corruption, civil forfeiture, and other legal issues that made my head hurt.

Nicole Peeler, for being a kick-ass critique partner.

My fantastic agent, Matt Bialer, and his awesome and cool assistant, Lindsay Ribar, for
everything
.

Jamie S. Warren and Juliana Kolesova, for creating such incredibly wonderful covers for my books. I am a lucky, lucky author!

David Pomerico, for continuing to answer my many stupid questions.

My fabulous and gifted editor, Anne Groell, for helping me make this book far better than it was when I first sent it to her.

My sister, Sherry Rowland, for being my biggest non-nerd fan.

And finally, extra special thanks (and hugs and kisses!) to my husband and daughter for being so incredibly patient and supportive this past year. We’re going to Disney World this year. I promise!

THE DEMON WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A MIST OF FOG and teeth, barely visible to normal sight. It coiled in slow undulations in the backseat of my Taurus as I drove through the night, the tires of the car humming on the asphalt in low rhythmic counterpoint to the movement of the demon. The nearly full moon draped my surroundings in silver and shadow, making even this deserted highway running through a rank swamp look beautiful. There were no other headlights along this stretch of road, but this was little surprise since there were no houses or businesses out here—nothing but swamp, marsh, and the occasional patch of dry ground that pretended to be woods.

I could hear the demon murmuring softly to itself in hunger, and I stilled it with a nudge of pressure on the arcane bindings. It would feed soon enough, but I needed it to complete the agreed-upon task first. I’d dealt with this type of demon many times before and knew that the creatures were far less useful after a feed—preferring to coil in sated comfort rather than hunt.

I continued to drive until I felt the change in the demon—a sudden tension as if it had perked up its nonexistent ears. I pulled over to the side of the highway, then walked around to the other side of the car and opened the back door. It felt a bit absurd to cart a demon around in the backseat of my car, but I couldn’t exactly perform a summoning out in the middle of the swamp. I was limited to summoning demons in the prepared diagram in my basement.

Murmuring again, the demon slid out in eager anticipation of a hunt. The demon was an
ilius
—a third-level demon, about as intelligent as a dog but a thousand times better at tracking. It was little more than a shifting fog, visible in my
othersight
as a coil of smoke with teeth that flashed and disappeared like a teeming mass of vaporous piranhas. Without othersight—a sense beyond the senses that revealed more than the mundane world most people were able to see—it was essentially invisible, except for the deep feeling of unease it left in those it touched.

I opened the paper bag and pulled out the baseball cap, allowing the
ilius
to twine around it and fill itself with the scent, the feel of the one I sought. “Seek,” I said, and reinforced the spoken command with mental pressure. The demon shimmered in my othersight, then sped away across the grass and through the trees like an arcane zephyr.

I let my breath out as soon as it was gone, then leaned back against the car to wait for the demon’s return. That it would find the missing hunter I had no doubt. Whether that hunter was alive or dead would decide my next move. I only hoped the demon wouldn’t take very long. Even at four in the morning, the south Louisiana heat in July was oppressive, and out here in the middle of the swamp, the
humidity was easily near a hundred percent. Sweat beaded on my face and neck and I wiped it away with a sleeve, hoping I wasn’t wiping away too much of the mosquito repellent that I’d doused myself in. Hundreds of the little bloodsuckers hummed around me, but so far the repellent was keeping them at bay. At least the
ilius
didn’t have to worry about mosquitoes.