Following A Brush of Darkness, the second novel in a dark, fun, and sexy urban fantasy series-featuring a mortal heroine deeply enmeshed in a magical OtherWorld that she's just learning to navigate. 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.

"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.

"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 naive 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."