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From Inside the Grey House:

Joseph understood what Natalia was doing before Vincent did and headed for the private corner. She had recognized someone. He didn’t know whom, but he needed to gather the troops. As he slipped by the crowd, he pulled out his cell and sent Mierka a text. In turn, she called the werewolves, who were waiting a block away with Lilly in another club. As he put his phone away, he heard Natalia yell a name he had not heard since the night they freed her.

Natalia recognized the man and hurriedly looked at the other faces. She locked eyes with the man again. “Dean? Dean! SLAYERS!”

The crowd scattered.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Not the hard-core ones, like Zechariah, but Dean and Miguel thought you might be a better choice; might be able to control things better. They knew your reputation; knew that although you aren’t against killing humans, you aren’t going to kill or hurt a child. The current vampire in charge seems to think it’s fun to do so.”

Vincent smirked. He was amused. “Slayers thought well of me?”

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia pulled out a small paper tube, gripped one of the flattened sealed ends, and ripped it open. She placed the open end under the sleeping man’s nose and waved it back and forth. Even standing a few feet away, Charlie could tell it was smelling salts. He covered his nose, not liking the sharp scent. It made him want to growl. Natalia didn’t react in the least, just kept waving the salts in front of Jeffery’s nose until the man started to react. She stopped using the salts when he coughed and jerked his head away. She cocked her head to the side and pulled her hand away from his face. She grabbed a few tissues out of the box on the nightstand, wrapped up the smelling salts and stuffed the bundle into her backpack. When he opened his eyes and stared at her, she gave him a gentle smile.

From Inside the Grey House:

The room hushed as Joseph advanced slowly. He started circling. She let him. He and Vincent had similar fighting styles. They liked to circle their prey, waiting for the weaker challenger to show fear. Knowing she had to take him down with smart tactics and some trickery, she dipped her sword down. Natalia let the sword shake and changed her blank expression to show her true feelings. Joseph simply laughed. He knew her ploys. As his eyes closed for a second, she lunged forward and slashed at his extended arm. It killed his laughter. He didn’t know all her ploys.

From Inside the Grey House:

“Kill me.”

She pulled away, surprised, but kept her own voice quiet. “What?”

“Let me die a man. It’s what I am. Don’t let them change me. I don’t want that. My kid brother was changed into a vampire. I saw it happen. I don’t think I could stand it if I was changed.” He hung his head. “It’s probably why the angels never chose me. I don’t have the strength to be anything but me.”

She had no idea what he was talking about and needed to make sure she understood the agreement. “So you’ll tell me whatever it is you know and then I kill you?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand why you’re even trying to tell me anything.”

From Inside the Grey House:

“I don’t think I can do this, sir.” His words came out quickly as if trying not to stop himself.

“Do what Markus?” Vincent sounded worried.

“Fight. It’s never been in my nature to jump into a fight. The first night you saw me fight here, I was trying to impress you. I knew I wanted to be a part of your house long before you knew about me. Tonight, I was really happy that you ordered me to stay out of the way. And it’s not that I can’t yet, it’s that I don’t want to. I’ve been talking to Anthony about what he and his group does, and it seems more like what I should be doing.” He sounded sheepish.

From Inside the Grey House:

He continued the story as she made breakfast. Though she listened, part of her mind was on the fact that Natalia had a human friend. Rebecca knew it was dangerous to have human friends. She had none herself. Never had. She grew up knowing what she would become and had been warned against making any unnecessary bonds. Her only friends growing up were the adult werewolves her parents knew and Vincent’s crew. Her parents worked for Vincent until Rebecca was old enough to take over. Vincent convinced her great-grandfather to work for him, and her family had been working for the vampire ever since.

From Inside the Grey House:

Joseph felt the human stiffen as she finally understood the danger. He held her a little tighter, wondering how she would try and escape. He would let her go before too much longer, not meaning to irrevocably harm her. He was taking very slow sips, wanting to give her ample time to react. He felt her relax and was disappointed. He had hoped she would escape his trap. As her free hand slid down his body, he knew he had won. Enjoying the feel of her, perhaps too much, he continued to suck, curious as to what she was doing. His sucking slowed considerably as her hand caressed his erection. Blood was an aphrodisiac; he wasn’t about to hide it. She slept with a vampire; she knew what to expect.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia felt the adrenaline coursing through her body as she tried to control her breathing. Owen’s rapier was in her hands. Joseph’s samurai sword was sticking out of Vincent’s stomach.  She had never fought a vampire as old as Vincent. It was a thrill to test her skills against him. He stood seething, bleeding before her. There was anger in his eyes; perhaps he was realizing how good she really was, perhaps he was thinking about the quickest way to kill her. At this point, she didn’t care. It was more about the skill and the thrill of the hunt, now. Natalia kept all her emotions hidden, clearing her mind of all the clatter to be able to react instead of think. She waited for her lover’s next move.

And now for something completely different. My newest work in progress (WIP) is also about supernatural creatures, but they follow my rules, not rules from a gaming book. In the WIP, supernatural creatures are a known thing, not hidden in the shadows. They are called Dynamics. Here’s the first instance of the work Dynamic in that book:

“I have a question first.”

He nodded and waited.

“You said your name was Lord Robert Davenport, Esquire. Does the ‘Lord’ mean you’re a Dynamic?”

He leaned back and smiled. “Yes. Does that matter to you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with it. I’ve never really interacted with Dynamics.”

Robert frowned. “We’re pretty abundant.”

“Not in all areas.” She closed her eyes to think. “I forget the term, but this county is in… a Neutral Zone, I think they called it.” She opened her eyes. “Dynamics don’t like living here. The energy is wrong or something like that.”

He leaned forward a bit and nodded as he understood. “Stop me if this sounds familiar. There are, in general terms, three types of Zones: Good, Neutral and Negative. Good Zones are the best for Dynamics, especially witches, as it offers them plenty of energy to cast from. Though other Dynamics, like were-creatures and vampires, can live anywhere, they prefer to be near witches, as they end up keeping us safe. Neutral Zones are, well, neutral. Sometimes there is enough energy, sometimes there isn’t. If there isn’t, we don’t tend to want to be in the area, but some lesser Dynamics find it to be a good place.”

“Lesser Dynamics?”

“Dynamics who want to live a normal life. Those that don’t want anyone to know they have special abilities.”

“Ah. Ok. And Negative Zones?”

“Suck the energy from Dynamics and can kill them. Luckily, there aren’t that many Negative Zones out there. They usually happen where there’s been some kind of disaster.”

“Like a nuclear bomb dropping or nuclear reactor accident?”

“Sure, but also volcanic explosions or even an earthquake, though a natural disaster site heals a lot quicker than a man made disaster site.”