Liam: Seen (as long as you don’t look too close) Other. Vantor. Personal bodyguard to Lily Ayres. I had a few pints with him and his pack. He was born a werewolf in the old USSR. Captured by Queen Ekaterina’s vampire goons. Rumored that Henry was one of the vampires that trapped and imprisoned him. Would explain their hatred of each other. Anyway, put in prison and forced to drink vampire blood for decades. Now he is a hybrid. His werewolf side is still the most dominant. Feared by Others and vampires. Extremely nice guy, though.
Mathers: Seen Other. Called the Doorman. He lives at the Legacy Foundation. Midget/small person with very sharp teeth.
Meirta: Seen Other. She is a Minder. Able to read specific human thoughts, more or less. Haven’t worked up the courage to ask her if she’s descended from the fabled Amazons. Did I mention she’s strong?
Merlin: Seen Other. Sorcerer and Royal Advisor to the King of North America. Describes himself as a Merlin and not the Merlin. Whatever that means.
Nina: Human. Mystery woman found on Mountain Top Road.
Others: Look like humans, but not totally human. Some have tribes, some not. Some are extremely unusual and some are just a little different. All are classified as supernatural.
Ouleds: Seen Other. Women of exceptional beauty and highly valued for their skills of seduction. All descended from a sect of gypsies.
Sanguis Ancilla: Definition is blood slave. Lily Ayres is the Sanguis Ancilla of Krieger. She has ingested his blood and he hers. Which means hands off, unless you want to lose your hand and head.
Seen: Classification of Other whose physical appearance does not deviate from humans enough for them to be markedly different. Although, there is a feeling I get around them that is different than when around humans.
Stoke and Stoke Castle: Stoke is the name of King Krieger’s eastern territory estate. He owns the whole mountain which is a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. The castle is the largest I’ve ever seen.
Revenant: Created by a vampire. This practice is outlawed. A human manipulated by blood and torture to do the vampire’s bidding. A revenant has no will of its own.
Strigoi: Myth? The children of Hades who escaped their father’s realm. In order to survive they drank human blood. They mated with humans and begot vampires.
Trance: Vampires can trance memories from humans with a glance. Others are not susceptible to this, but they can still be affected by it.
Unseen: Classification of Other whose physicality does not permit them to blend in with humans. Well, they could on Halloween, or at the circus, or in Los Angeles, maybe Vegas.
Vantor: Seen Other (mostly). Lily Ayres’ personal bodyguards. See Liam above for more detail.
Wards: Magical spells. Merlin says he can weave spells into objects and around people to keep them from harm.
Watchers: Myths? Angels who fell in love with human woman, and instead of giving them up and returning to their celestial home, they chose to remain on earth. If that’s the case, can heaven really be that great if they chose to stay here? Hmmm.
Waverly: Lily Ayres’ family home. Beautiful estate, especially the main house which is large, but delicate, hidden away down a long, tree-lined road.
Winston: Human. Head Keeper. Strange, but I don’t know his last name. In charge of all the keepers.
Useful Information:
How to kill a vampire: A wooden stake to the heart will almost kill them. It will immobilize them long enough to cut off their head. The head must be burned. No one seems able to answer why that is, because without a head what is the vampire going to do. Oh, silver is deadly also. Something about the combination of wood and silver crafted into a stake will kill them. You don’t have to cut off the head then.
Sleeping arrangements: Vampires don’t sleep in coffins. Disappointing, right? Just regular beds, like the rest of us. They can burrow into the ground, if need be, to protect themselves from sunlight.
More disappointing news:
Garlic has no impact on a vampire.
Churches, the clergy, and religious objects mean nothing to them. Believe me, I have firsthand knowledge here, holding up a cross does nothing but make them laugh.
They can see themselves in mirrors and you them.
More to follow…
Acknowledgements
To Marlene and Stephanie, for giving me this opportunity.
To Candice, for your guidance, and kindness, and professionalism in editing this book.
To all the readers of my little stories throughout the years, who gave me encouragement, and feedback, and made me believe this was possible.
Rebecca Trogner
Rebecca Trogner lives in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia, and frequently crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains that were the inspiration for Krieger’s home. She always dreamed of being a writer, but got sidetracked by the day-to-day adventures of life. With the encouragement of her family, she has finished her first novel and is currently writing the next book in The Last Keeper’s Daughter series. Rebecca lives with her husband and son, and a rescue dog named Giblet. To find out more about the author visit www.rebeccatrogner.com.
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