Before the Witches: An Original Novella (A Dark Mission Novella)

In America, they didn?t care about witches. But all that was about to change. Katya Zhuvova fled a country that fearedher gifts, but her escape to Seattle left her at themercy of a ruthless man. With no one left toturn to, Katya hatches a desperate escape plan. Undercover Detective Nigel Ferris is determinedto bring down a prostitution ring, whatever the cost. In order to get the answers he needs, he attemptsto win the trust of one of the prostitutes involved?but one look at the deceptively sultry Katyaand the cool, objective cop disappears. Before either can put their plans into place, Mother Nature shrugs: a cataclysm rocks Seattle, and life is turned upside down. Brought together by chance, Nigel and Katyaare in the fight for their lives. Surrounded by deathand fear, shattered by immeasurable loss, they have only a bond forged in fire to cling to as they struggleto survive in a world gone straight to hell " Blood of the Wicked scared me, thrilled me, and made me fall in love with the characters. I want more and I can't wait to see what she writes next!" --Cherry Adair Bestselling author Christina Dodd calls Karina Cooper, "A brilliant new voice in paranormal romance." Karina's extraordinary debut novel, Blood of the Wicked, is exhilarating, terrifying, mesmerizing, and hotter than hell. Unfolding in an alternate Earth forever changed by mass catastrophes and ruled by repression, bigotry, and fear, the spellbinding story has sworn enemies joining forces--united by need and irresistible passion -- to achieve a frightening goal that almost certainly means death for one of them. A brilliantly imaginative and breathtakingly sensuous tale of witches and witch hunters, Blood of the Wicked immediately rockets Karina Cooper into the elite company of J. R. Ward, Kresley Cole, and Charlaine Harris "Katya Zhuvova fled a country that feared her gifts, but her escape to Seattle left her at the mercy of a ruthless man. With no one left to turn to, Katya hatches a desperate escape plan. Undercover Detective Nigel Ferris is determined to bring down a prostitution ring, whatever the cost. In order to get the answers he needs, he attempts to win the trust of one of the prostitutes involved--but one look at the deceptively sultry Katya and the cool, objective cop disappears. Before either can put their plans into place, Mother Nature shrugs: a cataclysm rocks Seattle, and life is turned upside down. Brought together by chance, Nigel and Katya are in the fight for their lives. Surrounded by death and fear, shattered by immeasurable loss, they have only a bond forged in fire to cling to as they struggle to survive in a world gone straight to hell"--Page 4 of cover "As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she's been found in a New Seattle strip club--by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind. A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what's left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn't know that Jessie's his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her ... and must protect her until his final breath."--P. [4] of cover. "As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she's been found in a New Seattle strip club--by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind. A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what's left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn't know that Jessie's his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her ... and must protect her until his final breath."--Page 4 of cover