Hunter (Lackey)

They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares. Monsters. Long ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were ripped open, and it's taken centuries to bring back civilization in the wake. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous monsters fighting to break through. Others are not so lucky. To Joyeaux Charmand, who has been a Hunter in her tight-knit mountain community since she was a child, every Cit without magic deserves her protection from dangerous Othersiders. Then she is called to Apex City, where the best Hunters are kept to protect the most important people. Joy soon realizes that the city's powerful leaders care more about luring Cits into a false sense of security than protecting them. More and more monsters are getting through the barriers, and the close calls are becoming too frequent to ignore. Yet the Cits have no sense of how much danger they're in-to them, Joy and her corps of fellow Hunters are just action stars they watch on TV. When an act of sabotage against Joy takes an unbearable toll, Joy uncovers a terrifying conspiracy. There is something much worse than the usual monsters infiltrating Apex. And it may be too late to stop them.

Hunting monsters was supposed to be the hard part. When Joy came to Apex City, all she cared about was protecting the Cits from the dangers lurking outside protective barriers. She understood the need for the secrecy surrounding her Hunts-no need to cause a panic by announcing just how real of a threat the Othersiders pose. But as she quickly discovered, the conspiracies of the city run much deeper. And a dangerous new covert mission leaves Joy with a target on her back once more. Under the orders of her uncle, the city's prefect, Joy begins patrolling the abandoned tunnels and storm sewers under Apex Center. With her large pack of magical hounds, she can fight the monsters breaking through the barriers with the strength of three hunters. Then she starts finding bodies. Psimons are turning up dead in the bowels of the city with no apparent injury. Reporting the incidents makes Joy the uncomfortable object of PsiCorps' scrutiny, and the organization appears more interested in keeping her quiet than investigating. Joy's situation grows more precarious, and her relationship with her Psimon boyfriend, Josh, begins to fray. Long-held tensions between PsiCorps and the Hunters seem to be reaching a breaking point. While infighting threatens the stability of Apex City, Othersider forces are gaining strength and momentum outside the borders. Joy desperately seeks answers to figure out who her real enemies are before she and everyone she cares about are locked into an all-out war.

Being a member of the Elite Hunter Command imperils Joy in more ways than one. In their latest clash with Othersiders, the army of monsters nearly wiped them out. Apex City is safe for now. But within the city barriers, Joy must wage a different kind of war. The corrupt and powerful PsiCorps is determined to usurp the Hunters as chief defenders of Apex City and Joy is now squarely in their crosshairs. Unused to playing political games, she has very few people she can truly trust-not even Josh, her first friend in Apex City, who broke up with her when it became too dangerous for a Psimon to be dating a Hunter. Then Josh comes to Joy for help. He fears that Abigail Drift, the head of PsiCorps, will soon use him in her twisted experiments designed to empower PsiCorps and render Hunters superfluous-a scheme that's already killed off dozens of Psimons. Joy manages to smuggle Josh to safety, but he cannot evade Drift forever As Joy faces ever more powerful Othersiders, she is helped by the most surprising ally imaginable-the same Folk Mage she once met in battle on the train to Apex City. But can Joy trust the most cunning and treacherous of all Othersiders? In the thrilling finale to Mercedes Lackey's #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy, Joy must risk everything to end a brutal war before she loses all she's ever loved.