Read more
Informationen zum Autor Meljean was raised in the middle of the woods, and hid under her blankets at night with fairy tales, comic books, and romances. She left the forest and went on a misguided tour through the world of accounting, banking, and a (very) brief teaching career before focusing on her first loves, reading and writing--and she realized that monsters, superheroes, and happily-ever-afters are easily found between the covers, as well as under them, so she set out to make her own.Meljean lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter. Klappentext Novice Guardian Jake Hawkins has a power that could help Alice Grey out of her deal with a demon. But in helping her! he never expects to fall in love. Now fleeing for their lives! they're about to discover a secret that will change their universe forever. Leseprobe Moments after terrifying himself with memories of blood-splattered foliage and a splintered bamboo cage, Jake Hawkins opened his eyes and realized he had no idea where the hell he'd teleported. At least it wasn't Hell . Though chances were, he'd end up in that realm sooner or later. Until he got his Gift under control, only dumb luck prevented him from taking a swim in the Lake of Fire. Or worse, landing on a warmongering demon horde. Backstroking through burning lava was a damn good alternative to being skewered by a thousand swords?or kept alive so the demons could play a gleeful game of Torture the Guardian. Fun for everyone but him. But his dumb luck had held for one more jump, and instead of screaming Below, Jake was standing at the edge of a sheer cliff on the side of an arid, rock-studded mountain. A waxing crescent moon was settling behind the sand dunes on the horizon; early evening stars shot holes through the sky. Not Hell, but he wasn't in Caelum, either?although the Guardian realm with its white marble and never-setting sun was almost as empty of people. No fires flickered in the foothills; no human odors floated in the air. And there was no one to see Jake form his wings and step over the cliff. Wind sifted through his white feathers, and Jake resisted the urge to look at his satellite positioning device. He'd been taking these unexpected jaunts since discovering his Gift; unfamiliar geography had become a challenge. If he used his GPS receiver to figure out his location, he'd failed. But this place almost had him beat. The low-growing prickly scrub and the distant stretch of desert could be anywhere in North Africa or the Middle East. The recent sunset and mountain range narrowed it to Tunisia, Morocco, or Algeria; but as one of three Guardians who could teleport, Jake needed to learn how to identify a specific region within seconds. He needed to be able to go where he intended, too. A Gift ain't nothing but knowledge and willpower. Drifter, his mentor, had tossed out that not-so-helpful advice ten minutes before, when Jake had been trying to teleport from Drifter's home in Seattle to the Archives building in Caelum. Jake shook his head, circled back toward the cliff. Ignorance wasn't his problem. He wasn't spineless, either. He'd known where Caelum was, and he'd wanted to visit the Archives?but he'd still had to scare himself shitless in order to make the jump. He'd also been praying he wouldn't run into the Black Widow. An image of the archivist's cold, disapproving stare had filled his mind just before he'd teleported. So he hadn't focused hard enough; his Gift had picked up on his reluctance and landed him here. Wherever here?
