The exclusive bridge between CONSPIRACY OF ANGELS and HARSH GODS , pitting the fallen angel Zack Westland against the Strega, a ruthless Italian family of witches. Accompanied by his temperamental (and often bloodthirsty) ally Liliana—the Lady of Beasts—Zack encounters the ghost of an African-American woman murdered decades ago. She cannot speak, but implores him to help her, launching him along a bloody path that leads to Mama Tuscanetti, an ancient matriarch who brooks no interference. To cross her is to court death. Zack is one of the Anakim—an angel belonging to an ancient tribe trapped on Earth by the cataclysmic event known as the Blood Wars. His true name is Zaquiel, and to speak it unleashes a power beyond the ken of mortal men.