Well, what do you know.  We’ve come to the end of the line. I know, it’s been fun. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone.  But all good things must come to an end.

Let’s dive in, shall we?  Fasten your seat-belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Last time, poor Harry’s world came crumbling down around his ears.  The trust he placed in his mentor was completely shattered.  Everything he knew about this man who was like a father to him was a lie.

Needless to say, Harry wasn’t ok.

The Pooch noticed. This adorable little puffball hopped up onto Harry and started giving him puppy kisses.  This dog is a sweetheart. I want one.  So badly.

Mister came over too, but I think that’s mostly because he was a little jealous of the puppy.

Harry called Thomas after his animal therapy session.  Inari picked up.  As it turns out, Lord Raith absconded with Thomas, probably to do more dastardly things.  Harry then spoke to Lara and offered her House Raith  as payment for helping him stop her father.  Intrigued by his show of cleverness, Lara agreed.  She would show him where Lord Raith took Thomas, and in turn Harry would remove Lord Raith from his seat of power.

Harry and Murphy took off on her motorcycle to meet Lara at Raith Manor.  They had a way of finding Thomas, and you won’t believe what it is.

Justine.

Yes, Justine is alive! Not well… but she’s not dead, which is a good thing in my mind.  Because her connection with Thomas was so strong, Justine would be able to at least guide Harry and Murphy in the right direction.  I didn’t say “point” because well… not surprisingly, she’s very weak from Thomas’s last feeding.  She’s in almost a total vegetative state, so any movement for her is next to impossible.  Even the act of lifting her arm to point was too much for her.

After discovering that Thomas was chained up in the Deeps (the body-dumping grounds of the Manor), Harry and Murphy hopped back onto the motorcycle.  Before the rescue op was fully underway though, they was accosted by bodyguards.  A few bullets and one move that completely defies my limited knowledge of physics later, they both arrived at the entrance to the cave.  Harry found that he could use the necklace his mother gave him to locate Thomas, because he had the same one.

Unfortunately, Lord Raith figured that out first.

So, just when you thought everything would go smoothly, Harry and Murphy get captured. Again.

You’d think they’d be a bit more careful about that kind of thing by now. I guess they’re still working on it.

Lord Raith dragged them both into the cave assisted by yet another bodyguard.  On the way Harry taunted Raith, revealing that his mother’s death curse stopped Raith’s ability to feed.  Raith countered that by forcibly flirting with (and basically assaulting) Murphy… *shudders* Ew.

Just saying, I really hate that guy.  He is such a creep.  He’s got that slimy, sleazy, charm that you’d expect in a White Court vampire bad guy, but about ten times worse.  I don’t like it.

Yeah, that bad.

Anyway, as it turns out, Margaret LeFay’s curse was tied to the life of her children. That’s why Raith wanted both Thomas and Harry dead so badly.

Just as Harry assumed, all of Arturo’s exes were in on the entropy curse. It looked like the Weird sisters from MacBeth only they were all ugly on the inside.  There were only two in the room since Lucille got the bright idea to hit Inari with the curse.  Daddy dearest couldn’t have that.  Father of the year right there…. Did I mention I really hate this guy? I think I did.

Our heroes were in one heck of a bind.  Luckily, Harry came up with a distraction.  The wail of an ambulance could be heard coming from the Manor.  Harry mentioned that Inari had gotten hurt in the scuffle with the bodyguards.  Panicked, Raith stormed out of the cave to check on his beloved daughter.  He and Murphy successfully dispatched the bodyguard despite Madge being in the room.  She was occupied with the ritual, which if interrupted would spell death for her.

Murphy unlocked Harry’s restraints, and they planned an ambush for Raith.  The idea was to beat him down.  It went well until the lights went out.  Apparently, White Court vampires can see in the dark.  Things get even more interesting during the “negotiations.”  Harry offered to let Raith live if the curse stopped, and Madge and Thomas were freed.  Raith’s counter-offer was he wouldn’t kill Murphy if Harry ran.  Raith would keep her, but he wouldn’t kill her.

The worst part though was they were summoning He Who Walks Behind to do this curse.  That was the same demon that Justin DuMorne sent after Harry back in the day.  Now, the were sending said terrible beastie after him again.

Murphy managed to get Thomas’s arm free just in time to stop Madge from killing him.  Harry sent a ring of keys into Raith’s face, then magicked them over to Thomas so he could get completely free.  The protective circle around Madge was broken and He Who Walks Behind devoured her.

Then Raith snapped Thomas’s neck.

I was not ok with that at all.

As if on queue, Lara immerged from the shadows after hearing her father explain the stupidity of family bonds.  Naturally, she was not happy with this.  She renegotiated the terms of their relationship, and made it clear that she was in charge.

Remind me never to get near a White Court vampire.  I do not want to be on the receiving end of that weirdness.

No thank you.

While all that weirdness went down, Harry dragged Murphy and Thomas out of the cave with the last of his strength.

After all that craziness, life went back to normal.  Well as normal as Harry’s life can be.  He saw a doctor about getting a prosthetic arm to replace the burnt one, found out he could summon Hellfire at will, and scrambled to find a way to pay Kincaid.  Oh, he also saw his brother get disowned.

I’d say it’s a vast improvement over what happened earlier.

Narturally, everything ended up working out.  Thomas moved in with Harry, and used the last of his savings to pay off Kincaid so Harry would live to fight another day.  Harry now had family, something he’d never had before.

He even named the dog.  He was given the name Mouse because he’s little, grey, and quiet.

It looks like life in the tiny apartment is looking up.  That is, until Harry saw the Large Dog puppy chow.

Anyway, I know I had a lot of fun reading this book. Blood Rites was amazing from beginning to end.   I hope you all enjoyed this journey as much as I did. And I will see you back here next week for the next book, Dead Beat!

Keep reading!