Willard seems a simple man, when compared to the chaos that makes up the day-to-day of Never. Seeming mundane is his greatest weapon. Going unnoticed due to his somewhat aloof or even willfully ignorant disposition afforded to him by way of his isolated ranch, Willard holds machinations to undermine both fiends and the divine, alike.
Mr. Howl is a freshly minted demon, crashing into the outskirts of Never straight from Hell. With partial amnesia about how to be a human and no knowledge on how to be a demon, Howl is a hot mess and a nuisance and terror to the community. Most of all, he is a danger to himself. Will he figure it out or be smote back into the underworld?
Catherine ‘Cat’ Incontro is a troubled witch with the gift and curse of fire. As the last witch in a lineage that traces back to Salem, she has done a bang-up job letting her family down—first by accidentally killing her mother, and then setting blaze to nearly everything else in her life, one heartbreak at a time, until her witchfire made her the target of a destructive demon and his gang of outlaws. Refusing to sell her soul for her freedom, she was enslaved and made to destroy against her will in a twist even she could admit was darkly ironic. Nevertheless, she was not resigned to being someone’s pet, and she consorted with a chthonic goddess … well, begged one for help is more accurate. A deal was made, and a demon banished from this plane … but Cat’s work was just beginning. Sent to Never on a path of redemption, Hecate’s instructions were clear: carry the weight of her lineage; never again use her witchfire for personal gain, in anger, or sorrow; bear witness—and act—when other witches cross the same lines she did; and when the time comes, return the fire to its origin.
Unfortunately, Cat has already failed in her first attempt at finding an apprentice in Never, but she won’t stop trying to fulfill her end of the agreement with Hecate, even if it burns her alive in the process.
Once minor nobility in the countryside around Vilnius, Ginta and her family have lost almost everything. When her brother participated in the 1863 uprising against the tsar, Ginta had to make a contract with a demon to save him from execution. The family came to Chicago in search of a new life, but Ginta has spent the last few years sewing shirt after shirt for little pay. And the demon she signed a contract with seems to have followed her to America. Now she’s traveled to Never in search of a way out, even if she has to face down hell itself.
Boone straddles Never’s two worlds with a quiet intensity. A sheriff’s deputy, he is known for his stoic demeanor, keen tracking skills, and an unsettling ability to “hear the dead wind” — a supernatural talent passed down through his mother’s bloodline. Though he keeps his craft hidden from most, whispers of Boone’s eerie intuition and uncanny luck haunt the town’s saloons and prayer circles alike. His most valuable possession is a charred silver pocket watch that once belonged to his late mentor. The watch ticks only in the presence of lies, and sometimes, when Boone holds it, it speaks with the voice of the dead man who gave it to him.
A wrathful spirit that haunts the streets of Never. Ishan’s trust in humanity was broken when he, as a Pinkerton, was brutally killed. He still hunts for criminals, but he no longer does it to make the world a better place. His hopeful worldview died with him. Now he hunts simply to punish.
Hattie is a strange witch, having come to Never on her own, she wishes to prove to everyone and anyone that she can make it in this world without help. Even if she does secretly enjoy the companionship of others. Hattie doesn’t fully understand the limits of her powers or everything she can do, but she’s in the process of figuring it out while attempting to protect herself from the past.
Currently, she uses her time to write under a male pseudonym in hopes of making more money than if she were using her real name. It works. Now it’s up to her to determine if she wants to curse or welcome people with open arms. Who knows where she lies on any given day?
It has always been the task of Good and Holy Angels to carry out divine vengeance. But how does one smite with the Wrath of God when the sin is that of loving the wrong person? A question for the ages, and one which Solomon, as he’s now known, has no intention of answering any time soon. Over twenty years ago, a silver-tongued demon let slip the most selfless of casual utterances with far-reaching consequences. Once an angel of retribution, Solomon found himself in Never, bereft of his identity save a new name, a cause, a purpose: get the disjointed stories rattling around in his brain out of it, and into the world. The truth, as he knows it, in black and white for a world that was anything but. Unbeknownst to this bookbinding amnesiac, the cause of his forgetfulness lingers on the edges of town, watching from afar, ever wary of threatening the tenuousness of Solomon’s mental state and safety. After all, isn’t it better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?
A witch and a doctor from a noble family in Bohemia who ran away from the trappings of nobility and highly unethical practice of medical trials on humans perpetuated by his family. Professional surgeon and pharmacist and his own lab rat. Suffers from insomnia and a melancholic disposition & is known to treat patients for (almost) no cost to them.
Roy Taylor is a hardworking family man; he first started his journey in Arkansas with his wife and two kids, only to have his wife die along the way. Now he owns and operates Locke and Taylor Ranch, a horse ranch dedicated to his late wife. That’s not to say life has gotten easier, no. With a daughter just entering social life and a son who wants nothing to do with the family business, well… let’s just say poor old Roy is tired.
