Author: catstark

From Protector of the Grey House:

Charlie watched as the beautiful human walked toward his group. No one had moved since she pushed Rebecca out of the way and launched herself at the demon. They had been too stunned at her actions and at Orlando’s death. Charlie stared at her face, wondering at the transformation. She stood tall and looked sure of herself, but for the tears that streamed down her face. He caught the look in her eyes, closed his eyes and looked away. There was no emotion in her eyes. Although the tears betrayed the humanity that lay in her heart, her eyes did not look human. She had come a long way from the scared 18-year-old that had been thrown into the room with the trapped werewolf.

Charlie looked back to the woman he used to call his lover and found that she was staring at him. The look in her eye grabbed him and threatened to hold him up as the world crumbled at her feet. Charlie shook at the look, understanding it completely. She was his leader. The others around her seemed to sense the same thing. Rebecca was handing her the scabbard for her sword, bowing her head as the human took it. Natalia sheathed the sword and called to him. Charlie came forward and fell to his knees at her feet. She handed him the sword and whispered for him to take it to the car. He nodded and left, knowing his place well. He was her sword bearer and protector; would carry out his duty until she couldn’t wield the sword, and until he repaid his debt.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent smiled slowly as a memory unwound in his mind. One day last week, Morgan showed up while Vincent was fighting Natalia in the training room. Vincent caught her in his arms and fed her his blood. He never gave her much, just enough to fool the casual onlooker. Natalia fought it off easily but acted as if she were under his control. They sparred a little bit more, while he seduced her. When they were both aroused to the breaking point, he threw her against the wall and screwed her as everyone watched. That morning, alone and secure in their bedroom, while performing her own seduction, she informed him that should he do something like that again, she would slice him in half.

He didn’t doubt that she would. Her statement only made him want to try it again.

Vincent sipped his wine, wanting blood. He declined it though, as the blood in Edwin’s house was suspect. Edwin didn’t feed his guests his own blood; he fed them the blood of children. Vincent enjoyed taking blood from the unwilling, but not from children. Missing and dead children brought too many police officers around. Dead children drained of their blood brought too many Slayers.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Mierka was amazed Vincent was still capable of speech.

“We let her go; you’ll kill her.” Mierka turned to Vincent; she expected a fight. Joseph held him back, so it would be a fight of words, not fists. She was ready.

“Why would I do that?” His words revealed the depth of his hunger. Mierka shuddered with anticipation. She was the only woman in the household who could take him in this state.

“You’re not in control of yourself Vincent. Let me take you to bed. You’ll be better tomorrow evening.” Her voice was soft and soothing. Vincent shot her a look of disgust, and turned the full power of his gaze on the lovely Natalia. She tried to step toward him but was hindered by Mierka and the two wolves behind her. All present seemed to understand what was at stake, except for the two that mattered.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent motioned Natalia over, as he knew Anthony had to be in her line of sight. Natalia went to stand behind Vincent. She leaned against the wall and started to twirl her necklace. Anthony continued to argue with Vincent for a few moments longer, but Natalia didn’t hear their words. She found as time passed, that Anthony’s will had grown stronger. She concentrated on catching and trapping his will. Natalia broke into the conversation with a soothing voice when she felt she could. Her voice soft and agreeable, she slowly wove her will into his until, finally, she felt his will give way. He stood immobile, his face slack, his eyes glazed over. Natalia instructed him to sit and he did.

Natalia turned to Vincent, strain evident on her face. “We should do this quickly. I may not be able to hold him much longer.”

“His will is comparable to yours now?” “He doesn’t trust me, so it makes it harder.”

‘Move’ in many iterations, appears 136 times in this novel. It was hard to find something to share due to that.
As I decided on this passage, it occurred to me I was using a troupe that I don’t particularly like. Two women, who both love and want Vincent, meet and fight. That’s actually a couple troupes, as far as I can tell. One is ‘the good guys meet and fight’ from many, many comic book crossovers or first time meets. And the second is ‘women can’t be friends if they love the same person’. I didn’t mean for the scene to come off as the first troupe. the second troupe was used mostly knowingly, as Lorraine strikes me as a territorial person, who tests all.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia saw Lorraine move before Vincent was completely out of the way, but it didn’t matter. When the smaller woman hit her, Natalia simply fell back and threw the vampire off her with her feet. She was up before Lorraine was, barely. Lorraine charged again but this time, Natalia grabbed her arm and used the woman’s momentum to swing her into the crowd. Lorraine crashed into Rowland and Maxine, who stopped her fall and helped her up. She turned back to Natalia, who was simply waiting.

Vincent watched as Lorraine walked to face off with Natalia. He was grinding his teeth, thinking about stopping the unfair fight, but Natalia was doing fine. Had she a sword, she would be winning. As it was, she was holding her own. When Lorraine started to circle Natalia, Vincent grew nervous. Lorraine didn’t fight much, but she was deadly up close.

“You think you’re too good to be a vampire?” “Never said that.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia took the seat next to Ashley and slung the backpack onto the counter, ordering a cup of decaf from the waitress behind the counter. The older woman had never been here before at this time of day. The waitress outfit was convincing, even had a badge with her name on it. She could be new, but Natalia would bet on Slayer. The name on the badge was engraved, showing permanence, not a temporary name printed out on paper. Natalia also knew the look in the woman’s eye. She sighed as she took out the photocopies of the journals from her backpack.

“I told you I wanted to speak with you alone.”

“I am alone.”

Natalia turned her back to the counter and counted the obvious Slayers, watching the waitress behind her through the beveled security mirror over the front door. “I see ten, eleven if Delores is one of yours.”

This is from the one of the new scenes I wrote/re-wrote. I think it still needs some work, but I’m generally happy with it.

From Protector of the Grey House:

She nodded sadly. “I can remember all I said and did. I remember calling you Hellspawn. At the time, I wanted you dead.” She gave him a familiar look as she licked her lips. “I don’t want to kill you; I know how you are in bed.”

He grinned as her words echoed her true self. He gave a small bow. “I will allow you to leave. Do you wish an escort?”

“I can’t take Charlie, can I?”

“The full moon is in three days.”

She almost asked for Charlie or Rebecca anyway, but shook her head. “Another vampire or a human, then?”

Joseph shook his head. “It may be best not to take a vampire or anyone from this household.”

“Because you don’t want Vincent to think someone else betrayed him.”

“True.”

“Then why ask if I want an escort?”

“I would assign someone if you felt it was better.”

Something clicked in her mind. “And the longer we take, the more you can assess me.”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “Are you satisfied?”

This is from the new version of many scenes I rewrote, and am still re-writing.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Thank you.” She continued to caress Vincent’s cheek. “We will both need to tell him about Natalia’s actions.”

“Yes. We can do so upon my return.”

She nodded and he turned and left. Within moments, he had retrieved the ring box from his room. He then headed to Anthony’s car and handed the man the box.

Anthony stared at the box for a moment before he took it. He nodded to Joseph and headed to his car. Rebecca started it up and headed out. Soon enough, the lights from the car had faded into the night. Joseph nodded and headed back inside as he made a list of all the things he needed to do. First, he would feed, then he would give Mierka blood, then they would take care of Vincent. He did not look forward to waking his longtime friend.

From Protector of the Grey House:

It took her two months to decide whom to tell about the demons Edwin summoned. It took three months to convince Ashley to meet her, and another month to plot the best place to meet. Natalia had been spying on the place for the past two weeks, finding as many ways out as possible. There were two conventional ways: front entrance and back kitchen door. The two walls facing the street were beautiful picture windows. She was pretty sure the windows were regular glass and could be busted with a diner chair or Slayer if necessary. She also noticed who were regulars and who were not. Half of the people frequenting the small café today were not regulars. She was ready for the battle she hoped she wouldn’t have to fight.

Natalia noticed Ashley as soon as she walked into the café and made a beeline to her. Ashley was dressed as simply as always, in jeans and plain t-shirt. Her socks, purple to match her shirt, barely showed between her jean cuffs and sensible athletic shoes. The young girl, no more than 20 years of age, was very dedicated to the cause, but only because she felt guilty about being easily swayed. She had been the only one on Natalia’s side when the Slayers captured her and Wayne. She was the only one Natalia could still talk to.

From Protector of the Grey House:

He growled low and slow, leaning into her neck. She was snatched from his reach and tossed across the room into the crowd before his action reached fruition. His growl turned angry and dangerous.

“Do I have your attention now?” Alexandra stepped back, seemingly to get out of his reach. He let her.

Vincent looked beyond her to Natalia, who had landed on Rowland. Her shirt was riding high on her body, exposing her butt. Good thing she was wearing underwear. Vincent watched as Lorraine helped his woman up and as both women helped Rowland up. Vincent turned his attention back to Alexandra. Vincent saw what Natalia was doing. No one else did.

“No. You don’t, but you do have hers.” He pointed toward Natalia.