How long have you been a vampire?
Two hundred and five years to be precise.
Do you drink blood or are you a psychic vampire?
I claim no psychic talents though I must say deriving nutrition in such a way sounds interesting. No, my dear, I’m most definitely a drinker of blood.
What’s the worst thing about being a vampire?
I miss the beauty of sunrises, sunsets and the glorious light and heat that bathes the skin and sinks into the psyche. It’s been my experience that many vampires are prone to melancholy, and I firmly believe it’s because we are denied the sun.
What is the best thing about being a vampire?
Strength, agility, but most especially longevity. History unfolds before your very eyes.
Are you a magical creature or are you a different species?
I was once human. I believe being a vampire has merely made me an enhanced human.
Do you enjoy being a vampire?
I do. There are so many things I’ve seen, learned and enjoyed. Things I would never have found time for had I been human.
How do you feel about humans?
A complicated question. Aside from the fact that my survival depends on them, I find humans fascinating. As a species, their variety is infinite, the ways they think and act are immeasurable. So many strive to be the best they can be while others sink into depravity, thinking of no one but themselves. Observing the human race can be uplifting to soul shattering, but it’s never dull.
Where are you from?
I was born in Greece into a family of means.
Who is your greatest enemy and why?
Alex Mikos. His machinations caused my lover and myself to go through a very painful and near life-threatening breakup, and though we have since mended our relationship, I find what he did extremely hard to forgive.
Do you think you can ever reconcile with this enemy?
It seems I’ll be forced to. Who would have believed I’d end up, in a round about way, related to the scoundrel.
Do you have a love interest?
I do. A sweet young man by the name of Toby Heaton.
What makes you happy?
My friends, my family and most especially my lover.
Do you have a code of honor?
Of course. I may be a vampire, but I still consider myself to be, in part, a human being. I’m not what one would call a religious man, but to paraphrase the beginning of a very well known verse from the bible, do unto others…, I’m sure you know the rest.
What makes you angry?
Those who make themselves feel superior by treating others with contempt.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I believe I have a tendency to be arrogant. Or perhaps that’s just part of my charm.
Name one person you admire.
My lover, Toby’s twin brother, Taylor. He’s very focused, skilled and loves his brother deeply. He almost killed me once. I know it sounds strange, but considering the fact that he believed I was doing Toby harm, I find that quite admirable.
Name one person you trust.
Aside from Toby to whom I’ve entrusted my everything, the person I trust most in the world would be Neo. He’s a griffel shifter. He calls me Master though I can’t think why. Truth be told I believe my life runs as Neo orders it or perhaps he just knows me so well he arranges things to fit me. Whatever the case may be, our bond, steeped in friendship and love and cemented by trust, has been in place for many, many years.
FEAST ANEW (Book 3, Feasts of Fortune Series) by Kate Steele
Blurb:
Toby Heaton gave up his lover to save his twin brother’s life — the biggest mistake he ever made, and one that carries deadly consequences.
Sick at heart, his body betraying him in ways he never thought possible, Toby struggles to right the wrong he so deeply regrets. It will take strength of will and determination to wring from fate the time he needs to win back his lost love.
Failing to do so will cost him not only his life, but the life of the person he holds most dear, his vampire lover, De.
Excerpt:
“I can sympathize with that.” Toby paused, formulating his next words with care. “Now that things have returned to some semblance of normal and my blood’s being taken everyday, I get hungry quite a bit myself.”
“Yes, but things aren’t exactly normal, are they, youngster?” Clay questioned. He returned from the kitchen carrying a plate on which rested a sandwich laden with various deli meats, cheeses, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Seating himself on the coffee table in front of Adam, he pulled a small bite from his sandwich. “Here, baby, taste this.”
Adam obediently opened his mouth. Accepting the food, he chewed, swallowed then smiled. “Mmm, delicious. Thank you dear one.”
“Welcome. So answer the question, kid. Situation’s not normal, is it?”
Toby retained enough sense to shake his head, but he was definitely distracted. “Wait a minute. I thought you were a vampire,” he said, addressing Adam.
“I am.”
“But you just ate food. Vampires can’t eat unless…”
“They’re paired with a chrysalis child.”
Feeling more than a little dubious, Toby directed a wide-eyed gaze at Clay. “So you’re…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m the chrysalis child. Go ahead, yuck it up.”
Adam’s chuckle was immediate, and laced with affection. “A rather incongruous label for my lover, is it not? This big, strong man. Though he’s worn it for centuries, it still aggravates him beyond bearing.”
“Well. It is a little, um, dainty,” Toby offered.
“It’s downright fruity, unless you’re a little girl, which I’m obviously not,” Clay growled.
“Obviously,” Toby soothed. “So are you really the guys who are the ultimate big bad, as my brother put it? You enforce the edict that no chrysalis child can be taken against his will as mate to a vampire?”
“Not just us, specifically. It’s a responsibility shared and enforced by every living chrysalis pair,” Adam answered. “A responsibility that will eventually rest on your and De Valis’ shoulders as well after you’ve acquired the necessary skills.”
“Oh,” Toby murmured, “but we’re not really…” Embarrassment and a painful twinge in the vicinity of his heart halted his words.
Adam reached out and squeezed Toby’s knee. “Oh, but you are Toby. No matter how scrambled things are at the moment, never doubt that De Valis is your mate.”
Toby shook his head. “He doesn’t want me. I hurt him. He doesn’t want me back, and I don’t blame him one bit. I wouldn’t want me either.”
Adam sighed, his hand leaving Toby’s knee to cup his cheek. “Dear child. You truly are devastated, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine,” Toby denied.
“Are you sure?”
Staring into the crystal clear blue of Adam’s eyes, Toby tried to confirm his answer, but found himself unable to form the words. Images began to take shape before his eyes. De and himself. Together. Laughing, talking, touching.
Loving.
A particularly memorable image arose in his mind. It was the first time De had taken Toby to Mausoleum’s rooftop. What he’d found there was something both unexpected and breathtaking. The roof itself was surrounded and sheltered by a high brick wall. To ensure even greater privacy, a ceiling had been installed. Black metal, shaped into fine lattice work panels was supported by evenly spaced black metal uprights of like design. Beneath the ceiling was a miniature paradise of greenery including potted vines that had climbed the supports, reaching into the lattice work. They had not only woven their tendrils through the ceiling to create a lush, shady and protected environment, but added to it’s beauty by producing gorgeous white flowers that bloomed after nightfall.
The floor of the roof was carpeted with an ocean blue colored indoor outdoor carpet that added to the enclosed and intimate atmosphere, and outdoor furniture, including an adjustable chaise large enough for two, was arranged here and there in the open spaces not taken up by plants.
The sun had set hours ago, and after Toby had a few moments to look around, De had extinguished the lights. It had taken only moments for Toby’s eyes to adjust as above them rose a full moon, it’s ethereal glow shining through the lattice work.
De had come to him in that private silver-lit glade, and Toby recalled how shadow and light had played over him with each step, the chiaroscuro effect reminding him of something from one of his favorite film noir movies.
When De touched him, they came together easily, banked passions giving them time to express the love and need they felt for each other slowly, and with a degree of tenderness that was deep and profound. It was the kind of encounter that bound hearts and chained willing souls together for all eternity, and Toby had lost himself in the utter perfection of that moment.
Looking back at it now, in his mind’s eye, seeing them disrobe each other without haste to lie upon the lounge, touching, skin to skin, hands caressing, lips melding, tongues entwined, with the passion building higher, hotter and faster until De sank himself deep within Toby’s willing body, was almost more than he could endure.
The walls of that place that held Toby’s more intense emotions at bay began to crack. Toby could feel the wealth and weight of all those turbulent feelings waiting to crash down upon him, and terrified of being torn asunder, he flung himself away from Adam. His headlong rush ended across the room where his back slammed against the wall. He shivered, shaking his head again and again in denial as though to disrupt some spell that had him in its grip.
“No. No, no, no. I can’t. I won’t,” he whispered.
It was Clay who crossed the floor to him, Clay who ignored Toby’s outstretched arms held stiffly in front of him in a vain effort to warn the man away, only to wrap Toby in the warmest, strongest, most comforting bear hug he’d ever experienced.
“All right. Calm down. Adam didn’t mean any harm by prompting your memories. We want you to admit things aren’t as they should be, and that you don’t want them to stay that way. You don’t, do you?”
Clay cupped Toby’s chin, tipping his face up, and forced their gazes to meet. His dark brown eyes bore in Toby’s amber ones with an intensity Toby could neither run from nor lie to. He shook his head. “I don’t. I want him. I want him so much I can’t even put it into words, but I’m afraid. I’m nothing but a coward.”
Clay gently set Toby away, but for the light grip on Toby’s shoulders which he used to give him a gentle shake. “You’re a kid, is what you are. An inexperienced kid, who was overwhelmed by the doings of beings hundreds of years older than you who should have known better than to put such a burden on you, and we’re going to fix that. You think you don’t deserve to be forgiven? That’s bullshit. The person who needs to seek forgiveness is that lover of yours. He should have his ass kicked. For a guy with a few hundred years under his belt, and who should have known better, he should never have let you break it off the way he did. He should have charged in here and forced the truth out of you rather than leaving a babe in the woods like you handle all this shit on your own.”
Toby shook his head. “In De’s defense, he didn’t know there was any shit, just the stuff I was shoveling.”
“That’s no excuse. In fact it’s exactly what I’m talking about. He should have made sure your shit was for real, and not something you were using to cover up some other shit.”
A choked outbreak of laughter sounded from behind them and Toby, as well as Clay, turned questioning eyes toward Adam.
“You two are killing me,” he managed between chuckles. “May we forestall this talk of shit in favor of coming up with a plan to mend the rift between Toby and De?”
For the first time in days, Toby felt a lift in his mood that actually brought a half smile to his lips.
Clay too was sheepishly grinning. “Well you know, eloquence was never my strong point,” he admitted.
“I do indeed, dear one. It’s one of the things I love so very much about you.” Adam held out his hand. “You’re not stuffy like me.”
Clay crossed the room to take it and brushed a kiss across the knuckles. “You’re not the least bit stuffy… in bed. We’ll continue this when we get home,” he warned, his voice filled with gruff affection.
“Of course,” Adam agreed, making it sound like the most natural and expected thing in the world.
Watching them, Toby found himself wanting what they had. A relationship so strong, loving and secure, it would last through the ages. As though a magnet drawn to steel, he crossed the room and placed himself in their hands. “What can I do?” he asked.
“I have an idea that might provoke a reaction from even as cool and calm a customer as De Valis,” Adam confided.
Clay growled. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
“Of course. To phrase it in a way you’ll understand with perfect clarity, we need someone to escort Toby to Mausoleum and romance the shit out of him,” Adam triumphantly concluded.
With a roll of his eyes, Clay muttered, “Aw, jeez.”
Buy Link:
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2415
Bio:
Kate Steele
I think of my authorial skills as a work in progress. I began with no formal training and no degree, just a need to tell a story. I hope, as time goes by, my ability as a teller of tales will improve to the point where, from beginning to end, the reader can immerse themselves in the worlds I’ve created, live, laugh and cry with the characters born of my imagination, and emerge satisfied and hopefully even happy with the experience.
As for the boring details, I enjoy a quiet life in rural Indiana with family and pets. When not writing, I read, garden and on those nights when luck is with me, I listen to the sound of coyote song. For a lover of werewolf tales such as myself, it’s very inspirational.
Feel free to direct questions, complaints or compliments to katesteele27@yahoo.com or visit my website at www.katesteele.com.