"Scream and you're dead." The voice was male, a mix between a growl and a whisper, and whoever it was could definitely have used a breath mint. He tightened his grip, leaning into her, and Satine winced as she was forced to her tiptoes to avoid being strangled. "Who--" she croaked then skipped ahead to avoid the pain. "What do you want?" The man sneered with a, "Mmmm..." that sent a shudder down her spine. As if that wasn't bad enough, he leaned forward to inhale against her neck. His hot breath slithered over her skin when he said, "I didn't believe it. Not until now." It was too dark to see...

As if being newly cursed and wanted for her blood wasn't bad enough, Satine Tierney now owes a very powerful vampire a favor for her help in saving her life. So when Nyathera summons her to the Halloween grand opening of "Ephemeral," a new vampire hotel and casino in Las Vegas, to be paraded around at an all-important treaty-signing, Satine has no choice but to show up. And that's when things get really bad. Supernatural beings from around the country begin mysteriously disappearing, just as a powerful faction of deadly wizards resurfaces, and, oh yeah--what's up with that bizarre (literally...