From Protector of the Grey House:
“What do you wish to do?” Her hands relaxed in her lap, and his hand rested over hers.
Vincent traced her jaw line with his forefinger. He closed his eyes, hiding his emotions again. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, wanting the words to stay between them. “If you were a vampire, I would make you my Captain.”
He pulled back as he felt shock take over her body. She tensed considerably, and her eyes grew wide. Her mouth was hanging agape. “That’s not funny.”
When I first wrote this novel, I knew Vincent was not a ‘good’ person. If you know gaming terms, he’s lawful evil. (explanation in next paragraph) This meant that the antagonist(s) had to be worse. Enter Edwin. In short, Edwin is a pedophile. As that, to me, is the most evil think in the world. Though there are vague references to what he is capable of, I don’t describe what he does because, ew. Fucking ew.
The scene below talks of Edwin and the type of person he is.
“A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion.”
From Protector of the Grey House:
Natalia pushed away from Vincent and started to pace back and forth, staring at Anthony with loathing the whole time. “The Slayers knew who I was, or rather, what I was. Had heard of the dark-haired human who slept with the powerful vampire. Some even knew me as Jeffery Tathers’ did: The One Walking the Edge. Lucky for me, these particular Slayers wanted to know why I was with you and why some of their own couldn’t see me as Hellspawn. What kind of twisted human would sleep with a vampire who allowed his followers to torture and kill innocent children? I told them the truth.
“I told them about Edwin, and all his friends. They didn’t believe me, so I went back to Theodore’s on a hunch. His house hadn’t been touched in years, but his trophies were still there. I took the Slayers there and showed them the wall and the pictures. And in some of those pictures stood Edwin, performing atrocities on the young humans.”
This world is filled with angry people, most probably due to the secrets hidden in the shadows.
From Protector of the Grey House:
“There was nothing I could have done to prevent this.” She spoke so low, Natalia had to lean in to hear her.
Natalia whispered back just as softly. “All you had to do was not tell anyone we were meeting.”
“Why did you contact me?” Ashley turned angrily on her stool as her voice grew loud.
“Fought something you need to know about.” She looked around, turning back to face the kitchen. “It’s all in the journals, but we ignored it because of who talked about it. I brought photocopies as proof. I’d have brought you the creatures, but I don’t know how to control them, and had to kill them instead.”
From Protector of the Grey House:
“It was not my intention to sleep with her, but while trying to break your hold, I saw that my touch might work. I used it, freed her and she responded in kind. I did nothing she didn’t ask for.”
Vincent drummed his fingers on his desk disliking the look on his friend’s face. “It’s obvious you enjoyed yourself with Natalia last night. Don’t let it happen again while she’s mine.”
“You enjoy Mierka when you will.” Joseph’s voice was pleasant, with just a tinge of irony.
Sometimes, it’s hard for me to come up with things to say. I want to explain this scene, but that would give everything away. And I don’t want to talk of my morning, as that gets monotonous. Enjoy the story.
From Protector of the Grey House:
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.
Anthony was standing, fuming. Vincent was seated behind his desk, a slight smile on his face. She didn’t know what they had been arguing about, but she guessed it was her. She smiled, closed the door and walked to the desk under Anthony’s hard scrutiny.
“Gentlemen.”
It’s December. That’s all I got.
From Protector of the Grey House:
“Pretender!”
All heads turned to Alexandra, who had been one of Edwin’s closest. She was alive only because Morgan warned her not to be at Edwin’s last Red Tie Affair. Morgan vouched for her, and Vincent gave her enough room to let her prove exactly who she was loyal to. Anthony found out easily the woman’s loyalty was to herself.
Vincent turned his head first, letting his body move when he reached the apex of his turn. His voice dripped with sarcasm, mirth, and expectancy. “You have something to say?”
There were a few scenes I rewrote due to removing a useless character from the trilogy. The scene just before this was one of them. I’m not fond of rewrites. If I have lived with a scene long enough, it becomes hard not to see it when I read the changed parts.
From Protector of the Grey House:
Ben bowed to her then turned and bowed to Vincent. He left under Vincent’s hard stare, smiling wide. Vincent watched him leave then came into the bedroom to lean against the bedpost. He stared at his human, wondering at her expression. It was unreadable. Or maybe he just didn’t want to guess at her thoughts. She lay in bed, her robe almost open, the comforter hiding her legs. Her hands were folded on her lap. Her posture suggested a child waiting for a teacher’s attention; her expression was all woman: defiant, deadly, beautiful and confident.
“Will you stand there all day, or will you join me in bed?” Her voice was clear and crisp.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were under the control of my blood?”
“Would it have made a difference?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Your mind was not your own.”
She frowned. “You knew my mind was already overworked from having to deal with…” She looked around and wondered who was in the security room. “That other problem. I was also under nourished for three days and the blood and fluids the hospital gave me didn’t quite make me ready for you and Joseph to feed off me. One more event shouldn’t have made a difference.”
Vincent and Joseph have an odd relationship. The reason they are friends is explained in the third book, and in the short story this trilogy was born from. Though they are friends, and Joseph has pledged his life to Vincent, I feel that Joseph is not entirely happy with his decision. Therefore, he does a few things to show his independence.
From Protector of the Grey House:
The two left without a word, having been through the dance before. Joseph stepped out of the corner he was almost hiding in and poured himself a glass of brandy.
“You never ask my permission.” Vincent accepted the glass Joseph handed him.
“You have a case of this in your cellar, which I gave to you.”
From Protector of the Grey House:
Natalia watched her lover come into the room and wondered at the look on his face. She had been surprised to see all the people present. Natalia had gone straight to Rebecca, knowing she could ignore the rest of the room if she were speaking with her friend. As Vincent caught her eye, she felt the peace that had crept over her while she talked to Rebecca trying to slip away. She held onto it, knowing if the feeling left, her stress and headache would return. She took a deep breath and continued her conversation with Rebecca, who had been explaining how the dynamics of her family worked. It seemed that due to the pact they made with Vincent, it was easier for Rebecca’s parents to take care of her children, as it had been easier for Rebecca’s grandmother to take care of her. They continued the conversation as Natalia tried to ignore the look on her man’s face.
Vincent stood waiting, letting the tension in the room grow. He watched patiently while Anthony nodded to Joseph then went to join Julia, who was standing with the other vampires. Vincent stepped forward, crossed his arms behind his back and waited for silence. It didn’t take long. There was a feeling of anticipation. All under his protection were present. The only creature that didn’t know something was amiss was Natalia.
I really hope everyone decided to stay home and shop online for Black Friday. But probably not.
From Protector of the Grey House:
The word reverberated in the high ceiling room. Several of Vincent’s men stepped away from the pair. Vincent grabbed her to him, letting her bellow in to his shoulder and neck. She calmed, but only because she had no other choice. He was right. Had either of them decided to tell Anthony the truth about their first meeting, he might not mistrust her so completely. It was their fault he sent someone after her. She sagged into her lover, feeling the solid weight of him. Still trying to contain her anger at herself, she bit down on his neck, not really aware she was doing it.
Vincent felt the bite and his body reacted. He crushed her to him, curling his fingers into her back. His eyes closed, hiding the passion that swan there. Controlling himself, Vincent pulled away from her gently; knowing the situation with Anthony wasn’t done. He spoke softly to Natalia. “Go upstairs, shower, change, relax and forget the past three days.”
Cat Stark 