bestsg author of Mine to Possess
“4 Stars! [Ione’s] hard-edged style infuses the story with darkness while taking it to sizzling heights.”
—RT Book Reviews
“5 Stars! Fascinatingly innovative… full of fervent encounters and shocking disclosures… compelling scenes and dynamic characters.”
—SingleTitles.com
“Fast-paced… never slows down… Romantic fantasy fans will appreciate the first Demonica tale.”
—Midwest Book Review
Glossary
The Aegis— Society of human warriors dedicated to protecting the world from evil. See: Guardians, Regent, Sigil.
Agimortus— A trigger for the breaking of the Horsemen’s Seals. An agimortus can be identified as a symbol engraved or branded upon the host person or object. Three kinds of agimorti have been identified, and may take the form of a person, an object, or an event.
Daemonica— The demon bible and basis for dozens of demon religions. Its prophecies regarding the Apocalypse, should they come to pass, will ensure that the Four Horsemen fight on the side of evil.
Fallen Angel— Believed to be evil by most humans, fallen angels can be grouped into two categories: True Fallen and Unfallen. Unfallen angels have been cast from Heaven and are earthbound, living a life in which they are neither truly good nor truly evil. In this state, they can, rarely, earn their way back into Heaven. Or they can choose to enter Sheoul, the demon realm, in order to complete their fall and become True Fallens, taking their places as demons at Satan’s side.
Guardians— Warriors for The Aegis, trained in combat techniques, weapons, and magic. Upon induction into The Aegis, all Guardians are presented with an enchanted piece of jewelry bearing the Aegis shield, which, among other things, allows for night vision and the ability to see through demon invisibility enchantments.
Harrowgate— Vertical portals, invisible to humans, which demons use to travel between locations on Earth and Sheoul. A very few beings can summon their own personal Harrowgates.
Khote— An invisibility spell that allows the caster to move among humans without being seen or, usually, heard.
Marked Sentinel— A human charmed by angels and tasked with protecting a vital artifact. Sentinels are immortal and immune to harm. Only angels (fallen included) can injure or kill a Sentinel. Their existence is a closely guarded secret.
Quantamun— A state of superaccelerated existence on a plane that allows some supernatural beings to travel among humans. Humans, unaware of what moves within their world, appear frozen in time to those inside the quantamun. This differs from the khote in that the khote operates in real time and is a spell rather than a plane of existence.
Regent— Head(s) of local Aegis cells.
Sheoul— Demon realm. Located deep in the bowels of the earth, accessible only by Harrowgates.
Sheoul-gra— A holding tank for demon souls. The place where demon souls go until they can be reborn or kept in torturous limbo.
Sheoulic— Universal demon language spoken by all, though many species speak their own language.
Sigil— Board of twelve humans known as Elders, who serve as the supreme leaders of The Aegis. Based in Berlin, they oversee all Aegis cells worldwide.
Ter’taceo— Demons who can pass as human, either because their species is naturally human in appearance, or because they can shapeshift into human form.
Watchers— Individuals assigned to keep an eye on the Four Horsemen. As part of the agreement forged during the original negotiations between angels and demons that led to Ares, Reseph, Limos, and Thanatos being cursed to spearhead the Apocalypse, one Watcher is an angel, the other is a fallen angel. Neither Watcher may directly assist any Horseman’s efforts to either start or stop Armageddon, but they can lend a hand behind the scenes. Doing so, however, may have them walking a fine line, that, to cross, could prove worse than fatal.
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
A Preview of Lethal Rider
Also by Larissa Ione
Acclaim for Larissa Ione’s Previous Novels
Glossary
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Larissa Ione Estell
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
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Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
First e-book edition: December 2011
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-4555-0485-5
Larissa Ione, Immortal Rider
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