Chasing Magic
Authors: Stacia Kane
Raves for Stacia Kane
and the Downside Ghosts series
UNHOLY GHOSTS
“Stacia Kane’s
Unholy Ghosts
is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in months. Vivid characters and superior world-building combine with a wonderful sense of pace to create a gripping book. I was enthralled.”
–C
HARLAINE
H
ARRIS
,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Expect the unexpected. Kane delivers dark, sexy urban fantasy at its finest. I couldn’t put it down!”
–K
AREN
M
ARIE
M
ONING
,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Fans of urban fantasy will find themselves sleep-deprived after they start this new series. It’s that hard to put down. Characters with larger-than-life personalities rule against a dark and dangerous backdrop. This is an exciting world you’ll want to escape into again and again.”
—TOP PICK! 4½ Stars,
RT Book Reviews
“
Unholy Ghosts
is the first book in Stacia Kane’s new series and is absolutely a full-on winner.… The characters are kick-ass and the plot will have you on the edge of your seat. I absolutely recommend it!”
—Reviewer Top Pick!, Night Owl Reviews
“From its harrowing opening scene until its highly satisfying slam-bang ending,
Unholy Ghosts
grips the reader by the scruff of the neck and never relinquishes its hold.”
—5 Tombstones, Bitten by Books
“Stacia Kane has upped the stakes for all those writing in the urban fantasy genre
—Unholy Ghosts
is gripping and brilliant.”
“An ambitious novel … that shuns the formulaic pitfalls and conventionality of other bestselling paranormal fantasy sagas. This is Stacia Kane at the top of her game—it is a writer evolved, a storyteller matured, an imagination fully unleashed upon the world.… Dark, stylish, and wildly original.”
—B&N Explorations blog
UNHOLY MAGIC
“This follow-up to
Unholy Ghosts
is full of supernatural suspense told in a fast-paced story. With a gutsy heroine, creepy paranormal elements and some page-turning action, it’s a satisfying addition to the flooded urban fantasy genre. It all adds up to a very entertaining read.”
—4 Stars,
RT Book Reviews
“Like any drug, the first taste gets your attention but it’s the second taste that gets you hooked. I thought the first Downside Ghosts book,
Unholy Ghosts
, was an impressive debut, but
Unholy Magic
is even better. I am well and truly addicted to this dark, seductive urban fantasy series.”
—All Things Urban Fantasy
“In trying to come up with an adjective to describe the overall tone and feel of this story, I came up short. Gritty seems weak in reference to this book and just does not cover it.… Stacia Kane has written an amazing, spine-tingling novel in
Unholy Magic
, taking me by surprise by surpassing even the brilliance of its predecessor,
Unholy Ghosts
.”
—5 out of 5,
The Fiction Vixen
“The bottom line is this—never before in paranormal fantasy have I read a series that features the combination of grand scale world building, labyrinthine storyline, superb character development, and social relevance. Stacia Kane’s Downside saga is taking paranormal fantasy to another level right before our eyes … I challenge anyone who has never read a paranormal fantasy before to read this series—I’ll guarantee you that you never look at paranormal fantasy the same way again.”
—B&N Explorations blog
CITY OF GHOSTS
“Book Three in the Downside Ghosts series lives up to expectations. Kane’s dark and dangerous world is a unique setting for her anti-heroes. The heroine’s realistic flaws make her more interesting and set her apart from others in the genre. Fans of urban fantasy will love the tight plot, swift pace and twists and turns.”
—4½ Stars,
RT Book Reviews
“
Unholy Ghosts
and
Unholy Magic
stayed with me long after I read them and it was no different with
City of Ghosts
.… It’s full of witchy magic, action and romance. I literally couldn’t put this book down until I had read the very last word.”
—10/10 review, Book Chick City
“There are two words that describe this book perfectly: ‘Nonstop action!’ Other suitable options include: ‘super book!’, ‘whoa Nelly!’ or ‘holy cow this book is going to be the death of me because I can’t go to sleep yet because I haven’t finished it and I must, must, MUST know what is going to happen next because holy cow this book is one hell of a ride!!!’ Yes, I am aware that that is a few more than a couple of words, but they really do describe how I was feeling while I was reading. Stacia Kane hardly gives you a minute to catch your breath before the next wave of jaw-dropping action or gut-wrenching suspense or heartbreaking confrontation hits! Simply put, this book is fantastic from beginning to end.”
—5 Stars, Yummy Men and Kick-Ass Chicks
Chasing Magic
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Del Rey eBook Edition
Copyright © 2012 by Stacey Fackler
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Del Rey, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
DEL REY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-345-52753-0
Cover design: Derek Walls
Cover image: © Ipatov/Shutterstock (woman); © Andrew C Mace/
Getty (landscape)
v3.1
Contents
All of the documents were in place: the Affidavit of Spectral Fraud, the Statement of Truth, two Orders of Imprisonment and two Orders of Relinquishment, and, of course, the list of Church-approved attorneys. The Darnells would want that—well, they’d need it, because they were about to be arrested for faking a haunting.
At least, they would be when the Black Squad got there to back Chess up. She didn’t always want the Squad to come along; police presence tipped people off, made things more difficult, and most people came pretty quietly once they realized they were busted, anyway. The Darnells didn’t seem like the come-quietly type, though. Something told Chess they weren’t going to take this well.
But she’d told them she’d be there at six, and it was five past already and their curtains kept twitching. They knew she was there.
Right. She’d taken a couple of Cepts before leaving her apartment in Downside, so they were starting to hit—smooth, thick narcotic warmth spreading from her stomach out through the rest of her body, a pleasant softness settling over her mind.
That was the best thing about the drugs, really; she could still think, still be coherent, still use her brain. She just didn’t have to if she didn’t want to, and it was so much easier to keep that brain from wandering into all those places she didn’t want it to go.
And she had so fucking many of those places.
She grabbed the Darnell file from her bag, locked her car, and started walking along the cobblestoned path to the front door, weaving around the flowers and plants scattered like islands across the impossibly green sea of grass. Bees made their way from bloom to bloom, doing whatever the hell it was bees did. Sure, she knew it was something to do with pollen or whatever. She just didn’t give a shit.
By the time she reached the porch sweat beaded along her forehead and her body felt damp. Summer sucked. Only the middle of June and already it was scorching.
Brandon Darnell opened the door before she’d finished raising her hand to knock. “Miss Putnam. You’re late.”
Asshole. She faked a smile. “Sorry. Traffic.”
At least they had air-conditioning.
The entire Darnell family sat in the pretentious high-ceilinged living room, slouching on the ridiculously overpriced suede couch and chairs that were partly responsible for the enormous debt they were in. Debt they’d planned to clear by faking a haunting and getting a nice fat settlement from the Church of the Real Truth.
Too bad for them, the Church wasn’t stupid—being in charge of everyone and everything on earth for twenty-four years proved that—and had contingency plans for such things. Chess was one of them.
Brandon Darnell indicated an empty chair along the back wall. “Have a seat.”
Alarms started ringing in Chess’s head. He seemed a little too calm, a little too … cheerful.
