I love doing the Nocturne Bites, which are 10k word stories, usually set in the same world as my Nocturnes (in this case it's the Of Angels and Demons series). These quick little stories are a chance to explore a secondary character featured in a longer book, that I didn't really want to write a full story for. In ANGEL SLAYER the heroine meets a halo hunter, Michael Donovan. The guy is mysterious cool, and he hunts for halos for a living. Angel halos. Yep, the real deal that fell away from the angel when it decided to Fall to earth.
Funny thing about those divine halos, no one would recognize one as something that belongs to a heavenly being. Actually, they look like a rinky-dink Hasbro toy, made of dull metal and flexible, and often they can be found in ragged old boxes of junk at garage sales. People don't know what they are. They are rumored to give hope to the mortal who holds one. But the real power is only realized when its original owner (the angel) holds it. That angel can then wield the halo as a weapon (these fallen angels are the bad guys, remember) or if placed above their head, they can claim their earthbound soul and become human. Not a lot of Fallen go for the claiming the mortal soul thing. Why would they when they possess untold power in angelic form? Though, a few desire their souls so they can live with the mortal women they love.
Michael Donovan collects the halos. Yet now, he's an urgent reason to find as many as he can. You see, vampires are using halos to lure the Fallen with hopes they'll mate with the Muses. It's sneaky and downright nasty, on the vampires' part. So Michael is going to do everything he can to keep the halos out of vampire hands.
Who's the heroine of the story? Erm, she's a vampire. :-)
You can read the prologue and first chapter at my website! I hope you enjoy the story!
Michele
