Bonus Content
PRAY FOR DAWN
One
The bastard was fast.
The hard soles of his shoes echoed off the cobblestones that lined the alleyway, leaving the sound to bounce off the tall brick walls that rose up around us. He wasn’t even trying to be quiet any longer. He was hoping to outrun me, but he didn’t realize that just because he was faster didn’t mean I wouldn’t finally catch up to my prey. I could
sense him now, smell him out like a hound to a hare. Even if he went to ground, I would find him.
Popping suddenly out of the alley, we darted across a barren street, cutting between parked cars before shooting through another trash-strewn alley that fed into a network of back ways and dark streets. I took a corner too fast and my feet slid, sending my shoulder crashing into a building on my right. The steel of the blade in my right hand scraped against the brick as I pushed off. My prey was gaining distance on me, darting down one dark alley after another until I had
finally lost sight of him. But then I was there again, just over his shoulder, ready to plunge my knife into his chest.
A breath exploded from my lungs in a white puff as I leaped over an overturned trashcan, and a bead of sweat trickled cold down from my temple along the side of my face. The cold bit at my fingertips and my legs despite the fact that my blood was pumping from the chase. Sliding my left hand down to my waist, I grabbed one of the small blades that I kept in a holder there and pinched it between my thumb and index finger.
I had caught sight of the vampire as he strolled out of a dark alley on the other side of town. The scent of blood and death hung heavy in the air as I slipped after him to find a young girl lying limp among the bloated bags of trash, her breathing labored and her skin an unhealthy shade of white. She had lost too much blood and the vampire had left her for dead among the rotting garbage. He hadn’t even tried to hide her. I had spared a quick call on my cell to the local authorities, but I didn’t have much hope that the ambulance would
reach her in time. From there, the chase was on.
Taking only a moment to aim, I hurled the small blade at the vampire, embedding it right between his shoulder blades, deep into his back. He cried out. His right arm reached back for the blade, his fast gait slowing as he struggled to maintain his balance. Clenching my teeth, I fought back a smile as I moved in for the kill.
Nearly two millennia had passed at the blink of an eye, most of the time spent hunting down vampires, wiping their evil from the face of the earth. Each time, each kill, seemed to come just a little bit easier. They were getting younger, less experienced, careless, and I was just hitting my prime. Only one had eluded me so far, but I’d get Mira eventually. I had eternity on my side.
From the book PRAY FOR DAWN: The Fourth Dark Days Novel by Jocelynn Drake. Copyright © 2010 by Jocelynn Drake. Reprinted by permission of Eos Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Pray for Dawn
SFBC members know a hit when they see it, and they saw it in Dark Days, our omnibus edition of Jocelynn Drake’s chart-topping urban fantasies, Nightwalker and Dayhunter. The uneasy alliance between Danaus, the slayer with blood-curdling powers, and Mira, the pyrokinetic vampire he has sworn to kill, sparked fresh excitement within the genre.
In book four, Pray for Dawn, the tormented vampire hunter is again thrown together with his beautiful but cold-blooded prey on a mission to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. The malevolent naturi have broken free of their eternal prison and are wreaking havoc in the world as they feed on defenseless and unbelieving souls. Now a suspicious murder has struck Savannah, and Mira and Danaus must investigate. The slaying of a senator’s daughter threatens to expose the supernaturals’ shadowy world to the light of day—a secret both Nightwalkers and hunters vowed to preserve.
But for Danaus, the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the demonic bori that covets his soul. And Mira, the Nightwalker he must protect—whose power is mankind’s last hope—is rapidly going insane. They can't afford to lose control, because time is running out....
Hardcover : 384 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins ( June 29, 2010 )
Item #: 13-145223
ISBN: 9781616646769
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 inches
Product Weight: 14.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Keep them coming!! 
October 22, 2010
If you have not read Drake's Dark Day series, get ready to be blown away. I have read many paranormal books for juveniles and adults. Drake is a master at painting a vivid plot picture, and I love her character development. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
Reviewer: Bill
not as good as hoped 
August 30, 2010
The first novels were quite fun and well written. This one however, written from Danaus' perspective, not only feels like someone else wrote it but makes me think less of him. He's just not that intriguing, more boorish and whiny this time. Mira's role felt rather disjointed so I didn't empathize with her either. The entire book felt like nothing more than one big set up for the next one, without being much of a story on it's own. I sure hope the next one will be more of the adventure I've come to expect from these characters, no matter whose perspective it's written from!
Reviewer: Tamara
Great Book
August 07, 2010
I'm a big fan of Jocelynn Drake. Her books draw you in and make you want more. I am waiting patiently to be able to get her fifth book Wait for Dusk from SFBC. Hopefully they get it soon.
Reviewer: Trisha
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