Author: catstark

From Inside the Grey House:

Rebecca looked her husband in the eye. “If she dies and Vincent is here, she’ll be turned. Pretty sure she’ll be turned if he isn’t here.” She cocked her head. “Are you worried Vincent will blame you for her getting shot?”

He opened his mouth to speak but stopped as he thought about it. During his silence, Rebecca plated some eggs and minute steaks that she made while he wasn’t paying attention. She grabbed some coffee and milk, then sat down near him. She started eating before he answered.

“I think I am.”

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia ducked as the staff came toward her head. She used her own staff to sweep Ben off his feet. The vampire fell hard as his weapon clattered to the ground. Natalia wasted no time in swinging hers toward his chest. Ben grabbed the end of the staff before she connected, trying to pull the weapon from her hands. Natalia held on, letting him pull her forward. She rolled over him, letting go of her staff to grab his dropped one. He was on his feet before she was, but she expected it. The vampires would always be faster than she was; as a result, she had to be smarter.

Ben was her last conquest with the staff. He had been using the weapon since he was human over one hundred years ago. He practiced with his favorite weapon often. He could easily beat anyone he came against. Most of Vincent’s vampires were reluctant to fight with staves even though they were typically too well fed to be taken down by a simple wooden stake. Natalia thought the fear was psychological. Whatever kept them from using the staff made it easier for her to get better at it. She had already beaten everyone else while using the staff. Ben was her final test, and he was very skilled.

To me, this shows that Vincent relies on technology too much, and his people often are able to handle things better than he can. This is a very small part of the larger scene, of course.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Natalia. Natalia! Snap out of it. What did he do?” His voice was a cacophony of annoyance, frustration and concern. He was trying to be gentle, but the main Slayer was dead and Mierka had informed him that the other two could not talk. He needed to know what happened in the cell. The microphones hadn’t picked anything up; they had spoken too quietly.

Natalia heard her lover, her love, asking her what happened, but she couldn’t form the words. He asked her again, his frustration coming through far more clearly. Mierka came out of the cell waving Vincent away as she spoke to him. Natalia still had trouble listening and couldn’t make out the exchange between the two vampires. After a few moments, Vincent let Natalia go and Mierka knelt down beside her.

Vincent keeps one of his trusted men out of the loop on a few things, to make sure Anthony stays on his toes.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Sir. What happened?” Anthony looked to Natalia to see if her expression would reveal anything. It did not. The human was wearing the same smug, triumphant look on her face as Vincent was. Something had happened to their favor and Anthony had no idea what.

Vincent still had his arms around Natalia. The look on her face was priceless. He loved to see that look on her face: as if every secret in the world were hers. Vincent’s smile grew a little. She held at least one of the world’s greatest secrets. He turned to Anthony briefly, but turned back to Natalia to answer. “What happened isn’t your concern, Anthony. Don’t fret. All will be revealed in time.” He leaned into kiss Natalia. “Are you ready to venture back upstairs?”

Charlie’s loyalty are suspect, when it comes to Vincent, but not when it comes to the women he loves.

From Inside the Grey House:

“From now on, you will be Natalia’s protector. Should a situation arise in which I am attacking her, you will turn to your Alpha first and ask her for the best course of action. Is that clear?”

Charlie was stunned. Not only was he being spared further punishment, he was being assigned as Natalia’s guardian. The werewolf fell to his knee, bowing low in front of Vincent. Though the desk hid the man, Vincent still appreciated the gesture.

“I will protect her to the best of my ability and always ask my Alpha for guidance when I’m unsure of a situation.”

“Good. Now get out, both of you. I need time alone.”

Rebecca pulled Charlie to his feet and the two left hurriedly. Outside the office, Charlie grabbed Rebecca to him and gave her a strong kiss. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “Thank me upstairs.”

Charlie grinned, picked his wife up in his arms and practically ran up the stairs to their bedroom.

I like worlds with magic in them, as it allows people to be healed quickly.
Also, really, blue cheese, apple and bread is amazing.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia was surprised to realize she was. She nodded as she reached for the butter knife. She spread some blue cheese on a piece of French bread then took it and a piece of apple off the tray. Chewing slowly, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the mix of flavors. She took sips of water in between bites of food, feeling once again like royalty. She reached for another slice of apple and paused. Her shoulder didn’t hurt, and neither did the rest of her body. She looked to Lilly.

“I don’t hurt.”

Lilly smiled. “I’m a healer. I took care of your wounds.”

Natalia frowned. “Where was I shot?”

“In your left thigh.”

Vincent and Joseph discussing Natalia. I’ve thought about writing Joseph’s story, but I like that he’s mysterious.

From Inside the Grey House:

“You made a wise choice in bringing men. I’ll be fine drinking from them.”

Vincent rounded the desk and one of the men stood, presenting his arm. Vincent took the dagger, gave the man’s arm a small cut and brought the bleeding wound to his lips. He drank five mouthfuls of blood them let the man go. The human took the gauze and moved out of the way. Joseph tied a bandage in place as Vincent drank from the second. He tied the gauze around the second man’s arm.

Once the men were bandaged, Vincent nodded and let them go.

“Where is she?”

“In a spare bedroom.”

“What did you do?”

“Made sure she understood the rules.”

Vincent went around his desk to sit in his chair, pondering the situation.

“She won’t disobey you again.”

“Yes, she will. Just not in the same way.”

They were both silent as Vincent’s words sank in.

This is part of a scene at the beginning of book two that shows what Vincent is like and what he is capable of, given the opportunity.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Their parents were also born here. They live by my rules and believe their children are foolish. They can’t understand why they would want to leave when I provide everything they want. All the money they could need, all the food, everything. They have the freedom to come and go as they please, as long as they give me what I need and keep quiet. Their parents understand that. They are among my most loyal.”

“And what did they say when you caught their children?” Vincent had one hand around the female’s throat, squeezing her breast with the other, and was pressing her into the wall. She whimpered again.

I always thought Slayers and other vampire hunters should weaponize garlic, if that was one of the vampires’ weaknesses.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia returned her gaze to the crowd, who were all trying to get out the closed door at the same time. She heard interrupted screams and saw gray clouds around the four Slayers. Their deaths showed Natalia how young Edwin’s lot was. The crowd parted around one Slayer, a young woman, and Natalia saw Mierka was closing in on her. The Slayer held a stake in one hand and a spray bottle in the other. Natalia guessed it was filled with either holy water or garlic oil. Natalia felt the warrior in her take over and she pounced.

The woman turned when she saw Natalia jumping toward her. As she was now the only true target, the girl aimed the bottle at her. It landed on Natalia’s outstretched arms. She closed her eyes to slits as the smell of garlic hit her. The oil, if made right, could blind a human. Since Dean was amongst the group, Natalia knew the oil would be potent. She slammed into the Slayer, opened her eyes, drew her hand back and punched the woman in the face. The girl brought the water bottle up and tried to spray her in the face. Natalia slammed the girl’s hand down on the floor, using more force than necessary. She was used to fighting vampires. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and remembered the wooden stake in the girl’s other hand. A foot landed on that wrist before the Slayer could do anything against her.

Vincent and Joseph, talking of Natalia and how she will have her way living in Vincent’s household.

From Inside the Grey House:

“You’re used to getting things your way. You won’t with her. It’ll be interesting to watch.” He paused to take another sip of the fine brandy. “I wonder how much she’ll get away with?”

Vincent stared out the window, considering his friend’s words. He wanted to argue, but knew Joseph was right. He considered how much he had already done for the human, although he only met her four times. There was something about her, as there had been with the five other women he had had long relationships with. Something that caught his attention from the moment they met. He had taken it for granted that Natalia would stay with him after he freed her. Now, Joseph was telling him she wanted to stay, but as a human, not as a vampire. He wondered if it mattered.

The memory of last night and of what he had done to Lorraine’s female came back to him. He had allowed himself to pretend it was Natalia chained to the wall. The ferocity with which he attacked and killed her had been funneled through his frustrations of not being able to be with the human of his choice. He didn’t believe he would rip Natalia’s throat out. What of the fact that she didn’t want to be changed? Did it matter? He turned back to Joseph, who was now sitting on the edge of the desk, swirling the last sip of brandy in the glass.

“How much have any of them gotten away with, Joseph? As long as she doesn’t betray me or hurt any in our family, she’ll have what she wants.”