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Heart of Night
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 Heart of Night is a tale of a psychic, a psychopath, and an alchemist's
daughter. A story of love and light emerging from darkness, it brings
supporting characters from Heart of Deception to center
stage.Adrian Thorne and Claire Darren meet in a strange places, under stranger circumstances. A terrible attack has awakened Adrian's psychic power, but destroyed his memory. Found wandering the streets of London, he is dragged struggling into the cold and muddy courtyard of Bedlam. Shocked by the guards brutality, Claire demands they release him. They fling him down at her feet:
“Sweet Christ,” the man whispered. “What is happening?” There was such despair in his voice that Claire’s heart seemed to twist in her breast. She moved toward him, gesturing the guards away when they protested. The man shuddered, violent tremors racking his whole body. Claire glanced up at the sister cowering by the gate, and said quietly, “Bring a blanket for him.” At the sound of her voice, the man lowered his hands. They were fine and longer-fingered, she saw, before he balled them into fists on his thighs. His gaze met hers and stilled. She could see him fighting for control. His eyes were fascinating, filled with shards of color, blue and green, gray and amber. Emotions as vivid and disparate flashed within them, fear, anger, confusion, hope. Beneath the dirt and blood were fine-honed features—high slanting cheekbones, a straight nose, and supple lips. With his brows and eyes at a tilt, he look not so much an angel but some Faerie changeling grown to manhood—either way a creature who found this ugly realm too terrible to bear. He seemed to hate being touched, yet his misery called out for comfort. Perhaps it was only kindness he needed. Claire knelt on a drier patch of ground in front of him, strangely calm even as she wondered at her own actions—probably as lunatic as those of the poor creature before her. He was tall, she realized, seeing him apart from the hulking guards. She reached out tentatively, her fingers brushing lightly over his. “What is your name?” His hands turned and grasped hers. The long fingers gripped tightly, bone pressing bone, yet she could hardly tell which fingers were hers, which his. A shock rippled through her, and another, as if deep notes sounding at her core rose up, vibrating through her body. The world plunged into shadow. Claire felt engulfed in darkness, aware only of his face before her, his strong hands meshed with her own. A quivering stillness held them. Within the quiet lived both beauty and terror. She trembled, resonating in the echo of a great heartbeat, or the throbbing of a deep wound, before the next stroke of pain. Yet for the moment she was suspended, safe. Wonder filled her. There were only the two of them, sheltered within this strange haven. The grip on her hands eased to gentleness. The man gazed into her eyes as if he sought to read her very soul. As if he could. Had anyone ever looked so deep? His voice was no more than a sigh, a breath. “Claire …”
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Kate Moore, author of A Prince Among
Men Penny Williamson, author of Mortal Sins Judith Stanton, author of Wild Indigo
and His Stolen Bride It's in bookstores now and online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders. Heart of Night Avon, New York, NY Published December 2001 ISBN: 0-06-101290-4 384 pages
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