Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
pyrocant (n.)
Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
rahlman (n.)
Savior.
rythe (n.)
Ritual manner of asserting honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself without defenses.
the Scribe Virgin (pr. n.)
Mystical force who previously was counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Existed in a non-temporal realm and had extensive powers, but stepped down and gave her station to another. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
sehclusion (n.)
Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female’s family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.
shellan (n.)
Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.
symphath (n.)
Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires.
talhman (n.)
The evil side of an individual. A dark stain on the soul that requires expression if it is not properly expunged.
the Tomb (pr. n.)
Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site and, previously, the storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin’s successor, or candidates for induction.
trahyner (n.)
Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely as “beloved friend.”
transition (n.)
Critical moment in a vampire’s life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.
vampire (n.)
Member of a species separate from that of Homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot “convert” humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in rare cases able to breed with the other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short-term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases, even longer.
wahlker (n.)
An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.
whard (n.)
Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.
CHAPTER ONE
Rural Route 149
Caldwell, New York
I gotta bad feeling about this.”
As Mickey Trix’s cousin spoke, he wanted to beat on the fucker, but it was his own damned fault. Why had he thought bringing the deadweight on a hit was gonna help anything?
“Mickey, you hear what I say—”
Overhead, lightning rippled across the night sky and the snowy forest came alive, the bare branches of the trees turning into arms that reached forward to grab, the knee-deep drifts reflecting the all-wrong flash back to the freaky storm. When everything went darker again, Mickey had a split second of double-thinking himself. It was fucking January. You didn’t get thunderstorms in—
“Shut up.” He searched those trees, which seemed to stalk instead of stand still on their root systems. “Fuck, why you always talking—”
“Where are we—”
Mickey turned on the dumbass as thunder rumbled. All the fucking snow made the landscape glow so he could see too much of his cousin’s weak-dick chin and beady little paranoid peepers. The ski mask he’d given the fool was wedged up over a set of thin eyebrows, the layers of black wool a crown of bad intent that on anyone else would’ve been a warning that shit was about to go down. On Evan? It just covered up all the premature balding.
Even his fucking hair didn’t want to be around him.
And who the fuck couldn’t grow eyebrows. Even cue-ball-bald SOBs had eyebrows—except for when they had that shit, what was it called?