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  To you.

  You are so worthy of all the good things… take care of your female. I have faith in you.

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PROPER NOUNS

  ahstrux nohtrum (n.)

  Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the King.

  ahvenge (v.)

  Act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.

  Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.)

  Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they are the subjects of legend and objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.

  blood slave (n.)

  Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has been outlawed.

  the Chosen (pr. n.)

  Female vampires who had been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. In the past, they were spiritually rather than temporally focused, but that changed with the ascendance of the final Primale, who freed them from the Sanctuary. With the Scribe Virgin removing herself from her role, they are completely autonomous and learning to live on earth. They do continue to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, as well as Brothers who cannot feed from their shellans or injured fighters.

  chrih (n.)

  Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.

  cohntehst (n.)

  Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female’s mate.

  Dhunhd (pr. n.)

  Hell.

  doggen (n.)

  Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.

  ehros (n.)

  A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.

  exhile dhoble (n.)

  The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.

  the Fade (pr. n.)

  Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.

  First Family (pr. n.)

  The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.

  ghardian (n.)

  Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.

  glymera (n.)

  The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England’s ton.

  hellren (n.)

  Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.

  hyslop (n. or v.)

  Term referring to a lapse in judgment, typically resulting in the compromise of the mechanical operations of a vehicle or otherwise motorized conveyance of some kind. For example, leaving one’s keys in one’s car as it is parked outside the family home overnight, whereupon said vehicle is stolen.

  leahdyre (n.)

  A person of power and influence.

  leelan (adj. or n.)

  A term of endearment loosely translated as “dearest one.”

  Lessening Society (pr. n.)

  Order of slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

  lesser (n.)

  De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.

  lewlhen (n.)

  Gift.

  lheage (n.)

  A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to their dominant.

  Lhenihan (pr. n.)

  A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.

  lys (n.)

  Torture tool used to remove the eyes.

  mahmen (n.)

  Mother. Used both as an identifier and a term of affection.

  mhis (n.)

  The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.

  nalla (n., f.) or nallum (n., m.)

  Beloved.

  needing period (n.)

  Female vampire’s time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female’s transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.

  newling (n.)

  A virgin.

  the Omega (pr. n.)

  Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed toward the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.

  phearsom (adj.)

  Term referring to the potency of a male’s sexual organs. Literal translation something close to “worthy of entering a female.”

  Princeps (pr. n.)

  Highest level of the vampire aristocracy, second only to members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin’s Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.

  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 nontemporal realm and had extensive powers, but has recently stepped down and given 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 w
ithin 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. They are near extinction.

  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 as well as a 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, 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

  Route 149

  Caldwell, New York

  Behind the wheel of her ten-year-old car, Jo Early bit into the Slim Jim and chewed like it was her last meal. She hated the fake-smoke taste and the boat-rope texture, and when she swallowed the last piece, she got another one out of her bag. Ripping the wrapper with her teeth, she peeled the taxidermied tube free and littered into the wheel well of her passenger side. There were so many spent casings like it down there, you couldn’t see the floor mat.

  Up ahead, her anemic headlights swung around a curve, illuminating pine trees that had been limbed up three-quarters of the way, the puffy tops making toothpicks out of the trunks. She hit a pothole and bad-swallowed, and she was coughing as she reached her destination.

  The abandoned Adirondack Outlets was yet another commentary on the pervasiveness of Amazon Prime. The one-story strip mall was a horseshoe without a hoof, the storefronts along the two long sides bearing the remnants of their brands, faded laminations and off-kilter signs with names like Van Heusen/Izod, and Nike, and Dansk the ghosts of commerce past. Behind dusty glass, there was no merchandise available for purchase anymore, and no one had been on the property with a charge card for at least a year, only hardscrabble weeds in the cracks of the promenade and barn swallows in the eaves inhabiting the site. Likewise, the food court that united the eastern and western arms was no longer offering soft serve or Starbucks or lunch.

  As a hot flash cranked her internal temperature up, she cracked the window. And then put the thing all the way down. March in Caldwell, New York, was like winter in a lot of places still considered northerly in latitude, and thank God for it. Breathing in the cold, damp air, she told herself this was not a bad idea.

  Nah, not at all. Here she was, alone at midnight, chasing down the lead on a story she wasn’t writing for her employer, the Caldwell Courier Journal. Without anyone at her new apartment waiting up for her. Without anyone on the planet who would claim her mangled corpse when it was found from the smell in a ditch a week from now.

  Letting the car roll to a stop, she killed the headlights and stayed where she was. No moon out tonight so she’d dressed right. All black. But without any illumination from the heavens, her eyes strained at the darkness, and not because she was greedy to see the details on the decaying structure.

  Nope. At the moment, she was worried she was about to provide fodder for True Crime Garage. As unease tickled her nape, like someone was trying to get her attention by running the point of a carving knife over her skin—

  Her stomach let out a howl and she jumped. Without any debate, she went diving into her purse again. Passing by the three Slim Jims she had left, she went straight-up Hershey this time, and the efficiency with which she stripped that mass-produced chocolate of its clothing was a sad commentary on her diet. When she was finished, she was still hungry and not because there wasn’t food in her belly. As always, the only two things she could eat failed to satisfy her gnawing craving, to say nothing of her nutritional needs.

  Putting up her window, she took her backpack and got out. The crackling sound of the treads of her running shoes on the shoulder of the road seemed loud as a concert, and she wished she wasn’t getting over a cold. Like her sense of smell could be helpful, though? And when was the last time she’d considered that possibility outside of a milk carton check.

  She really needed to give these wild-goose chases up.

  Two-strapping her backpack, she locked the car and pulled the hood of her windbreaker up over her red hair. No heel toeing. She left-right-left’d it, keeping the soles of her Brooks flat to quiet her footfalls. As her eyes adjusted, all she saw were the shadows around her, the hidey-holes in corners and nooks formed by the mall’s doorways and the benches pockets of gotcha with which mashers could play a grown-up’s game of keep away until they were ready to attack.

  When she got to a heavy chain that was strung across the entry to the promenade, she looked around. There was nobody in the parking lots that ran down the outside of the flanks. No one in the center area formed by the open-ended rectangle. Not a soul on the road that she had taken up to this rise above Rt. 149.

  Jo told herself that this was good. It meant no one was going to jump her.

  Her adrenal glands, on the other hand, informed her that this actually meant no one was around to hear her scream for help.

  Refocusing on the chain, she had some thought that if she swung her leg over it and proceeded on the other side, she would not come back the same.

  “Stop it,” she said, kicking her foot up.

  She chose the right side of the stores, and as rain started to fall, she was glad the architect had thought to cover the walkways overhead. What had been not so smart was anyone thinking a shopping center with no interior corridors could survive in a zip code this close to Canada. Saving ten bucks on a pair of candlesticks or a bathing suit was not going to keep anybody warm enough to shop outside October to April, and that was true even before you factored in the current era of free next-day shipping.

  Down at the far end, she stopped at what had to have been the ice cream place because there was a faded stencil of a cow holding a triple decker cone by its hoof on the window. She got out her phone.

  Her call was answered on the first ring.

  “Are you okay?” Bill said.

  “Where am I going?” she whispered. “I don’t see anything.”

  “It’s in the back. I told you that you have to go around back, remember?”

  “Damn it.” Maybe the nitrates had fried her brain. “Hold on, I think I found a staircase.”

  “I should come out t
here.”

  Jo started walking again and shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “I’m fine—yup, I’ve got the cut through to the rear. I’ll call you if I need you—”

  “You shouldn’t be doing this alone!”

  Ending the connection, she jogged down the concrete steps, her pack bouncing like it was doing push-ups on her back. As she bottomed out on the lower level, she scanned the empty parking lot—

  The stench that stabbed into her nose was the kind of thing that triggered her gag reflex. Roadkill… and baby powder?

  She looked to the source. The maintenance building by the tree line had a corrugated metal roof and metal walls that would not survive long in tornado alley. Half the size of a football field, with garage doors locked to the ground, she imagined it could have housed paving equipment as well as blowers, mowers, and snowplows.

  The sole person-sized door was loose, and as a stiff gust from the rainstorm caught it, the creak was straight out of a George Romero movie—and then the panel immediately slammed shut with a clap, as if Mother Nature didn’t like the stink any more than Jo did.

  Taking out her phone, she texted Bill: This smell is nasty.

  Aware that her heart rate just tripled, she walked across the asphalt, the rain hitting the hood of her windbreaker in a disorganized staccato. Ducking her hand under the loose nylon of the jacket, she felt for her holstered gun and kept her hand on the butt.

  The door creaked open and slammed shut again, another puff of that smell releasing out of the pitch-black interior. Swallowing through throat spasms, she had to fight to keep going and not because there was wind in her face.

  When she stopped in front of the door, the opening and closing ceased, as if now that she was on the verge of entering, it didn’t need to catch her attention and draw her in.

  So help her God, if Pennywise was on the other side…

  Glancing around to check there were no red balloons lolling in the area, she reached out for the door.

  I just have to know, she thought as she opened the way in. I need to… know.

  Leaning around the jamb, she saw absolutely nothing, and yet was frozen by all that she confronted. Pure evil, the kind of thing that abducted and murdered children, that slaughtered the innocent, that enjoyed the suffering of the just and merciful, pushed at her body and then penetrated it, radiation that was toxic passing through to her bones.