‘I’m not sure she really likes me.’
‘Mary is wolf lineage. They have a strong pack instinct and you are not, as yet, part of her pack. When she gets to know you, you’ll find her a very friendly, even compassionate, woman.’ He looked around suddenly and frowned. Then he picked up a notepad. ‘What are your sizes?’
‘Sorry?’
‘You can’t wander around in a hospital gown all the time. It’s distracting for an old man. Sizes. Dione can pick something up for you this afternoon.’
‘Oh, uh, thirty-seven, twenty-six, thirty-eight. That’s size eight.’
‘Mmhmm,’ Winthrop said, noting down the numbers. ‘And?’
‘And?’
‘Bra size, Juliana. You’ll need some underwear.’
Juliana blushed. ‘Uh, thirty-B.’
‘And here we see the vagaries of the American clothing system. Dione is a size eight, but she takes a thirty-D bra.’
Juliana quietly crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Uh, what are you working on?’
‘Oh, analysis of the Apollo virus.’ Winthrop picked up his phone and began to type a message. ‘I mentioned a drug that would turn you into a monster. Well, this is the active agent. It is quite as horrible as it is fascinating.’
‘Okay, well, if I’m going to help out here and not feel quite so useless, I need to learn. If you could, maybe, take me through what you’re doing?’
Winthrop gave her a smile. ‘Never let it be said that I stood in the way of a young woman’s education.’
25th January.
‘This,’ Dione said, lifting a box which she had just carried into Mike’s apartment, ‘is the last one. Textbooks?’
Leanne reached out for the box; Dione looked dubiously at her and then handed it over. Leanne sagged visibly. ‘Uh, yeah, textbooks. Oh, to be a vampire right now.’
Dione smiled. ‘You don’t want that. For one thing, my kisses wouldn’t work on you.’
‘Oh, well. I guess there has to be a downside to everything.’ Leanne picked a spot in the lounge to dump the books and nodded. ‘Those can wait.’
‘You don’t have a huge amount of clothes.’
‘Well… No, I guess not.’
‘We must go shopping sometime. I’ll treat you. It’ll let us get to know each other a little better.’
‘Uh, okay.’ Leanne could only imagine what she would end up wearing if she went shopping with Dione, but then again, the vampire did have a fair amount of quite conventional clothes as well as the more outrageous outfits… ‘It’ll be fun.’
‘Are you telling me that, or trying to convince yourself?’
Dione grinned at her and then raised her voice. ‘Mike? It’s unloaded. I’m off to help Lisa and Pat.’
Mike appeared from the bedroom after a second. ‘Okay. Thanks for helping. We’ll get the important stuff sorted and then we’re off to see Mom. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘You will. Give Georgina my best.’ Dione started to turn and then paused. ‘Are you two ready for this? Moving in together is quite a big step.’
‘But one we’ve been thinking about for a long time.’
‘Thinking and doing are different.’
‘Yes,’ Leanne agreed, ‘but… I think I was the more reluctant one and now I’m here, it seems like… It’s going to be good. I feel like this year is going to be good.’ Mike nodded his agreement.
‘I think,’ Dione said as she started once again for the door, ‘that I would settle for quiet. But good would be nice. Let’s hope for good.’
###
About the Author
I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.
Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.
I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.
Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
For More Information
Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog: http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com
Other Books by this Author
Amazon US: http://amazon.com/author/niallteasdale
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B006J6II9O
The Thaumatology Series
Thaumatology 101
Demon’s Moon
Legacy
Dragon’s Blood
Hammer of Witches
Eagle’s Shadow
Ancient
Dragonfall
The Other Side of Hell
For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll
Vengeance
Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe
Tales from High Towers’ Study
Tales from the Dubh Linn
The Aneka Jansen Books
Steel Beneath The Skin
The Cold Steel Mind
Steel Heart
The Winter War
The Greatest Heights of Honour
The Lowest Depths of Shame
Hope
The Ultrahuman Books
Ugly
Shadows
The Unobtainium Books
Kate on a Hot Tin Roof
Reality Hack
The Fox Meridian Books
Fox Hunt
Inescapable
DeathWeb
Criminal Minds – Coming March 2016
The Princeps Venator Books
Hunter’s Kiss
Be My Valentine – Coming 2016
Table of Contents
Part One: There’s No Such Thing as Vampires
Part Two: There Are Vampire Accountants?
Part Three: Vampires Are Real?!
Part Four: Vampires Don’t Do Drugs
Part Five: You’re a Vampire Now, Suck It Up
Part One: There’s No Such Thing as Vampires
Part Two: There Are Vampire Accountants?
Part Five: You’re a Vampire Now, Suck It Up
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