Characters in the Hollows series explained

Rachel Morgan / The Hollows series is a series of urban fantasy novels in an alternate history setting by Kim Harrison that take place primarily in the city of Cincinnati and a nearby enclave on the opposite side of the Ohio River nicknamed "The Hollows".

Following is a list of major and minor characters in the series.

Major characters

Rachel Mariana Morgan

A witch initially working as a runner for the Inderland Security (I.S.) service. She procures three wishes from a leprechaun she apprehends on her last run for the Inderlander Security service and uses a wish to get her independence. She makes a deal with the living vampire Ivy Tamwood and the pixy Jenks to give them the remaining wishes for their assistance in leaving the I.S. After creating the Vampiric Charms freelance runner service, Ivy and Jenks become her partners in taking various runs, or 'missions', both together and separately. In earlier books, she works to remove a death bounty placed on her by her former employer as well as freeing herself from a demon's curse. In the most recent books, Rachel finds herself learning about and using ley line and demon magic, both in order to do her job and protect her life and the lives of her friends and family. She is deeply ambivalent about using dark magic, but she will continue to do so when she finds it necessary.

Ivy Alisha Tamwood

A living vampire who works with Rachel at the I.S. and follows her into freelance work. Ivy is six feet tall, elegantly thin, and very pale with long black hair and an Asian cast. Ivy struggles with her vampiric nature on a personal level, and she also attempts to keep Rachel from other vampires and adversaries. She is bisexual and harbors a deep longing and affection for Rachel. She is deeply devoted to Rachel and Jenks, doing whatever it takes for them to be safe and happy, especially Rachel. Ivy is the last living vampire of the Tamwood family, and she is a sort of prodigy under her old master vampire Piscary.

Jenks

A pixy who joins Rachel and Ivy in their freelance business, Vampiric Charms. He often provides the comedy in the novels as well as working as a saboteur, electronics expert, and spy. He is always watching out for Rachel, worries about her and Ivy's interactions, as well as the men who come into her life as they usually turn out to be untrustworthy. When joining Rachel in her life post-I.S., he uses his wish to make himself sterile in order to prevent his wife from leaving him; they have 54 children, and she would not survive having more, the last birthing of pixy newlings did not survive the year the family moved into the church. Nearing the maximum life expectancy for pixies, he worries about what will happen to both his family and his partners after he is gone; Rachel unknowingly resets his life span with a transformation curse. His wife, Matalina, dies. Jenks is something of a pixy pioneer, going where no pixy has gone before. He also owns the church the partners all live in.

Secondary Characters

Algaliarept "Al"

See also: Agaliarept. A demon who trades in demonic familiars. Summoned to kill both Rachel and Trent in the first novel, he becomes more than just a staple character in the second after making deals with Rachel and Nick. Algaliarept is determined to replace Ceri with Rachel as his familiar, and most of his plots revolve around these efforts. Rachel derisively refers to him as "Big Al," which also helps her to avoid accidentally summoning the demon. When the demons accidentally discover that he concealed the fact that Rachel can spindle ley line energy, he falls into disgrace. After Rachel steals his summoning name from within the ever-after, he makes a deal with her, agreeing to take her on as a student and teach her demon magic to help regain his reputation and stay out of prison. He later finally agrees to switch summoning names back with Rachel in "Black Magic Sanction " after Rachel is summoned by the coven of moral and ethical standards on multiple occasions. He is referred to as "Gally" by Newt. He was married to a demoness named Celfnnah.

Captain S. Edden

Initially appears in Dead Witch Walking. The captain of the local FIB office. Arranges for the FIB to pay off Rachel's death bounty in exchange for her becoming a freelance operative aiding the FIB in their attempt to keep up with the I.S. Rachel's pay from the FIB eventually becomes entangled in red tape, so Edden arranges for her to own Francis's car after he is murdered.

Ceridwen "Ceri" Merriam Dulciate

An elf of royal blood who spent a thousand years as Algaliarept's familiar. Ceri loved Al and chose to go with him into the ever-after rather than marry the elven prince she was betrothed to, grow old, and eventually die. She is rescued by Rachel from her servitude. She is adept in demon magic and lived with Keasley until she became pregnant and moved into the Kalamack compound (supposedly as an undercover spy for Rachel, who Ceri claims is her Sa'han). Ceri is skilled at both Ley Line and Demon magic, and has taught Rachel a great deal about both. While she finds Trent Kalamack attractive, she falls in love with Quen, who fathers her child, Ray. Ray is a girl, named after Rachel (her godmother) and is the second born of the new, cured elven generation. She and Trent act as a public couple, maintain a warm relationship, and co-parent Lucy and Ray, but neither has romantic feelings for the other.

David Hue

A were loner and insurance claims adjuster. Forms a pack with Rachel as his alpha bitch in an effort to evade the responsibility of a true pack while gaining the professional benefits of being a pack's alpha. Assists Rachel in a couple of her cases. Affected by the were focus he hides for Rachel, he unintentionally turns several human girlfriends into weres, leading to several of their deaths; two of these women survived, adding to David and Rachel's pack. Has the powerful curse of the were focus transferred into him to save Rachel's life. Uncomfortable around Ivy, who has a crush on him. Refuses to date species that didn't originate from humans (e.g., witches). Values loyalty and trust in interpersonal relationships. Their pack is called the Black Dandelion Pack.

Detective Mathew Glenn

Initially appears in The Good, The Bad, and The Undead. Detective Glenn is the adoptive son of Captain Edden, he works with Rachel on several cases. It is an open secret in the department that he is Edden's son, and keeping the secret silent is something of a running gag in the books. After Piscary forces Glenn to eat some Pizza, and Rachel and Ivy continue to introduced him to foods containing tomatoes which he now craves, much to his own chagrin. He dates Ivy starting in Black Magic Sanction. He and Ivy date for a while, and later they add Daryl as a threesome (during A Perfect Blood). Daryl moves in with Glenn. After the events in A Perfect Blood, he quits the FIB and moves to Flagstaff, AZ with the nymph, Daryl, partially because of the cleaner air for the nymph health. Rachel also believes that the-men-who-don’t-belong asked him to come to work for them. Ivy stays on good terms with both, actually going to Flagstaff to help them move. But they officially break-up after the move.

Kisten "Kist" Parker Felps

A vampire who has a long history with Ivy, both as a friend and a lover, and understands her past better than anyone. He runs Piscary's operation as his scion. Kisten and Rachel become involved after Nick's departure from Cincinnati. Ostracized by Piscary for protecting Rachel and Ivy, he dies twice (as a living and dead vampire) on the same night. The second death is to protect Rachel. In White Witch, Black Curse, we find out the vampire he was given to was Ivy's ex-boss, Art, whom she and Kisten had framed for a murder.

Nicholas "Nick" Gregory Sparagmos

Nick has a number of professions such as demonologist, wizard (human that practices magic), and librarian, but his vocation is as a professional thief. Early in the series, he is Rachel's boyfriend, but after Rachel accidentally makes him her familiar, they begin to drift apart and eventually he ends their romantic relationship. Nick betrays Rachel's trust multiple times throughout the series (e.g., by trading personal information about her to Algaliarept, attempting to steal the Focus from Rachel, ratting her out to the Witch Council, etc.). He works with Jenks' eldest son, Jax; Jenks believes Nick corrupted his son.Newt claims him as her familiar as payment for the death of her familiar Pierce.

Trenton Aloysius Kalamack

An elf who is an extremely successful businessman with massive resources and wealth. Served for years on the City Council. He operates in the Hollows underground and runs several illegal operations on the side. Considered a good and kind employer and city benefactor, he nonetheless murders people throughout the series and does several other morally questionable things, earning Rachel's derision. He serves as a major antagonist/foil for the series, as Rachel knows of his crimes and repeatedly attempts to bring him to justice. He and Rachel have some shared history through the friendship and collaborative work of their fathers, who died days apart. They also attended summer camp together as children, where each received illegal medical treatments. He knows of Rachel's abilities and often seeks to have her work for him, which she rarely does willingly. His title among fellow elves who work for him is "Sa'han". He officially becomes Rachel's familiar in The Outlaw Demon Wails when she sacrifices some of her freedom to save him; this bond is later severed by Rachel. In Pale Demon, Trent asks Rachel to help him on an "elf quest" that proves to be stealing his daughter Lucy (his and Ellasbeth's). In A Perfect Blood, Trent admits to himself that he may be falling in love with Rachel, whom he rescues from a number of dangerous situations throughout the same book. Rachel is the godmother to Trent's children, Lucy and Ray. Ray is not Trent's child by blood, she is Ceri and Quen's child which is stated in the book "Outlaw Demon Wails".

Quen Hanson

Trent's security chief. He has, on occasion, saved Rachel's life, such as when she confronted Piscary after the rape and subsequent scion-making of Ivy. Rachel saved his, when she talked him through the drastic cure that freed him from the influence of Piscary's bites. He is known to wield black ley line magic, tinged green, and he is the father of Ceri's baby. Quen is "familiar" in Vietnamese

Additional Characters

In alphabetical order:

Organizations


Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kim Harrison's Takata's Lyrics.