Night Broken

• Mercy's age, but the sun had weathered his skin so he looked a little older. He was her size and weight, too⁷⁵
• All muscle and rawhide⁷⁵

Werewolf

Night Broken

• Mostly, though, he looked like a large presa Canario, a dog only slightly less intimidating to most people than a werewolf, especially if the people weren’t familiar with werewolves. The pack was hoping that someday he’d get control of his change and be able to be mostly human instead of mostly dog⁷
• Tibicena are tied to a mortal, a mortal who was descended from the land where Guayota's volcano had fertilized the soil the people ate from²⁰³
• The other dog was Joel. If the woman’s binding magic was a robe, his were silk ties. They wrapped securely around him but did not envelop him completely. They weren’t part of him yet²⁵³
• The dog’s body that encompassed him was poised on the deck, watching us, but silently. While the dog was motionless, Joel was not. He pulled and tugged at the bindings, peeling them back and leaving gaping wounds that bled behind. As soon as he cleared one place and started on another, the bindings grew back²⁵³
• When it looks like a mortal creature, the mortal flesh encompasses the tibicena and may be killed as any mortal creature. When it is wrapped in the tibicena’s form, it cannot be harmed by mundane means²⁵³
• Tibicenas could be killed, temporarily, if they caught them in dog form³²⁰
• The tibicenas are faster than the walkers are³²⁵
• The tibicena, like Guayota, was a creature of fire, of the volcano where it had been birthed³²⁸
• Wounds glowed red, and something bubbled out for a moment, but it took two seconds for the holes to close³²⁸
• huge and hairy³²⁸
• the long, rocklike hairs that ruffed his neck rattled together³³²
• Eyes that were a dark, sullen red that was more like garnets than rubies³³²
• Stayed human for almost an hour³⁴⁰

Fire Touched

• Black, but in the strong sunlight, has a brindle pattern⁷
• As the tibicena, smelled like brimstone and had eyes that glowed in the dark⁷
• Didn't have much control about what shape he wore²²
• Denser in tibicena form that a real animal could be²⁵
• His skin cracked and broke, revealing something that glowed fiercely even in the daylight²⁵
• Eyes were hot coals that glowed like those of a hellish demon out of a comic book²⁵
• Bigger than a werewolf, and left oily black marks on the ground wherever his feet touched²⁶
• Looked as though he’d been half formed out of burning charcoal²⁹
• Mercy didn’t know how much of Joel had stayed in charge when he took full tibicena form. Joel said it was hit-and-miss. So far, the tibicena had been friendly, more or less, to anyone in the pack³⁹
• Distinctive howl that was as much a weapon as the volcanic heat under his skin³⁹
• Lion-sized, half-formed and growing³⁹
• Joel was a foggy presence in the hunting party. His actions were clear, but everything else was murky and hot-rage coated. The rage was unfocused, but I could feel the fury of it building. He let out a roaring cough that sounded more like a lion’s hunting cry than anything canine, but he refrained from making the spine-chilling cry⁴³
• Joel looked a little different every time he took on the tibicena form. It was the subject of much discussion in the pack. Zack said he thought it might be because the tibicena is a creature of the volcano, and lava doesn’t have a hardened shape. That was Mercy's favorite explanation⁴⁹
• Fully formed and mostly solid, he looked a little like a foo lion, his muzzle broad and almost catlike, with a mane of dreadlocks that cracked and hissed as they moved, breaking the outer black shell and displaying liquid-orange-glowing lava that cooled rapidly to black again as some other part broke open⁴⁹
• Joel’s lips curled back, displaying black teeth and a red, red tongue. The fringe of stone mane around his neck rippled as he shook his broad head in open threat, and it made a clattering noise, almost like wind chimes⁶¹
• No human could have touched Joel when he was running that hot without getting hurt⁶³
• Fire was only one of Joel’s weapons⁶³
• Hadn't been able to stay human for longer than an hour or two until Aiden drew out the fire⁹⁰
• This time the tibicena was build like a wolf rather than the foo dog of his last appearance. Upright ears topped a muzzle that was long and narrow. His body was finer-boned than a werewolf of his size would have been, more like a wolf's gracile and narrow form. His tail was covered with molten hair, and it curled a little²⁵⁹

Silence Fallen

• Without Aiden to help Joel control the tibicena fire spirit he held, he was too likely to be a liability¹¹⁶

Columbia Basin Pack

Smoke Bitten

• Until Joel had better control of his fiery half, they would have to stay at pack central because Aiden was able to stop it when Joel's spirit decided to lose its cool¹¹⁹

Wife - Lucia Arocha

Night Broken

• “His mother never lets anyone forget it. She’s a proud woman, and she swears that not only were they Canarios, but her family actually was Guanche, descended from the original inhabitants of the islands before Spain conquered it about seven hundred years ago.” Lucia's smile broadened. “She talks about moving back there someday. I really hope that she does. We could vacation in the tropics and also see her less often. Win-win in my book.”²⁰¹

Night Broken

• his accent was Southwestern USA⁷⁵
• Dogs were his passion. He and his wife bred, showed and trained dogs⁹⁸
• As passionate in his desire to save dogs as the Marrok was to save his wolves¹⁰⁰
• From Texas²⁰⁰
• A descendant of the Canary Islanders who settled in Texas²⁰¹
• Tough, thoughtful and big-hearted³³³

Work Experience

Night Broken

• Worked in the vineyards, ten-hour days this time of year, with random days off. In the winter, he worked reduced hours and took other jobs to fill in⁷⁵
• Did some fill-in security jobs for Adam⁷⁵

Night Broken

• If his dogs were in trouble, Mercy would have to sit on him to keep him back²⁰⁶
• Believes there are more good people out there than bad²¹⁴
• Joel is a good man. He would never have killed, have sacrificed those dogs of his, given any kind of choice. He’d have killed a person before he killed those dogs²²⁴
• Tough, thoughtful, and big-hearted³³³

Fire Touched

• Joel looked at me, a little affronted at her disregard of his scariness⁸
• Joel wouldn’t survive if he killed a child⁶²

Night Broken

• Restoring a Thing, VW's version of a jeep⁷⁵

Night Broken

• Second dog-fighting outfit Joel has turned in since Christmas. If it were up to him, he’d shoot all those bastards, no trial, no nothing⁷⁶

Joel and the Pack

Night Broken

• Joel had done some work for Adam, and that was enough to make him Adam's responsibility²²³

Fire Touched

• Even though he was a member of the pack. It was as if something in his magic fought to be seen²⁶
• The troll on the Cable Bridge; This was Joel’s first public appearance as a member of the pack²⁹
• Joel had been a little more successful, and the troll had quit letting the tibicena close with him. So they’d decided to force the troll into a confrontation with Joel, more to see exactly where the troll’s weaknesses were than because they expected Joel to be able to finish him off quickly⁴³
• He was pack; he knew he was valued, that he had purpose²⁹⁸
• Mostly fit in the pack a lot better than Mercy²⁹⁸

Joel and Mercy

Night Broken

• He liked to chat with Mercy while she worked; usually they talked cars⁷⁵
• Picks up parts for his old cars from Mercy⁷⁵
• “We claim you, Joel Arocha, son of Texas, son of the Canary Islands, guardian of four-footed cousins. By my flesh and blood that is the flesh and blood that belongs to the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack is our bond sealed. From this day forward, you are mine to me and mine.”³³³

Joel and Lucia

Night Broken

• He was up here visiting some cousins when we met. We moved to Texas first, but I got homesick, and we moved back to the Tri-Cities²⁰¹

Joel and Guayota

Night Broken

• Guayota is the spirit of a Canary Islands volcano and he needed a descendant of the Canary Islands to re-create the physical form of his tibicena. He sought Joel out because his family came from the Canaries, where Guayota originated²⁰³
• He told Mercy that Guayota needs a connection to his home to function here. The dogs are that connection. Now that one of them is dead, he needs a replacement²⁰⁴
• He’s taken Joel and is forcing him to become one of his tibicenas²⁰⁵
• He was hunting his wife, and she wasn’t there. He responded like a territorial animal in a rage.” Rage at Guayota redirected at the things he loved most²²⁴

With His Dogs

Night Broken

• The dogs Joel bred were expensive, well trained, and obtainable only when he was certain the person buying them was capable of taking good care of them. They were good dogs—better, he’d told me seriously, than most people he knew. He had no use for idiots who didn’t respect the damage dogs could do when left untrained or put in situations where they felt they had to defend themselves¹⁰⁰
• In addition to breeding, he and his wife rehabbed the “aggressive” dogs that were brought to the local shelters that would otherwise have just put the dogs down¹⁰⁰
• The dogs will take on anything to defend Joel or Lucia¹⁰⁵