Magic Unchained
Praise for the
Nightkeepers Series
“This series goes right to your heart! Jessica Andersen is a must read for me!”
—#1
New York Times
bestselling author J. R. Ward
Storm Kissed
“A superb thriller… fast-paced and character-driven.… Fans will relish this exhilarating tale.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“Thrilling.… With this tale of prophecy and curses, Andersen really shakes up her series. Love, loss, passion, and drama are all here. You won’t be able to put this one down.”
—
Romantic Times
Blood Spells
“For readers with a hankering for a fascinating and intricate foray into the Mayan world, the Nightkeeper series is just perfect.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
“Andersen has created a compelling cast of characters whose personal travails add richness to these highly entertaining novels. Another excellent job.”
—
Romantic Times
Demonkeepers
“Andersen ramps up the danger… mix[ing] action and elements of Mayan myth—from a voyage to the underworld to a fantastic high-stakes ball game—with soul-searching, lust, and romance. Jade’s inner journey is particularly engaging, and while the background makes more sense to returning fans, even new readers will find plenty to latch onto.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Intense… thrilling… a world that fans of any genre will enjoy.”
—
The Romance Readers Connection
“Fabulous… will have the audience appreciating the skills of master magician Jessica Andersen.”
—
Midwest Book Review
Skykeepers
“An exciting, romantic, and imaginative tale,
Skykeepers
is guaranteed to keep readers entertained and turning the pages.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Will knock your off your feet, keep you on the edge of your seat and totally captivated from beginning to end.”
—Romance Junkies
“A gripping story that pulled this reader right into her Final Prophecy series.”
—Romance Reader at Heart (top pick)
“The Final Prophecy is a well-written series that is as intricate as it is entertaining.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
“The world of Nightkeepers is wonderful, and I love visiting it. It is intricate, magical, and absolutely fascinating.… Step inside the Nightkeeper world and prepare to be swept away!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“If you’re looking for a book to read, one that has an intricate, inventive, and well-researched world with characters that are fully realized, might I suggest
Skykeepers
?”
—Romance Novel TV
Dawnkeepers
“Prophecy, passion, and powerful emotions—
Dawnkeepers
will keep you on the edge of your seat begging for more!”
—Wild on Books
“This strong new series will appeal to fantasy and paranormal fans with its refreshing blend of Mayan and Egyptian mythologies plus a suitably complex story line and plenty of antagonists.”
—Monsters and Critics
“This exhilarating urban romantic fantasy saga is constructed around modernizing Mayan mythology.… The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as the overarching Andersen mythology is wonderfully embellished with this engaging entry.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“Using the Mayan doomsday prophecy, Andersen continues to add complexity to her characters and her increasingly dense mythos. This intense brand of storytelling is a most welcome addition to the genre.”
—
Romantic Times
“Action-packed with skillfully written and astounding fight scenes… will keep you on the edge of your seat begging for more.”
—Romance Junkies
Nightkeepers
“Raw passion, dark romance, and seat-of-your-pants suspense all set in an astounding paranormal world—I swear ancient Mayan gods and demons walk the modern earth!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author J. R. Ward
“Andersen’s got game when it comes to style and voice. I loved the kick-ass series… a fun mix of humor, suspense, mythology, and fantasy… a series that’s sure to be an instant reader favorite, and will put Andersen’s books on keeper shelves around the world.”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann
“I deeply enjoyed the story. It really hooked me!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Angela Knight
“Part romance, mystery, and fairy tale… a captivating book with wide appeal.”
—
Booklist
“[A] nonstop, action-intensive plot.… Ms. Andersen delivers a story that is both solid romance and adventure novel. If you enjoy movies like
Lara Croft
… or just want something truly new, you will definitely want this.”
—Huntress Book Reviews
“Intense action, sensuality, and danger abound.”
—
Romantic Times
“If
Nightkeepers
is any indication of her talent, then [Jessica Andersen] will become one of my favorites.… [The book] brought tears to my eyes and an ache in my heart. I read each word with bated breath.”
—Romance Junkies
“[A] terrific romantic fantasy… an excellent thriller. Jessica Andersen provides a strong story that… fans will cherish.”
—Midwest Book Review
The Novels of the Nightkeepers
Nightkeepers
Dawnkeepers
Skykeepers
Demonkeepers
Blood Spells
Storm Kissed
UNCHAINED
A N
OVEL OF THE
N
IGHTKEEPERS
JESSICA
ANDERSEN
A SIGNET ECLIPSE BOOK
SIGNET ECLIPSE
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, April 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Jessica Andersen, 2012
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-101-57999-2
SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is dedicated to Paula R. Happy birthday to a
dear friend, fan, teacher, poet, and occasional lead foot.
This one’s for you!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a handsome daredevil, especially one with a soft spot for animals. Enter Sven, a former wreck-diving, hard-partying adrenaline junkie who has become the Nightkeepers’ best tracker, thanks to his coyote familiar, Mac. Sven is a loner, though, a wanderer who, sharklike, suffocates if he’s in one place for too long. And Cara Liu, who’s known him all her life and loved him just as long, knows he won’t always be there when she needs him… so she’s learned not to need him. Or anyone, really—she’s a powerful leader in her own right, and does just fine on her own. So when the two of them are thrown together in the final months before the doomsday war, and tasked with turning four dozen former rebels into a magic-wielding army, fur flies.
Please join me now as Sven and Cara snarl and snap, and try not to fall for each other all over again while the doomsday clock counts down, friends turn against friends, and the promise of a powerful ally means cheating death itself.
To explore the Nightkeepers’ online world and sign up for my newsletter, please visit
www.JessicaAndersen.com
. Also, please become a fan on Facebook to get a look at my oh so Freudian typos and other authorial misadventures!
My heartfelt thanks go to Deidre Knight, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, and Kerry Donovan, and others too numerous to name for helping me bring these books to life; to J. R. Ward for being my sounding board; and to my family, friends, and many e-friends for always being there for a laugh or (cyber)hug. And most of all to my husband, Greg, for showing me that soul mates, spontaneous combustion,
and true love do exist, and that they’re so very worth waiting for.
Finally, thank you, dear reader, for picking up Sven and Cara’s story. I hope you love it as much as I do—this one is very special to me.
Jessica (aka Doc Jess)
Bound by blood and magic, the Nightkeepers must defend mankind from the rise of terrible demons as the end date of 12-21-2012 approaches. Although most of the magi must find and bond with their gods-destined mates to reach their full powers, one among them draws his magic from another source and wanders free, unmated and alone, save for his coyote familiar.
Testing the barrier between the earth and underworld, the demons have sent a dark-magic scourge—the
xombi
virus—to infect the Nightkeepers’ human allies and build an army of the damned. After months of battling the
xombis
, the coyote mage returns to the Nightkeepers’ home, little suspecting what he’s going to find when he gets there…