Author: catstark

From The Grey House:

The two men looked at each other across the small space. Edwin enjoyed the fact that Vincent tried not to look too angry at his presence. The silence stretched between them until Edwin broke into a greater smile. “You should lighten up a bit, Vincent. You look…tense.”

“Only due to the present company.”

Edwin licked his lips, showing off his fangs as he smiled. “I know you hate that I’m in charge. It must kill you that you can’t take control of San Francisco until Christopher comes back.”

From The Grey House:

Keith sank lower to the ground. His answer was barely a whisper. “The name of your favorite human at your club.”

Vincent contained his anger. He needed one more piece of information. “Which is?”

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 at full force against the far wall. “The fate that awaits you is too good for your betrayal.”

From The Grey House:

“She needs to get her shoulder checked out. I’ll call Anthony and find out if we have a doctor she can go to. Other than that, she needs to take it easy. If the bullet wound is still bleeding a lot in the morning, that’s going to need to get checked out, too. It should be fine though, as long as she doesn’t move. There’s a sling in the medical room. I’m going to get it for her. Be easier on her shoulder.”

From The Grey House:

For the past ten years Vincent Grey and his people had been traveling to various cities in the United States, trying to discern which city most needed their attention. For the most part, Vincent did not interfere with the vampires roaming a city. Every so often, he would find a city with vampires that desperately needed to be reined in, like San Francisco. The vampires who were in semi-control here were allowing atrocities to be committed and laughing about it, while the Slayers moved in, making it hard for those like him to be able to live. His people started coming here in stages for the past five years, assessing the situation and plotting.

From The Grey House:

Joseph smiled and left. Vincent heard the door snick closed, staying where he was for many long moments. Eventually he turned, took a quick look at his finances, went inside and readied himself. Showered and shaved he stood before his closet, trying to figure out what to wear. He liked to dress well. Nothing in his closet looked old although he did have clothing from most of the decades he lived in. He also had his Italian suits, but those were not right for the occasion. He examined his clothing looking mostly at his suits. He preferred suits when he was conducting business, but the business at hand would be dirty. If he wore a suit, it might be ruined, and he’d probably have to toss it. The vampire didn’t like to waste.

From The Grey House:

Instead of seducing her lover, Natalia sat still, and allowed the doctor to check her out. He lightly touched her whip marks and decided they weren’t a problem. Those wounds were older and were healing fine. He touched her shoulder lightly and found it was back in place. She would need a sling for a few weeks, and possibly a scan to make sure nothing was broken or torn. He turned his attention to the graze wound and started to clean the area of blood.

From The Grey House:

Orlando saw his target huddling in the corner, trying to look dejected. She locked eyes with him and he saw her defiance immediately. He gave her a look full of pity, reached into his pocket and threw her a couple coins, not bothering to stop or say anything. The change landed in her lap. She took it, looking at the quarters, wondering at the one that looked marred. She didn’t know what the coins were, but figured there was some importance. She noticed the license plate on the maroon van. The tall, scarred man had gotten out of Rebecca’s van: he worked for Vincent. She pocketed the change and went back to looking dejected.

From The Grey House:

Natalia looked around the bar from her perch on the second floor. The bar, named Lava, wasn’t too large. There was room for about three hundred people in the two-level establishment. There were tables along the walls, but not many. There were more upstairs, along with couches to promote a more relaxed atmosphere. The size of the place meant it was crowded, but not overly so. She could duck behind people if she needed to, and still keep an eye on her target. She almost laughed at the word. He wasn’t really her target, but she couldn’t think of a better word.

From The Grey House:

“She had friends waiting for her outside. Kim took her and her friends to another club with a few of our other friends. We will take them to a few clubs. She and her friends will get into an argument. We will make sure they are separated and then when the sun comes up, she will find herself very far from civilization, alone, out in the open. She will not return.”

From The Grey House:

“Obviously not. Your ancestor was an only child. No family, no wife, no aunts, uncles, cousins. Just himself. After I helped him, he vowed to repay me, found a wife, had a child and passed on the debt. Each generation has had one child, just enough to keep the debt repayable.”

Vincent paused and walked to his desk. He unlocked and opened a drawer. He pulled out a small lock box, opened it, pulled out an envelope, and put the box back. “It would have been very easy for your ancestors to end the debt. Any of them could have ended it without paying it back. All they would have had to do was not have children. But generation after generation, your family made sure there was someone to pass the debt on to. It showed me the amount of loyalty your family had. And as I said, I repay loyalty.”