Still bent on obtaining the Holy Grail generations after his time in the Holy Land, Montrovant receives word that the Knights Templar are about to fall. Whether spurred to action by an old loyalty to the Order that he founded or the rumor that biblical treasures lie hidden in the recesses of the Templars' castle, the vampire known as the Dark One sets off to the rescue. Enroute, Montrovant must deal with the trickery and unfathomable machinations of Santos, the dark guardian of lost treasures who advises the Knights from the bowels of their castle; Kli Kodesh, an ancient Nosferatu whose desire for entertainment often overlooks the lives lost to win his pleasure; and even Eugenio, Montrovant's own sire. Montrovant and his companions—including a woman he nearly Embraced centuries ago—race against time and the arrival of a Church-sponsored army sworn to destroy the now corrupt Templars to wrest the Grail free of those who would keep it hidden. This second volume of The Grails Covenant trilogy follows To Sift Through Bitter Ashes and interweaves characters and action with the modern vampire saga, the Trilogy of the Blood Curse.

From USA Today Bestselling author and multiple Bram Stoker Award winner David Niall Wilson, a historical fantasy of epic proportion.There are monsters roaming the desert and menacing the roads. There are sorcerers, harlots, and gamblers rampant in the city. In a compound in a forest, at the base of a mountain, one man and his family have received a prophecy. There will be a reckoning. There will be a flood. They will survive, but only if they obey the prophecy. Only if they build an ark, where there is no water. Only if they gather all of the creatures of the world. Only if they are faithful. Everyone else? Well, they're going to die.This is a book of prophecy and revelation, heroism and love. It is a very old story with a new twist. It is a very human story, drawing together the creatures of the heavens and the earth. This is not your mother's Noah, and it is not the Bible's Ark... and yet it is. Welcome to an alternate history where your only hope...

Obsessed with acquiring the Holy Grail for the Lasombra clan, the vampire Montrovant sets out on a quest that leads him through the establishment of the Knights Templar, the lair of an ancient Egyptian evil, and the deserts of the Holy Land. Dark forces are pitted against him, and each ally must be watched in turn, as treachery leads to deceit and back agan in a race against time, the Church, and the mysterious Kli Kodesh, who is more ancient, even than Montrovant's sire. Only persistence, luck, and the power of his own will can see him through to his goal, and any mistake could mean his destruction. This novel is the first book of The Grails Covenant, a trilogy set in the world of Vampire: The Dark Ages.

At last, after centuries of plotting and scheming, the Holy Grail lies within the reach of the vampire Montrovant—or does it? Montrovant has survived the catastrophic fall of the Knights Templars, defeated his supernatural enemy, the guardian Santos, and pursued the remnants of the Order of the Bitter Ashes to their mountain lair in the French Alps, where they have secured their amazing and powerful treasures. Power undreamed-of waits there for Montrovant, for him to stretch out his hand and take it at last. But perhaps the matter is not so simple after all. For there are others who haunt the shadows behind Montrovant—an undead vampire hunter unleashed by the Church, another vampire who survived his destruction at Montrovant's hands and is now bent on revenge, and the ancient and ever-enigmatic Kli Kodesh. What is to be the fate of the Grail? To Dream of Dreamers Lost is the third and final volume of The Grails Covenant trilogy. Be sure to catch the continuation of many of these characters and plot threads in the modern vampire series, The Trilogy of the Blood Curse, by Gherbod Fleming.

On the banks of Lake Drummond, on the edge of The Great Dismal Swamp, there is a tree in the shape of a woman. One dark, moonlit night, two artists met at The Lake Drummond Hotel, built directly on the borderline of North Carolina and Virginia. One was a young woman with the ability to see spirits trapped in trees and stone, anchored to the earth beyond their years. Her gift was to draw them, and then to set them free. The other was a dark man, haunted by dreams and visions that brought him stories of sadness and pain, and trapped in a life between the powers he sensed all around him, and a mundane existence attended by failure. They were Eleanore MacReady, Lenore, to her friends, and a young poet named Edgar Allan Poe, who traveled with a crow that was his secret, and almost constant companion, a bird named Grimm for the talented brothers of fairy-tale fame. Their meeting drew them together in vision, and legend, and pitted their strange powers and quick minds against the...

Sometimes the world is a very dark place. You know the magic is still out there, but it feels distant, or displaced. Voices in the Darkness is an attempt to create a link, to bring some of those voices together in a single work of art. Six award-winning authors lent their talent to this work. The stories are unique, and dark, filled with wonder and emotion.Included are:Nadia Bulkin's "Vide Cor Meum (See My Heart)" is a unique twist on true crime as fiction.Kathe Koja's "Pursuivant Island" will resonate differently with every reader, has meaning on different levels, and touches on an actual artistic event.Elizabeth Massie's "Baggie" explores the horror of losing control of one's life, self, everything to another.Cassandra Khaw takes you on a journey through the pain of bad relationships, while reminding her readers of their own self worth.Nick Mamatas takes on the historical character behind the old, old song "Mack...

This collection of stories spans two decades of work by Bram Stoker Award winning author David Niall Wilson.  From the streets of Jerusalem to the historical life of Vlad Tepes, follow this prolific author through eleven tales of vampirism, lycanthropy, and darkness.  There's a bit of dark humor, a touch of the erotic, and a little something for everyone who loves creatures of the night. Also...these vampires are guaranteed not to sparkle... Contents: A Candle in the SunFlash FictionBloodstained GlassMiracles in the NightSmiling Eyes and Haunted FaceTo Dream of Scheherazade The Subtle Ties That BindA Taste of Blood and RosesThe Death-Sweet Scent of LiliesAgainst His Bitter JudgmentThe Sound of Drums  

Donovan DeChance is a collector of ancient manuscripts and books, a practicing mage, and a private investigator. When, despite the finest in natural and supernatural security, a sexy and well-loved, three hundred year old lady vampire is kidnapped right out from under her lover's nose, Donovan is called in to investigate.

When The Deacon set up camp outside Rookwood, a murder of crows took to unnatural, moonlit flight. Things were already strange in that God-forsaken town, but no one could have predicted the forces and fates about to meet in a dust-bowl clearing in the desert. A bargain with the darkness was signed in blood, such deals are only made and broken...on Hallowed Ground...

Christian Greve is a photographer. He snaps family shots and shakes teddy bears at children to illicit smiles, but inside he's a seething ball of suppressed rage. He knows he's a genius, but all through his career, his models have sabotaged him. They move at the last minute. They shift or smirk when he's spent hours posing them just right. He's also a collector of porcelain masks - hand-painted masks he's created himself. When madness blends these two segments of his life, the city of San Valencez feels the sting. It's up to Detective Tommy Doyle, the "Psychos 'r' Us" Cop to track him down and put him away before any more women are killed. This is the first novel-length Tommy Doyle mystery after his introduction in the novelette "Burning Bridges."

Donovan DeChance watches over the balance of energy and power in the underworld of San Valencez, California. When Anya Cabrera, a local Voodoo priestess, begins tampering with the rituals binding the ancient LOA to her followers, Donovan, and his lover, Amethyst, are called in. Can they find a way to stop Anya, or will the young artist who fights at their side release a greater evil?

There is an ancient evil lurking in the mountains of California. One peak over from Friendly, California, there is another, darker place. In that place there are two churches. Displaced from a time and place far distance, an ancient carving watches from an alcove above the door of a broken down, nearly forgotten church. WHen the evil it embodies reaches out and snags the soul of Silas Greene, roots creep down into the mountain and out into everything they touch. There is another church on the mountain. It is made of stone, carved into the stone of the mountain, and also all but forgotten.A message goes out to Abraham Carlson. "He's Back. Come home, boy." When young Abraham returns to the mountain, and to that stone church, a battle is rejoined that should have ended decades in the past. When the cleansing began - and was never completed. The only question is, does Abraham have the strength...or will he, and everyone he loves, fall into the depths of those evil, ancient eyes...This novel was first published as a limited, signed edition of only 300 copies

Gideon Swayne is a man of God. He's spent his life in a peaceful town in southern Illinois tendng a very quiet, happy congregation. With the war in the South ending, and the slaves freed, Gideon is called to a new mission. He goes south - the cotton fields of North Carolina - to take the word of God to the newly free. What he didn't count on was the hatred of the citizens of Old Mill, North Carolina...the love of a swamp witch named Desdemona ... the friendship of a young boy...and a life that would challenge his faith and his sanity, show him darkness and magic such as he'd never witnessed, and lead him down the darkest paths through men's hearts.

When Klaus Von Kroft brings his band to the mountain village of Rathburg to perform a concert, a generations old tapestry of blood and darkness draws about him like a shroud.  Delving into the disappearance of his parents, Klaus finds himself entranced by Rosa, a sunset-haired woman of mystery and darkness, her companions, and the eerily perfect music they play.  But Rosa is far more than mysterious.  She has stolen the blood and souls of men on the mountain above Rathburg for centuries.  As Klaus is drawn into her web of vengeance and blood, his friends are dragged along behind.  Can he unravel the mystery of the mountain and overcome the call of blood…or will they all fall to Rosa's game of hunger and revenge?  The answer lies on the mountain, but there is little time…with Darkness Falling…