The Devil Knows Her Name

Tess Wynne made her deal with the devil a century ago. Left for dead after an attack by a man she desired, she swore she would do anything to live, and the devil was listening. In exchange for her life, she stays ageless and bound to the patch of land where she nearly died, on the edge of Burrsville, an isolated Appalachian town. She has turned that land into a wildlife sanctuary, and the spells she weaves there protect both the ground and the people nearby.

Her mother and grandmother always told her what the devil is like: courteous enough to make you forget yourself, beautiful enough to make you want to, and dangerous if you do. Tess knows the warning well, and she has spent her long life keeping him at a careful distance.

That distance starts to close when she takes in an orphaned fawn with strange, unnatural appetites. Her urge to protect the creature sets her against the townspeople of Burrsville. Then a new pastor arrives and slowly wears away the trust she has spent years earning. He puts the sanctuary and its animals at risk, and the orderly life Tess has built begins to come apart.

As the pressure grows, the devil murmurs an offer in her ear: he can save the sanctuary, if she will finally pay what she owes. Tess has to choose between relying on her own magic to protect what she loves and giving in to him. This is C.N. Vair's debut horror novel.