Author: catstark

From Protector of the Grey House:

Last night’s encounter had left him wanting. She controlled him well, reminding him of Lorraine’s abilities, but when she relinquished control, he had to remind himself that he could not do to her what he could do to his sire. Natalia was human and much too fragile to take the brunt of the more animal aspects of his nature. He held back, containing his primeval appetites, reassuring himself with the knowledge that he could have her whenever he needed her. Last night, it had been enough. Tonight, it barely pacified his hunger, skimming just the barest need off a mountain of want. He would have to do something about this soon, or risk killing and changing Natalia against her will. An image of her bathed in her own blood flowed into his consciousness and overtook his mind.

I wrote this short story a few years ago. It’s based on true events. One day, I will share the details of what actually happened. For the moment, please enjoy the short story and have a safe and Merry Christmas. If you don’t celebrate, please be safe.

A Snowflake for Mia

Mom was driving Mia to school one day. They were alone in the van. It was close to Christmas, and Mia had doubts that Santa was real. Her older brother and sister didn’t say too much about it, but Mia was starting to wonder. Mom hoped Mia would hold on to the belief for one more year. It had been a tough one. Dad lost his job and Mom was having a hard time getting a full time job. They were making things work, but Mia always seemed to take things to heart.

At a stoplight, Mom turned to Mia. “So did you write a letter to Santa this year?”

Mia shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I can mail it for you.”

Mia turned to look her mother in the eyes. “If I wrote one, you have to promise not to read it. It’s for Santa only.”

Mom smiled, but frowned at the same time. “Of course, Mia. It’s private. I know that.”

Mia sighed as Mom turned back to the road. Mia dug out the letter from her backpack, but held onto it until they were stopped in front of the school. She turned to her mom and let her take the plain white envelope. It was sealed and addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole. She had even put her name and address in the top left corner and a stamp in the right top corner. Mom looked to Mia as she unbuckled her seat belt.

“Don’t tell Maddy and Jordan that I wrote to Santa.”

“I won’t, sweetie.”

Mia gave her mom a quick hug and hurried out of the van. Mom watched Mia join her friends in the schoolyard and left. Mom placed the letter in her laptop bag and headed off to work. She was glad that Mia still believed in Santa, but unfortunately, Mia had been acting up in school and at home. She might be on the naughty list this year. Mom knew though sometimes children on the naughty list were still given gifts. No one deserved a bad Christmas.

She arrived at work, but with too many things on her mind, didn’t notice that the letter was sticking too far out of her bag. She picked everything up, closed the car door and headed inside. The wind picked up before she reached the door and pulled the letter out of her bag. It carried the letter high up into the clouds, where it joined many other letters addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole.

The letters to Santa were taken away, far, far, away, to a mailbox outside a cozy cottage at the North Pole. They settled into the box, which was soon opened by an elf. He was an old elf, and had helped Santa with the mail for generations. He hoped to be helping for a long time to come.

A happy smile on his face, he carried the latest letters to Santa and placed them on the grand wooden desk. In the fireplace, the fire crackled and sent warmth throughout the room. It lit the room up as well, but there was a candle on the desk, for more light. The elf nodded to Santa and went on his way. There were more letters, always more letters.

Santa looked down at the pile of letters in front of him. He sifted through them, separating them into ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ by name. He knew the very bad ones, and he knew the very good ones. He knew the ones that were trying to be good, but were having problems due to reasons they couldn’t help. It wasn’t easy being good, and Santa understood that.

When he found Mia’s letter, he paused. She had been trying so hard to be good, but things were tough. He sighed but smiled. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and opened her letter with a silver letter opener. It had a candy cane handle. The envelope parted easily and he carefully took out the letter. He read it twice. He read it a third time as he composed a response in his head. He didn’t always respond, but this one, this one needed a response.

My Dearest Mia,

Life is not always easy, even for children. I know that you have been trying to be good this year, and I know what has made it so hard. You are an amazing young girl. Thank you for asking for your family to be ok. Thank you for thinking of others before yourself. I know that you will always be a wonderful person.

Because of your generosity, I am sending you a special snowflake. It is from the North Pole and will never melt. It will shine brightly like a star, but only if you truly believe. Be good, Mia and always keep love in your heart.

Santa Claus

Once the letter was written, he placed it in an envelope and sealed it. He addressed it to Mia and placed it to the side. He called for his elves. Three came to help. Santa and his elves went to the factory and found the perfect round glass ornament. Then they dressed warmly and took the ornament outside. One of the elves took off the silver cap and handed the round ornament to Santa Claus. Santa Claus, love in his heart, looked up at the clear skies and spoke out loud.

“Now, I know it’s not supposed to snow tonight, but Mia needs a little magic in her life, right now. All I need is one snowflake.”

From the dark skies a star blinked. It continued to blink and seemed to fall at the same time. It did not grow as it came closer, but stayed small and bright. Santa caught it in the ornament, took the cap from the elf and closed it. The four went back inside, placed a bow on the cap and found a good box for the gift. They packaged it up, and one of the elves ran for the letter.

Letter and box in hand, Santa took the gift outside again and raised his hands. He whispered Mia’s name and address and the wind picked up. The gift left his hands as he laughed.

“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas Mia!”

As his laughter echoed in the cold North Pole, the wind took the gift to its new home.

Many, many miles away, in another cold place called the Midwest, the gift landed on Mia’s front door. The wind, urged on by Christmas magic, rang the doorbell.

Inside the house, little feet ran to the door. Mia, expecting a friend, opened the door and looked around. No one was there, but there was a box on the step. It had her name on it. She frowned and picked it up. The return address said Santa.

“Mom! Come look!”

Mom came into the hallway as Mia was closing the door. She saw the package in Mia’s hands and frowned. “What is it?”

Mia looked to her mom in happy confusion. “It’s from Santa. Can I open it?”

Mom came to look at the package. It did in fact say Santa Claus North Pole. She felt guilty though, as she never mailed the letter. She was sure she had lost it. “Sure, honey. You can open it. Let’s go into the living room.”

Mom wasn’t sure if it was from Santa, but she didn’t want to break Mia’s happiness. They went into the living room and Mia settled on the floor in front of the coffee table. She carefully opened the envelope, read the letter and gasped. She then quickly opened the packaged and gasped again as she saw the glowing snowflake in the glass ornament. It shimmered in the glass as if alive. She took it out of the box. It wasn’t warm, but it was as bright as a star, and it wasn’t melting.

“Mom?” She looked at her mom. “Is this really from Santa?”

Mom looked to the glass ornament in awe. Like the letter said, she couldn’t see the light, but it was still a snowflake in an ornament and it was not melting. “Of course, honey. Who else could it be from?”

Mia smiled at the ornament as love filled her heart for Santa, and for her family. She placed the ornament on the tree and knew she would try and be a better person. Like the letter said, it was hard being a kid, but she would do what she could to help her family.

From the Christmas tree, the snowflake gave off more light, as if it agreed with her thoughts. It made her smile again as she turned to give her mom a great big hug.

“Merry Christmas, Mommy.”

“Merry Christmas, Mia.”

Merry Christmas Eve! No matter your faith (or lack of) I hope the end of this year bring some respite. It’s been a tough one.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia watched through binoculars from across the street as yet another Slayer walked nonchalantly into the corner café. She sighed and hung her head, wondering how many she would have to kill to get out. She was currently on the roof of the apartment building kitty corner to the arranged meeting place. She told Ashley that she needed to get her some information. She had asked the girl not to bring anyone else. Ashley, or someone she knew, decided to disobey her wishes. Natalia sighed again and slung her backpack across her shoulders. She left the roof the way she came, by the back wooden steps that at one point had been a fire escape.

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.

I don’t even know if I like that she says this anymore. I’m not sure she would. I’m going to have to think about this pretty hard. This might be changed by the time I get this fucker published.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Vincent!” Lorraine’s voice revealed a depth of anger he had not heard before.

He sighed but turned to his sire. “My liege?”

“Next time you present this woman to me, make sure she’s vampire, or I’ll take care of the situation myself.”

There were murmurs in the room as the implication set in. Vincent bowed to his sire with grace and dignity, giving her a loving smile. “Thank you, my sire. I’ll remember your words.” He turned to the room at large. “We’ll meet tomorrow to discuss business in my offices in San Francisco, two hours after sunset. Those of you who don’t know where my offices are, find out. If you’re late, your blood will feed the others. That is all for the evening. Joseph, see to my guests.”

Protector of the Grey House:

A thought tried to assert itself into his mind, but she was kissing and nibbling his chest, making thoughts impossible. “Yes.” His hands found her silky hair. “If you think we can do this, yes, we’re done.” He growled, showing her his fangs. “Have you been fed off of lately?”

She smiled, as they both knew the answer. Natalia gave him an innocent smile, knowing he wouldn’t take her blood until she told him he could. A feeling of power overcame her, and she wondered just how far she could push him.

Vincent saw her expression change from one of innocence to one of dominance and understood her mood. He knew he could easily take control from her, but instead he relinquished control, letting her lead him however she pleased. She led him to the bedroom, teasing him all the way to the bed. She eventually allowed him his blood, but not after much pleasing and much begging.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Edwin yelled the three short lines of Latin he knew and watched as two pillars of smoke formed into hideous beasts in front of him. Christopher taught him the lines when he had placed him in charge, telling the younger vampire never to utter the words unless absolutely necessary. The demons the words called forth were unpredictable at best and would only perform one task for their temporary master before running off.

Edwin stared at the horrors that stood before him, pointed to one then to Vincent. “Kill him.” He pointed at the second then at Natalia. “Kill her.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent was staring out the window of his study, trying to peer into the darkness beyond the limits of his sight. Natalia was gone. She had been missing for three days now, and he was worried. His men were starting to notice, as he was yelling more; getting short even with the delicate humans who ran his house.

Two years ago, after she killed Dean, she started hunting for confirmation of the information he gave her. In order to get any information, she came into contact with more and more Slayers. Consequently, she was fighting them and coming home with bruises. She was also coming home with names, locations and sometimes, items that would otherwise be used against him and his people. He didn’t want to tell her to stop, since she was protecting his house, but she was getting herself into more and more dangerous situations.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent pushed himself away from the post and slowly came to her side. He sat on the bed and touched her cheek softly with his fingertips. She closed her eyes and leaned her head into his hand, kissing his palm. His emotions broke wide open when he realized what he wasn’t seeing in her expression. There was no fear, no hate. She honestly believed she was in the wrong and that he had done right to punish her. He also realized that had it been anyone else, he would have no doubts about his actions. Vincent let go of the guilt, leaned in and kissed Natalia softly.

When he pulled back, she was breathing hard, clutching at his shirt. “Make love to me.”

“You’re in no condition.” He started unbuttoning his shirt, wanting to feel her fire against his skin.

“Then why are you undressing?” She pulled him to her by his shirt, kissing his neck and exposed chest.

This is the first two paragraphs of Chapter Two. I have a different editor now, who is helping A LOT. This may change by the time it gets published.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia woke in stages, realizing slowly that Vincent was not in bed. She sighed as she rolled to the edge of the bed. The curtains and windows were open, revealing the night sky and city to the south. She felt the cool breeze on her warm skin and sighed again as she sat up then stood. Images of last night kept wafting through her mind. Vincent only allowed his hunger to show in his begging voice; every other part of his body had shown a tenderness they rarely used with one another. After he fed, taking more than usual, he took over and made her feel as if nothing else in the world mattered but her pleasure.

She sighed again as she took her robe and went to shower. There was business she had to attend to. After she showered, she dressed in a long flowing red dress and ate the simple breakfast someone brought up for her. She then went downstairs to find Vincent. From the loud voices, she judged that Vincent and Anthony were in the study. She knocked on the door quietly, waiting for permission before entering.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Anthony had researched Edwin’s nightly ritual of giving his people his blood. Edwin would feed humans and vampires his blood every night. With humans, it almost always seemed to negate their will power. With vampires, it depended on their age. Anthony and Joseph seemed to think it had more to do with the person drinking the blood then the blood but were still unsure how it worked. Some who drank Edwin’s blood were affected in a similar manner as Natalia. The mayor of San Francisco drank Edwin’s blood and was very much under the Captain’s control. Joseph nodded to himself. Natalia would do anything Vincent wanted because she was under his control.

“Mierka.” There was only one thing to do. Charlie was still struggling on the ground with Natalia. Vincent was straining against Joseph’s hold. Mierka had to take Vincent to bed. Mierka turned to Joseph. “Take him. There’s no reasoning with them.”