A bold and ghostly stand-alone from New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck, with all the moodiness of Sleepy Hollow and all the romance her fans love. Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme. Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It's difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern--one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal--or not-so-mortal--soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O'Dare. Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack's warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire--and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before both the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos. Colleen Houck, the New York Times bestselling author of the Tiger's Curse series and the Reawakened series, breathes new life into classic folklore in this wild, twisting adventure propelled by the spirit of Halloween. "[Houck] offers a fresh spin on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ." -- Kirkus Reviews "A wild and seductive adventure. . . . A must-have for YA collections." -- SLJ " The Lantern's Ember has something for everyone. From an old-timey village to ghost stories to pirates to steampunk influences, nobody is left unsatisfied." --TeenReads.com Praise for The Lantern's Ember : "[Houck] offers a fresh spin on  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ...with some genuine surprises in store."— Kirkus "A wild and seductive adventure...a must-have for YA collections."— SLJ Praise for the Reawakened Series: "[A] must-read for thrill-seekers and fans of alternate worlds."-- RT Book Reviews "Rick Riordan fans who are looking for another series will delight in this fantasy."-- SLJ  "Fans of paranormal romance will love the Egyptian spin on this story of devotion and sacrifice, and Lily's humor, combined with plentiful dangerous escapades, will keep readers engaged."-- VOYA "The author weaves her story out of Egyptian lore, cinematic magic, selfless love, and . . . is clever enough to remain surprising even to the last sentence."-- Kirkus Reviews "Wonderfully written and...the heart-pounding adventures are topped only by the heart-melting romance."-- The Deseret News "A sparkling new novel with a fully imagined world and mythos, and crackling romance! Egyptian mythology has never been this riveting!"--Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wings series, on Reawakened , book one in the series   Praise for The Tiger's Curse Series: New York Times Bestsellers USA Today Bestsellers Publishers Weekly Bestsellers Parents' Choice Award Winners "A sweet romance and heart-pounding adventure . . . In short, Tiger's Curse is magical!"--Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of Hush, Hush  "The hot new romance-adventure series of 2011 . . ."-- Teen Magazine    "Epic, grand adventure rolled into a sweeping love story . . ." -Sophie Jordan, author of Firelight Colleen Houck is the four-time New York Times bestselling author of the Tiger's Curse series, which has appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Walmart bestseller lists, among many others. She has been a Parents' Choice Award winner, and the reviewer for Romantic Times called Tiger's Curse "one of the best books I have ever read." Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers. Find her online at colleenhouck.com or follow her on Twitter at @ColleenHouck. Chapter 1       Crossroads       Jack sat on top of the covered bridge in his favorite spot, his arm draped over his carved pumpkin. The gourd wasn’t his first choice to house the ember of his immortality, but then again, he’d never really been given a choice.   It wasn’t the first time he’d heard of foolish men who’d made deals with the devil. During every scary story he’d been told as a child on long winter nights, he’d clutched his covers to his throat imagining frightening specters, red demons, or wicked-clawed ghouls looming out of swaying shadows, ready to snatch up unmindful children and trick them with beguiling words. His imagination never came close to the truth. And he’d certainly never envisioned those devils walking earth as mere men, dressed as pirates, storing stolen souls in harvest vegetables.   The devil who’d conscripted him five hundred years ago was named Rune. Jack barely remembered the town he was attempting to save by negotiating with Rune, or the boy he’d been when he’d done it. Now all the villagers were long dead. But not Jack. He wasn’t so lucky. Instead, Jack was stuck in a m