Books like Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey

In the first book of the Diana Tregarde series, Dallas police detective Mark Valdez—who possesses limited psychic powers—investigates a series of cattle mutilations and torture murders that seem linked. He realizes the killings are orchestrated by a figure who embodies Tezcatlipoca, an Aztec god awakening in modern times. To confront this threat, Mark allies with Diana Tregarde, a young romance novelist who is secretly a Guardian—a witch tasked with protecting Earth and its inhabitants. Together, they blend contemporary policing, psychic insight, and ancient magic to thwart Tezcatlipoca’s plans to perform a sacrifice that could reshape North America into a new Aztec realm. The story places the characters within a shared universe that includes elves, magic, and contemporary life, and is part of a series recently re‑issued by Tor.

First publish date: 1989