Today is the day I and many others have been waiting for, the paperback release of my dark fiction vampire novel. I have been dreaming of this moment for a very long time - the experience of holding my own book in my hands, it is a celebrated moment in any writer's career.
So that's enough of me blabbing on, you want an excerpt right? Something to get your teeth into, a taste of things to come. Well here it is, below is the blurb and first two chapters, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for reading,
All the best,
Daniel Kaye x
BLURB
My memory is different from yours.
Over time you lose sight of people and places, dates are like the frayed edges
of a painting that you will never see again. The faces and events still haunt
me as if they happened yesterday. I remember every life I have taken for almost
two thousand years.
For a long time, with our numbers
growing, we had known safety. Throughout history, there had always been stories
about us. Many believed them to be old wives’ tales. Never once did I believe
our numbers could lead to our downfall.
I have lived many lives and in all of that
time, this was to become my darkest moment. The year was 1941 and war raged
across Europe. Humans now traveled great distances to wage war on one another.
The latest conflict had taken on a new face, a face of evil. One man had taken
a sign of peace and placed it on a blood-red colored flag, which his troops
followed into battle. Like locusts, they consumed everything in their path and
invaded far off lands with little resistance.
As the war spread further, our clans divided into smaller groups to evade
capture. We were forced farther east into colder, more hostile territory. Safe
hiding places to sleep had become harder to find. I knew the day would come
when we would be trapped, but never in my wildest dreams would have imagined it
happening as it did.
CHAPTER ONE
As the humans fought another one of their petty wars, I ordered the
clan to take shelter in the cellars of an old bombed out castle high in the
mountains. The nearby villages appeared deserted but as it is in all wars, they
were surrounded by those that were of little interest to us, the sick and the
dying. I believed we found a safe haven away from the fighting, but close
enough to find those whose health would hold our interest.
It was to be our second night in the castle and, as dusk fell, a
sickness like I had never suffered before, woke me. Pain stabbed through my
heart and my body trembled uncontrollably. Sweat covered my skin and soaked my
clothing. Lying in my casket, weakness prevented me from moving my limbs; it
felt as if my immortality was ebbing away. I tried to scream out to the others,
but could form no words. No matter how much I willed it, I was still unable to move.
My blood pumped around my body with every heartbeat, burning every inch of my
body. I was being burned alive from the inside.
A coarse scraping noise
startled me as my casket lid slid open. I tried to turn my head to keep the
bright light from blinding me. My head spun as I fought to remain conscious. Strange
and unfamiliar voices filled the room and invaded my mind.
My heart pumped harder,
faster. It was as if the pounding organ was going to burst from my chest.
Through the pain and the torment, one thought was keeping me sane. My clan was
nearby. They would save me, even if it meant them losing their lives if I
ordered it.
When I tried to pull myself up, my
strength failed me. This sickness drained me of every ounce of energy and I
knew that if I did not get away, it would kill me. Lying on the floor like a
wounded animal, I was trapped.
The room was full of soldiers staring
silently in my direction.
I struggled to even move my eyes. When
I finally did, I saw my clan’s caskets laid untouched except for old oilcloths
on their lids. They too were trapped.
“You look hurt, Vladimir.”
My mind felt heavy and slow, it
was like a dark cloud was suffocating it. I needed to look into the eyes of the
man who had attacked me. If his mind could be controlled by compelling him, I
would escape. But only flashes of light filled my vision. My mind screamed at
me to focus. The pain raged through my body. It took me a moment to realize
what the bright flashes were. They were the lights reflecting off the gold-rimmed
spectacles he wore.
“Take the artifact out of the
room. Let him clear his head,” the man in the black uniform stated. He slowly
raised his head, looked down his nose at me, and sneered.
“Not too far. We do not want our
friend here getting any ideas about escaping.”
My blood began to cool and my
breathing started to return to normal.
“What have you done to me?” I
tried to shout but my voice was barely strong enough to form a whisper.
There was not much time to plan an
escape, but I needed to give myself a chance to recover. With my returning
strength and speed the element of surprise would be on my side. Looking at the
others trapped in their caskets, I knew freeing one or two of them would cause
panic and allow me to escape.
“I now control you, Vladimir. Let
me show you.”
It was as if he knew that in my weakened state
I was unable to attack him.
“Bring the artifact back for him
to take a closer look at.”
The soldier at the door walked
back into the room. The pain increased with each step. I pushed my body into
the corner of the room trying to escape the agony. My strength failed me. I was
unable to move. My blood started to burn. The scream I tried to release was
trapped, echoing inside of me with no means of an escape.
The soldier in the black uniform
crouched down in front of me.
The pressure in my head increased
and the heat from my blood burned every part of me. My jaw quivered and slowly
began to close as the pain began to win. I stared into his eyes and saw he knew
this.
His mouth opened and then he
quickly snapped his teeth together twice before turning away and laughing with
the other soldiers.
“Take it back to the door,” he smirked.
The man obeyed and immediately
relief seeped through my body.
Hate and anger consumed me. Relief
spread throughout my body as the pain subsided. Weakened, I knew there was no
other way of protecting myself from this. I remained on the floor slumped
against the wall where the soldiers had thrown me. What was this thing that caused me so much pain? My body was shaking
with anger and a need for revenge. I had to escape.
“How do you know my name?” I demanded.
“I know a lot about you. I know
your history, and your clan, Vladimir. We have watched you for weeks learning
all we needed to. You see we are the master race, and while you with your
arrogance believed that you were superior, you knew nothing. The hunter became
the hunted, and they did not even realize it.” He turned to the others and
laughed before looking back at me. “I must admit though, close up, you are not
as I imagined you would be. No, I thought you would be more of a monster. With
your young looks ….” He stepped closer and bent down so he was level with my
face. “You almost look human. The most important thing is we know how to
control you.” His smile seemed too big for his face. His teeth were bared at me
in an almost animal manner for a brief moment, before slapping me across the
face with an open hand.
Over the centuries as we traveled
across Europe, I had never heard of anything which held such a power over me
like this or of anything that would cause such painful sickness. It was as if
this artifact contained the power of the sun.
“What is this thing that is capable of having such a hold over me?”
“As I said, we know much about
you. We have studied your kind for years.”
“You with your mortal lives—mere
children compared to someone like I. How could you know anything about me?” I
spat back at him.
“I know with my artifact we
control you.” He bent forward and looked me straight in the eyes. “Do you know
your history, Vampyr?”
“I have lived through history and
know more than you will ever imagine.”
I had learned of this man, the Son
of God, the King of the Jews, who gave up his life for the sake of humanity.
The man my maker once knew and later betrayed.
“Yes.”
“When they crucified Jesus did you
know his legs were not broken?”
I had heard the story of the
crucifixion of Christ. It was common practice for the Romans to break the legs
of those crucified to increase the weight on the wrists, which were nailed to
the cross and bring a swifter death. However, Christ’s was different. His legs
were not broken, but they pierced his side with a spear.
“Have you heard of the Spear of Destiny? Do
you know of its power?” he asked as he removed his small eyeglasses, pulled a
cloth from his pocket and started to clean them. His eyes never left the
glasses as he breathed on them and continued to slowly polish them.
He held the glasses up to the
light and squinted at them as if inspecting his work. As he started to wipe the
small lenses again my blood began to boil once more. This time it was not from
the weapon they had used against me, it was because of my anger for how
arrogant this human was. A mere human standing before me more worried about how
clean his glasses were than my presence. Did
he not fear what I am? Or how every fiber of my body was aching to rip his
throat out? And when finished, I
would tear his body open and leave his entrails decorating the walls as a
warning to others. Sitting back a smile began to form on my lips at the
thought of tearing this small man apart. My tongue touched my lip as I imagined
tasting his blood, that coppery taste flowing into my mouth.
He walked over to the other
caskets and placed his hand on one of the lids. I wondered then if I would be
able to use them to aid my escape.
“Oh, do not worry about them. They cannot get
out. They are trapped in a sleep too deep for them to awaken from.” He laughed as
he put his eyeglasses back on and finally looked at me again.
“It is said that possession of the
spear would grant its owner the power to conquer the world. It is thought the
spear would also have power over the dark forces, over creatures like you.”
He paused and looked me in the
eyes. “I believe tonight we have proven it to be so. Would you not agree, Vampyr?”
“What do you want of me?” I asked trying
to move.
“Do not try to get up, Vladimir. I
only have to order it and the spear will be brought back in here. Would you
like another demonstration?”
Still weak, I shook my head. There
was no way of knowing how much more my body could have taken. But as I watched
him, his eyes moved briefly towards the entrance of the chamber then back
again. For a brief moment hidden behind his arrogance, there was a sign of fear.
It was my time to sneer.
“Do you see the power of the
spear?” He turned and pointed at the other caskets. “The oilcloths that cover
them are what the spear was wrapped in.”
I did not take my eyes from his. I knew the
power of this spear was unimaginable, even the cloths were enough to bring the
same sickness to the others. I had to learn more about this artifact and of its
powers if I were to escape, not let this man believe he could use their
suffering to stop me.
“What do you want of me?” I
whispered, on the hope he would come closer, and this time I was ready to tear
his throat out. Knowing that the sight of having their so called leader ripped
apart in front of them would no doubt cause the other soldiers to panic and
flee. The spear may have taken my strength, but not my will to fight. I had
sensed the fear he tried to hide behind his arrogance, which now was to become
his downfall.
“All will become clear, Vladimir. Now
we must prepare for travel. Return him to his casket,” he barked at the other
soldiers.
As the soldiers approached I bared
my teeth and snarled. I was a god among my people, and held the power to take
or give life as I saw fit.
Now, a mere human thought to
control me and believed me defeated.
I tried to resist, kicking out,
and snapping my teeth at them. I overestimated my strength as the soldiers
grabbed hold of me again and dropped me back into my place of rest. The lid to
the casket was pushed back over me. I closed my eyes and for the first time in
almost two thousand years, I had nightmares.
CHAPTER TWO
I do not know how long I slept and
there was no way of telling. Still weak, the sickness returned. Sensing the
spear was not far from me—it left me drained and brought with it a hunger I had
never known before. I feared another confrontation with it might kill me.
The metal door at the far end of
the room opened and in walked the soldier dressed in the same black uniform as
the last time that I had seen him. The heels of his black boots pounded against
the floor as he marched over towards me. No matter how much I tried to ignore
them and look defiant, the noise of his steps echoed through my head.
“Well, Vladimir, you look a little
better than the last time we met,” he mocked.
“You only think you have control over me. What
is it you want?”
“Ah straight to the point, I like
that. But first, would you like to know how I know so much about you?” He said
standing in the center of the room looking down at me.
I wanted to know more of what this
soldier had to say before escaping from this hell, and if it meant leaving the
others behind and killing everyone who stood in my way in one bloody massacre,
I would. But as I tried to lean forward to defend myself, my body failed. It
was as if all of my strength had deserted me and left nothing in its place but
pain. What was happening to me?
“We have been studying your kind
for a while now. We have captured a couple of your … Let us say, friends.”
“And you think this troubles me?”
I had always controlled those
below me, those that I had created, and if they had fallen into the hands of
this man with his artifact, they could never betray me.
“Yes, they were very helpful. How
do you think we knew your name and where to find you? You did not even realize
we have been observing you for weeks. We watched as you moved from place to place
believing that you were safe. All we had to do was wait for the perfect
opportunity to trap you.”
“No one would give us up. They
would never put themselves before the clan, before me!” I shouted.
“Then explain to me how we found
you so soon after getting to the castle,” he replied coolly.
I stared at him as my mind went
blank.
“Ah,
I see the thought has silenced you, Vampyr. You are much older and stronger
than the rest, are you not?”
“What did you do to them?”
“Not I. The spear. It was too
powerful for them. They tried. Oh, how they tried to resist. But, in the end, they
told me everything,” he said.
He came closer and leaned forward
so that his face was mere inches away from mine.
Letting out a dismissive grunt, and
staring into his cold eyes I knew he had enjoyed telling me this. It was as if
he reveled in it, nearly as much as when he had taken their lives. “Do you
believe I care about this? Come closer, and I will tell you all about those I
have killed.”
“Oh, Vladimir. Look at the way you
try to show us you still have some fight in you. It amuses me you would even
think this way.”
The man laughed and the sound echoed
off the walls.
All thought for myself drifted
away as I studied him. The arrogance he had both amazed and sickened me. Like a
creature of the night, he had control and was cunning, but I knew he was
nothing without the spear.
“You still have not said what you
want of me.”
“Vladimir, I control you and you
will do what we require of you.”
I stared at him.
“You now know how we control you,
yes?” he stated again.
I nodded. My sudden burst of
energy and the kick to my chest had taken its toll. I willed for the commander
to come closer to me so I could look into his eyes, but nothing happened. I
thought if I compelled him to do my bidding, to put him under my spell and
release me from the curse of that damn spear I would escape. But no, it must
still be nearby and just its presence was enough to subdue my mind, for now.
“We are building an empire! An empire
that will last a thousand years.” He looked over his shoulder. “Bring me a
chair!” He slowly turned back to look down at me. “Our Reich will reign supreme.
It will be clean from the impurities of inferior races!”
As I watched him he seemed to grow
taller with each word he spoke. His face even turned upwards as if he was
looking at the sky, preaching to a crowd.
The man returned with a chair and
the commander lit a cigarette. He remained standing and put a foot on the
chair. I watched puffs of gray smoke as they rose into the air, and like the
smoke my concentration drifted away. I remembered hearing the phrase life
unworthy of life and talk of wasted ammunition on prisoners not worthy of
living. Prisoners not fit to live in the Reich. The other phrase was The
Final Solution - Their sickening plans to annihilate all Jews and other
races they deemed subhuman within their grasp.
“In a way we are very much alike
you and I,” I said breaking his speech.
He looked at me startled for a
moment before smiling. “Do tell, Vampyr, how do you see us being alike?”
“You are a strong leader among
your kind, as am I.”
“Go on,” he replied coldly.
“We speak of similar goals for our
own kind, but you,” I said smiling. “You are a clever man, you have found a way
to capture us, and not many have been brave enough to try before you. I can
show you things you never thought possible.”
“Enough! Do you honestly think
your charm will work here, on me?” Laughing he turned and walked from the room.
The caskets opened and moans of
agony filled the room. My eyes closed and I faded into darkness. The freedom of
the life we had known was over.
A few hours later I awoke to my clan
huddled around me, their faces filled with fear and confusion. I realized, like
the others before them, I was to be the cause of their death.
My immortal life was ending, and I
knew the others sensed it too, when one of the older ones offered me the last of
his blood to save my life, I refused. It was noble of him to offer, but I chose
another. A younger vampyr who was less willing to come forward served as a
better lesson to the others that I was able to take any of them. His blood
although weakened by the spear soared through my body, and helped heal the
damage from the torture I had endured. When finished, I threw his empty body
aside and then told them of what I knew of the artifact and the story of how it
came to be so powerful.
My maker was the apostle Judas
Iscariot, the man who for a few pieces of silver betrayed Jesus, the Son of
God. His guilt for betraying Jesus led him high up on a hill.
There, Judas climbed a tree, tied
a rope around his neck, and jumped. As the apostle took his last breath he
heard his god speak to him. He told him he would not be allowed to take his own
life for what he had done. He would be cursed to walk the earth in darkness and
never to see the sun again.
This made the Devil angry. Because
he had betrayed Christ, the Devil believed Judas’ soul would be one of the most
powerful ones he would own, and he wanted it. So he too cursed him, in exchange
he wanted many more souls so he told Judas his only source of food was blood,
as he was blamed for spilling the blood of Jesus. I told them that all of us
are descended from Judas and because the spear had pierced Christ’s side and
touched his blood, it must be why it held so much power over us.
They stared at me as I told them
of the soldiers’ plans and that we were to become part of their Final Solution.
The door at the end of the room
opened again, and the younger ones began to wail.
“You!” I shouted pointing at them.
“Stop! Remember what you are.”
Some stood where they were the
others huddled into the corner, and as I looked into their eyes all I saw was
their fear.
“You are pathetic and deserve to
die first,” I said grabbing hold of one and pushing him into the middle of the
room. “They think they can subdue us, but we will fight. Now stand beside him,”
I said pointing at the lone vampyr in the middle of the room.
As one, the clan moved beside him
and waited for the soldiers with the spear. The door stayed open but no one
entered. I sensed the fear in the others as they waited for the spear. This was
worse than the torture itself. How in
such a short time the clan had succumbed to fear?
The heavy door slammed closed
behind them. They stood grouped together. I stared at them and their faces were
full of terror. For a moment we were the same.
The spear had awakened a primal
force, a hunger we had not known for so long. We had been tortured to near
death and starved.
The animal instinct that the spear
kept subdued in us was now free and resurfaced with a savage vengeance. The humans
who stood huddled before us never stood a chance. We were on them before I even
had time to think. I tore from one to the next without thought of the others.
The sweet smell of iron that only blood can make filled my nostrils as it
sprayed into the air, it excited me and drove me further. Bodies were thrown
aside as I fought my way through the screaming mass of humans, no longer caring
of anything other than my own needs.
As the last of the screams that
had echoed throughout the locked room faded away, I looked back at a massacre,
and smiled. Bodies with their throats ripped open, lay all around us covered in
bloodied clothing. I did not care; my body felt strong again and looking at the
clan knew they felt it too. One of them looked up at me and smiled. She wiped
the back of her hand across her chin, removing a mixture of saliva and blood,
before burying her teeth back into the human she had laid across her lap. I let
go of the corpse, now only an empty sack, and closed my eyes with pleasure at
the sound it made as it hit the blood soaked floor. Roaring with joy as I glared
at the clan, having never witnessed us feed as if we were a pack of wild
animals before excited me, and gave me the strength, which the spear had taken.
The blood that fed our bodies brought hope among the clan. Plans of rising as
one and of escape whispered through the room. I ordered two of them to stand by
the door and wait for the soldiers to come back in, this way we would attack
them from the front and behind. Wanting out of this prison and sacrificing them
would mean nothing to me. This was our strongest moment just after feeding and
it was now we had to fight. We are Vampyr and were never to be controlled by
mere cattle.
The door opened and soldiers flooded back into the room led by a man
who held the spear. My clan fell to the floor around me and as their snarling
ceased, their screams filled the room. I tried to fight back. If I could get
that damn thing away from us, I would be able to escape. I lunged forward to
attack, wanting to be free of this room and would do anything to accomplish
that. With each step forward the sickness increased and my heart began to thump
faster. It forced burning blood through my body. I shouted at the others to
stand beside me and fight but when I looked across the room at them saw that
they had already succumbed to the power of the spear. Hopelessness had finally
consumed me and I collapsed to the floor.
The commander entered the room and ordered the soldiers to remove
the bloodied corpses. Frustration and anger filled me. Our moment to escape and
the strength we had gained was taken from us once more. I believed then this
was going to happen again and again, to allow us to feed like animals, and then
drain us by torture. While they had that spear, they would always have control
over us.
"I, Vladimir is compelling and enthralling reading."
"I couldn't put it down."
"Addictive"
"one of the most enjoyable vampire books I've come across in a very long while."
"compelling and wonderful"
"Absolutely brilliant book. I was hooked from the first word ..."
