The Killing Dance characters

Appears from the start

A St. Louis animator and court-authorized vampire executioner. Anita begins the book engaged to Richard but still honoring an agreement to date Jean-Claude, and a professional contract on her life forces her to rely on both supernatural allies and the hunter Edward.

Also known as Death

Appears from the start

A professional hunter and assassin known to vampires as Death. Edward warns Anita that someone has offered a large payment for her death and helps her identify and survive the specialists attempting to collect it.

First appears in chapter 2

Anita's fiancé, a junior-high science teacher, and one of the strongest werewolves in St. Louis. Richard wants to replace Marcus's coercive leadership but remains unwilling to embrace the killing expected by traditional pack law.

First appears in chapter 4

The master vampire of St. Louis, linked to Anita through mystical marks and now formally competing with Richard for her affection. Jean-Claude offers guarded rooms and supernatural allies to protect Anita from the contract on her life.

First appears in chapter 8

A strong werewolf who joins the effort to protect Anita. Cassandra presents herself as practical and independent of the St. Louis pack's central rivalry, making her useful when Anita needs guards who understand shapeshifter threats.

First appears in chapter 12

An ancient master vampire whose body is deteriorating after a long refusal to take human blood. Sabin comes to St. Louis seeking a remedy from Anita and Jean-Claude before his effort to preserve his principles destroys him.

First appears in chapter 12

Sabin's human servant and a necromancer with extensive knowledge of the bond between a vampire and a mortal partner. Dominic seeks Anita's help with Sabin's decay and studies the unusual power connecting Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard.

First appears in chapter 17

The established leader of the St. Louis werewolf pack. Marcus treats Richard's refusal to submit or issue a lethal challenge as a weakness that can be used to preserve the existing order.

First appears in chapter 17

Marcus's partner and a dominant power within the pack. Raina uses fear, loyalty, and personal coercion to maintain her influence over wolves who lack the strength to oppose her.

First appears in chapter 18

The leader of St. Louis's wereleopards and an ally of Raina. Gabriel participates in the shapeshifter coalition surrounding Marcus and regards less powerful people as resources for those able to dominate them.

First appears in chapter 20

A young werewolf caught between Richard's reforming ambitions and the authority of Marcus and Raina. Stephen's vulnerability gives Anita and Richard a personal reason to confront abuses that pack custom has allowed.

First appears in chapter 22

A young werewolf who works for Jean-Claude and acts as a willing source of blood. Jason moves between the vampire and werewolf communities, helping Anita understand when the two hierarchies are cooperating and when they are using one another.

First appears in chapter 29

A highly capable contract killer pursuing the bounty on Anita. Harley combines patience with specialized preparation and is dangerous enough that Edward treats him as a professional equal rather than an ordinary gunman.