He was staying in the trailer camp more for protection than for lack of funds. Merlin paid him a very generous salary. Moving out of his college apartment a week ago, he had been terribly tempted to rent a fancy place on Chicago’s near north side. Or accept Megan’s offer that he share her expensive condo. But as pointed out by his friends, both choices posed clearly unacceptable risks. Jack’s life was still in deadly danger. And if he was killed, eternal night would engulf the globe.

Though he had defeated Dietrich von Bern, the Huntsman’s mysterious master was still at large. An ancient demigod of incredible powers, it threatened modern civilization. Using his crystal ball, Merlin proclaimed Jack the only one who could stop the entity. It was a duel not yet completed. Until the creature had been found and somehow destroyed, Jack could not afford to relax an instant. Thus, he stayed, surrounded by friendly supernaturals, in a trailer camp in the far western Chicago suburbs.

Megan visited as often as possible, but the cramped trailer provided little room for romance. Nor did their dozens of busybody chaperons, ranging from the Witch Hazel and her familiar, Sylvester, a talking cat, to Simon Goodfellow, a faery changeling who always managed to interrupt at the most inconvenient instant possible. It was enough to try the patience of a saint. And Jack definitely felt anything but saintly concerning Megan.

Wonderfully erotic thoughts about his girlfriend forced Jack to turn the shower water ice cold. Short and slender, with dark hair and sparkling eyes, Megan resembled an elf. Which was probably why Jack originally thought she was entirely supernatural and not merely a halfling. That she was very human and quite passionate, he had discovered only recently. For all of her ethereal charms, Megan could be quite risqué when the time and opportunity presented itself.