**WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP**
**SPOILER ALERT**

The following compendium of all things Harry Russo contains minor spoilers for the series as well as dream cast representations of the main characters.

Scroll down at your own risk.

 

The Cast

Harry & Friends

Angharad Grainne Russo (pronounced An-HAR-ad) – prefers the name Harry. Harry is a hedge witch with the knack to grow anything. She can also see and hear ghosts and has powers over the dead that she can’t (or chooses not to) explain. Five foot eight inches tall with short, dirty blonde hair and a Tom-boyish figure, in later books Harry learns she is a dhamphir (half human-half vampire) and that her father is Salvador, the Magister of the Cimmerian.

Therese “Tess” Fuentes – Harry’s BFF and one of her roommates. Harry and Tess were raised as sisters.  Tess is a werewolf and has been trained in many forms of self-defence and weaponry. Short and scrappy with a gorgeous head of shoulder length, wavy, black hair and Latino features, she’s a real knock-out who can literally knock you out with one punch. Trained in a multitude of martial arts,
from Tai Chi to Krav Maga, she has black belts in four of them and beats up men twice her size on a daily basis at her uncle’s gym.

Aislin Russo (pronounced ASH-lin)  – a.k.a. Gran. After Harry’s mom died in childbirth, Gran raised Harry and later took in Tess as well. She died seven years ago but still haunts Harry.

Holly Madison– one of Harry’s roommates. A hearth witch with strong healing abilities, Holly works as a nurse. Holly is a curvy blonde who looks like she belongs on the set of a California surfer movie, her golden locks and perpetual tan – courtesy of no small talent in magical body modification – accentuate her usually sunny disposition.

Cian Nash (pronounced KEE-an) – a detective with the Riverton Police Department in a special unit called the SRU (Supernatural Response Unit). He’s also a member of the werewolf pack. Standing at six foot four with the well-proportioned build of someone who works out, Nash has short, light brown hair, startling green eyes and a somewhat surly (or should I say growly?) disposition.

Isaac – a Vlad (vampire) of substantial power. He becomes Harry’s vampire servant after she inadvertently binds his will to hers. A bit old-fashioned, but Harry and Tess are working on him. Elegantly dressed (usually too formal by modern standards), dark hair, neatly trimmed beard, blue eyes.

Salvador Arroyo – the Magister, or leader, of the Cimmerian.  The most powerful vampire in town and a wealthy businessman in the norm community. He is the Kingpin of
the underworld with his fingers in a lot of pies. He is of average build, appearing to be in his mid to late thirties (but his real age is over four digits). He prefers to be clean shaven and has short brown hair, a hawkish nose, and a distinctly Mediterranean complexion.

Tomas Guerra– Salvador’s right hand man and a dhamphir, half vampire-half human. A tall, lean and brooding man who looks like he fell straight out of the pages of GQ; he wears his dark hair slicked back.

Bryce Chow – Harry’s “meet-cute”. A computer programmer/hacker who doesn’t always wear a white hat, Bryce ends up dead and later haunts Harry’s computer. When setting Harry up with him, Gran described Bryce as an Asian Cary Grant. He has prominent cheekbones, a high forehead, strong chin, and works out enough to have a fit body.

Mrs.Potts – a.k.a. Mrs. P.  Harry’s shop assistant. She used to be Harry’s boss until she sold the flower shop to Harry. She’s also a Fae, a Brownie, and is tied to the firehall. She keeps the building in order.

Tiffy – half Brownie, half Bogle, Mrs. P’s niece. Tall and slender to the point of being skeletal, she has a bird-like quality about her, from her somewhat beaky nose to her long, stork-like legs and gangly arms. Her head is crowned with a long mane of curly, red hair.

Hilde – a very old, low-level vampire and friend of Isaac’s.  She asks Harry to bind her as a servant so that she no longer has to work as a sex toy.

Maxwell Hart – newly elected, youngest ever, Hammer of the coven’s Conclave. Appears to be in his mid-thirties with black hair and a distinctive white streak. Max is a powerful shaman.

Barbie – twenty-something werewolf hired to work in the coffee shop

Tank – a werewolf and bouncer at The Lodge. An extreme body-builder almost as wide as he is tall. His real name is Thadeus.

 

Supporting Roles

Deirdre Russo –  Aislin’s daughter and Harry’s mother, deceased (well, sorta). In Deadlocked Harry finds out she is alive (well, not dead at least).

Devlin “Dev” Mayes – Cian’s partner on the police force. He’s a norm, but has latent powers of persuasion that come in handy. Short, slim, mixed race-African American with warm mocha skin and short dreadlocks.

Rodrigo “Uncle Rigo” Fuentes – Tess’s uncle. Owner of the Rockford Gym.

Eileen and Christina Nash – two of Cian’s sisters. Both tall brunettes with blue eyes.

Eleanor Nash – Cian’s mother. Pack alpha and member of the Triad. An elegant beauty that has aged gracefully. Green eyes and brown hair streaked with grey.

Evaine – Cian’s oldest sister
Kevin – Evaine’s mate
Michelle – Evaine’s daughter (a toddler)

Daniel Nash – the patriarch of the Nash family, deceased, appears as a wolf ghost.

Jubilee “Juba” Daniels – one of Harry’s customers
Millie Daniels – Juba’s wife
Neville Daniels – Juba’s son from his first marriage

Mrs. Flannigan – a spinster that lives in the neighbourhood and frequents the flower shop looking for Isaac’s baking. A regular customer at the coffee shop.

Morris (and the boys) – unspecified fey that work as carpenters and general contractors on the firehall renovations

Nick, the doorman at Dante’s – an undead (vampire) ringer for Ozzy Osborne

Jimmy – delivery guy for Harry’s flower shop. A werewolf, he also works at the gym with Tess.

Father Mike – the priest at St Anthony’s whose Mass services pack a supernatural punch.

Angelica – a member of the Conclave
Marshall – a member of the Conclave

Marcel – mid-level vamp and manager of Ares, the fight club

Jon – a werewolf assigned to watch out for Harry during the day
Mike – another werewolf bodyguard assigned by Nash to watch Harry

Artie Banks – a werewolf Pack member and wholesale restaurant supplier

Charles “Charlie” Harris – Pack alpha, member of the Triad
James Martin – Pack alpha, member of the Triad

Martin – Barbie’s brother, works for the SRU
Dylan, Roy, Tommy – Barbie’s other brothers

 

Every Story Needs a Bad Guy (or Girl)

Levi DiCastro – a former member of the Conclave until he was banished for using dark magic.  Later returns with a plan to raise the Egyptian god Osiris by killing Harry with the Dagger of Asar (an ancient artifact) and stealing her powers.

Douglas Bellemare – a norm business man and the leader of a secret society, the Society of Montferrat. He’s a descendant of the Fae Prince, Eliassander.

Elian Navarre – a.k.a. Eliassander.  A Fae prince banned from leaving Underhill with one exception – he can be called forth by a member of his bloodline.

The Mariposa (La Mariposa de la Muerte) – an ancient vampire who runs the majority of territory in Southern Europe (including Portugal, Spain, France and Italy).  She goes by the name Catalina Gutierrez.

Benicio – a vampire in the Mariposa’s entourage.  He has the ability to control werewolves and abuses it.

Juan Carlo – a vampire in the Mariposa’s entourage with the ability to fool the mind

Seth Zaebos – a.k.a. Set, the Egyptian Storm god, brother to Osiris.  Set murdered Osiris and was later killed himself by Horus, Osiris’s son. He serves in Hell as a lieutenant of Asmodeus

 

Someone Has to Wear the Red Shirt 

Charles Mathers – a dead university student (a norm)
Jonathan Turner – another dead university student (also a norm)
Darryl Leroy Sutcliffe – Susan Cooper’s dead ex-boyfriend
William Koenig – a recently deceased business tycoon

 

Others

Bianca Chow – Bryce’s sister

Diego – The Mariposa’s “son”
Bartolo – The Mariposa’s other “son”
Both Diego and Bartolo were taken as children and raised by the Mariposa who later turned them into vampires.

Susan Cooper – a young woman haunted by her abusive ex-boyfriend.  Harry exorcises his ghost.
Grimes – a vampire, the Magister’s orator
Willow – a vampire and artist.  Works evenings in the coffee shop.
Hector – a werewolf and outrageous flirt who styles himself as a Latin-lover type. Works at the coffee shop.
Mofo – the ghost of a washed up children’s entertainer from the 50’s.  Dresses like a clown.
Reginald DeGrasse – a lawyer and partner in the law firm, Martins, Newburg and DeGrasse
Elise Koenig – William Koenig’s daughter
William Koenig, Jr. – William Koenig’s estranged son
Tosh – the ghost of a young, skater girl
Mr. Zed – a daemon of higher power.  Servant of Set.

 

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Vampires

There are different types of vampires, depending on their abilities and power level. 

Dhamphirs – Most vampires are made in the traditional way through the Eternal Kiss, but there can also be born vampires. These are people that are born with the vamp “gene” that will kick in on their first death to make them undead.  Dhamphirs are very rare and result from the successful mating between a male vampire and a female human. While alive, they don’t need blood, but they can get a euphoric high from it. They may also have some special powers including supernatural strength and speed.

Cutters – are the wannabe vamps. They are the Goths that like to play at being vampires. They are called cutters because of the practice of keeping a small razor blade to slice the skin so they can suck blood. Most cutters are just posers, but some have potential to be true vamps. The ones with potential will actually gain energy from blood, like a high. Cutters are not undead but they hang around the real vampires in the hopes of receiving the “Kiss”.

Vampires – are lower level.  They are undead and have retractable fangs. They must drink blood to survive.  They can still eat and drink, but without a daily dose of live blood they will begin to lose their essence.  Vampires can be of varying power, but generally aren’t very powerful.

Vlads – Powerful vampires are called Vlads. Vlads can go out in the day but tend to have an aversion to direct sunlight.  No vampire, no matter how powerful can be out in the light of the dawning sun.

Princes, Kings, Emperors (and their corresponding female titles) – These are the higher power levels of the vampire hierarchy and much more rare. Depending on how powerful, they can draw life essence from mere skin to skin touch. Some can absorb it from their surroundings. They don’t need to get it from a blood meal, but that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy blood.

Ghosts

Some spirits linger after death. They don’t necessarily have unfinished business; sometimes they just decide they don’t want to leave, or they get confused and “miss the subway ride down the tunnel of light”.

Ghosts are electrical. They require energy to exist. They usually just absorb it from their surroundings. That’s why ghosts are more prevalent now than 50 years ago. There is more electrical energy leaking into the atmosphere because of all our electronic devices. A ghost’s ability to solidify can be enhanced by a medium’s ability to channel energy to the spirit. 

A hand-held Taser is a great way to make a ghost temporarily dissipate.

To permanently get rid of a ghost you need a medium to banish the spirit. Some mediums have intricate rituals, but really you just need the “supernatural juice” to do it. It doesn’t matter what you say or do, you just have to have the psychic push to dislodge them and send them on their way.

 

 

FYI

Some things or terms you may want to know:

Pequeña – means ‘Little One’ in Spanish.  It’s the endearment Salvador calls Harry.

Magister – the leader of the supernatural community. In an act of unprecedented cooperation between the Werewolf Triad and the Coven representing magic-users, Salvador was elected the Magister of Riverton and surrounding territory.

Athame – Harry’s ritual knife (pronounced ATH-uh-may)

The Dagger of Asar – Asar is another name for Osiris. The Dagger of Asar is a weapon of legend believed to have been used by Isis, Osiris’s wife, to raise him from the dead after he was murdered by his brother Set. A black magic ritual using the dagger allows the wielder to absorb the power of its victim. When Harry uses it to kill the Mariposa, the dagger shatters.

Harry’s  Businesses:
Contain Yourself – Harry’s flower shop that specializes in container planting
Full Fat Coffee Company – Harry’s coffee shop

Salvador’s Clubs and Businesses
Dante’s Inferno – nightclub and S&M sex club
Seven (as in the seven deadly sins) – casino
Bacchus – upscale club
Ares – fight club

The Triad – the governing body of the werewolves and shifters. The alpha from each of Riverton’s three packs holds a seat as a voting member.

The Conclave – the ruling council of witches. The Conclave consists of thirteen very powerful witches or mages. The makeup of the council can change from year to year based on a nomination/selection process that ensures only the most powerful, white magic practitioners are accepted but generally, once you’re on the council you stay there for life or you decide to retire. Each year one of the thirteen members is selected to serve as the Hammer or leader of the witch community.

The Cimmerian – (pronounced Si-MARE-ian) the supernatural underworld.  The Magister is the head of the Cimmerian. There is an alliance between the Triad, the Conclave and the Vampires, and Salvador serves as the Magister. The Triad and Conclave choose to let him because they would rather not be involved with the unsavoury side of human-nonhuman interaction. The werewolves also prefer Salvador over other vampires because he has more progressive views about werewolves.

SRU – Supernatural Response Unit – a team of specially trained police that respond to supernatural crimes. Members are mainly vampires, werewolves and magic users, but a select few norms that are in the know when it comes to the supernatural community also make up the team.

Society of Montferrat – named after the Marquis de Montferrat, also known as Count Saint-Germain, a philospher and occultist believed to be a Prince of Transylvania. Saint-Germain was rumoured to have found the secret to immortal life and claimed to be over 500 years old. He disappeared mysteriously from his laboratory in the Schleswig region of Germany in 1779. Members of this secret society pledge to continue to search for the “elixir of life”, Saint-Germaine’s secret to immortality. The society’s symbol is a blazon or shield with a red field and a white saltire cross.

 

Places of Interest

Riverton – Harry’s hometown

Aldergrove – the rural, almost commune-like, witch community where Harry grew up.

Minetti’s – a Riverton institution.  A mom-and-pop joint that opened shortly after the turn of the last century and has been run by a member of the extended Minetti family ever since.  It doesn’t matter who is running the place, there always seems to be a Mama Minetti. Harry thinks their spaghetti carbonara is the best and the meatball subs a close second. The chocolate cassata (Italian chocolate cake) is orgasmic – layers of rich, dense chocolate cake sandwiched around layers of sweetened ricotta cheese with chocolate chips, smothered in a thick, creamy fudge frosting.

Cirque – a five star, very expensive restaurant in downtown Riverton with a phenomenal 360 degree view of the city

Dorfman’s – a gourmet donut shop.  Harry’s favourite is the BMG, the Bacon Maple Glazed.  Moist, dense cake donuts, glazed with maple syrup frosting and liberally covered with strips of crispy bacon

Rockford Gym – Tess’ Uncle Rigo’s gym

St. Anthony’s Catholic Church – one of Harry’s favourite churches in the city because of its gleaming stained glass windows.  Father Mike is the residing priest.

The Lodge – the Werewolf pack’s meeting place, a.k.a. party headquarters.  It fronts the Ice House, a huge dance bar/nightclub.