S: Thank you for agreeing to this interview,
Michael.
M: It’s my
pleasure, Ms. Wright.
S: So, tell us what you’ve been up to since you
became king. I’m sure there must have been some adjustments necessary.
M: Indeed. I
regret to say there have been bad tidings in the vampire world. There’s always
some intrigue, some plot churning underneath the surface of our delicate
society’s structure.
S: I can only
imagine. So what bad tidings did you hear of?
M: Ah, all that is
for vampire ears only. Politics and secrets, you know.
S: Of course. So I
understand you and Sarah have a new home on Lake Monroe, not far from Brown
County.
M: Yes. Sarah didn’t want to move very far from
home, so we bought the lake house. She seems happy there, although a little
lonely perhaps.
S: You must spend
a great deal of time in New York with your current position being what it is.
Has that changed your relationship at all?
M: (sighs) It has
been a challenge, to be sure.
S: I want to extend my condolences on the death
of Victoria. I know it was a great loss for you.
M: She will be
missed, to be sure. Not only was she one of my closest associates, but she was
a dear friend as well.
S: And the captain hasn’t been in touch with you?
M: Aiden is devastated. His feelings for Victoria
ran quite deep. She was his life.
S: I was sorry to
hear of her loss. I hope the captain is able to recover from her death.
M: That is my hope as well, my dear.
S: So, let’s discuss something a little more
pleasant. What kind of interests do you have outside of the government of
vampires?
M: I enjoy the
theater, both stage and screen.
S: Favorite movie?
M: I’m quite a fan
of the original Dracula film. Although it was drastically unrealistic, it still
provides some honest insight into the personality of the undead.
S: Very
interesting. And you’ve travelled extensively, correct?
M: I have.
S: If you could
name the most beautiful place on earth, where would that be?
M: (smiles)
Wherever Sarah is.
S: You’re very dedicated to her. Have you noticed
a change in her personality since the two of you met?
M: Yes. She’s a
little less impulsive and more thoughtful. Perhaps more serious.
S: And what about
you? Do you think you’ve changed?
M: (leans forward)
I think you already know the answer to that question, so I’ll disregard it.
What I will say is this. I’m not going to be king forever. At some point, I
intend to settle down with Sarah, either at the lake house or some other place
of our choosing. The intrigue and lies inherent in politics are a dark
business. I’ll be glad when I’m no longer a part of the system.
S: Thank you so
much for your time today.
M: (smiles) You’re
quite welcome. I look forward to our next meeting.
The Vampire’s Rival
Undead in Brown County
Book Six
S.J. Wright
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Read and Wright Publishing LLC
ASIN: B01E05LNK6
Number of pages: 107
Word Count: 32,000
Cover Artist: S.J. Wright
Book Description:
A surprise visitor shows up at Sarah and Michael's lake house in Indiana. His story is one that intrigues and frightens Sarah. What frightens her more is the growing attraction she begins to feel for this new vampire.
Can she choose between Michael and a vampire she barely knows? Or will that choice be taken from her?
Excerpt:
“He’s been
killing humans. Four since this late this morning, as far as we can tell,” Kate
told me. I could nearly detect a note of panic in her voice, but I knew better
than to address it.
“Does anyone
know where he is right now?”
“No. One of the
members of the Council was interviewed by Homeland Security and positively
identified Michael in a security video.”
“They caught him
on camera?”
“Yeah. A
convenience store in Chicago. He killed
the cashier and one bystander there, then an hour later got a taxi driver and
his passenger. It’s not like him to be so reckless, Alex. You know that. Especially
now that he’s king,” she said.
“What is he
trying to do?”
Kate didn’t know
either.
Telling Sarah
about that conversation wasn’t easy. It reopened her emotional wounds. But I
couldn’t see how hiding it from her would help anyone. We climbed back into her
truck. I drove this time.
She was too
quiet. I wasn’t sure if talking would help or not. Maybe she needed to process
everything that had happened on her own. I didn’t really know what to say
anyway. It was a nightmare for her and I didn’t want to rehash everything and
end up making it all worse.
“Alex, where
should I go?” she asked. Her voice reminded me of a little girl’s.
“I don’t know.
Is there anywhere you would be safe?”
We both knew the
answer. She would not be safe until Michael was locked up again. And the only
place that could happen would be…
“The farm,” she
said.
Getting in touch
with the lumber company wasn’t as difficult as we thought. They had bought the
property after the explosion and were ready to have someone take it off their
hands. The profit in the lumber wasn’t as good as they imagined it would be.
So Sarah wrote
them a check from the joint account she’d opened with Michael and signed the
deed the next day. She had tears in her eyes when they gave her the keys to the
front gate. Whether they were tears of sadness or nostalgia, I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it was a combination of the two.
The problem was
that Sarah had been turned outside of the farm property. I had changed her into
a vampire at the cabin. So she couldn’t go onto the property herself until she
was invited, just like other vampires. It was different with me. I had been
turned at the farm by Michael and Victoria.
We needed Kate.
So Sarah called
and requested that her sister come out there to let her onto her own property.
Sarah’s friend from school, Kara, let us borrow her family’s large camping
trailer and we towed it out the farm entrance with Sarah’s truck.
It didn’t take
Kate very long at all to get back to Indiana.
She pulled up in
a fiery red Camaro convertible. She wasn’t alone. Her mentor from the clinic in
Brazil was in the passenger seat. Marco. I’d met him once before and had been
impressed with his knowledge.
Before Kate even
got out of the car, she was cussing. “I can’t believe I have to fucking do
this.”
“Don’t even
bother to say hi, Kate?” Sarah asked.
Kate gave her a
withering look and shook her head. “I’m sorry. Hi. It’s been a long couple of
months hunting that bastard Mahdi. I’ve followed him through seven different
states and two Caribbean islands.”
“No luck
catching him, though?” I asked.
“Exactly, Alex,”
she retorted with spirit. “No luck on that score, Mr. Obvious. Trust me. Once I
get this guy, I will lose this attitude I’ve got going on right now.”
Sarah walked
over to the gate and Kate followed. Kate put the key in the lock and pulled the
chain off the aluminum frame. She sighed deeply and stood inside the property
line.
“Sarah, you are
invited,” Kate said.
And that was all
we needed Kate for, but it didn’t take a genius to see that her sister’s safety
meant a great deal to her. “I think I’ll stick around town for a while. Marco,
you good with that?”
He nodded and
then punched up a few numbers on his cell phone. “I’ll get a reservation
somewhere.”
Sarah began
walking up the hill towards the spot where the house had stood for so many
decades. The house and barn had both been completely demolished in the
explosion, but a few things had remained.
“The stones are
still there,” Kate said as we followed Sarah up the hill. “The cowshed is
partially burnt, but still standing. Alex, how can coming back here help m
sister? This doesn’t make much sense.”
I glanced over
at her. Her long dark curls were pulled up into a ponytail and she was wearing
a pair of tight jeans and a snug sweater. I probably shouldn’t have looked at
all.
“Kate, if
Michael has done what they are accusing him of, the Council will catch him. And
when they do, where do you think they will send him?”
She laughed
without a hint of humor, “Not Arizona, I hope. That place is a wreck.”
“It will be
here. But he can’t get in without your invitation. We need Michael to be put in
here and then Sarah can leave and be safe. Do you understand? Their
relationship is over. She has to move on with her life.”
“But they don’t
want Michael locked up.” She looked at me with those dark eyes and I didn’t
want to turn away.
“They want him
dead,” she finished quietly.
About the Author:
S.J. Wright first began writing stories when she was twelve years old. She has been a cashier, a receptionist, a factory worker and has served a multitude of other roles over the years. Her favorite role has been that of a mother to her two sons.
The Undead in Brown County series takes place in Brown County, Indiana. She began writing the series in October of 2010. In February of 2011, she published her first novel The Vampire's Warden as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Since then, she has released five more books in the series.
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