American Demon - Kim Harrison

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank Jennifer Jackson and Anne Sowards, one for giving me a chance to prove my work, and the other for giving me a chance to prove my work . . . again.

PREFACE

INDERLAND SECURITY

Internal Document DOX W 143.1739

Fact Sheet: Rachel Morgan 2000 to present

Document Shepherd: Jeffory Gradenko

INTRODUCTION: Rachel Morgan successfully terminated her I.S. contract in 2006, buying her way out by implicating Trent Kalamack Jr. in the illegal bio-drug trade. Several years of antagonism between them were rubbed out after she helped him regain sole custody of his out-of-wedlock child, Lucy, from his ex-fiancée, Ellasbeth Withon, in 2008. Morgan currently freelances security for Trent on an as-needed basis.

SPECIES: Witch-born demon who survived infancy when Trent “Kal” Kalamack Sr. applied illegal genetic tinkering to bypass the lethality of the Rosewood syndrome, a suite of lethal genes that ancient elves cursed the demons with to stunt the magic capabilities of their children, with the intent to commit slow genocide. It’s unknown if this was Kalamack Sr.’s intention, or if it was accidental, but with the ongoing feud between the demons and elves, it seems accidental.

NOTE: Kalamack Jr. seems to be continuing his father’s work, as there are currently more than a dozen children surviving the Rosewood syndrome. They are collectively called the Rosewood babies and are to remain under close I.S. observation, as they have the potential to bring about a rebirth of the demons.

RESIDENCE: Currently lives aboard a gas yacht (The Solar) docked on the Ohio River at Pizza Piscary’s in the Hollows, KY. Previous residence condemned after a vampire mob consisting of several camarillas destroyed the back of the church because of the mistaken belief that Morgan was responsible for bringing the souls of the undead back from the ever-after. Further damage was sustained in a separate attack from the elven Goddess.

POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS: Morgan has a surprising number of political contacts, both in and out of her favor.

The Federal Inderland Bureau: Morgan has a solid in with the human-run FIB through her association with CAPTAIN EDDEN and his son, MATHEW GLENN. It was Edden who arranged for the payoff on Rachel’s I.S. contract.

Demons: Though currently the only mature female demon, Morgan maintains an uneasy relationship to her “kin.” This is in part because of her past association to the elven GODDESS and her continued dabbling in elven magic, and in part due to her ongoing relationship with elf TRENT KALAMACK. The demon collective overlooks her nonconformity, as she and her gargoyle (BIS) created a new ever-after (and hence a continuation of magic) when the original was destroyed by the elves in yet another attempt to eradicate the demons. Demons range from neutral to antagonistic toward her, apart from her instructor, AL, and possibly the demons’ self-proclaimed leader, DALI.

NOTE: It was the elves’ miscalculation, not Morgan’s, that freed the demons to walk freely in reality, but the I.S. sees no reason to correct this misunderstanding.

Elves: Trent’s ongoing relationship with Rachel has caused a deep rift between Trent and both the elven’s political group, the ENCLAVE, and their religious order, the DEWAR. His refusal to reunite with ELLASBETH WITHON and his relationship with Morgan have resulted in the loss of considerable political power, turning him from a prince-in-waiting to an outcast. The income from his illegal bio-drugs is gone, and Trent spends much of his time and many of his remaining assets staving off blackmail from previous buyers. In the absence of his usual political tasks, Trent has been developing his magical skills. His mother (FELICIA “TRISK” CAMBRI-KALAMACK) was a spell caster of considerable note, and though he’s improving quickly, the I.S. sees no threat apart from his association with Morgan.

The Goddess: Though not being actively hunted for anymore, Rachel remains vulnerable to an attack from the elves’ goddess, a deified energy being. She’s the source of all magic, as her mystics (tiny, independent motes that function as her eyes) power the ley lines as they bring images and elven prayers from reality back to the Goddess, who exists in the space between particles of mass.

Both demons and elves can bypass the ley lines to utilize the Goddess’s power directly through prayer, though it’s only the elves who do this ever since the Goddess’s betrayal of the demons thousands of years ago and the demons’ subsequent enslavement. That Rachel performs elven magic is grounds for severe punishment, but again, demons are ignoring this, as she not only saved them from extinction but forced modern society to grant them citizenship.

Before becoming

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