Moreno is a teleporting Evanidus Half Demon who appears in the Darkness Rising Trilogy books The Calling and The Gathering and the novella Atoning. He is a mercenary who is loyal to Calvin Antone above all others and dedicated to his job, with Maya Delaney stating that although she doesn't trust him she does trust that he'll follow Antone and obey him. He was part of the team hired by the Nast Cabal to secure the Project Phoenix kids from Salmon Creek after Antone told them of the project. He currently serves as the head of security for Badger Lake
In The Calling:[]
After the Salmon Creek kids' helicopter crashes Moreno is one of the men who searched the island for them. He was briefly captured and interrogated by Daniel Bianchi and Maya but gave them very little information, other than that they had Nicole Tillson informing for them and suggesting they give themselves up. They left him tied to a tree, unaware that he can teleport.
He continued searching for the teens, he was stopped from noticing them once by Daniel's Benandanti persuasion power and them attempted to lure them out using Hayley Morris as bait. Later at a camp where Nicole Tillson is being held he pulled a gun on Maya who was in cougar form but was stopped from shooting at her by Antone who realised that Maya had shifted for the first time.
In The Rising:[]
He is part of the team, with Antone, who try to capture Maya when she goes to visit her grandmother in cougar form. He also accompanies Antone to search the ferry that the Maya, Daniel and Corey evade him on. He appears again searching for them after the funeral held for the families of the Salmon Creek kids who have been convinced by the St. Cloud Cabal that their children are dead.
After Maya is spotted in cougar form he was one of the ones tracking her and her brother Ashton Gray with the aid of the Nast Cabal's Witch. After Maya is captured and placed in Nast custody at the safe house he was one of her guards and on Antone's orders he insured that Maya wasn't mistreated.
After the teens again escape and find their way to the Project Genesis II kids Moreno tricks Dr. Inglis into believing she has hired him to aid her in recapturing them. Moreno was in fact still working for Antone who had placed him with Dr. Inglis while Sean Nast was contacted by Antone to aid them in negotiations with the Nast Cabal.
Once negotiations have been concluded he stays on at Badger Lake as head of security, working with Antone. 8 months later he's teaching Ash and Maya marksmanship.
In Atoning:[]
Moreno accompanies a mixed group of Genesis and Phoenix subject kids on what was supposed to be a weekend camping trip. This trip is co-opted by a group who want to ransom the kids for Tori Enright. Moreno overhears their Badger Lake mole, Luke a security guard, and becomes suspicious of his actions, culminating in Luke's accidental death when Moreno attempts to disarm him.
Moreno allows the kids to sedate him, knowing they can't trust him. He expresses pride in their skill and lack of trust in anyone who isn't part of their close knit group. After waking from sedation he waits for the kids and escorts them back to Badger Lake.
Trivia/Personality[]
Moreno is a mercenary who appears to be willing to do most anything for money. Despite this he is genuinely loyal to his employer and assumed friend Calvin Antone and goes to lengths to stay part of Antone's team, including refusing other offers and following orders that place him in direct danger with more powerful groups such as the Nast Cabal.
Nothing is known about how Moreno came to work with Antone, for how long he has known him or what the source of his seemingly unshakeable loyalty to Antone is. Moreno is shown to have rather relaxed morals when it comes to his work that other characters find difficult to understand or empathise with but he does have lines he won't cross, such as unnecessarily harming a child or teen and killing someone who he doesn't judge to have deserved it.
Chloe Saunders states in Atoning that he has an odd and difficult relationship with Maya Delaney. Maya trusts him because of his loyalty to Antone, knowing he won't allow her or her brother Ash to come to harm as they are Antone's biological children. This trust doesn't extend far though as she still believes him capable of double crossing them and sedates him in case he is working with the group who target them during the events of Atoning.
Moreno seems unperturbed by his actions towards others, regardless as to whether he has caused them harm or not. He expresses no guilt for pointing a gun at Maya, rationalising that she was in cougar form and that if she tried attacking him he wouldn't hesitate again. This angers Maya but Moreno remains smiling. During a conversation with Rachelle Rodgers he jokingly claims to have PTSD that keeps him on his toes. He taught the Badger Lake kids and believes they should trust no one and be prepared for anything.
- He references a romantic relationship to a woman named Sheila in The Calling which is assumed to not be serious as he went on to take a job at Badger Lake.
- He refers to Maya Delaney by the nickname Miss Maya multiple times and seems impressed by what she's willing to do and her skills.
- Although he is not mentioned in The Gathering, he was part of Calvin Antone's group who tried to evacuate the Project Phoenix kids from Salmon Creek.