by E. E. Knight
A very weary David Valentine took Molly into the clean, cold air of the Lake Michigan morning. They looked west as the shoreline slowly became distinct and the sun penetrated the clouds. He thought of all the doomed souls beyond the distant, mist-shrouded shore. He had saved Molly, but how many others had died to feed the Reapers in the last three days?
He remembered a story that Father Max used to tell, and a quote he had to memorize from the green blackboard, of a tireless nun named Mother Teresa. She and her Sisters of Mercy had worked with the multitudes of impoverished, disease-stricken people in India. A journalist had asked her how she managed to keep her spirits up, when despite her unceasing labors there would always be more suffering than she could possibly cure.
Mother Teresa had thought for a moment, and then said: “You start with one.”
David Valentine turned to watch the dawn, Molly’s hand in his.
This ends the first volume tracking the career of David Valentine. He will return to face the mysterious Twisted Cross in Choice of the Cat, the second book in the Vampire Earth series. For more information on it and other tales of Vampire Earth, please visit the author’s Web site at www. Vampireearth. Com.
Glossary
Aspirants: Teenagers, often sons and daughters of those in a particular caste, who travel with the Hunters and perform assorted camp functions.
Bears: Hunters and the most fearsome of the Lifeweavers’ human weapons. The Bears are proud to take on anything the Kurians can design.
Buckchits: The plastic currency of the Ozark Free Territory, they are doughnut-shaped coins of various denominations.
Cats: Trained by the Lifeweavers, these Hunters act as spies, saboteurs, and assassins in the Kurian Zone. Some work in disguises; others work openly.
Grogs: Any of the multitude of creations the Kurians have designed or enhanced to help subjugate man. They come in many shapes and sizes; some are intelligent enough to use weapons.
Hunters: Human beings who have been enhanced by the technomagic of the Lifeweavers to cope with the spawn of Kur.
Interworld tree: An ancient network of portals between the stars, the doors of which allow instantaneous transportation across the light-years.
Kurians: Lifeweavers from the planet Kur who learned how to indefinitely lengthen their lives by absorbing vital aura. They are the true vampires of the New Order.
Lifesign: Energy given off by any living thing in proportion to its size and sentience. The Reapers use it, in addition to the normal senses, to track their human prey.
Parang: A short, fat machete with a slight curve at the tip. Its three cutting edges can be used to skin game, chop down small trees, or even dig.
Pre-entities: The Old Ones, a vampiric race that died out long before man walked the Earth. From their knowledge the Kur learned how to become vampires by living off vital aura.
Quislings : Humans who assist the Kurians in running the New Order.
Reapers: The Praetorian Guard of the New Order, they are in fact avatars animated by their master vampire. They permit the reclusive Kurians to interact with humans and others, and more important, absorb the vital aura through a psychic connection with the avatar without physical risk. The Reaper lives off the blood of the victim, while the aura sustains the Master Kurian. Also known colloquially as Capos, Governors, Hoods, Rigs, Skulls, Scowls, Tongue-Tong, Creeps, Hooded Ones, and Vampires.
Vital aura: An energy field created by a living creature. Sadly, humans are rich in it.
Wolves: The most numerous caste of the Hunters, trieir patrols watch the no-man’s-land between the Kurian Zone and the Free Territories. They also act as guerrilla fighters, couriers, and scouts.
