Circle of Desire Read online

  Praise for Keri Arthur

  Nominated for Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Career Achievement in Urban Fantasy

  Winner of the Romantic Times 2008 Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Career Achievement in Urban Fantasy

  “Keri Arthur’s imagination and energy infuse everything she writes with zest.”

  —CHARLAINE HARRIS

  Praise for Full Moon Rising

  “Keri Arthur skillfully mixes her suspenseful plot with heady romance in her thoroughly enjoyable alternate reality Melbourne. Sexy vampires, randy werewolves, and unabashed, unapologetic, joyful sex—you’ve gotta love it. Smart, sexy, and well-conceived.”

  —KIM HARRISON

  “Full Moon Rising is unabashedly and joyfully sexual in its portrayal of werewolves in heat … Arthur never fails to deliver, keeping the fires stoked, the cliffs high, and the emotions dancing on a razor’s edge in this edgy, hormone-filled mystery … A shocking and sensual read, so keep the ice handy.”

  —TheCelebrityCafe.com

  “Keri Arthur is one of the best supernatural romance writers in the world.”

  —HARRIET KLAUSNER

  “Strong, smart and capable, Riley will remind many of Anita Blake, Laurell K. Hamilton’s kick-ass vampire hunter … Fans of Anita Blake and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse vampire series will be rewarded.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Unbridled lust and kick-ass action are the hallmarks of this first novel in a brand-new paranormal series … ‘Sizzling’ is the only word to describe this heated, action-filled, suspenseful romantic drama.”

  —Curled Up with a Good Book

  “Desert island keeper … Grade: A … I wanted to read this book in one sitting, and was terribly offended that the real world intruded on my reading time! … Inevitable comparisons can be made to Anita Blake, Kim Harrison, and Kelley Armstrong’s books, but I think Ms. Arthur has a clear voice of her own and her characters speak for themselves.… I am hooked!”

  —All About Romance

  Praise for Kissing Sin

  “The second book in this paranormal guardian series is just as phenomenal as the first … I am addicted!!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Arthur’s world building skills are absolutely superb and I recommend this story to any reader who enjoys tales of the paranormal.”

  —Coffee Time Romance and More

  “Fast paced and filled with deliciously sexy characters, readers will find Kissing Sin a fantastic urban fantasy with a hot serving of romance that continues to sizzle long after the last page is read.”

  —Darque Reviews

  “Keri Arthur’s unique characters and the imaginative world she’s created will make this series one that readers won’t want to miss.”

  —A Romance Review

  Praise for Tempting Evil

  “Riley Jenson is kick-ass … genuinely tough and strong, but still vulnerable enough to make her interesting.… Arthur is not derivative of early [Laurell K.] Hamilton—far from it—but the intensity of her writing and the complexity of her heroine and her stories is reminiscent.”

  —All About Romance

  “This paranormal romance series gets better and better with each new book.… An exciting adventure that delivers all you need for a fabulous read—sexy shape-shifters, hot vampires, wild uncontrollable sex and the slightest hint of a love that’s meant to be forever.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Pure sexy action adventure … I found the world vividly realized and fascinating.… So, if you like your erotic scenes hot, fast, and frequent, your heroine sassy, sexy, and tough, and your stories packed with hard-hitting action in a vividly realized fantasy world, then Tempting Evil and its companion novels could be just what you’re looking for.”

  —SFRevu

  “Keri Arthur’s Riley Jenson series just keeps getting better and better and is sure to call to fans of other authors with kick-ass heroines such as Christine Feehan and Laurell K. Hamilton. I have become a steadfast fan of this marvelous series and I am greatly looking forward to finding out what is next in store for this fascinating and strong character.”

  —A Romance Review

  Praise for Dangerous Games

  “One of the best books I have ever read.… The storyline is so exciting I did not realize I was literally sitting on the edge of my chair.… Arthur has a real winner on her hands. Five cups.”

  —Coffee Time Romance and More

  “The depths of emotion, the tense plot, and the conflict of powerful driving forces inside the heroine made for [an] absorbing read.”

  —SFRevu

  “This series is phenomenal! Dangerous Games is an incredibly original and devastatingly sexy story. It keeps you spellbound and mesmerized on every page. Absolutely perfect!!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  Praise for Embraced by Darkness

  “Arthur is positively one of the best urban fantasy authors in print today. The characters have been well-drawn from the start and the mysteries just keep getting better. A creative, sexy and adventure filled world that readers will just love escaping to.”

  —Darque Reviews

  “Arthur’s storytelling is getting better and better with each book. Embraced by Darkness has suspense, interesting concepts, terrific main and secondary characters, well-developed story arcs, and the world-building is highly entertaining.… I think this series is worth the time and emotional investment to read.”

  —Reuters.com

  “Once again, Keri Arthur has created a perfect, exciting and thrilling read with intensity that kept me vigilantly turning each page, hoping it would never end.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton back when her books had mysteries to solve, Arthur’s characters inhabit a dark sexy world of the paranormal.”

  —The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

  “I love this series.”

  —All About Romance

  Praise for The Darkest Kiss

  “The paranormal Australia that Arthur concocts works perfectly, and the plot speeds along at a breakneck pace. Riley fans won’t be disappointed.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Praise for Bound to Shadows

  “The Riley Jenson Guardian series ROCKS! Riley is one bad-ass heroine with a heart of gold. Keri Arthur never disappoints and always leaves me eagerly anticipating the next book. A classic, fabulous read!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  Praise for Moon Sworn

  “Huge kudos to Arthur for giving readers an impressive series they won’t soon forget! 4½ stars, Top pick!”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “The superb final Guardian urban fantasy saga ends with quite a bang that will please the fans of the series. Riley is terrific as she goes through a myriad of emotions with no time to mourn her losses.… Readers will enjoy Riley’s rousing last stand.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  Praise for Darkness Unbound

  “A thrilling ride.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Praise for Darkness Rising

  “Arthur ratchets up the intrigue … in this powerful sequel.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Circle of Desire is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  2014 Dell eBook Edition

  Copyright © 2003, 2014 by Keri Arthur

  Excerpt from Memory Zero by Keri Arthur copyright © 2004, 2014 by Keri Arthur

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of Random H
ouse, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

  DELL and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

  Originally published in trade paperback in the United States by Ima-Jinn Books, Hickory Corners, MI, in 2003.

  This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Memory Zero by Keri Arthur. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

  ISBN 978-0-440-24657-2

  eBook ISBN 978-0-345-53908-3

  Cover design: Lynn Andreozzi

  Cover illustration: Juliana Kolesova

  www.bantamdell.com

  Dell mass market edition: April 2014

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Excerpt from Memory Zero

  Other Books by This Author

  AIR HISSED THROUGH THE SILENCE. TENDRILS OF SMOKE began to curl past the window frames, its color luminous yet sickly. Katherine Tanner tugged one of the two white ash stakes strapped to her jeans free and clenched it tightly. On the opposite side of the room, a little girl slept on, oblivious to the smoky slivers of evil beginning to slip past the window. Kat hoped she remained unaware, but how likely was that, given her kidnapper seemed to be targeting children born into shifter families? While not all shifters were sensitive to magic, many were. It was a part of their soul, after all, even if a child this young would not be able to shift form. Not until puberty, anyway.

  Kat was keeping her fingers crossed that this kid did get the chance to hit puberty.

  Because if Gwen’s premonition was right—and her grandmother’s premonitions usually were—this child would be the next to go missing. They’d done everything they could to prevent that. They’d nailed the windows shut, they had cops patrolling close by, and warding stones had been placed around the child’s bed to prevent any magic from coming close.

  But these wards weren’t designed to stop evil itself—and that’s what was seeping into this room tonight. Kat’s stomach began to churn. Though she’d spent the last ten years hunting the rogue elements of the supernatural community that preyed on humans, she’d never come across anything that went after kids the way this thing did. She had never met anything that did to them what this thing did.

  She closed her eyes, fighting tears, trying not to relive the moment two nights before when they’d stepped into that old factory and found the body of the second missing four-year-old. Daniel had been unmarked except for two small puncture wounds on his neck. Though he’d been drained of blood, this was not what had caused his death. Only those gifted with psychic sight would ever see that.

  Something had stolen his soul—had ripped it from his body between the beats of his heart. He’d died quickly, but in pain. Terrible, terrible pain.

  She didn’t want to face the thing that could do something like that. No one in their right mind would. But she had no choice, simply because the Damask Circle’s resources were stretched to the limits right now, and there was no one else free to make the trip to Oregon.

  She gripped the stake tighter and watched the smoke draw together and find shape, becoming a scantily clad, extremely beautiful woman.

  Evil came in all shapes and sizes, but for some reason Kat hadn’t expected it to take the form of such Oriental perfection. And maybe it was just her own maternal instincts coming to the fore, but she just couldn’t understand how any woman could harm a child—particularly one so young.

  But this was the thing snatching the kids. It had the same sense of deeply entrenched corruption that she’d felt in the other bedrooms.

  The woman stepped toward the child. Kat tensed but fought the urge to move, sensing the show wasn’t over yet. Her fingers ached with the force of her grip on the stake. She had no idea whether it would actually kill the soul-sucker or not, but at the very least it would do some serious damage and give her time to yell for reinforcements.

  A cold smile touched the woman’s bloodless lips, then she turned and tried to open the window. It didn’t budge, held steady by the nails placed there earlier. The woman stepped back and energy surged, crawling like fire across Kat’s skin. The nails slithered from the wood and dropped softly to the floor. The woman lifted the window and leaned out.

  A gaunt, dark-haired figure appeared, and the sensation of evil increased tenfold. The vampire’s dead gaze scanned the room, stopping when it reached the shadows in which Kat stood. Though she was certain he couldn’t see past her grandmother’s wards, he really didn’t need to. Not with the frantic beat of her heart.

  He snarled softly, revealing stained canines. The soul-sucker spun, the malevolence in her dark eyes overwhelming any lingering impression of beauty. With an inhuman growl, she leaped for the sleeping child. Kat raised her hand, thrusting a lance of kinetic energy at the soul-sucker, flinging her away from the bed. The woman hit the wall with enough force to dent the plaster and shatter the nearby window. As glass fell to the floor, the child woke, her shriek almost ear-piercing. Hurried footsteps began to echo down the hallway, but it was doubtful the cops would get here fast enough to even see this thing, let alone catch it.

  As the child’s screams continued, the woman’s gaze met Kat’s. In the dark depths of the creature’s eyes, she saw the promise of retribution. A chill chased through her soul and she shivered.

  Then the woman’s form disintegrated, becoming little more than mist that eddied out the open window. Kat cursed and ran across the room. The woman had regained shape near the back fence, and though the vampire was nowhere in sight, the scent of his evil stung the night.

  The bedroom door burst open and police poured in. They called to her to stop, but their voices were almost lost beneath the child’s continuing screams. So Kat ignored them and climbed out the window, simply because she had no other choice. By the time she stopped to explain what had happened, the soul-sucker and the vamp would have disappeared. Besides, she doubted the cops would believe her anyway. The only person who would understand would probably be scrying right now, staring into her crystal ball in an effort to track the creatures and perhaps discover their daytime hideaway.

  Smoke swirled up the wooden fence and disappeared over the top. Kat scrambled after it and sprinted down the alley, her footsteps a lone echo in the night. Ahead, streetlights shimmered and traffic rolled, but it all felt a world away. The creature she chased wanted seclusion and darkness—at least for the moment.

  It turned left into another small alley. She followed, leaping over the rubbish and battered trash cans strewn across her path. She was tempted to shift shape and hit the night sky in her raven form, but she didn’t dare risk it with the stakes she carried. And she wasn’t about to leave them behind—not when the vampire still lurked. Her quarry ran past one of the gates leading into an old factory. Metal creaked, as if stirred by a wind that didn’t exist, and another chill ran down her spine. The vampire was out there, pacing her. Watching her.

  If he was the soul-sucker’s partner, why didn’t he attack?

  The smudge of vapor continued on, moving toward a squat-looking building at the end of the alley. Kat slowed and half wished she’d brought a flashlight. The moon above was almost full, yet its light struggled to touch the shadows lining the small alley. Though her night sight was generally better than a human’s, even she would struggle to see through the pitch blackness inside
that warehouse.

  The soul-sucker wrapped itself around a window and disappeared. Kat stopped and scanned the outside of the building. It was a two-story brick structure, though the color of the bricks had long since been lost to thick layers of dirt and graffiti. Most of the windows on the lower floor had been boarded up, and the upper ones were all smashed. There was a small door to her right. The thick chains that had locked it were shattered.

  An invitation, if ever she saw one. But an invitation to what? Was she walking into a trap, or had she merely found the most recent hiding place of these creatures?

  The pounding of boots against concrete echoed against the night—probably the cops coming after her. She couldn’t let them find her. The vampire could take out a dozen men in the blink of an eye. Even her powers gave her no certainty against him, despite her experience and psychic senses. Especially with that other thing wandering around.

  She flipped the stake in her hand, then walked across to the entrance. Raising her fingers, she sent a sliver of kinetic energy at the door and pushed it open. It didn’t creak. It didn’t make any sound at all, not even from the chains that swung gently back and forth.

  Her unease stirred anew. She stepped to one side and studied the darkness. Though the moon caressed the outer wall with light, no brightness shone through the doorway. It was as if a blanket of night hung over the entrance, sucking in all light.

  She stepped inside. Nothing stirred the blackness except the wild beat of her heart. Yet she wasn’t alone. The vampire and the soul-sucker were both here—along with someone new. Another shapeshifter.

  Taking on two was tempting fate; three was inviting a trip to the nearest morgue. But she couldn’t retreat. Not when the image of little Daniel Baker rose in her mind.