**Sidekick Showcase ~ #9**

Sidekick Showcase (previously known as Sidekick Saturday) is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in this week's type
• Share a picture (if possible) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• Put your link in the Linky thing and comment

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This week, Jaclyn has selected The Walking Dead as the theme. And my pick is:

Cyrus Kerrick
from the Blood Ties series by Jennifer Armintrout

Yes, Jennifer Armintrout, not to be confused with Jennifer L. Armentrout. I'm gonna let y'all in on a secret...I never would have read JLA if I hadn't read JA and gotten them confused! LOL

Okay, about the Blood Ties series...I can't remember, honestly, how I came upon this series! But I loved it! Again, it was something I read soon after Stephenie Meyer had pulled me out of my reading comfort zone. I'm gonna admit that I'd chosen one character from this series and had my post ready to go...but while looking for quotes for that character, I realized I kinda liked a different character even more! LOL What does it say about me that I chose the bad guy over the good guy?? And this was a difficult decision for me because there are SO many choices for this theme. So I, once again, went with a series I don't hear much about. :)

I believe this series is categorized as Paranormal Romance, but it's really more urban fantasy with some horror thrown in. It's very dark and gritty. And it's a unique take on vampires. This series is intricately written with a strong cast of characters. I think I'd compare it to Kim Harrison's The Hollows or Rachel Vincent's Shifters, in that while there is a main character, the whole cast plays such prominent roles, the main character's role is not so.

Cyrus is a vampire. He's quite ruthless and perverse, when we first meet him. And he's one of the characters that you hate at the beginning but end up loving over the course of the series. In the first book, The Turning, Cyrus is a very self-centered. He sires Carrie, the MC, and manipulates her at every turn to get what he wants. You see, when a vampire sires a fledgling, they have a blood tie. This blood tie give the sire a certain amount of control over the fledgling. And Cyrus wasn't opposed to using this tie, or anything else he could think of, to control Carrie. In the next book, Possession, Cyrus has experienced an interesting turn of events. He's much more vulnerable in this book, and here is where my feeling toward him began changing. He becomes a much more sympathetic character. In Ashes to Ashes, the dynamics change even more between Cyrus, Carrie, and Nathan (the third in this not so loving love triangle). And in the end, with All Souls' Night, I found I wanted Cyrus' story to continue.

“I'm sorry I'm not more cultured. I'll watch PBS. And cut people open for fun. Will that be better? Will you be less embarrassed to be my fledgling then?”  --Cyrus, The Turning

“Look, I'm very sorry for any wrong I've committed, intentionally or accidentally, against any member of your pack or kennel or whatnot. I mean that truly and sincerely, from the very core of my being. But I'm tired. Please imagine what it's like to be raised from the dead by a deranged vampire-motorcyle-gang-religious cult, only to be dragged across the country in a van driven by your ex-lover and fledgling who hates you and no longer sympathizes with the human need for waste elimination. I have neither the energy nor the inclination to write a ten page statement officially apologizing for the evils of my past, and if you expect me to, kindly throw yourself beneath the wheels of a moving train.” --Cyrus, Possession

“I have to go. I have a finite amount of life left and I don't want to spend it arguing with you.”  --Cyrus, Ashes to Ashes

"Did she? That is disappointing. I suppose I'll just have to go back to my cell without the pleasure of Dahlia's company. Perhaps I can slam my hand in the door over and over again to compensate for that loss."  --Cyrus, All Souls' Night

"Do you really want me in your life again? Won't it destroy the perfect solution I provided you with my death?"

My heart lurched in my chest. "You think I wanted you dead?"

He couldn't meet my eyes. "It certainly made your choice easier. Which one to pick, your sire or your fledgling?" --Cyrus and Carrie, All Souls' Night