Dark Needs at Night's Edge (2008) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters edit see section history

• Conrad Wroth: Next to the youngest of the Wroth brothers, turned against his will by Nikolai. He's suffering from bloodlust.
• Néomi Laress: Former ballerina who was murdered over 80 years ago at Elancourt. She's now a ghost residing at house. Conrad is the only one who can see her. She has black hair and blue eyes.
• Nikolai Wroth: Oldest of the Wroth brothers, a vampire who turned Sebastian and Conrad, and a General in the Forbearer Army. Married to Myst.
• Sebastian Wroth: Conrad's brother, vampire. The youngest of the Wroth Brothers who did not want to be a vampire. Mated to Kaderin.
• Murdoch Wroth: Conrad's brother, vampire
• Mariketa the Awaited: "Mariketa MacRieve" - powerful witch, Bowen's mate
• Bowen MacRieve: Lykae warrior, cousin and best friend of Lachlain. Mated to Mariketa.
• Cadeon Woede: "Cade" Rage demon and Rydstrom's brother
• Rydstrom Woede: Rage Demon king who lost his crown. Cadeon's brother.
• Kristoff the Gravewalker: King of Forebearers
• Regin the Radiant: Valkyrie with glowing skin.
• Tarut: Dream Demon. Hunting Conrad.
• Myst The Coveted: Nikolai's mate, a Valkyrie
• Nïx the Ever-Knowing: Valkyrie
• Holly Ashwin: Human "math geek" and Cade's secret crush
• Rök: Smoke demon and one of Cade's mercenaries.
• Grimslade: "Grim" Warrior demon and one of Cade's mercenaries.

Quotes edit see section history

• “Well, if it isn"t Nucking Futs Nïx and the hex hack.” “Well, if isn"t the hookers,” Nïx replied blandly. “Oh, I"m sorry, nymphets, this isn"t the orgy—that"s down the road.” “Nïxie, every party is an orgy waiting to happen.”

  Tree Nymphs and Nix

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• “People think happiness will simply fall into their laps. You have to aspire to it. And sometimes you have to seize it when it’s kicking and screaming.”

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• You have so much to look forward to, if you’d just stop looking back.”

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• When one is insane, it’s best to simplify things.

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• “Alas, big guy—I am taken.” “No, you’re not,” Regin said. “Am too,” Nïx said. “Mike Rowe, the star of Dirty Jobs, is soon to realize I’m his beloved.” She sighed dreamily. “He even got his lawyers to contact me on the pretext of a”—she made air quotes—“‘restraining order.’”

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• If their behavior proved unacceptable to you, you didn’t reward them with more attention.

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• “So far on our team, we have the Lykae, the Forbearers, the Furiae, the Wraiths, the noble fey, myriad demonarchies, the House of Witches, possibly the CIA, and probably a Colombian drug lord. The nymphs are straddling the fence.”

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• She slapped her gloved hands and rubbed them together. “Let’s put the fun back in funeral!”

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• She nibbled her bottom lip. “Would you follow me anywhere?” “Into the sun.”

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• “And coffee on top of margaritas is courting the wrath of Cuervo.”

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• “When we talk, I like how our words ebb and flow. There doesn’t seem to be a need to remark on each comment, no need to clarify—it’s as if we both understand that we understand each other. It’s like dancing.” “Or sex?”

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Elancourt: Néomi's estate
• Mount Oblak Castle: Forebearers Castle
• New Orleans, Louisiana: Story setting
• Blachmount Castle: Nikolai's home

Organizations edit see section history

• Kapsliga Uur: Order Conrad joined before being turned. It's mission is to slay vampires.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• The Lore: "… and those sentient creatures that are not human shall be united in one stratum, coexisting with, yet secret from, man’s."
• The Valkyrie: "When a maiden warrior screams for courage as she dies in battle, Wóden and Freya heed her call. The two gods give up lightning to strike her, rescuing her to their hall, and preserving her courage forever in the form of the maiden’s immortal Valkyrie daughter." * Take sustenance from the electrical energy of the earth, sharing it in one collective power, and give it back with their emotions in the form of lightning. * Possess preternatural strength and speed. * Without training, they can be mesmerized by shining objects and jewels.
• The Lykae Clan: "A proud, strapping warrior of the Keltoi People (or Hidden People, later known as Celts) was taken in his prime by a maddened wolf. The warrior rose from the dead, now an immortal, with the spirit of the beast latent within him. He displayed the wolf’s traits: the need for touch, an intense loyalty to its kind, an animal craving for the delights of the flesh. Sometimes the beast rises …" * Also called werewolves, war-wolds. * Enemies of the Horde.
• The Vampires: * Two warring factions, the Vampire Horde and the Forbearer Army. * Each vampire seeks his Bride, his eternal wife, and walks as the living dead until he finds her. * A Bride will render his body fully alive, giving him breath and making his heart beat, a process known as blooding. * Tracing is teleporting, the vampire’s means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations he’s previously been. * The Fallen are vampires who have killed by drinking a victim to death. Distinguished by their red eyes.
• The Horde: In the first chaos of the Lore, a brotherhood of vampires dominated, by relying on their cold nature, worship of logic, and absence of mercy. They sprang from the harsh steppes of Dacia and migrated to Russia, though some say a secret enclave, the Daci, live in Dacia still." * Their ranks are comprised of the Fallen. * Enemies of most factions in the Lore.
• The Forbearers: " … his crown stolen, Kristoff, the rightful Horde king, stalked the battlefields of antiquity seeking the strongest, most valiant human warriors as they died, earning him the name of Gravewalker. He offered eternal life in exchange for eternal fealty to him and his growing army." * An army of vampires consisting of turned humans, who do not drink blood directly from the flesh. * Kristoff was raised as a human and then lived among them. He and his army know little of the Lore. * Enemies of the Horde.
• The Demonarchies: "The demons are as varied as the bands of man …" * A collection of demon dynasties. * Most demon breeds can trace like vampires. Some breeds are bound to obey summons. * Those that can emit poison from their fangs, horns, or claws are more vulnerable to others’ poison. * Many demon breeds must have intercourse with a potential mate to ascertain if she’s truly his—a process known as attempting.
• The House of Witches: "… immortal possessors of magickal talents, practitioners of good and evil." * Mystical mercenaries who sell their spells. * Strictly forbidden to create personal wealth or grant immortality. * Separated into five castes: warrior, healer, enchantress, conjurer, and seeress. * The only witch known to possess the powers of all five castes is Mariketa the Awaited.
• The Sept of Sorceri: "The Sept forever seek and covet others’ powers, challenging and dueling to seize more—or more darkly, stealing another’s sorcery…" * A breed-line broken from the enchantment caste of the House of Witches. * Born with one innate power, their root power. If they lose it, they become slaves to their own kind called Inferi. They can trade and steal secondary powers. * One of the physically weaker species in the Lore, they used elaborate armors to protect their bodies. Eventually they held metals—and especially gold—sacred.
• The Furiae: "If you do evil, beg for punishment—before they come… " * Ruthless she-warriors bent on delivering justice to evil men when they escape it elsewhere. * Led by Alecta the Unyielding One.
• The Berserkers: "A berserker's lonely life is filled with naught but battle rage and bloodlust… " * A cadre of human warriors, known for their merciless brutality, who swear allegiance to Wóden. * Stronger and faster than mere mortals, they carry within them the spirit of the bear and can channel its ferocity into a berserkrage, temporarily becoming as powerful as an immortal. * When a berserker wins his two hundredth battle in Wóden's name, the god will grant him ohalla—immortality with untold strength.
• The Sirenae: "Near the sea’s edge, beware the siren’s song…" * A female species of immortals, they can permanently mesmerize and enslave males who hear their singing. * Derive power from the sea and can’t be away from it for more than one cycle of the moon.
• The Talisman's Hie: "A treacherous and grueling scavenger’s hunt for magickal talismans, amulets, and other mystical riches over the entire world." * Held every two hundred fifty years. * Hosted by Riora, the goddess of impossibility. * Won the last five times by the Valkyrie Kaderin the Cold Hearted.
• The Accession: "And a time shall pass that all immortal beings in the Lore, from the strongest Valkyrie, vampire, and Lykae factions, to the phantoms, shifters, fairies, sirens … must fight and destroy each other." * A kind of mystical checks-and-balances system for an ever-growing population of immortals. * Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now …

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, and followed by Dark Desires After Dusk.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Kresley Cole (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 2770 vol. 23
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually explicit content

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Authors, A-Z › ( C ) › Cole, Kresley
• Books › Romance › Gothic
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction
• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Romance › Contemporary
• Books › Romance › Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Author's Website

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