From The Grey House:
Natalia had been instructed to keep an eye on Vincent’s movements in the restaurant: how often did he eat there? How often did his people stop by? Anything that would help Zechariah and the others plot. It turned out that Vincent did not spend enough time at the restaurant, and there were too many human lives at risk. Most of the people who came to The Ocean’s Edge were humans. Most of the members of The Red Thread were Hellspawn.
‘Wound’ came up as the random word of the day. In The Grey House, I use this word 34 times. I was scrolling through my options and had to step back mentally as I saw two different uses of the word, and was once again struck by how odd the English language is. Today, a lesson in English, followed by two sentences from The Grey House.
Definition of wound from Miriam-Webster Dictionary:
wound noun \ ˈwünd , archaic or dialectal ˈwau̇nd
Definition of wound (Entry 1 of 3)
1a : an injury to the body (as from violence, accident, or surgery) that typically involves laceration or breaking of a membrane (such as the skin) and usually damage to underlying tissues
b : a cut or breach in a plant usually due to an external agent
2 : a mental or emotional hurt or blow
3 : something resembling a wound in appearance or effect especially : a rift in or blow to a political body or social group
wound verb \ ˈwünd , archaic or dialectal ˈwau̇nd\
wounded; wounding; wounds
Definition of wound (Entry 2 of 3)
transitive verb : to cause a wound to or in
intransitive verb : to inflict a wound
wound \ ˈwau̇nd
Definition of wound (Entry 3 of 3)
past tense and past participle of wind [another word with two pronunciations and meanings, but that is for another day]
From the Grey House (using definition one):
Jordan kept licking his wound.
From The Grey House (using definition three):
“No, I’m sorry. I’m still wound up, Charlie.”
From The Grey House:
“Well then, that’s perfect. I’ll go home tonight and see you tomorrow. And really,” annoyance blossomed on her face, “I want to have sex with you Vincent, but I can’t until this heals.” She touched her right shoulder. “My arm isn’t as strong. I want to be in bed with you right now, but that won’t do. I need time to heal. Unless you have a healer on your staff?” She looked away from him as she questioned her own thoughts. “Can a healer take care of sore muscles?”
From The Grey House:’
Keith collapsed completely on the floor. He was weeping. “Markus.”
The bellow started deep in Vincent’s chest and bubbled then burst forth into a barbaric roar. Vincent grabbed Keith by the shirt and carried him across the room, slamming him full force against the far wall. “The fate that awaits you is too good for your betrayal.”
He threw Keith at the far wall then followed, going around the hole. The Blitzkrieg had changed to human form and retreated to the door, giving Vincent space to move. He was on Keith in seconds. The younger vampire was still conscious. Vincent was glad. He picked the man up and swung around, holding Keith over the hole by his shirt.
“Have fun,” Vincent stated plainly. He let Keith go.
From The Grey House:
Both women turned at the low voice. Vincent was leaning against the wall by the door, which was across from the end of the couch. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a dark blue shirt, and matching handkerchief in his pocket. He looked dressed for an elegant evening out. He had been at the symphony with Mierka and some business partners. He did not enjoy being called away; his body language showed his feelings.
From The Grey House:
“Will it hurt?” Her voice revealed curiosity, not fear.
“You’ve been bitten before. You know the answer.”
“I meant, is there a way for it not to hurt?”
“I will be piercing your skin with my fangs, Natalia. How would it not hurt?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just nervous.”
He gripped her chin in his hand, looked into her eyes. “Yes or no. May I take your blood?”
From The Grey House:
Natalia pushed herself away from the wall, took two steps toward Vincent and laid a hand upon Anthony’s shoulder. He did not stir. “They told me the Captain was an uncaring fool named Christopher Tyler, but the most powerful vampire in San Francisco was an older one named Vincent Grey, and that one day, he would rule the city.”
From The Grey House:
He grinned again and ran back to the house. He put on his jeans and ran up to his room to grab his phone, the rest of his clothing, his car keys and wallet. He was smiling as he left. He ran down to the garage and jumped into his car. It was a beat up, 15-year-old, four-door sedan. Vincent did not approve of the heap, but Charlie wasn’t comfortable driving anything fancy, and only did so when driving his boss around.
From The Grey House:
The creatures that only appeared human, were now standing taller than Vincent. At over nine feet tall, they had to hunch in order not to hit their heads on the ceiling. Their clothing ripped, revealing hairy but matted arms and legs. Their most impressive features were their fangs and foot-long claws. Vincent had made a deal with the werewolves of the area. Work for him and he would house them and help to feed their more dangerous appetites. Vincent felt it was better to work with the supernatural population rather than hunt them down. Wars killed humans, which he needed, and brought Slayers, which he didn’t need.
From The Grey House:
All right.” She let the thoughts go, as there were too many to contemplate. “I need a shower and breakfast.”
“I wasn’t sure you drink coffee or not, so I brought decaf and regular grounds from Vincent’s house. I can get breakfast started while you shower.”
“Decaf and breakfast sounds good. Did you shower already?”
Cat Stark 