by S J Williams

The Magpie Man
Caught between a merciless hammer...
Effie and Sebastian should be starting their new life together. Effie has been restored to immortality and Bartholomew is finally dead. But nothing is ever that simple. Turned on the point of death, Effie is now a rogue with the dark promise of madness looming over her head. Worse still, Sebastian faces a death sentence for turning her, something Effie cannot forget no matter how casually Sebastian brushes it off. Hope comes from an unlikely quarter: help the council hunt down a murderer and all charges against Sebastian will be lifted. The problem? This murderer has proved himself capable of committing the perfect crime, leaving no trace except for a handful of magpie feathers and a grisly tally. As the death toll rises, the pressure is on to stop him before the council lose patience and take their pound of flesh from Sebastian instead.
... And a deadly anvil.
The world outside the council's stately halls is hotting up. As humans wake up to the truth of immortals, Effie becomes the prime target for those seeking revenge for their exposure. And Sonya, still alive and scheming, needs Effie's blood if she is going to make her elixir into the multimillion dollar wonder drug she envisions. Effie's biggest worry, though, is Sebastian. With so many threats on her life, the demons in his mind are getting louder, reminding him that he could lose her at any moment. Can Effie convince him that she's here to stay? Or will that be a promise she can't keep?