WAR IS HELL. AND WAR WITH HELL IS NO FUN EITHER. Just when her new life as a TouchStone—a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds—seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away . . . let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed. The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faery is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding elven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Dive into A Brush of Darkness, the first book in the Abby Sinclair trilogy. The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares. Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

Don’t miss this urban fantasy short story featuring Abby Sinclair in the spellbinding Carniepunk anthology collection, from bestselling author Allison Pang! Having just quit Julliard, disillusioned fiddler Melanie St. James finds herself as part of a group of traveling musicians en route to an OtherFolk carnival. Eager to break the chains of a lifetime of conformity, Melanie throws caution to the wind and enters a reckless bargain, plying her musical skills for the chance to win a violin that can open Doors to the CrossRoads. But the competition turns out to be far more than she expected. When the carnival barker makes her an offer she can’t refuse, Melanie is forced to play for the Devil or risk trading her soul for the one thing she holds dearer than life itself.

From the author of A Brush of Darkness and A Sliver of Shadow comes the third book in a smart, sexy, urban fantasy series. Drinking from the waters of lethe and offering herself up as Faerie’s sacrificial Tithe . . . these just might be the least of Abby Sinclair’s problems. Abby’s pact with a daemon—whether or not she remembers making it—is binding, so she’d better count herself lucky that (in the words of a daemon who knows better) there’s nearly always a loophole. But her friends’ reckless attempts to free her, well intentioned though they may be, set off a disastrous chain of events. In no time at all, Abby turns her incubus lover mortal, then gets herself killed, cursed, and married to an elven prince whose mother wants her dead. On top of everything else, she’s lost the Key to the CrossRoads to her mortal enemy, who promptly uses his restored power to wreak havoc on the OtherWorld and put its very existence in jeopardy. Only one person can make things right again, but to find her, Abby must place her trust in allies of mixed loyalties, and conquer her nightmares once and for all.

A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals. Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . . RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”

In the slums of BrightStone, Moon Children are worth less than the scrap they must collect to survive. It doesn't matter that these abandoned half-breeds are part-Meridian with their ancestors hailing from the technologically advanced city that floats above the once-thriving, now plague-ridden BrightStone. Instead they are rejected by both their ancestral societies and forced to live on the outskirts of civilization, joining clans simply to stay alive. Not to mention their role as Tithe, leading the city's infected citizens deep into the Pits where their disease can be controlled. Nineteen-year-old Raggy Maggy is no different, despite the mysterious heart-shaped panel that covers her chest. Or at least she wasn't... Not until her chance discovery of a Meridian-built clockwork dragon--and its murdered owner. When the Inquestors policing the city find Maggy at the scene of the crime, she quickly turns into their prime suspect. Now she's all anyone can talk about. Even her clan leader turns his back on her, leading her to rely on an exiled doctor and a clanless Moon Child named Ghost to keep her hidden. In return, all she has to do is help them find a cure for the plague they believe was not exactly accidental. Yet doing so might mean risking more than just her life. It also might be the only key to uncovering the truth about the parents--and the past--she knows nothing about.

WHEN THE MOTHER CLOCK SINGS THE DRAGON TAKES WING... The worst of her nightmares has finally come to pass: Raggy Maggy is thrown into the depths of the Pits, an underground labyrinth of caves filled with Rotters, lost Meridians, and forgotten Moon Children. Her allies promised they would come for her, but once the darkness closes in, it's hard to believe she will ever see a brighter future. Injured and desperate, Maggy follows the plan to uncover the true origins of the Rot, a plague that keeps the city of BrightStone under Meridion's thumb. But when she's welcomed into a village of Meridian scientists, charged with finding a cure, she wonders if once again, the truth is not what it seems. There are sinister things happening both above and below, and they may lead Maggy to unlock the secrets of her iron heart--and quite possibly, the very secret of Meridion itself.

WHEN IRONHEART ROARS MERIDION FALLS After enduring the hellish nightmare of the Pits, Raggy Maggy is finally moving up in the world: up to the floating city of Meridion. Determined to claim her heritage and fight for the rights of all Moon Children to be recognized as citizens, Maggy is disheartened to be treated as more of a spectacle than a person. As her friends and allies Lucian and Ghost restore their own position in Meridion as heirs of Madeline d'Arc, the great inventor (and notorious traitor), Ghost is coerced into a marriage negotiation that would rip him from Maggy. But now that Maggy has found her way, she's not going to let anyone take those she loves from her: not rotting undead below ground nor affluent bureaucrats in the sky. If she has to face down a dragon, Maggy will protect her own. Even if it brings an entire city to the ground.

Sometimes a silent song is the most poignant...Continuing their journey to lift Gideon's curse, Willow and her fox companion have been tasked with escorting Princess Nuala to be wed to a prince from another kingdom. But despite Nuala's hopes of making a joyful union, not all is what it seems between the prince and his betrothed. When his mistress, a barefoot woman without a tongue appears, the bonds of friendship between the two ladies grows, even as a storm brews on the horizon.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions . . . and sometimes unicorn puke.In the span of a few months, mortal TouchStone Abby Sinclair has been trapped in a painting, had her memories stolen, and been Tithed to Hell, killed, and brought back to life by the OtherFolk. Now she's pregnant and torn between her incubus lover, Brystion, and her elven king of a husband, Talivar. Otherworldly love triangles notwithstanding, she's more than content to set the political drama of magic and mayhem aside and quietly settle into motherhood. But nothing is ever that easy . . .Years ago, Abby's best friend, Melanie St. James, virtuoso violinist and DoorMaker to the CrossRoads, lost her soul to the Devil in return for an enchanted violin. Now the magic of her violin is fading, and the Devil is calling in her debt to serve Him as His TouchStone. In an effort to escape the terms of this reckless bargain, she flees to the CrossRoads with her lover, Nobu.But reneging on a deal with the Devil isn't the wisest of moves, especially when He knows Abby is the only one who can bring Him what He wants. And when tragedy strikes, it's up to Abby and her friends to find a way to stop the violin from consuming Melanie's soul before it's too late, even if the journey takes them straight into Hell itself.