"How far can a man go in the name of faith?" Father Gareth De'Aubyn is a man tormented by his past, and ready to sell his future to save the souls of his flock. He's traded his Crusader's armor for a cassock, and now ministers to the very people his army sent fleeing for their lives. When his church is attacked by unknown assassins, Gareth is mortally wounded, and with his dying breath, he calls out to the Creator for help. "But his god does not answer." Instead, a demon heeds his call, cajoling him to promise his soul to the Sunderer, god of the underworld, for a chance to set everything...

Another body in a string of ritualistic murders. A serial killer who's getting cocky. Detective Derek Childress thinks this day just can't get any worse. And then he meets his new partner. Investigator Kayle Perrine is a Variant: one of several races of once-thought mythical creatures who now live among and lord-over humankind. Led by a group of vampires called the Clan Gentry, the Variants protect their own, just as they did when Derek's previous partner was killed by one, nearly a year ago. Now that Perrine's on the case, Derek expects a cover-up. Kayle Perrine has worked his whole life to...