Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance) (49 page)

Eye color:
Blue-green

Species:
Human

Conall Dearghul
—Vampire paramedic at Underworld General Hospital. Mated to Sin.

Height:
6'5"

Hair:
Blond

Eye color:
Silver

Species: Vampire

Decker Cready
—Like Arik, Decker is a soldier in the U.S. Army’s Ranger-X Regiment and a member of The Aegis.

Height:
6'1"

Hair:
Short, blond

Eye color:
Gray-blue

Profession:
Soldier

Species:
Human

Eidolon (EYE-duh-lawn)
—Head of Underworld General Hospital, a medical center he built with brothers Shade and Wraith. All Seminus demons possess gifts meant to aid them in seduction and reproduction, but these gifts can also be used to heal. Eidolon’s gift allows him to heal most physical injuries with little more than a touch.

Height:
6'4"

Hair:
Short, dark brown-black

Eye color:
Dark brown

Profession:
Physician

Species:
Incubus

Breed:
Seminus demon

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Tattoolike symbols extending from tips of right fingers to shoulder

Personal Seminus symbol:
Set of scales on throat

Gemella (Gem) Endri
—Half-demon doctor at Underworld General Hospital. Sister to Tayla. Married to Kynan Morgan.

Hair:
Length and color changes frequently; usually shoulder-length and black with streaks of blue, red, or pink

Eye color:
Green

Profession:
Physician

Species:
Half-human, half-Soulshredder

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Pierced tongue, eyebrow, ears, navel; long-stemmed rose tattoo running the length of her left leg; dragon tattoo on her abdomen; tattooed Celtic bands around ankles, wrists, and neck

Gethel
—Formerly assigned as the Horsemen’s Heavenly Watcher. She is now assigned as an Apocalypse angel… a small group of angels whose duties include investigating apocalyptic signs.

Hair:
Blond

Eye color:
Green

Species:
Angel

Harvester
—Assigned as the Horsemen’s evil Watcher. Before her fall from grace, she was an angel of justice.

Hair:
Black

Eye color:
Black

Species:
Fallen angel

Idess
—Ex-angel of the Memitim class, falsely believed by many—including by Memitim—to be the only class of angel that is born, not made by the hand of God. Mated to Lore. Father is Azagoth, the Grim Reaper. Her ability to speak with the dead has made her invaluable as a staff member at Underworld General, where she helps guide trapped souls to their final destination.

Hair:
Brown

Eye color:
Honey

Kynan Morgan
—One of twelve Aegis Elders who lead the demon-slaying organization. Joined The Aegis after being injured by a demon while on a mission as a United States Army medic in Afghanistan. Married to Gemella Endri. Keeper of Heofon, a necklace bearing a piece of Heaven. As the Keeper of Heofon, he was charmed as a Marked Sentinel by angels, giving him immunity to harm from anything except an angel.

Height:
6'2"

Hair:
Short, spiky, dark brown

Eye color:
Navy blue

Profession:
Aegis Guardian

Species:
Human

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Gravelly voice from vocal-cord damage; scarred throat

Lore
—Half-brother to Eidolon, Shade, and Wraith. Twin to sister Sin. Half-breed Seminus demon and former assassin who now works in the Underworld General Hospital’s morgue. As a cambion, a human-demon half-breed, his Seminus gift went awry, leaving him without the ability to heal, but to instead kill everything he touches with his right hand.

Height:
6'6"

Hair:
Short, black

Eye color:
Dark brown

Species:
Half-human, half-Seminus demon

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Tattoolike symbols extending from tips of right fingers to shoulder

Personal Seminus symbol:
None

Reaver
—Heavenly Watcher to the Horsemen. A former fallen angel, he has no memory of anything prior to the event that caused his fall thirty years ago. His angel status was restored following a battle in which he helped save Heaven from being invaded by demon masses.

Height:
6'6"

Hair:
Shoulder-length, pale blond

Eye color:
Blue

Profession:
Watcher

Species:
Angel (of the Battle Order)

Regan Cooper
—Aegis Elder. Born to a human mother and a father who was possessed by a demon at the time she was conceived, Regan possesses special abilities that make her both valuable and dangerous to The Aegis. With limited psychometry, she can read emotions and sometimes see visions by touching ink on skin, including parchment. She also possesses the ability to wrest the soul from any living thing. Unfortunately, she cannot control the soul once it is free of its body, and it will seek the nearest body to possess. The results are deadly. Her abilities have made a normal life impossible, and she was passed around by several Aegis families as she grew up, until she finally went to Aegis headquarters to live and complete her training.

Hair:
Brown

Eye color:
Hazel

Species:
Human

Runa (RUE-nuh)
—Mated to Shade. Brother to Arik Wagner.

Hair:
Shoulder-length, caramel brown

Eye color:
Pale champagne

Species:
Werewolf who, because of military experimentation, can change at will instead of only during the full moon phase

Serena Kelley
—Mated to Wraith.

Hair:
Long, blond

Eye color:
Brown

Profession:
Treasure hunter

Species:
Vampire

Shade
—Paramedic at Underworld General Hospital. Brother to Eidolon and Wraith, half-brother to Lore and Sin. Mated to Runa. His Seminus gift allows him to control a patient’s organ functions.

Height:
6'3½"

Hair:
Shoulder-length, dark brown-black

Eye color:
Dark brown-black

Profession:
Paramedic

Species:
Incubus

Breed:
Seminus demon

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Tattoolike symbols extending from tips of right fingers to shoulder; pierced left ear

Personal Seminus symbol:
Eye on throat

Sin
—Only known female Seminus demon. Half-sister to Eidolon, Shade, and Wraith. Twin to brother Lore. Mated to Conall Dearghul. Like her brother Lore, she’s a cambion, so her Seminus gift was mutated into something different than what her purebred brothers possess. Instead of healing, she causes disease. In fact, by causing a werewolf plague, Sin inadvertently caused Reseph’s Seal to break, turning him into Pestilence.

Hair:
Black

Eye color:
Dark brown

Species:
Half-human, half-Seminus demon

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Tattoolike symbols extending from tips of right fingers to shoulder; tattoo on the back of her neck

Personal Seminus symbol:
None

Tayla Mancuso
—Regent of a New York Aegis cell. Mated to Eidolon, sister to Gemella.

Hair:
Red

Eye color:
Green

Profession:
Aegis Guardian

Species:
Half-human, half-Soulshredder

Wraith
—A freak combination of Seminus demon and vampire. Works with brothers Eidolon, Shade, and Lore at Underworld General as an acquisitions specialist. Mated to Serena. A charm bestowed upon him by Serena has left him impervious to harm except at the hand of a fallen angel. His Seminus gift differs from his brothers’ in that he can access the mind instead of the body, controlling thoughts and projecting images.

Height:
6'5"

Hair:
Kept between chin and shoulder length, bleached blond

Eye color:
Blue

Profession:
In charge of acquisitions for UGH

Species:
Incubus

Breed:
Seminus demon

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Tattoolike symbols extending from tips of right fingers to shoulder

Personal Seminus symbol:
Hourglass on throat

T
he Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are intimidating all by themselves. But with their massive stallions, they gain not only a big boost in height, but powerful weapons between their thighs. (Oh, come on… you knew I had to go there.)

The horses are also vital for transportation. Yes, the Horsemen can use portable Harrowgates to move around, but there are some places where gates can’t be opened. Also, you don’t want to summon a gate anyplace where you might accidentally slice someone in half when it opens. The stallions allow for the Horsemen to gate themselves into a remote area and then ride where they need to go without risk of killing people.

Plus, horses are just cool.

But who are these horses? Let’s start with Battle, whom we first see in
Sin Undone
.

Battle, a blood bay warhorse, is Ares’s mount. He’s a little grumpy, but then, he’s had to live with Ares for thousands of years. Battle does have his own quirks and sense of humor… sure, it’s a sick and twisted sense of humor, but he has one. For example, he thinks it’s hilarious to rip the wings off demons. And he likes sugar cubes. Well, he likes sugar in general. He once broke into Ares’s kitchen and stole an entire bag of sugar.

Limos’s stallion, Bones, makes Battle look like a cuddly kitten. Bones was a gift from Satan. He’s a jet-black hell stallion with a nasty temper and a nearly uncontrollable nature. Oh, and he’s a carnivore. Bones is
not
a nice horse. Limos keeps him happy with dried meat treats. He prefers elk and hellrat jerky.

And then there’s Styx, the dun beast belonging to Thanatos. Styx is quiet, watchful, and when you aren’t looking, he’s protective of those who can’t protect themselves. He’s playful and mischievous, taking great pleasure in whipping his favorite toy, a bubblegum-pink horse ball around Thanatos’s keep… and aiming at Than’s servants. His favorite treat is beer, preferably cheap beer. No one knows why the horse doesn’t have more sophisticated tastes. Thanatos is particularly disturbed.

Reseph’s sleek white steed, Conquest, is a rambunctious, good-natured animal. Before Reseph’s Seal broke, Conquest was impish, with a penchant for nipping people and running. Of all the horses, he was freed the most often (the horses exist as glyphs on the Horsemen’s skin when not in physical form). He loves rubdowns from pretty women, sweet molasses grain, and an exhilarating race with the other Horsemen’s stallions once in a while. He likes the races more than the others, because he generally wins.

T
he Lords of Deliverance series takes place in the Demonica world, which is filled with as many species of demons as there are animals in the human realm. In addition, the world is populated by vampires, shapeshifters, were-beasts, and angels.

But where the Demonica books focused mainly on Underworld General, the Lords of Deliverance series takes readers all over the world and underworld… even to a pub in the bowels of Sheoul called, wait for it—The Four Horsemen.

The Four Horsemen pub, located in Sheoul’s Six-River region, was founded over two thousand years ago, named because as a pub known only as “the hole,” it was the favorite hangout for the Horsemen and their groupies. Limos only made hit-and-run visits, because she couldn’t afford to be found in Sheoul lest her Prince-of-Demons fiancé caught her.

Gradually, The Four Horsemen pub expanded—financed by the Horsemen—into a less scroungy place with back rooms for pleasurable… uh… activities. It never lost its “old world” charm though, and still boasts straw on the floors, skeletons hanging from chains, and some unidentifiable black slime oozing from the walls.

The Four Horsemen is a must-see for anyone on a tour of the underworld.

Your tour might also include a layover at Limos’s Hawaiian paradise, where the party never stops. Her werewolf and wolf-shifter servants are very accommodating, and the full bar in her party house will keep the fun going. If you’re hungry, there’s usually a suckling pig roasting in a pit (though sometimes, if the guests are particularly evil, you might find a skullboar in the pit instead). Don’t miss a game of beach volleyball—there’s always one going on. But a word of caution: Never play with Oni demons. They hate to lose and are notorious for using the winners’ heads in their next match.

Another fun must-see is Ares’s Greek island in the Aegean Sea. You won’t be able to get inside his sprawling white manor, but who needs to? There are miles of beaches to enjoy, vineyards to stroll through, and hellhounds to play with. Ares is rumored to be starting up a small winery, and everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what the label will be called.

There are literally millions of sights in the supernatural world, so try not to gape if you come across some of the more fantastical settings and beings. Most people don’t know what to do with themselves when they see an angel, for example. It’s also advisable to carry an extra set of underclothes. You never know how your bowels will react when you come face-to-face with a Soulshredder.