Night stalker - It began with blood and death amid the streets of late-night Toronto. Vicki Nelson, formerly of Toronto's homicide detail, now a private investigator, witnessed the first attack by the force of dark magic that would soon wreak its reign of terror on the unsuspecting city. And as death followed unspeakable death, Vicki became more and more deeply enmeshed in an investigation which would see her renewing her stormy relationship with her former police partner, Mike Celluci, even as she teamed up with writer Henry Fitzroy in a desperate attempt to track down the source of the seemingly unstoppable attacks. For Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, had knowledge of realms beyond the mortal acquired over the centuries during which he'd mastered his own insatiable needs - the life-from-death cravings of a vampire.

Henry Fitzroy had long since learned to survive without killing, learned the skills needed to blend in with the human race. But unless he, Vicki, and Mike could find the key to conquering the magic-raised menace stalking the streets of Toronto, Fitzroy's true identity might soon be exposed and his life might prove forfeit to the uncontrollable fears of humankind. And without Henry Fitzroy, mere mortals like Vicki and Mike would not long survive against the ancient force of chaos that had been loose on their world...

Silver bullets - For centuries, they had peacefully coexisted with ordinary humans in Canada. But now death had invaded the peaceful retreat of their London, Ontario farm. For someone had learned their most closely guarded secret. Someone knew they were werewolves and whoever it was was determined to destroy them all.

The only one they could turn to for help was Henry Fitzroy, a Toronto-based vampire and write of bodice rippers. But, forced to hide from the light of day, Henry couldn't hunt down the killer alone. So he called upon Vicki Nelson, ex-policewoman and now a private investigator. Vicki and Henry had successfully worked together before, and once she met the wers, he knew she'd have to take the case.

Yet as silver bullets continued to take their ghastly toll, Henry and Vicki began to fear that even their combined talents might not prove enough to trace the blood trail of destruction to its source before it was too late...

When evil wakes - Sealed away through unending centuries in a sarcophagus never meant to be opened, he had patiently waited for the opportunity to live again, for the chance to feed on the unwary and grow strong. Now, at last, the waiting has come to an end. Brought to the Egyptology Department of Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, the seals and spells that imprisoned him chipped away by his discoverers, he reached forth to claim the minds and souls of the unsuspecting city dwellers, to begin building an empire for himself and his god. And only three people had even a hint that anything was wrong.

For Henry Fitzroy, 450-year-old vampire, it began with a haunting, inescapable image of the sun, a terrifying symbol of death to one such as he. Fearing for his sanity, he called upon his sometime-lover and comrade in supernatural investigations, ex-cop Vicki Nelson, for help. And even as the two struggled to cope with Henry's obsession, Vicki's closest friend and former partner, Police Detective Mike Celluci was following up on two mysterious deaths at the museum, certain he was looking at murders not accidents - and equally convinced that the killer was a mummy brought back from the dead!

The restless dead - It began with the call no daughter ever wants to get, the call that told private investigator Vicki Nelson her mother had died. Mrs. Nelson's coworker at the Queen's University Life Science Department told Vicki that the cause of death was a heart attack, and that they'd be waiting for her to arrive in Kingston to make the funeral arrangements. But what started as an all too normal personal tragedy soon became the most terrifying case of Vicki's career. For when Marjory Nelson's body mysteriously disappeared from the funeral home, Vicki, her sometime lover and fellow investigator, vampire Henry Fitzroy, and her former homicide squad partner, Detective-Sergent Mike Celluci, realized that there was something unnatural about her mother's demise. Vicki swore she'd find the culprit, and see that her mother was properly laid to rest. But what she hadn't counted on was that someone at Queen's University seemed determined to keep Mrs. Nelson on the job - alive or dead!

The haunting - Henry Fitzroy, vampire, writer, and bastard son of Henry VIII, had survived for centuries by obeying the vampires' code. He did not slaughter needlessly, did not draw attention to himself, and never invaded another vampire's territory. But now Henry was about to do the ulthinkable. He was going to break the code.

It began when Henry work to the twilight - and the discovery that a ghost had invaded his inner sanctum. This was the start of a dangerou nightly game. Henry was allowed to ask one question of his mysterious visitor. If the answer was no, someone - innocent and unsuspecting - would die. It soon became clear that what this wraith - and the other who would eventually joined it - wanted was revenge on those responsible for killing them.

Henry could not find the source of these murders on his own, nor could he ignore his unwanted guests. He had only one choice. To call private investigator Vicki Nelson and ask for help. Henry only hoped that he and Vicki would both survive the experience...

Now, for the very first time, all eight of Tanya Huff's spellbinding short stories about Henry and Vicki have been gathered together in one volume. Included are: "This Town Ain't Big Enough, What Manner of Man, The Cards Also Say, The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea, Someone to Share the Night, Another Fine Nest, Sceleratus," and "Critical Analysis". Plus, Tanya has written "So This is Christmas," a brand-new Blood story created especially for this omnibus edition.