**Sidekick Showcase #14 ~ Creatures of the Night**

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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In honor of Halloween, for the entire month of October, Jaclyn has chosen Creatures of the Night as the theme. This includes witches, werewolves, vampires, ghouls, ghosts, zombies, and any other monster. :)

My pick for this week is:
John Pritkin, Mage
Cassandra Palmer series by Karen Chance

**I might be making a stretch here - but he's a witch...of sorts. :)**

The only thing I don't love about the Cassandra Palmer series is the length of time between books. :) 

John Pritkin is a war mage, a member of the supernatural police force. He specializes in demon killing. When his bosses send him on a new mission, to kill the new pythia (Cassie) thinking he'd have no issue with a political assassination, he ends up resigning and now serves as Cassie's bodyguard. And that is one seriously tough job. ;)

Pritkin took some time to grow on me, I have to say. I'm sure that was because I was/am Team Mircea, but I've warmed up to him over the course of the series. And that's saying something because saying he's prickly is an understatement most of the time. It might have something to do with all the snarky, sexy banter between he and Cassie. ;) Pritkin is intense, strong, loyal, seemingly has no sense of humor, and okay...kinda hot!

******

“No, Miss Palmer. What is bizarre is that I currently have a vagina.”

-Pritkin & Cassie, Curse the Dawn

“Pritkin kissed like he did everything else, straightforward, accepting no prisoners and with an intensity that left me breathless. It was hot and hard and desperate, like he was starving for it, and I opened my mouth and took it, because, God.” 

-Cassie talking about Pritkin, Embrace the Night

“How the hell do you think I feel?" I don't want to end up inside a woman!" He paused. "Well, at least not that way”

-Pritkin, Touch the Dark

“Not really hungry."

"She’ll eat." Pritkin said curtly.

"I said —"

"If you starve to death it would damage my professional reputation."

"I eat plenty."

"The same does not apply should I strangle you in understandable irritation, however."

"I’ll have a sandwich," I told Nick. "No meat.”

-Cassie & Pritkin, Embrace the Night

“I drank some too-hot coffee and scowled at him, annoyed although I couldn't remember why. The light from the lounge was leaking in, highlighting his spiky blond hair. I decided that must be it. 

"You really hate my hair, don't you?" he asked, a smile flickering over his lips so fast I might have imagined it.

"Yeah"

"Why?"

I reached out to touch it, and was surprised as always to find it mostly soft. Just a little stiff in places from whatever product he used on it. It felt weird, imagining Pritkin having anything in his hair but sweat. But he must have; nobody's did that all on its own.

"It's like...angry hair," I said, trying to pat it down and failing miserably.

He caught my wrist. "Most people would say that suits me."

"I'm not most people."

"I know.” 

-Cassie & Pritkin, Hunt the Moon

“We’re going jogging.”

“I don’t run for recreation. I run when someone’s after me with a weapon.”

“That can be arranged,” 

-Cassie & Pritkin, Embrace the Night

“And even then, it's not like you did all that much," I said, talking over him, because it was the only way to get a word in edgeways with Pritkin sometimes.

He had filched the bottle back to take a drink, but at that he lowered it and looked at me, his eyes very green next to the amber liquor. "What?"

"I just meant, it wasn't all that and a bag of chips. You know?"

He blinked at me.

"No offense," I added, because he was looking kind of poleaxed. Like maybe he hadn't had a whole lot of complaints before. Which was, frankly, pretty damn understandable. But I feigned indifference. "I mean, it couldn't have been that bad if -"

"Bad?"

"Well, not bad bad."

He just looked at me.

"I mean, I came and everything, so that has to count for some -"

I cut off because I was suddenly enveloped in a strong pair of arms, and my head was crushed to a hard chest. A chest that appeared to be vibrating. It took me a few moments to get it, and even then I wasn't so sure, because Pritkin's face was buried in my hair. But I kind of thought - as impossible as it seemed - that he might be ... laughing?”

Cassie & Pritkin, Hunt the Moon