Saving the
Hero
Book One
Sabrina
Sumsion
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sanguine Publishing
Date of Publication: 8-8-2014
ISBN: 9781500569693
ASIN: B00LWTO9K0
Number of pages: 248
Word Count: 67,000
Cover Artist: Victorine Lieske
Synopsis
Two and a half weeks. That’s all the time
he has left.
When loner vampire hunter Kassy is
interrupted by nosy veteran, Mike, he ends up bitten, and infected with the
vampire parasite. The warrior becomes her prey as she fights to find him before
powerful vamps. A couple kidnappings later, she’s hiding in a cabin with him
chained to the floor, and an eight-year-old girl in her care.
Death? Inevitable. When the parasite
takes control, he’ll do or say anything to get non-infected blood—including
seducing her. But, as they spend time together, she finds her resolve
weakening. A kiss won’t fix him, but it might mend a deep hole in her heart.
Kassy is too practical to believe in
miracles, but if he survives eighteen days without ingesting human blood, there
is a chance he could be the hero she's been looking for.
Odds are he’s a dead man.
Excerpt
Chapter 1: Bite, anyone?
“Vampires don’t lose their souls after
turning. That folklore is easy to disprove without venturing into religious
debate. In the days of medieval medicine, doctors wouldn’t have known how to
find or identify the vampiric parasite.”
Journal Entry, Mark McDougal: April 3,
2005
I stalked a woman through side streets
and dimly lit alleyways. Her name wasn’t important. I preferred not to know
what to call the victims just like I don’t want to know a rabid dog's name.
It’s easier to stay unattached that way. Easier to do my job.
Keeping up with the vampire in the making
wasn’t hard. She meandered. The problem was the heat wave and the black trench
coat I wore. Noticing it, a few people shook their heads as I passed. They
probably thought I was a little crazy, but harmless. Without it, people would
call the cops when they spotted my gear.
A bead of sweat slid from my hairline
behind my ear, tickling my skin and irritating me. I brushed it away, my
fingers momentarily tangled in my frizzy locks, the strands I was chewing on
yanked out of my mouth. Once again, I considered shaving the mop I called hair.
It wasn’t the lovely auburn tresses that men fantasize about. Mom used to call
the orange-red jarring. I’d been told that my hair made me too memorable. Maybe
that was so, but it took attention away from the scar that ran from my top lip
to my temple. Besides, if I hacked it all away, I wouldn’t have anything handy
to gnaw on. I snagged a new small curl and pulled it to my mouth. Mom used to
bat my hand away. Now, there was no one to stop me.
Half a block behind the woman, she set
the meandering pace. Normally, I’d keep more distance between us. I’d be
concerned about the still air making me into an olfactory billboard. I could
almost hear Uncle Mark’s voice in my head. “Kassy, the new ones can smell you
even if they don’t know what they’re smelling. Keep your distance.” Tonight,
this woman was blinded by her hunger. I could have hung back farther, but I
didn’t see the point.
Around a corner, garbage cans lined the
street. Good for hiding behind; bad for breathing. The muggy weather made the
smells more pungent. Who was I to complain? The odor would mask my scent.
The sound of a group of people chatting
and laughing echoed down the street. We’d passed a club two blocks back with
bass so loud my chest vibrated. By the group’s outfits, I guessed they were
heading there to dance. The woman I followed turned her head as they strode by.
Her right hand reached over and unconsciously rubbed her left shoulder. The
shoulder some psycho had bitten three weeks before. It had healed quickly.
Miraculously fast according to doctors.
One of the guys stumbled over a trashcan,
knocking my prey against the side of a brick building. She inhaled deeply as he
apologized. He and his companions watched their step to avoid the trail of
refuse he’d strewn. No one noticed her wrapping her arms around herself, her
steps following them, or her abrupt turn into the alleyway. No one but me.
Wisps of steam from storm drain vents
filled the narrow passage with an eerie aura. The dim lights reflected off the
suspended water, creating a halo around the vampire’s head. The irony wasn’t lost
on me. One could argue that she retained her innocence – for now.
I slipped behind a commercial dumpster
filled with decaying Italian food and spotted a large box farther on that would
be my next hiding spot. Before I moved, she stopped in the middle of the
alleyway about thirty feet away. She squeezed her head between her hands. I
sucked in a quick lung full of rancid air and waited. She paced, kicking
bottles, cans and other debris in her path. She walked over to a wall, rested
her head against it, and then hit a few times with her palms. I could almost
see the cracks forming in her self-control.
She stopped, sniffing the air.
Busted. The billy club strapped to my
right thigh reassured me and I brushed my fingers along its length to find the
handle. Muscles taut, I waited for her to draw near. I still had the element of
surprise and she had no clue what she could do.
How could she? It’s not like someone had
handed her a pamphlet that said, “You’ve been infected: 10 ways to survive
turning into a monster.” She didn’t know what her cravings were. She didn’t
know why the pickle jar lid popped off so easily. She couldn’t understand why
she healed quickly. The guy who had bitten her hadn’t whispered in her ear the
secrets to avoiding a guard like me.
She stumbled more than walked to a pile
of boxes against the wall across the alley. A drunk or homeless person was
trying to sleep there. With her attention averted, I crept closer. The timing
had to be just right. I couldn’t let her bite her prey, but she needed the
chance to resist the siren call of blood coursing through the body in front of
her. Uncle Mark insisted. “Kassy Lassy, they’re still human. Just infected. We
have to find one who can survive without human blood. It’s humanity’s only
hope.” It was his last request, so I honor it.
He would have tried to take this woman
in. Tried to save her. How many people had he tried to help over the years he
cared for me? Twenty? Fifty? He’d failed every time. The parasite always
ravaged the host body without human blood. I couldn’t stand the sight of the
emaciated remains. I figured that a quick death was less cruel. I didn’t kill
the newly infected right away, just in case the magical immune savior would
appear, but mostly I grant them death. An escape from the monster they will
become.
The woman dropped to her knees, sobs
echoing through the alley. Legs stuck out of an old dishwasher box before her.
The odor of piss and alcohol gagged me. Maybe the stench is what helped the
woman hesitate.
Maybe, but not for long. The sobs stopped
and I moved closer.
No one ever made a sound before their
first kill. None of them ever thought to bring a knife the first time either.
She knew what she wanted. I could almost see her thought process written out
like a thought cloud in a comic book. How do I get a taste? How do I get to the
blood?
I pulled the billy club out of its
holster. We hovered at the point of no return. My silent steps drew me closer
as she lowered herself down. Brown roots showed against her dyed blonde hair.
My heart thumped. Another human, lost to the parasite. One quick crack to the
skull and I could drag her off somewhere secluded then finish disposing of her
body in peace. One breath, then strike.
“Hey!” someone shouted from the end of
the alley.
It startled me. Threw off my rhythm. She
looked up. Crap. There went my element of surprise. I swung down, but she
ducked out of the way. Adrenalin surged through my body. She needed to go down
fast. I put too much into the swing, and stumbled off balance. She leapt at me,
her face set in a determined grimace. I matched it with one of my own. Did she
have any clue what she could do? I raised my billy club and deflected her to
the side. She spun and lunged again. She was fast, but that time, I was ready.
I smacked her in the head while stepping to the side. She fell hard and didn’t
get back up. I hefted the billy club again to crack open her skull.
A body crashed into mine from behind and
hammered me to the ground. I tried to counter with ground fighting tactics, but
my lungs were screaming for my attention. All I could do was suck air in. For
some reason, my body was stuck and refused to exhale. I’d never felt that
sensation before. Normally, I’d tell myself to take deep breaths to calm down.
That was worthless advice when you can’t breathe out.
A masculine voice shouted in my ear.
“Leave her alone!” This guy was a special kind of stupid. Trying to play the
hero. Probably saw a pretty blonde and hoped to score her phone number.
I squirmed under his weight and managed
to flip myself onto my back and gasp for air. He grabbed both of my hands and
held them above my head. That made breathing even harder.
“Police are on their way. Stop fighting
me.” His face was close to mine, a hint of alcohol drifting by. Just what I
needed, an inebriated do-gooder poking his nose where it didn’t belong.
My wind wouldn’t come back, so I couldn’t
yell at him. The air would only go one way. I needed him off. The idiot was in
danger, and I was flopping on the sidewalk like a fish – as helpless as when
Uncle Mark died. I stared into his black eyes and wished I could communicate
telepathically. He wouldn’t like what I would say, but maybe we’d both survive
the night.
The blonde’s face came into view over his
shoulder. Fear stilled my struggling against the man. I’d had a feeling she
wouldn’t be out for long since the vampire parasite caused elevated adrenalin
levels. A smile crept up at the corners of her lips. Crap. The look in her
eyes. She figured out a little of what she could do. She was committed to
biting, and the fool on top of me would be her first meal if I don’t do
something.
The guy looked over his shoulder. “I’m
glad you’re okay miss. I have her pinned. The police are on their way. Can you
go flag them down at the end of the alley?”
There was no fighting him even while his
attention was diverted. Sure, he was strong, but it was the effort to breathe
that crippled me. He turned back, and I shook my head, eyes wide, trying to
choke words out.
The monster behind him put her finger to her lips in a silent
gesture for me to be quiet. She tip toed up behind him. I fought the man,
trying to get him to pay attention.
“Stop struggling!”
He thought I was the bad guy. If I could
have, I would have laughed.
She leapt on his back. Her eyes gleamed in
the dim light, face contorted in a wild expression of glee. My stomach churned.
Let me go and pay attention to her!
He tried to shrug her off and hold me at
the same time. The ineffectual move appeared to delight her.
“What the hell are you doing?” The timbre
in his voice belied his wavering confidence. Finally, this guy was getting a
clue that the blonde was not all she seemed.
She giggled in reply then bit his
shoulder near his neck. He bellowed in agony, but her sucking noises were
louder. Now, she had his attention. He let go of me and pried at her head. Her
death grip wasn’t loosening, so he punched her in the face. At the third blow,
she fell back. Blood sprayed from her mouth onto my jacket and the ground. She
crouched, a grin on her face, scarlet rivulets running down her chin. She ran
her finger along her cheek and lips, wiping the blood into her mouth. “You are
delicious,” she said with a satisfied moan. She had watched too many vampire
movies. I hated the ones who thought they had to fit the stereotypes.
I scooted back, finally exhaling.
Although my heart raced, I forced myself to take even breaths, changing from
desperate gasps to a quick, adrenaline-driven pace. The woman loomed over the
man, whose hand was clamped over his wound. I grabbed my billy club, hoping she
was too blood-crazed to notice me. The iron scent of the man’s blood filled my
nostrils. I’d have to go past him to reach her, but he made a good distraction.
When she lunged again, I aimed my billy
club at her forehead. With a satisfying crack, the blow landed. She fell. I was
pretty sure she would be out for a while, but I wasn’t taking chances. I
smacked her on the top of the head again. It wasn’t a death blow, but if I let
her live, she would probably have brain damage.
“What is she on?” The man’s voice shook
as much as his hands. After a few deep breaths, he looked as though he might be
okay again. Most people would have been on the ground crying. He warranted a
second glance.
He was taller than my five-foot, ten-inch
frame, muscular and dressed as if to pick up women at a bar. He had
almond-shaped eyes, dark hair and a slight yellow hue to his skin. His rugged
good looks convinced me he would have been successful picking up a woman had he
not seen the altercation and come to investigate. Now, he was infected with the
parasite. He was another vampire in the making. I would have to kill him, too.
I pushed my hair from my face, wiping the
perspiration away –trying to drag my ugly reality with it. My fingers wrapped
around a lock and pulled it to my mouth. The chewing helped me relax. Would gum
have the same effect? I wished I had money for a luxury like that. I felt
stupid with hair in my mouth in front of him. A glance revealed he wasn’t even
paying attention to me. He was staring at the blonde.
What was going through his mind? I don’t
remember my thoughts from the first time I’d witnessed a vampire succumb to the
blood lust. Probably best I didn’t. I doubted that people stayed sane if they
lingered in that moment. I stuffed those memories back and focused on the
matter at hand.
Time to get out of here. I grabbed the
woman’s arms and start dragging her down the alley.
“Where are you going?” he demanded,
following.
Not only does he mess up a clean vamp
hunt, he has to ask questions. I ignored him. It was easiest to do what I did
when I didn’t talk to them. When I knew a victim, it made it harder to remember
that they were turning into vicious killers. The last thing I needed to know
was if he had a family or even his name. When they had names, it was harder to
put them down. I dragged the woman another ten feet.
“You can’t leave. The police will be here
any minute!” He shouted as if the police could fix the situation. Poor fool.
We stood about three quarters of the way
down the alley. I knew the guy had been traumatized, but he didn’t know what he
walked into. It was better for me to leave with the vampire and let the
authorities spin this however they might. The headlines would probably say
something like a drug crazed female attacked him. The real story would never
come out. The government wouldn’t let that happen.
He grabbed my arm, putting his face in
mine. “Stop, now!” My muscles tensed. I forced myself to relax. He was
obviously used to being obeyed. His grip was strong, and I could tell through
my jacket that his hands weren’t soft and manicured. This guy worked hard and
gave orders. Military maybe? Possibly a boss at a construction company?
I had a spark of admiration for him that
I immediately tried to stomp out. I couldn’t respect him. He was going to
become a killer. I’d be back to stalk him after I finished dealing with her.
Right then, if he made much more noise,
there would be more spectators. Ones that weren’t hurt. Ones without alcohol on
their breath. The authorities who weren’t in the know could write off this guy
as in shock and a poor witness. Any more people telling the same story and I’d
have a harder time evading the cops.
I dropped the vampire’s hands and faced
him. He had a look in his eyes like he was thinking “finally, she’s come to her
senses!” The guy’s shoulder wound was bad. His hand was firmly clasped over it,
but the blood seeped past his fingers. When I reached for it, he jerked his
shoulder back like I would hurt him more.
“You’re bleeding.”
He sneered. “You think?”
“You need to apply pressure.” I reached
into my Sash purse hung underneath my leather jacket and found the medical pads
and tape I kept there. He snatched them out of my hand and slapped them on the
wound. “You were going to drag her away and not give these to me?”
With a shrug I said, “You look big enough
to handle yourself. I didn’t realize you would be an idiot and follow me while
bleeding everywhere.”
A glare was his only reply. Maybe it
wouldn’t be so hard to kill him after all.
Retrieving the woman’s hands, I dragged
her further away from him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Man, he irritated me. “Walk away. You
don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.” We were almost to the end of the
alley. There was a sewer access by my foot, but I couldn’t go there with him
watching. He’d rat me out.
He grabbed my arm again. “She attacked
me. She needs to be arrested. I don’t know what the heck you were doing in this
alley.” He pointed his finger in my face. “But you tried to attack her. You
should probably be in jail as well.”
Obviously, he wasn’t good at convincing
people to turn themselves in. I stared at his bandages. His efficient wraps
told me he probably had field medical training or something. However, blood was
still seeping through. I pointed to his shoulder. His glance was the amount of
time necessary to catch him flat-footed. I used my billy club to pop him with a
brachial stun, and he went down with a groan. The strike had been careful since
I wasn’t ready to kill him, yet. He wasn’t unconscious, but I was sure he was
seeing stars. Too disoriented to notice where I was going. I only needed a
minute to disappear.
I didn’t like to attack people when they were still in
control of themselves, but time was running out. Police response wasn’t fast in
this neighborhood, but we’d been dallying about 15 minutes. I needed to leave.
I flipped my jacket back and grabbed the
pry bar hanging from my belt. A quick jab and tug later, I had my escape route.
I shoved the woman’s limb body through the hole. She slid over the lip and
crunched onto the cement below. If she wasn’t dead before, she was now. Her
body lay in a crumpled mess below. The dry spell in the city helped me with my
job. No slogging through cesspool tides and a quick way to end things. One bright
side to my dark task.
The next tool I pulled from under my coat
was a whiskbroom. Sweeping back and forth, I obscured the drag marks starting
ten feet from the manhole and moving towards my escape. I went around the vet.
As he struggled to recover, he’d conceal everything beneath him. When I reached
the hole, I scrambled half way down the ladder. The lid was heavy and awkward
as I dragged it back to the opening while balancing precariously.
I heard the guy moan again. He rolled a
bit as though he was trying to regain his feet. Luckily, he rolled away from
me. He didn’t see as I nestled the lid back into place.
The thought of returning to pick up his
trail caused my stomach to drop. If my life had been normal, maybe we would
have gone to the same club. I’d have spotted him and tried to catch his eye.
Probably would have danced too close and drunk too much, then woke up at his
place in the morning. Now he was another prey to stalk and kill when he
succumbed to the parasite.
About the Author:
I’m a ninja disguised as a homeschooling
mom, former literary publicist, craft-aholic and all around reading diva. Really, I kick down doors –no, wait,
that was my husband when I locked us out of the house . . . Well, I engage in
combat on a regular basis –online when I play MMORPGs with my children . . .
OK, maybe I’m not a real ninja but my husband says I stole his heart. Does that count? No?
Shoot. Well, I love reading and I love writing. I think imagination is the biggest
advantage a child can get in life and I try to allow my children many
opportunities to expand theirs every day.
I love teaching authors how to avoid
publishing traps and scams as well as how to market themselves and their
works. There is nothing better in
life than giving someone information that helps them become successful.
I also take a few hours each week and
create jewelry, make lotions or paint something. I have little creation stations scattered through the
house. My daughter gets into it a
lot and scatters things which drives my husband crazy but remember how I
mentioned that he says I stole his heart?
Yeah. I’m not giving it
back. He’s stuck with me
forever. Bwah ha ha ha!
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