I had a new story release yesterday. Light Up the Night is my contribution to the Shadows and Chaos story collection. This is a Children of Night story and it features my vampires Heather and Drew.
Sure things are heating up for them NOW, but it wasn't always that way! Here's our first look at the pair, way back in book two of the series, Old Sins, Long Shadows:
Living forever is hard. Loving forever? Impossible.
Excerpt:
Danny leaned across the bar. Motioning with his head toward the front of the club he said, “Mr. Geiger? That crazy girl’s back.”
“What?” Drew shot a startled glance in the direction Danny had indicated. His expression darkened. “Son of a bitch, I thought we’d seen the last of her.” Growling in annoyance, he downed his stout and set the glass on the bar with a thump. “Right. I’ll just go kick her ass to the curb. Again.”
“Why? What’d she do?” Marc studied the slight blonde standing just inside the door. She looked young, still in her teens most likely. Not that appearances were anything to go by when it came to vampires of course, but there was a hungry, desperate, confused look on her face as she scanned the crowd that marked her as a probable newbie. Marc knew a moment of empathy. “Who is she?”
Drew shook his head. “She’s no one. Just some feral kitten who keeps coming around scaring the crap out of people.”
“She scares people? Are you serious?”
“Look at her, man.” Danny’s voice held more than a hint of panic. “She’s outta control! She nearly ripped some poor guy’s head off the first time she came in here, before anyone knew what she was. She still looks like she could kill someone.”
“Yes, well, she probably has.” Drew shot Danny a pitying glance. “Relax. We talked about this last time, didn’t we? She’s not going to be doing it here. Now get back to work. I’ll take care of things, just like always. Got that?”
Danny nodded. “Yes, sir,” he murmured, his tone subdued.
As Drew headed for the door, Marc fell into step beside him. “A feral kitten? What the hell, bro? That’s way cold.”
“Is it? The girl’s a nuisance. You saw how Danny was affected, didn’t you? He’s not the only one feels that way.”
“Yeah, but what’s it even mean?”
Drew shook his head. “It means she’s fresh-out-of-the-box new—all teeth and claws and no skills whatsoever. She has no family, no nest, no house. Nobody has any idea who made her or, if they do, they’re not admitting to it. I’m actually surprised she’s still hanging around. She must have had the gods’ own luck to survive for as long as she has out on the street on her own. Still, it’s only a matter of time before her luck runs out and she’s put down. Sooner the better, I say.”
“Put down? You mean killed?” Startled, Marc put a hand on his friend’s arm to stop him. “Drew, she’s just a kid.”
Drew turned to him, his glance skeptical. “Not too likely, is it? If she’s enough of an adult to survive being turned, she’s old enough to suffer the consequences of her actions.”
“Whatever. You’re still talking about murder.”
Drew glanced impatiently toward the door. “Look, Marc, I realize it may seem unpleasant from your perspective, but that’s the human in you talking. This is the way things work in our world and trust me, it’s for the best. Ferals are notoriously difficult to deal with. They’re answerable to no one, which makes them almost impossible to rehabilitate even in the best of circumstances. For one so young, someone who’s had no training at all, it’s fairly hopeless. Unless the girl wises up somehow, which I can’t really see happening, she’ll likely be dead within a matter of weeks. Certainly by year’s end at the very latest. With any luck, the end will be quick and relatively painless, but that’s really the most she can hope for. Now, would you please let me go? I have work to do.”
“What is she doing that’s so wrong? So she scares people. Big deal. So do we.”
Drew sighed. “It is a big deal actually, and it’s not at all the same thing. What we do is conscious and calculated, undertaken with a clear understanding of the risks involved. What she does is mindless and uncontrolled and it threatens us all. But, listen, this is not our concern. I’m not about to harm her, if that’s what’s worrying you. It’s not my place to do so and, besides, it’s not necessary. Sooner or later, she’ll cross paths with someone who’s powerful enough, or well-connected enough, that he won’t care who she belongs to, or whose toes he might be stepping on if he disposes of her—and that’ll be the end of it. Until then, I’m just going to keep tossing her out whenever she shows her face in here. But I am going to do that.” He glanced meaningfully at Marc’s hand, still fastened on his arm. “Now, if you don’t mind?”
In the shadows chaos reigns...
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