The DeathSpeaker Codex Series by Sonya Bateman

"The dead never bothered me. That honor was reserved for the living." Hauling dead people around Manhattan is all in a day's work for body mover Gideon Black. He lives in his van, talks to corpses, and occasionally helps the police solve murders. His life may not be normal, but it's simple enough.Until the corpses start talking back.When Gideon accidentally rescues a werewolf in Central Park, he's drawn into the secret world of the Others... more"The dead never bothered me. That honor was reserved for the living." Hauling dead people around Manhattan is all in a day's work for body mover Gideon Black. He lives in his van, talks to corpses, and occasionally helps the police solve murders. His life may not be normal, but it's simple enough.Until the corpses start talking back.When Gideon accidentally rescues a werewolf in Central Park, he's drawn into the secret world of the Others. Fae, were-shifters, dark magic users and more, all playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Milus Dei, a massive and powerful cult dedicated to hunting down and eradicating them all.Then a dead man speaks to him, saying that Milus Dei wants him more than any Other. They'll stop at nothing to capture him and control the abilities he never knew he had.He is the DeathSpeaker. He is the key. And he's not as human as he thought...Life was a whole lot easier when the dead stayed dead. less

"Great. A bunch of zombies were stealing my corpses." Halloween in Manhattan gets weirder than usual for the newly minted DeathSpeaker, as Gideon Black finds himself up against a powerful necromancer who's looking to raise a lot more than the dead. NOTE: This story takes place between Wrong Side of Hell and Fields of Blood, books 1 and 2 of the DeathSpeaker Codex, but can be read and enjoyed without having read the series. Dance of the Dead first appeared in the anthology Full Metal Magic.

"The dead can't lie. At least, not to me." With the dangerous Milus Dei cult collapsed, Gideon Black is trying to get used to his new life as a half-Fae, and the DeathSpeaker -- a legendary Other with the ability to compel the dead to speak. But when freshly murdered bodies turn up in New York with ankh-and-sword tattoos identifying them as cult members, Gideon realizes the battle is far from over... more"The dead can't lie. At least, not to me." With the dangerous Milus Dei cult collapsed, Gideon Black is trying to get used to his new life as a half-Fae, and the DeathSpeaker -- a legendary Other with the ability to compel the dead to speak. But when freshly murdered bodies turn up in New York with ankh-and-sword tattoos identifying them as cult members, Gideon realizes the battle is far from over. While dealing with a singing dead man and a powerful Seelie noble out for revenge, Gideon discovers that the remaining Milus Dei survivors have skipped town. Their new target: his werewolf friend Sadie's estranged pack in the Appalachian Mountains. Sadie's younger sister has been abducted, and Gideon and his newfound brother Taeral offer to help get her back. But the rescue mission soon turns deadly as they uncover the cult's true target -- and find that Milus Dei is not only far bigger than the New York branch, but also developing a biological weapon to turn their soldiers into unstoppable killing machines, capable of taking down any Other. And Sadie's blood holds the key to perfecting that weapon. less

"The dead must answer to you, and no one else. Remember that, Gideon." He may be the DeathSpeaker, but Gideon Black has no idea what he's doing. The job didn't come with an instruction manual. That's why his half-brother Taeral plans to bring him across the Veil to the Fae realm of Arcadia, to consult with an ancient Fae who knew the previous DeathSpeaker personally... more"The dead must answer to you, and no one else. Remember that, Gideon." He may be the DeathSpeaker, but Gideon Black has no idea what he's doing. The job didn't come with an instruction manual. That's why his half-brother Taeral plans to bring him across the Veil to the Fae realm of Arcadia, to consult with an ancient Fae who knew the previous DeathSpeaker personally.Those plans are violently interrupted when the royal Unseelie Guard invade their home, dragging Taeral and their father, Daoin, to Arcadia ahead of schedule. And Gideon will do anything to get them back.But the concrete jungles of Manhattan are nothing compared to the threats waiting in Arcadia. Facing deadly wildlife, even deadlier enemies, and magic he never imagined possible, Gideon must learn quickly to wield his power as both a Fae and the DeathSpeaker -- before the vengeful Unseelie Queen can exact a cost higher than death from his family, and everyone he holds dear. less

The DeathSpeaker Codex: Books 1 – 3 (DeathSpeaker Series Box Set) This omnibus includes the first three books in The DeathSpeaker Codex urban fantasy series: Wrong Side of Hell, Fields of Blood, and Realm of Mirrors. WRONG SIDE OF HELL (Book 1) "The dead never bothered me. That honor was reserved for the living." I thought I was human. Apparently, I was wrong. I didn't even know there were non-humans. Others, they're called. Fairies, vampires, even the bogeyman -- they're all real... moreThe DeathSpeaker Codex: Books 1 – 3 (DeathSpeaker Series Box Set) This omnibus includes the first three books in The DeathSpeaker Codex urban fantasy series: Wrong Side of Hell, Fields of Blood, and Realm of Mirrors. WRONG SIDE OF HELL (Book 1) "The dead never bothered me. That honor was reserved for the living." I thought I was human. Apparently, I was wrong. I didn't even know there were non-humans. Others, they're called. Fairies, vampires, even the bogeyman -- they're all real. At least, that's what the werewolf told me when I saved her from the cops. Did I mention that I saved a werewolf? And those weren't just cops trying to kill her -- they're a deadly cult with the sole purpose of capturing and exterminating Others. Especially me. My name is Gideon Black, and I'm not human. I am the DeathSpeaker. And I am so screwed. FIELDS OF BLOOD (Book 2) "The dead can't lie. At least, not to me." With the dangerous Milus Dei cult collapsed, Gideon Black is trying to get used to his new life as a half-Fae, and the DeathSpeaker -- a legendary Other with the ability to compel the dead to speak. But when freshly murdered bodies turn up in New York with ankh-and-sword tattoos identifying them as cult members, Gideon realizes the battle is far from over. REALM OF MIRRORS (Book 3) "The dead must answer to you, and no one else. Remember that, Gideon." He may be the DeathSpeaker, but Gideon Black has no idea what he's doing. The job didn't come with an instruction manual. That's why his half-brother Taeral plans to bring him across the Veil to the Fae realm of Arcadia, to consult with an ancient Fae who knew the previous DeathSpeaker personally. Those plans are violently interrupted when the royal Unseelie Guard invade their home, dragging Taeral and their father, Daoin, to Arcadia ahead of schedule. And Gideon will do anything to get them back. less

"My past came with sharp teeth, and I didn't enjoy letting it bite me." Gideon Black has just returned from a grueling visit to the Fae realm with a stronger grip on his abilities, both as a half-Fae and the DeathSpeaker. But none of that prepared him to be kidnapped and dragged into a fight against a god... more"My past came with sharp teeth, and I didn't enjoy letting it bite me." Gideon Black has just returned from a grueling visit to the Fae realm with a stronger grip on his abilities, both as a half-Fae and the DeathSpeaker. But none of that prepared him to be kidnapped and dragged into a fight against a god. When the Duchenes' master, an ancient and powerful Other who's taken the name of the voodoo god Papa Legba, summons the family for attempting to defy him, Denei Duchene invokes a promise Gideon made long before he knew that promises could kill the Fae. Now he must travel to New Orleans with the secretive siblings and free them from their bonds -- or die trying. But Legba isn't the only danger lurking in the Louisiana swamps. Milus Dei, the cult dedicated to wiping out the Others, has been recruiting a new breed of hunter. The most dangerous, lethal poachers they can find, heavily financed and retrained to target and capture all types of non-humans. And the group currently hunting the bayou is all too familiar to Gideon. less

"The enemy of my enemy should be left the hell alone." A creatively violent killer who's clearly not human is targeting Milus Dei members, and Gideon Black isn't exactly sure he should stop it. After all, the deadly cult hasn't done him any favors -- unless you count torturing his father and brother, brutally experimenting on his friends, killing countless Others, and attempting to use his power to wipe out the rest... more"The enemy of my enemy should be left the hell alone." A creatively violent killer who's clearly not human is targeting Milus Dei members, and Gideon Black isn't exactly sure he should stop it. After all, the deadly cult hasn't done him any favors -- unless you count torturing his father and brother, brutally experimenting on his friends, killing countless Others, and attempting to use his power to wipe out the rest. So when Milus Dei asks for his help finding the killer, he's pretty comfortable turning them down. Then two strangers turn up with personal stakes in the investigation, both a type of Other no one's heard of before. Their paths cross with Gideon, and they soon learn they have a common enemy. But it's not Milus Dei. With the help of a thief, a genie, and an uneasy alliance with the cult that's been hunting him down, the DeathSpeaker faces his greatest challenge yet. There's a monster beneath the city, an immortal shapeshifter whose goals are far beyond revenge -- and the future of the world is written in blood. less

"Hell if I'd let some dead woman get the best of me. It was supposed to be a break. A few days in Lightning Cove, Maine -- a very small town with a very old history -- and a chance to get to know Special Agent Calla Frost better. She swore it was just a routine check-in with a research team. No monsters, no magic. But when Gideon arrives in Lightning Cove, things are just a little too perfect... more"Hell if I'd let some dead woman get the best of me. It was supposed to be a break. A few days in Lightning Cove, Maine -- a very small town with a very old history -- and a chance to get to know Special Agent Calla Frost better. She swore it was just a routine check-in with a research team. No monsters, no magic. But when Gideon arrives in Lightning Cove, things are just a little too perfect. And even before the first dead body -- the one that won't talk to him -- he realizes that nothing and no one is what it seems in this place. Including Calla Frost. less

It's NOT safe to go back in the water... After a promise gone horribly wrong, Gideon Black has sworn off doing favors for people. But when the mysterious Lady Tethys offers him a house -- a home of his own for the first time in his life -- in exchange for retrieving an artifact, he agrees. Unfortunately, the artifact is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with a ship that went down four hundred years ago... moreIt's NOT safe to go back in the water... After a promise gone horribly wrong, Gideon Black has sworn off doing favors for people. But when the mysterious Lady Tethys offers him a house -- a home of his own for the first time in his life -- in exchange for retrieving an artifact, he agrees. Unfortunately, the artifact is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with a ship that went down four hundred years ago. To get to the wreck, Tethys arranges passage for Gideon and his friends with Captain Alex Walsh. But when they board the ship, they find that the crew not only know about and distrust Others, but are armed with cold iron weapons, one of the few things that can kill a Fae. And the captain is looking for any excuse to use them. Then they reach the dive site, and things go from bad to worse when the ship is attacked by something far more dangerous than humans with cold iron. less