Book Review (SERIES): Season of the Vampire

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Season of the Vampire (Series) by Lana Pechercyvk

  1. The Secrets of Shadow and Blood
  2. A Labyrinth of Fangs and Thorns
  3. A Symphony of Savage Hearts

I really enjoyed Lana Pechercyvk’s Deadly Seven superhero romance prose series and wanted to try other books by her. I didn’t like the Season of the Wolf (too Alpha male fated-mate for my tastes) but decided to try again with the Season of the Vampire. The results were … mixed.

 

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON FOR THE SECRETS OF SHADOW AND BLOOD

In the shadows, vision can turn blurry. Truths can become lies. Enemies can become lovers.

When Violet inexplicably wakes thousands of years after a nuclear holocaust, she finds the world very different. Fae exist now. They’re vicious, animalistic monsters who pervert magic and can morph into any shape—including vampires. They hoard the bounty of the new world, and keep humans banished to the wasteland. At least, that’s what the humans of today have told her. Determined to make up for an unforgivable mistake in her past, she becomes a covert assassin and seeks revenge for her human brethren. And she’s good at it. But when the thing she hunts saves her life, injuring himself in the process… her crystal clarity suddenly becomes blurry.

Vampires are meant to be monsters, not protectors… not charismatic, annoyingly handsome and loyal and… everything.

Indigo is a Fae Guardian, and a ruthless vampire protector of Elphyne. The Order has tasked him with finding a human with deadly secrets before the unhinged Unseelie Queen, or the fanatical human leader, can exploit her. They chose him for one reason, and one reason only – the taste of human blood does things to him. Addictive, dark, insatiable things. And when he catches Violet’s scent, they know he’ll do everything in his power to possess her and keep her safe. But Indigo hides his own shameful secret in the shadows of his heart, and if it ever comes to light, Violet will never trust him. She’ll kill him.

The Secrets in Shadow and Blood is the next installment in the Fae Guardians series, and the first in the Season of the Vampire Trilogy. Each book features a separate couple with a satisfying HEA, but to enjoy the full benefits of the over arching plot, start the Fae Guardian journey with book one of Fae Guardians: Season of the Wolf. All Fae Guardian books include steamy romance, a splash of time travel, monster hunting, a band of brothers, fated mates, growly fae protectors, and their strong willed women from our time. If you love your books full of page turning action, romantic tension, and world building you can get lost in, then this series is for you. Warning: Trusting these seductive fae will lead to sleepless nights. But it will be worth it.

MY REVIEW FOR THE SECRETS OF SHADOW AND BLOOD

I started this back in October 2021. Normally I swallow books whole, but the holidays pushed this novel to the backseat. I just couldn’t find time to finish it — until late January 2022, and I’m glad I did.

This is a dark post apocalyptic world, and the women coming forward from our time for the Season of the Vampire series are ones who had a hand in destroying their world, Violet most of all. Her brain conceived the bomb that destroyed everyone she knew. It left her broken in strange ways. And the new world, on her “waking” day, welcomed her with a nightmare PTSD-inducing moment.

Her response is to lash out. To hunt. Push the border of serial killer. To hate herself every moment. To try to redeem her soul. Or, more accurately, pay some imagined balance enough weight of good to offset being one of the instruments which killed billions.

It’s an interesting exploration of psyche. And matches many of the comments I’ve read about those who participated in building and dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

That being said – this is a romance, an action adventure, and a fantasy story with vampires and magic, high fantasy politics and guardian organizations. The dark mental exploration weaves throughout.

If you want a romance that is bit grittier than normal, The Secrets in Shadow and Blood delivers.

 

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON FOR THE LABYRINTH OF FANGS AND THORNS

Since Peaches woke up in a fantasy world full of monsters and fae, she’s been treated like a piece of tasty human meat. After six years as a blood slave to vampires and the evil Unseelie queen – beholden to all, and master of none – there’s nothing left but a broken shell with a fractured soul. Until a deadly warrior turns up unannounced in her room.

Vampire Haze is the muscle of the Fae Guardians elite Cadre of Twelve. He is a spy, a protector of the weak, hammer and sword, a rigid enforcer of rules. He allows no one close to his heart, lest they see the shame driving him. But when he stumbles across a beguiling woman with sad, desolate eyes, he knows he must help her. She calls to him in more ways than one, igniting a passion neither of them can deny, despite the risks.

The Unseelie queen has other treacherous plans for Haze and Peaches. From a twisted masquerade ball, to a labyrinth filled with goblins, to a hidden prison deep underground, they must work together to survive. The only way out is to trust each other…easier said than done when all he wants to do is feast on her blood.

MY REVIEW FOR THE LABYRINTH OF FANGS AND THORNS

Normally books with a small, delicate, frightened female latching onto the largest, strongest male she finds annoys the crap out of me. THIS ONE WORKS!

Peaches had a PTSD-inducing week when she was brought forward from the past to this post-apocalyptic fantasy world. She manages to survive but she develops classic abuse-survivor symptoms. She can’t escape her present situation because she has never been able to escape before and she has “learned” to just keep the head down and survive. When the perfect chance to escape the clutches of the evil queen shows up in the form of Haze – the biggest and strongest of all the Guardians of the Well -, she timidly choses the situation she knows.

I love this story, as Peaches develops past her abuse personality. THIS CAN BE A HARD READ FOR SOME. (Trigger considerations – we don’t see much of the actual abuse, and the abuse in more fantastical in nature (blood drinking by vampires and psychic damage from magic).)

The Season of the Vampire is a very gritty part of the Fae Guardian series. I didn’t make it deep into the Werewolf trilogy, but I am really loving the Vampires. Looking forward to Feb 2022 and Shade and Silver story.

These stories are a mix of action-adventure, fantasy, and romance and delivers everything these genres represent pitch perfect.

 

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON FOR THE SYMPHONY OF SAVAGE HEARTS

Silver is a beautiful liar.
She’s human.
And a fierce killer of fae.

She marks her kills on a silver vambrace so everyone can see her savagery and stay away. As long as she keeps protecting downtrodden humans from monstrous fae-folk, and hiding the true reason for wearing magic-cutting silver, her loneliness is of no consequence. Selected for a high priority mission, she bravely heads into Elphyne, never expecting one of their worst waiting for her. Wanting her. Craving her.
Shade is sinfully attractive.
He’s a vampire.
And the most hard to resist of the Fae Guardians.

From the Queen’s bed to The Order, he uses the power of sex to get what he wants. Eventually they all succumb, and they all fall short of harmonizing with the darkness hidden in his soul…. until he finds the one woman who resists his every charm.
Seducing Silver will be a challenge, but it’s one he was made for.
Nothing will get in his way. Not the evil creature terrorizing Elphyne. Not the human enemy with dastardly plans of their own. Not the Unseelie Queen’s obsession with him. Not even the betrayal of the one person who can hurt him the most.
This courting of savage hearts is a symphony.
And theirs will be one for history.

MY REVIEW FOR THE SYMPHONY OF SAVAGE HEARTS

I’m not into BDSM and the central romance for Symphony are two characters who need that type of relationship, so I struggled to finish the book. The first 50% of the book centered on the relationship between the two, and, for the most part, they were the only characters for the first half of the book.

This is the standard setup for most of the series.

First, introduce the world and two romantic characters. Next, get the romantic characters to accepted their fated-mate status – hot, hot relationship actions are involved. Then, the second half of the book focused on moving the series story forward – reintroducing all the other characters of the series, explaining where things are, what the leads for this book bring to the table to shift the series plot forward, and then exciting rise and fall of action.

Loved the second half of the book – and the setup for the next trilogy of the Fae Guardians (the Elves) – makes me want to see all their romances and continue to watch as the overarching storyline continues. Will the fae queen continue her descent into madness, or is she savable? Will the fae kingdoms devolve into war and poison the Well beyond redemption? Will the human leader continue his plans? Can humans and fae come to live together?

Book Grade – great for the series, didn’t like the romance or the lead characters of this book at all.

What I would recommend – see if you like the characters. If so, follow their romance. Otherwise, if you are reading this just for the series – jump to the 50% mark and go from there.

What I didn’t like about the romantic leads: The lead characters really are villains. Selfish, wallowing in their black hearts. After power. Don’t consider more than one side to any story until forced to. People love them for no reason. They are like two black holes – taking and not giving. On the other hand, these are very real type of people. I just don’t like them or want to spend time with them, however beautiful and magical they are.

Flash: Prepping a Meal

Image acquired from: 135981921 © Publicdomainphotos | Dreamstime.com

“Are you sure?” I ask a final time as the electric Lotus hissed into a parking space, waving my hand at the neon lights of the chosen restaurant. “Italian?”

My vampire date. Well, more like client, smirked as he opened the winged doors with a push of a button. “My only weakness for garlic is how much I enjoy it. Your bio did say you loved pizza.”

Climbing out of the long-slung vehicle without showing too much skin ending up being impossible, and Justin’s dark eyes blackened further. I forcefully suppressed the shiver rolling through my belly and along my spine, refusing to consider if it was fear or anticipation.

“Oh, I do.” I moved smoothly through the doors to the pizzeria. “Do you have any particular type in mind?”

“Not pineapple,” he said looking down, at my eyes, along the hair wisps escaped from my bun and playing over my exposed neck, and stopped deep inside my generous cleavage. “Please tell me you drink wine.”

“Of course.” I glance at the approaching waitress and bite back the rest of the statement. He knows I have a two-drink limit per the contract.

We are shown to a small table with a red and white checkerboard tablecloth. I glance over the menu, as he orders two glasses of red wine and antipasto platter from the hostess. She hustles the initial order to the kitchen; I saw her pricing his tailored suit and earrings, and knew she already calculated the tip for our table, because been-there-did-that for years. The new gig pays better than any of my previous jobs but carries bigger risks.

“I was thinking an appetizer, medium pizza, and some of almond cannolis for dessert. Or is that too much?”

I smile back, carefully keeping my teeth covered, just like Justin has been doing. The vampire culture only shows teeth for flirting and fighting, and isn’t that good at distinguishing between the two. “Not at all. Whatever you want.” I glide my fingers along his hand, tilting my head to the side, feeling the curls snake along the blue veins. His eyes fixate on my neck for a moment.

“Excellent. Too many women these day worry about their weight.”

“Well,” I shrug, my cleavage dragging his eyes down. “I let other people watch my weight and so far I’ve had no complaints.”

The wine arrived with the antipasto. I may have spoke too soon; the platter filled half the table. He places the order for the rest of my meal when the server asks if there is anything else. I sip the wine while waiting, watching him follow the swallows. Once we are back to our relatively private space, I unwrap my fork and wave it over the platter. “Where do you want me to start?”

“The olives.”

“Green or black?”

“The black, and, if you could, tell me what they taste like?”

The meal goes on. I tell him about the food, describing it in detail. Though he was a new client, most biters hunger for the commentary on food they can no longer have. In return, he tells me about memories related to the food. Places where it is grown, people he has known. I manage to tuck away the entire antipasto platter, the medium-sized house supreme pizza, and the six almond-creamed stuff cannolis. Justin exchanged our glasses a couple times during the meal so it looked like he was drinking as well.

Well fed, and comfortable with the alcohol, I let him guide me out of the restaurant with a hand about my waist. He still was old school enough he used cash to pay for everything, including the tip. I did my own tip calculations in my head based on that. I love old-school biters, they have had so much time to build their fortunes and they believe you get what you pay for.

(words 645; first published 1/9/2022)

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 5/18/2012

Photo by Molly Blackbird on Unsplash

What Maketh a Monster?

In Magical Words, A.J. Hartley explained on May 18, 2012 how he created monsters for his middle grade series Darwen. Being middle grade, he avoided human monsters and, instead, dug deep into the traditional sense of monsters.

An Unsettling Hybrid – two things melded together when they shouldn’t be. Not chocolate and peanut butter; more like pizza and pineapple. The example he gives is Frankenstein’s monster assembled from multiple bodies. The monster doesn’t have to be evil (though it helps), the creature just needs to be feared – troubling our human sensitivities.

And, for Mr. Hartley, it can’t be familiar. Vampires have become habitual. Shifters typical. True monsters make your stomach drop and twist because they are wrong, wrong, wrong. Yet one thing, one horribly right thing, puts them in this reality.

 You can review more on the topic here: (and remember to read the comments for additional ideas)

My take-away is monsters, even human monsters, need something unsettling about them. What makes them a danger to humans beyond simple “they could kill me”? What about being around them makes the human brain skitter and squeal “not right, not right, not right”?

Flash: Hair of Dog (Pets for Vampires 4)

“Morning, hot shot.”

Christine rolled away from the light, moaning.

“You remember last night.”

She pulled a pillow over her head and it was immediately pulled away again.

“What do you remember about last night.” The mean voice pulled the covers down. “I got work in three hours. Come on.”

Hands grabbed her shoulders and rolled her to the edge of the bed.

“Why were you drinking.”

She focused her blood-shot eyes on the man who paid for her drinks last night and managed one word. “Vampires.”

“Right, you so remember. Let’s get you to the bathroom.” A yank had her standing and arms under her shoulders dragged her to the bathroom before setting her up beside the toilet.

“Here you go.” The voice pushed a bottle into her hand.

“wha is it?” she mumbled, eyes still shut.

“Hair of dog.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Don’ wanna.”

“Drink up.” She heard the cap crack open and the drink was pushed against her lips. When she tried to turn her head away, the voice pinched her nose and pressed harder until the medicine made it down both her breathing and food pipes. She coughed a bit before grabbing the porcelain bowl and started vomited what was left in her stomach.

“When you are done, shower and come down stairs, I’ll make you some toast.”

She retched again. “I hate you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

***

Christine stumbled against the kitchen island and pulled out a tall chair before climbing up. A cup of coffee in the biggest damn mug she had ever seen got pushed under her nose. “Thank you.”

“De nada.” Walker responded.

“I hate that hair of dog.”

“Yep.” Greasy smells and frying sizzles came from the other side of the worn laminate. A pop sounded. After a scrap, scrap, a scooting noise put toast at her elbow.

“One of these days I’m gonna shove it down your throat.”

“You should be so lucky.” The black man chuckled, moving the frying pan over a second plate. Eggs slid out making Christine’s stomach churn again.

After drinking enough coffee to assure her it wasn’t coming up again, Christine eyed the toast, mostly to keep from watching Eldrige tuck in his breakfast. “How much did I drink last night?”

“Nine beer and four shots.”

“How am I even still alive?” She moaned, focusing on the dark, dark liquid, the only thing kind and sensitive to her needs this morning.

“You threw up in the parking lot before getting in the car.” Walker shrugged. “Then again between the car and the apartment. Thank you for not throwing up in the car.”

“De nada.” She poked at the toast considering, deciding more coffee would be good first, she took another drink, looking around the kitchen to make sure more coffee was available once she finished the first mug, and saw the clock. “Eleven? Angelo needs—”

“He got off to school on time.” Walker sat down across from her. “He’s sixteen and got it together.”

“He must be worried sick. I always text him if I’m not coming home.”

“Which you insisted on after the eighth beer.” The older man pulled her phone out and pushed it across.

“You didn’t let me…” Christine knew she had been in no shape for drunk texting her kid.

“I let you unlock the phone, and then I sent him a text you wouldn’t be home last night.”

“Good. Thank you.” She sagged against the high back chair. “I’m a horrible mother.”

“You are a cop and a mother and a human being. Sometimes it’s tough being all three.”

A small sob-laugh escaped as she finished her first mug of coffee. “Aint that the truth.”

“Now, I got two hours before I need to be out the door. Talk to me.”

“About what?

He took the mug away and refilled it, but pushed the plate of toast closer to her while holding the cup of life away. “Two bites, then you can have it back.”

Christine dutifully took the two bites. Once the mug was down, she poured sugar into it.

“The vampires, well, alleged vampire.” Walker sat down again. “Start from the beginning.”

Still not believing he was taking all of this seriously, she reported everything word for word, down to the “No need to waste resources.” He asked a few questions, but gave nothing back except grunts until she ran out of steam. Her reward was some cold crisp bacon tipped out of the second frying pan.

Eldridge picked up her plate and the frying pans, made his way to the kitchen sink, and turned on the water. Standing, Christine joined him beside the rinsing area, pulling down the drying towel. “So, vampires are real.”

“Yes.” The plates and mugs only needed some quick swipes.

“But you never told me.” She moved the faucet over the rinse sink and ran water over the utensils.

“Nope.”

“How am I to protect people if you don’t tell me everything?” Angrily she shook the water off the plates.

“Are you going to tell Angelo and Silvia?”

Christine glared at him before drying the plate in her hand. “Of course not, they don’t need to know.”

“And it could get them killed.” He pulled the plug out of the sudsy water. “The monsters like to keep their secrets secret. Same reason why I didn’t tell you. Unless you get noticed, there is not reason to know.”

“And now?” Christine put the last of the dishes away before turning around and crossing her arms. “What about now?”

“We’ll see.”

She narrowed her eyes. “See … what?”

“If they go back to ignoring you, or if you are noticed.” He took the towel from where she dropped it in a ball and spread it on the counter to dry. “Look, I got to go. I’ll call out but the witness … you know.”

“24/7 protection. Yeah, you go. I still got your key on my chain. I’ll lock up.”

“I can drop you off on the way.”

She blinked, realizing she still wasn’t completely with it. “Right, the car is still at the station.” Christine looked down and pulled her shirt away from her skin. “And one shower is not enough to see people.”

Once outside, Christine remembered something that bugged her about the wakeup, more than the whole hangover issue. As they walked to the car, she asked, “Why did you ask me if I remembered anything about last night?”

“Well, you had been drinking heavily.” Walker said as he walked around the car.

“No, that isn’t right.” Christine climbed in and buckled her seatbelt. “You kept at it until I answered.”

“Yeah, well, most people don’t remember the next day.” He looked both ways before pulling into the lunch traffic.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Steward and Heale, for example, totally blanked after their werewolf encounter.” Walker shrugged while monitoring the mirrors. “Got drunk, falling down blackout drunk like normal. Like we all do. I think it is a defense mechanism. See if we can erase it out of existence. Most people just lose the day.”

“Like I don’t remember texting Angelo last night.”

“You were ten drinks in, and you still remembered your kid.” He looked over at her and smiled. “Don’t kick yourself over it.”

“But most people forget.”

“Yeah, like for every three people who see the other side, only one remember seeing it.” Walker pulled next to her car at the precinct. “If you had blanked, I would have rolled with it, but it’s nice to see you are one of the strong ones.”

Christine climbed out, but leaned back in the door. “What the others know?”

“That would be telling.” He nodded to the door. “Tick, tock, I got to go.”

“I hate you.”

“Yep. Stay safe.”

“You too.”

She closed the door instead of slamming it and let Walker go. She stared at her car then at the precinct building where reports waited to be written. Sniffing under her arms, Christine decided that one shower would be enough, especially if she wanted to see her kid tonight after work. Maybe the smell would keep others back. Beside she had a spare set of clothes and there was a shower next to the SWAT area.

(words 1382, first published 9/29/2022)

Pets for Vampires Series (Order of Creation)

    1. Pets: Another One, Reginald? (5/17/2020)
    2. Veronica Visits (Pets 2) (6/7/2020)
    3. Still See His Teeth (Pets 3) (11/29/2020)
    4. Hair of Dog (Pets for Vampires 4) (12/6/2020)

Flash: Still See His Teeth (Pets 3)

Photo by Guido Coppa on Unsplash

“Thank you for taking the time to see me, Dr. Longfurrow.” After shaking his hand, Christine Wall sat down opposite the director of Alternative Medicine in the windowless office, that somehow still felt light and airy. Pale wood paneling, sealed variegated sandstone flooring, and a high ceiling made the repurposed mining shaft a modern wonder. Local artists paintings of the Mojave Desert added bright bursts of color, while indigenous pottery and woven blankets added a feeling of comfort. The only concession to business was the heavy wooden desk and the high-end ergonomic chairs. She noted the inkblot center pad was clean, but the in and out boxes had neat stacks of paper with today’s date. No pens were in sight, likely stored within the desk. A balance between something in use but not used much. The only weird thing was the skeleton in one corner, a little shorter than the standard seen in most doctor’s offices. As a medical research facility, not out of place, but her understanding was Alternative Medicine specialized in blood reproduction and storage research not bones.

“Thank you for accepting an after-hours appointment, Detective.” He smiled without showing teeth. “Today’s experiment didn’t allow one to walk-away. I hope the drive out wasn’t bad.”

She laughed. “No problems once I got outside city limits. Inside, well, you know what Las Vegas traffic is like, Dr. Longfurrow.”

“I do indeed.” The man brushed his longish hair back, giving a clear view of his dark eyes. “And please, call me Reggie.”

“Would you mind if I record our interview, Reggie?” Christine took out her cell phone to place on the desk between them.

The businessman stared at it a moment, considering. “I do believe I might. Before we begin, may I ask exactly what this is about?”

The detective reached to pull her phone back.

“No, leave it out. Just so I can make sure you don’t turn on the recording by accident.” The welcoming tones Reginald had been using turned as icy as the man’s hand felt when she shook it.

She jerked her hand back in surprise, glancing up at his black eyes. His eyes, for a moment, took on the dead stare many of the owners of the casinos had. “Um. Okay.” Christine cleared her throat “I’m here about,” she pulled out her handwritten notes that she used since about half the time her phone got confiscated before she could see people in Vegas, “a Miss Erica Halverson. I understand she worked for you as an accountant.”

The man’s eyes crinkled at the edges and the lips curled a little more, revealing a flash of teeth. “Ah, yes.”

“Do you need to consult someone to make sure she works for you?” Christine was used to the corporate run-around of avoiding admitting anything.

“No, I’m well aware of Miss Halverson’s position in my company.” Dr. Longfellow leaned back a little. “That is before we released her four days ago. Are you here about her embezzlement?”

“Embezzlement? No, that would be a different department. Which officers are you working with?” Christine pulled out a pencil and made a note in her pad.

“Officers Connell and Rickerd. We’ve been working with then since she was fired.”

“I’m surprised it didn’t come up when we searched her name in the database for priors.” Christine raised her eyes again to meet the black orbs, but she kept wanting to look away at one of the blankets behind him or the really well done sunset over Red Rock Canyon landscape. She forced her eyes back. “She disappeared three days ago.”

“Did she now?”

The speculative, satisfied tone was completely at odds for someone now at the top of her list for foul play. “Yes.” Christine narrowed her eyes, tapping her pencil against her pad. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Why would I?” He laughed, a rich, deep laugh, one that invited you to join the joke, and Christine’s stomach flipped. “But, if I were speculating, Miss Halverson either took the quarter million she stole from me and ran, or whoever she owed the money to might have collected it with interest.”

Having not heard anything about owing money from Erica’s family and friends during the six hours since she got assigned the case, Christine raised an eyebrow. “She owed money?”

“Usually, one doesn’t start stealing without a good cause. People are not villains by nature, they become villains out of habit.” Dr. Longfurrow pulled out his phone. “Let me call up my head of finance, she can help explain what our audit revealed.” The man tapped in a number and set it on the center of the desk beside her own. When someone answered, he said, “Mary, mi amiga, perdon por llamarte a casa. I have you on speaker phone with a Detective Wall. She is investigating the Halverson incident from another angle. Could you log onto your computer?”

“De nada, Don Reginald. Las ninas ya estan en la cama. Un momento.”

Christine waited, making a note that the very white research professional spoke flawless Spanish, though with the same underlaying accent indicating neither English nor Spanish was his native language – “Good Spanish, accent?”. Beside that note she scratched he also talked to staff on friendly terms.

“Do you understand Spanish, Detective?” Dr. Longfurrow asked.

“Not as well as you seem to, Reggie. Enough to get by on the streets, but I bring in a translator for interviews.”

“Very good. Mary, did you hear that?”

“Si, Don Reginald, I speak English.”

Mary’s accent could steam tamales. If Christine needed to interview her directly, she would need to bring Ramirez. No wait, he sucked at business things, it would have to be Solorzano. She hoped Ana wasn’t undercover again.

“Ask your questions.” The research doctor waved at his phone.

Christine hoped the other detectives would forgive her for stepping on their case, but a missing person took precedence. “Um, how much did Miss Halverson steal?”

“She steal $297, 642.32.”

“I’m assuming it was over a period of time.”

“Que?”

“When was the first incident of the theft?”

“Ah, four month ago. Nine June. She embezzle two thousand that day.”

“Why did it take four months to find the theft?”

“She good. Otherwise, no hire her, si? Found in quarterly check. Investigate a month to catch total.”

“And when did you report it to the proper authorities?”

“I report to Don Reginald when investigate start.”

“I mean like to the police.”

“Don Reginald do so.”

Christine leaned back in the chair, glancing at the business owner. “Thank you, Mary.”

“De nada. Algo mas, Don Reginald?”

Dr. Longfellow leaned forward, “No,” he glanced up at the Detective who gave him a slight nod, “Gracias por su ayuda y tiempo. Buenas noches.”

“Buenas noches.” The glow on the cell phone faded after the green circle turned red.

The handsome twenty-something male, who looked far too young to finished an advance degree and become the business owner of a multi-million dollar research facility, pulled his phone back and slipped it inside his tailored jacket. Must be nice to come from money.

“May I ask when you reported the embezzlement to the police?”

“Fifteen minutes after she was escorted off premises.” Dr. Longfellow responded. “We confronted her in a secured area, and she admitted to a gambling habit, begging forgiveness for her addiction and promising to enter therapy. We provided the detectives the recording … hmm … yesterday? This morning? Let me see.” He reached into his outgoing pile, flipping through a few pages. “Ah, yes, this morning at ten we sent it by courier to the station.”

Christine wrote down “Therapy” on her pad beside Cancun and collectors. “Why did you not suggest checking into therapy as option?”

“Detective, she had a quarter million dollars,” He shook his head sadly. “of my company’s money. Money being used in medical research to save lives. Being so near the strip, we have had gambling addicts before and have an extensive program in place to help our workers. She did not avail herself of it. So, she either ran or committed suicide.”

“Suicide?” Christine jerked up.

“Suicide by mob, or,” Reginald smiled, this time showing his full teeth with two very pointy canines on the outside, “by me.”

Christine gulped, then whispered, “Suicide?”

“I would recommend marking this a cold case, Detective Wall.” The researcher, and who knew what else, lips lowered into his welcoming smile and Christine relaxed just a bit, slipping from defcon 9 to 8. “Miss Halverson is never going to show up again, anywhere, ever. No need to waste resources.”

Dr. Longfurrow stood and offered her his arm. “Would you like a tour of the facility?”

Christine tucked her phone away on her belt holster, considering the arm and the display of teeth. “Thank you.”

***

By the time Christine returned to the precinct, it was well after midnight. She sat at her desk and, finally, allowed herself to start shaking. Putting her head on the scarred desk, tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes onto her jacket.

“Anything wrong, hot shot?”

“No Walker.”

She heard the chair opposite hers pull out and a heavy coffee mug hit the table, no Styrofoam cups for him. “Comeon, tell Daddy Eldrige what is wrong.” The black officer leaned over and touched her arm.

Christine jerked it back, but pulled up, letting the older Senior Detective see her red, wet face.

“Oh, that looks bad.” He tilted his head to the side, “Golden Bar bad or Randy Pithouse bad.”

Christine shook her head. “One without other cops bad.” Detective Walker was a longtime friend of the family and got her into law enforcement. He would understand.

“It’s Vegas, we’ll find something.” He nodded to her computer, “Enter what you gotta and then we can cut lose.”

Staring at the computer like staring into a tunnel waiting for the train to hit, she bit her lip. She pushed back the wobbly chair and stood. “It’s a cold case.” Christine closed her eyes and choked back a sob, then sighed, shaking her shoulders. “It’s a cold case and can wait until morning.”

Christine clocked out, then went to the cage and turned in her belt and weapons to the officer in charge there. Walker did the same, informing the balding man, “Going drinking, we’ll pick these up once we are sober again.”

“Don’t drink and drive.” The man told them.

“Never do.” Eldridge waved as they walked away.

Christine whispered under her breath, “You always do.”

“No more than three,” Eldridge jiggled his belly, “and that is still under quota at my body weight. Being fat has some advantages.”

“The chief is going to make you lose weight soon.”

“Not before retirement.” Walker laughed. “It isn’t worth the battle to him. One year and six months and four days out.”

Pulling out of the station parking lot, he chose a direction away from the strip, toward where they both lived. After a few moments he asked, “So, what happened today?”

“I interviewed the CEO of Alternative Medicine for my missing person case.” Christine stared out the window at the passing neon signs.

“Alternative Medicine, good company.”

Christine looked over at Walker. “Really?”

“Yeah, when Charlene had cancer, before she died, they took her in for a clinical trial.” Walker activated the left turn signal while they waited at a light. “They were testing 3-D printing of blood.”

“Blood, right.” The younger detective shuddered.

“Yeah, her type of cancer destroyed red blood cells.” The light changed and he turned. “Anyway, that shit worked. Printed blood, who would have thought? And they paid for everything during the trail that insurance wouldn’t cover. Even gave a little extra, kept me out of debt until funeral costs hit.”

“You ever dig out of that?” Christine asked, back to staring out the window.

“Yeah, the guys put together a collection, and the kids helped out some too.” Walker brought the car to a stop. “Alright, we’re here.”

Christine looked up at the neon sign on the outside of the beat-up bar. All it said was “The Dive.” Sounded like the perfect place.

Walker directed her to a sticky table in the back with the vinyl seats were less split than most before he walked over to the bar.

After dropping two large beers on the table, and a shot of rotgut for her since she wasn’t driving, he spun around the chair and sat down. “So, spill.”

“I think I’m comprised.” She stared at the foam on the beer.

“Oh.” Walker slid his beer from one hand to the other on the table. “That’s a problem.”

“Yeah.”

“How?” He took a pull of his drink while waiting her out.

“Um,” she started. “The CEO…um.” She pulled the shot to her and slammed it back, shaking. The Dive’s whisky didn’t have a top shelf, but certainly had a bottom shelf. Maybe even a basement shelf.

Turning the cup upside down, she placed it on the table.

She cleared her throat one more time. “Do you believe in vampires?”

“Vampires?” Eldrige turned his head sideways considering. “And one has comprised you?

“Yeah … no … I don’t know.” Christine pulled her hair out of its pins, stacking them on the table in front of her beside her untouched beer. “He offered to pay for house repairs.”

Walker nodded his head sagely. “Your house is in need of repairs.”

“Yeah, but how did he know?”

“Who’s he?”

“The CEO, Dr. Reginald Longfurrow.” After scrunching her hair around to release tension, Christine reached for the beer and took a drink.

“And did you accept the offer?”

“No, but then he offered anything else he could help me with…”

Walker drew a finger down through the condensation. “And you suggested something.”

“Yeah … no … yeah.” Christine gulped down half the beer. “I … I already knew I would make it a cold case. Suicide, he said it was suicide, and she had to have known, right? She worked for him. In a freaking place that makes blood. So, it is kind-of like suicide. So why not? … I said I needed a new engine for the clunker, you know, so Angelo would have something to drive when he finishes driver’s training in December.”

“Not a bad choice,” her lifelong advisor, the one who told her her marriage had been an extremely bad choice from the very beginning, who never cut corners, but also said, do what you got to do to come home once she had her babies, didn’t chastise her for taking the bribe. “No one will question why the POS is still moving, at least no more than the fact it is still moving.”

“But I shouldn’t have,” begging for forgiveness or accusation, or forgetfulness colored Christine’s voice. “Should I?”

“If he really is a vampire—”

“Wait, vampires are for real?” Christine squeaked.

“Yeah,” Walker sighed, “they are. And if he really is a vampire, well their code of ethics is as fucked as the mob. Tit for tat sort of thing. Unlike the mob, he won’t expect follow-up. You helped him, he helped you. You are even. You aren’t bought.”

“Really?” Hope wrestled with fear in the alcoholic pool of Christine’s stomach filled with the whisky and, when did she get two empty beers? She blinked. “I’m good?”

“Yeah, you should be in the clear, unless you want to work with him more.” Walker waved his hand. “Some of the monsters like keeping law enforcement around like pets.”

“There is more?”

“Yeah, but here is Vegas I think the vampires are the top of the food chain. Well, except for the mob. It’s been a while since they duked it out.” Walker finished his drink. “Mostly they stay out of each other’s way. The vamps only run the Coven-Tree Casino and a few of the brothels; they remain more legit than the rest. Have to, since they can’t have the light of day shining in their business, literally.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Well, working in the organized crime unit, you run into things at the higher end of crime, and vamps, they live long enough to get money.” He gathered their glasses and came back with another three. Two for her and one for him.

Unlike Walker, she wasn’t pushing three hundred pounds of muscle and fat stretched across a six nine frame. If she downed another two, she would be staggering out of her and paying the piper with a big hangover when she woke up after passing out.

The detective grabbed a mug and chugged half.

“Why…” she burped, “why you no tell me about all this?”

“Because the underworld … and the underworld … you don’t need that shit in your life, hot shot.”

“Well, it is now, so what should I do?”

“You can step away—” he started before being cut off.

“Not happening.” She finished her third mug.

“You can step away until Angelo graduates.” He suggested.

“Oh,” Christine held up a finger, “maybe, that would be good. Stay alive until the kids are out of the hose … house.”

“You got one out already. She is nearly done her associate.”

“Yessh, Graduating early from shummer clashes.” Christine face broke into her first smile of the night, rightly proud of her accomplishment after her husband abandoned her.

“Exactly, and Angelo already is working in the trades.”

“Gradu-eats in two years, got appretiz-ships offers.” She pulled the other mug to her, “Wait, it broke.” She stared in confusion at the empty mug.

“Another one?”

“Yesh please. I can still see his teeth.”

(words 2948, first published 9/29/2022)

Pets for Vampires Series (Order of Creation)

  1. Pets: Another One, Reginald? (5/17/2020)
  2. Veronica Visits (Pets 2) (6/7/2020)
  3. Still See His Teeth (Pets 3) (11/29/2020)
  4. Hair of Dog (Pets for Vampires 4) (12/6/2020)