The Darkest Gate

The Darkest Gate is a 2012 urban fantasy novel by SM Reine, and is the second full-length novel in The Descent Series. It continues the adventures of Elise Kavanagh, who is being targeted for revenge by a rogue kopis named Mr. Black. As with the previous novel, Death's Hand, the novel blends elements of action-adventure, epic fantasy, horror, and mystery.

Book description
When Elise Kavanagh retired from demon hunting, she swore it would be permanent. But an attack from a powerful necromancer forced her back into the business, and now she's trying to balance her normal boyfriend and normal job with everything supernatural.

Mr. Black is a demon hunter gone rogue. He's enslaving angels and stealing ethereal artifacts in pursuit of forbidden immortality, and an old grudge drives him to make his final stand in Elise's territory. Destroying her life and killing her friends isn't the goal, but it's a definite perk.

A demonic overlord offers to join against Mr. Black and protect Elise's loved ones. All she needs to do is ally with the demons she's sworn to kill, at the cost of her morals--and maybe her immortal soul. But once she crosses that line, there's no turning back.

Nothing is sacred when Heaven and Hell collide on Earth...

Characters
The Darkest Gate features the following characters.

Major Characters

 * Elise Kavanagh
 * James Faulkner
 * Anthony Morales
 * Betty Beaty

Other Recurring Characters
The Darkest Gate features a number of recurring characters, including David Nicholas, Neuma, and Stephanie Whyte. Recurring characters such as Nukha'il, Itra'il, and Thom Norrel are also introduced.

Non Recurring Characters

 * The Night Hag
 * Mr. Black
 * Alain Daladier

Timeline placement
The flashback sections of The Darkest Gate occur in May and June 1999 and depict the complete story of Elise and James's first encounter with Mr. Black. The modern day sections occur in July 2009.