The Goddess and The Vampire by Jon Herrera
The Goddess and The Vampire
A Wilhem Walengrave Vampire Novel
Book 1
Jon Herrera
Copyright © 2015 by Jon Herrera. All Rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the publisher.
Cover Illustration Copyright © 2015 by Jon Herrera
Author photograph Copyright © 2015 by Jon Herrera
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank my wife Dawnell for putting up with me as I ignore her for hours on end and crank out my daily word count.
Then I need to thank the many people who helped by reading my first drafts and making suggestions about the direction of the work. Andrea was one of my first readers and has always been supportive of my efforts. Duane was another early reader and offered several useful suggestions. Jen read all of my books and got my often quirky sense of humor. Chris liked one of my books well enough that he wrote a review on Amazon. Jennie didn't care for the bloody bits in my vampire book, but she did read it.
Arleigh was kind enough to offer advice on cover designs, and though I didn't follow it very well, I do appreciate her help.
A special thanks goes out to Irene, who bravely took on the role of copy editor and did a line by line reading of my books which resulted in the correction of countless typos, confusing sentences, and other stylistic tics that needed a bit of tweaking.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
About the Author
Prologue
“MY NAME IS Wilhem Walengrave.” I said and looked around the circle of faces staring at me. “And I’m a vampire.”
“Hi, Wilhem.” The group said in unison.
Monsters Anonymous was created with the idea of hate the sin, not the sinner. While the goal of Alcoholics Anonymous was to resist the temptation of taking another drink, we were more along the lines of Overeaters Anonymous. We wanted to limit our troublesome ways, not eradicate them. We were not going to stop being vampires, werewolves, gnomes, fairies, gods and goddesses. To name but a few. But we were trying our best not to treat the world’s human population like cattle. Or worse.
“I’m having a hard time dealing with my Chosen.” I said and looked at the floor. There was a murmur of sympatric feelings from the group of Supernaturals, as we prefer to call ourselves. We all have humans in our lives. Vampires call their human blood donors their Chosen. It’s a kinder term than Bride or blood slave. It’s also legal, whereas keeping a dozen humans locked in your basement tends to lead to problems.
“My human woman has been with me for thirty years.” I said and smiled for a second. “She has always wanted our relationship to be...exclusive.”
They all just stared at me. Crosstalk, other members replying to what I was saying, wasn’t allowed. We call it sharing, but sometimes it feels more like a monologue. I still felt a bit of sympathy, my fellow Supernaturals were not known for their great fidelities. Several of them had surprisingly large harems.
“But I find it challenging.” I said and looked around. “It isn’t how we are made.”
I stood for a moment and tried to think of how to put my feelings into words. After a few uncomfortable moments, I sat down. The group gave me a smattering of applause.
The group leader stood up and made a few announcements. The location of the next meeting, who should bring the coffee next time since this batch was one step up from battery acid, and a recitation of the Serenity Prayer. The meeting was almost over when the man in the brown robe stood up and walked to the center of the circle.
“The end is near.” We all groaned and leaned back in our folding chairs. Sammy the Cincinnati Seer had been predicting The End for the last thousand years or so. His usual spiel had to do with A) the end of the world by natural disaster, B) the return of the Christ, C) a zombie uprising, or D) all of the above. He tended to talk for hours as he extolled everyone within earshot to repent before the end. His pleas tended to fall on deaf ears at a Monsters Anonymous meeting. I closed my eyes and waited for him to get started. The vampire to my left leaned over and bumped my shoulder.
“You know.” She said and raised an eyebrow. “I actually believed him the first time I heard him. I think one of his powers must be to force belief. I was one of the people waiting in a field on October 22, 1844 for Jesus to drop down from the heavens. I still have a few hard feelings about that.”
“The first time I saw him.” I said and whispered back to the vampire. “He was predicting the end of the world would happen at midnight on December 31st, 1999.”
“I remember that.” Someone across from us said and nodded. “I was scared shitless about touching any technology.”
The group leader cleared her throat and gave us a look as she tilted her head toward Sammy. We all fell silent and turned our attention to the Cincinnati Seer.
“The signs are clear.” Sammy said and held his arms wide. He was short and dirty. His dark brown robe and rope belt reminiscent of a Benedictine monk, but they had disavowed themselves of him several times and asked that he wear something else. He always ignored them just as he tended to ignore everyone else. He lowered his head and stared around the group with wild eyes. His long brown hair fell around his shoulders and in the harsh light, he looked like a rock star waiting for the music to come up. He was clearly mad. He looked at me and froze where he stood. His mouth gaped open and his eyebrows seemed to be trying to find the shortest route to the top of his head. He bent his knees and pointed at me with a bony finger.
“Here is the man that will be the death of us all!” Sammy said and looked around the gathered faces to make sure they understood their danger. “The Goddess is coming.”
I saw someone across the circle, making a twirling motion with one finger by their forehead. We all agreed with that assessment. Sammy ignored us all as he crouched over and held his open hands before him in some kind of beseeching gesture. When he looked at me again, I saw a white light crackling in his eyes. It was the kind of magic I had seen in other Seers. He was looking into the future.
“You can’t stop the end of the world with a good spanking.” He said solemnly and his power faded just as quickly as it had risen. “It’s all your fault. You may not care about the end of the world, but surely the rest of you mus
Silence greeted Sammy as he scanned our faces. He threw his arms up and let them fall. He shook his head and wandered away into the shadows of the room. We all felt blessed that he hadn’t talked for hours.
“I think that’s it for this time.” The group leader said and smiled at all of us. “Remember that we’re always here if you need us.”
My phone buzzed with a text message as soon as I turned it on. I read the message and smiled at those around me. They all waved their farewells and I took my leave. I didn’t see Sammy the Cincinnati Seer among them. Maybe he was already off somewhere else, predicting the end of the world to a more receptive audience.