Paisley: Demon Dog. Usually seen in her large blue-nose pit bull aspect but can also shapeshift into various sizes with or without ‘extra’ attributes, such as a mane of tentacles, red eyes, double row of teeth, and a pinkish-blue forked tongue. Rescued by Emma and the Five from the Collective as a puppy. Genetically constructed, and magically enhanced. Tied to the Five via DNA. Approximately 8 years old in Amplifier 1. Can walk through shadows and cross through the demon dimension (to be verified). Maintains a ‘stash’ of various stolen items in a pocket dimension (to be verified) that she somehow accesses via her tentacles. Eats magic, and can also regurgitate spells. Intelligent. Moody. Fiercely loyal. Personal Objects of Power: a bovine bone from a sacred cow, uses unknown to her humans but perfectly clear to Paisley. Purloined spellbooks. Lives with Emma, Christopher, Aiden, and Opal at White Owl Farm in Cowichan Lake, BC, Canada.
Paisley first appeared in The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) and is a supporting character in all the Amplifier series books.
Paisley. Demon Dog. From the Amplifier Series. LIKES: Eating in general. Hunting and eating cows. Eating magic. Stealing ginger snaps. Being paid homage in the form of food. DISLIKES: Being ignored. Salad. Illustration by Memo
Paisley. Demon Dog. From the Amplifier Series. Pictured above in full demon dog mode. Can consume magic, can regurgitate spells. Can walk through shadows and possibly dimensions (to be verified). Can shape shift. Prefers video games over card games. Illustration by Memo
The Amplifier Series is set within the larger Adept Universe but can be read separately. The main series starts with Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) but there are two prequels (bundled together) as well. Click here for the full/recommended reading order of the Adept Universe.
I felt an excerpt coming on so I put up a poll in the Facebook reader-run fan group – yes, apparently I have a thing for polls right now – and rather predictably, Paisley won by a landslide. So here is a fairly spoiler-free excerpt from Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5) including everyone’s fav demon dog!
“Emma!” Opal cried. Her shout was gleeful but more than a little concerned.
I spun toward the surf, already running.
Paisley had somehow acquired a surfboard, and was trying to drag it into the pounding surf while also climbing on top of it.
Knee-deep in the water, Juniper was watching her with both hands clamped over her mouth.
Opal was jumping up and down next to the other young witch, the waves nearly knocking her over, one after another. “Not like that!” she snapped, half-laughing and half-lecturing as she made a grab for the nose of the board Paisley was trying to mount. “You’re too heavy!”
A male wearing a half-wetsuit was striding down the beach toward the trio, his focus intent, though he wasn’t close enough for me to see his expression.
Aiden was already moving to intercept the newcomer with an easy smile plastered on his face and his hand extended. An offer to shake hands, not an overture to casting a spell.
I closed the space between me, the witches, and the demon dog, wading into the roiling surf. I made a show of grabbing Paisley’s collar and ‘helping’ her out of the pounding waves. She chortled, playing along.
Opal and Juniper rescued the surfboard, dragging it back toward Aiden and the surfer, who didn’t seem particularly distressed now that he was chatting with the sorcerer. Aiden could be as charming as he was deadly, so I wasn’t terribly surprised that he could so easily smooth over the oddity of having a surfboard stolen by a pit bull.
“You’re soaking wet,” I chided Paisley.
She snapped at my hand playfully.
I lowered my voice. “And for future reference, the waves are strong enough that they should have knocked you over.” I hit the word ‘should’ hard.
Paisley eyed the crashing waves, our ankles getting more and more buried in the sand under the onslaught. Then she snorted dismissively.
I tucked my hand under her chin, forcing eye contact. “Opal could have gotten hurt.”
Paisley blinked up at me, then over at Opal. Who was apparently in the process of interrogating the surfer about where she could rent a board and what he would recommend for a beginner.
Paisley pressed her nose against my wrist, clearly apologetic.
“I know,” I murmured. “I would never hurt her either, but we have to remember she wasn’t … bred like us.”
The Amplifier Series is set within the larger Adept Universe but can be read separately. The main series starts with Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) but there are two prequels (bundled together) as well. Click here for the full/recommended reading order of the Adept Universe
Memo, the illustrator who has been drawing all the character sketches for the Adept Universe bible (find the others at the bottom on the Extras page), made some wallpapers of Emma and Paisley from the Amplifier Series! The Amplifier Series officially starts with Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1), but there is also a prequel novel and novelette, both are found in The Amplifier Protocol. Memo formatted both wallpapers for Android, iPhone X, older Phone, and tablet/desktop. Clicking on the corresponding link below each sketch should take you to the full-sized image, and there you can download it to your computer/phone/tablet.
Michael already has Paisley on his phone (he demanded that I airdrop it to him immediately upon seeing it). It looks seriously cool.
Emma, always primed to kick some ass! Illustration by Memo.
Feel free to share these images on your social media pages as well. You can use the tags: #AdeptUniverse or #AmplifierSeries or #MeghanCianaDoidge, etc, etc. And tag me! I’m @MeghanCianaDoidge on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. @mcdoidge on Twitter.
Oh! Watch this space for the preorder notice for the next book in the Amplifier Series, Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5) coming VERY SOON!!
I’m working through the editor’s line edit on Idol and Enemies (Amplifier 4) and since I’m refining the text, etc, I thought it would be fun to share a short snippet. When I asked for requests over on Facebook and Twitter, the overwhelming majority voted for more Paisley content. So here you go!
Warning: it’s rather difficult to pull chunks out of Amplifier 4 without spoilers, so there are characters in this snippet that you haven’t met yet.
Aiden released my hand, stepping over to the kitchen island. “Whose turn is next?”
Khalid cleared his throat, eyeing Paisley and then glancing over Aiden’s shoulder at me. “Mine. If I step back, will Paisley try to rip my throat out?”
“I never really know,” I said casually. “Shall I ask her not to eat you, sorcerer?”
“You haven’t already?” Ocean cried. Then she blushed fiercely.
I didn’t answer.
So apparently, I could play games. For my own pleasure, at least. Though by the look Aiden angled at me, I’d managed to amuse him as well.
Aiden took Khalid’s spot at the island. Paisley hooked paws that were too big for her current body on the edge of the speckled quartz counter and pulled herself up. Her nose skimmed the low edge of the magical grid. Sickled claws shot out from her paws.
Across from the demon dog, Sky meeped.
I wasn’t certain I’d ever heard a human make that particular sound before.
“Paisley,” I said in a warning tone.
The demon dog retracted the claws, laughing at me with her eyes.
Paisley shoved herself between Aiden and his father. A single tentacle sprung forth from her neck. It was wrapped around a large bovine bone. The demon dog flashed a double row of sharp teeth at Kader, then poked him in the thigh with the bone.
“Ah,” Kader said. “Look at you, beautiful. I didn’t know that any of you had survived.” He glanced at me. “Did you get the entire litter out?”
I hadn’t. Only Paisley had survived the destruction we Five had wrought on the compound when we’d escaped the Collective.
Paisley poked Kader with the bone again.
“Yes, sorry,” he said to her. Then he wrapped his hand around the end of the bone, gazing deliberately into Paisley’s blood red eyes.
Silence stretched. A distant rooster crowed, then the rooster overseeing our flock responded. An airplane passed overhead.
Aiden glanced my way questioningly.
I shrugged. Paisley had done something similar when Opal had appeared on the property, making her hold the bone as well. I hadn’t thought to mention it to anyone. But the demon dog seemed to be using the bone that Aiden had given her as some sort of way to vet intruders, friend from possible tasty treat.
Not that I’d let the demon dog eat someone. Though, even I couldn’t stop everything that might happen in the heat of battle.
– Excerpt from Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4), 4th draft. Releasing Sept/Oct 2020.
