Psychopomp: Creatures, spirits, angels, or deities that appear in many religions and take many forms. Responsible for guiding newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlight, whether a heaven or hell. Are used most commonly with necromancy and other magic that has an affinity for souls or the dead.
Ragnarök: A series of events and great battles that will bring about the destruction and annihilation of the Norse gods. An end-time myth.
Reed, Noah (General): Fire dragon. Currently hiding in human form as a three-star Army general who oversees the US Department of the Preternatural.
Santa Muerte: Immortal. Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (English translation: Our Lady of Holy Death), commonly shortened and referred to as Santa Muerte. A personification of death associated with healing, protection, and safe passage to the afterlife.
Shields: Ward. Defensive magic used for protection on a large or small scale.
Skellig Islands, the: Location. Irish translation: Na Scealaga. Rocky islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Ireland.
Sluagh: (Pronunciation: SLOO-ah) Spirits of the restless dead. Aligned with the Unseelie Court.
SOA: Supernatural Operations Agency. SOA is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States that focuses on magical and preternatural crimes and terrorism. Employs human, preternatural, and magically affiliated people to field positions for domestic defense. (Equivalent to FBI)
Sorcerer/Sorceress: Second-highest rank of magic users and moderately more common than mages but are outnumbered by witches and wizards.
Soulbond: A binding of two or more souls to tie people together for magical needs. Illegal under the laws of all governments.
Spells: Offensive magic.
Taylor, Marek: Seer. CEO of PreterWorld, a social media platform geared toward the preternatural and supernatural community. His patrons are the Norns.
Tezcatlipoca: Immortal. Aztec god of obsidian, jaguars, war, strife, night sky, and the night winds.
Thor: Immortal. Norse god of thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, hallowing, and fertility.
Threshold: Ward. Applied to a hearth and home for protection to keep out negative magic, spirits, and demons.
Tiarnán: Member of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Carries the title Lord of Ivy and Gold.
Tír na nÓg: (Pronunciation: TEER-na-nog) English translation: Land of the Young. A place in the Otherworld past the veil where the Tuatha Dé Danann and lesser fae reside.
Tremaine: Master vampire. Headed up the Manhattan Night Court. His maker was Lucien.
Tuatha Dé Danann: (Pronunciation: TOO-ah de-danan) Celtic pantheon of gods. They are considered high-status fae.
US Department of the Preternatural: Employs all manner of magically affiliated and preternatural people for military service. Active duty combat mages are seconded to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines and are required to go through BTC and joint training.
Valhalla: Location. A majestic hall beyond the veil in Asgard ruled over by Odin. Warriors who die in battle spend eternity there waiting for Ragnarök.
Valkyries: Immortals. A host of female riders who choose who live and die in battle. They guide the dead to either Valhalla or Fólkvangr.
Veil: The metaphysical barrier between Earth/mundane plane and other worlds/dimensions/planes, and versions of hell and heaven derived from myths.
Walker, Estelle: God pack werewolf. Alpha of the New York City god pack.
Wards: Defensive magic.
Warlock: Most common rank of magic users. On par with witches.
Werecreatures: Humans who are infected with the werevirus. Can change form into various animalistic shapes. Werecreatures are either infected later on in life or are born with the disease.
Werevirus: An incurable disease that makes those who are infected change into monstrous beasts. Created by an ancient Roman mage, the werevirus was one of the first recorded instances of magically created biological warfare introduced into society. People are born with the werevirus or become infected through intercourse or blood. Two strains exist: a normal strain and a god strain. The god strain has stronger magical properties which can cause the infected to be susceptible to an immortal patron.
Wild Hunt: Supernatural and ghostly hunters who steal souls. Aligned with Gwyn ap Nudd.
Witch: Most common rank of magic users. On par with warlocks.
Yggdrasil: Norse world tree that connects the Nine Realms.
Zeus: Immortal. Greek god of thunder and titular king of the Greek pantheon.
Zhang, Emma: Werewolf. Alpha of the Tempest pack.
Author’s Notes
I know I always say it, but it really does take a village to bring a book into the world. My thank you and appreciation shout-outs might look a little familiar, but that’s because these are the people who help shepherd my books once I spit out all the words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends:
Nora Sakavic, for all her support and friendship and middle-of-the-night texting sprees.
Leslie Copeland, for never steering me wrong, for being a wonderful person and an even better friend.
Lily Morton, who I finally got to meet in person (!!!) and who I’m going to hang out with in person again. You’re one of my best friends, and I’m so glad we found each other.
May Archer, my bae who listened to me whine about work and writing and general real-life stress, and then told me I got this. Thank you for your support and your friendship throughout everything.
Lynn Van Dorn, for making sure I got my Chicago locations right. Please forgive me for the city destruction?
Bear, who continues to be an amazing friend and doesn’t mind when I bombard her with text messages and cat pictures.
Last but not least: to my readers. Thank you so much for enjoying the worlds I get to write about so that I can write more. You guys are amazing, and I wouldn’t get to do this without you.
I took liberties with police work and federal agencies in this story. I don’t work in either field, and I tried to blend both into the world I created as best as possible.
I would be thrilled and grateful if you would consider reviewing A Vigil in the Mourning on Amazon or Goodreads. I appreciate all
