Witch’s corpse. Witch’s ticket. Witch’s party. As a counter-boy at a high-end men’s boutique, Charlie Jessup’s life consists of little more than work and sleep. That, and enough flirting to help guarantee his commission on sales will pay his rent. So when a twist of fate, and some behavior unbecoming that of a Ganymede employee, leaves him in possession of a dead man’s pass to a mysterious Club 669, Charlie has no desire to waste it. Every seventeen years, the House of Witches throws a party like no other. It’s invitation-only, and for centuries it has helped ensure peace between the covens. It’s the last place Caspian wants to be, but with the death of Queen Avel, and his own imminent rise to the throne, it’s more important than ever that he attends. The stability of the House depends on it. In four days a new king will be crowned, but when Charlie unintentionally crashes a gathering of the most secretive of all the Great Houses, he sets in motion a series of events that could disrupt the transition of power, and threaten the future of the House of Witches forever.

Club 669

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and to realize it wasn’t the lights in the room that had returned, but that the figure itself glowed.


When the hood was lowered, I saw that it was a woman with long, flowing hair and a flawless, kindly face. Still, when she stepped closer, if I could have, I would have moved back.


“You must be patient.” Her voice was calming, melodic, and my pulse that had begun to race, slowed again. “He struggles to do what is right.”


“Who?” I wasn’t sure if I was asking who she was, or who she was talking about. I would have been happy for either answer.


“So you must be patient.” She lowered herself down so that her eyes were level with mine and smiled, studying me. “He’s chosen well.”


The light, the bright light that seemed to radiate from this woman, this ghost, grew brighter and brighter until I was forced to squeeze my eyes closed as tight as I could and turn my head away.


Chapter 28