Vex had never wooed a human and he wasn’t certain he had a clue of how to go about it, but Chastity, he decided, was worth it. The quicker he could claim her as his mate, the better he liked it. The question was, could he protect Chass from the denizens of Xurath—the bloodsuckers and shifter-rapts that lived among the humans and preyed upon them? Could he protect her from his own beasts?
EXCERPT
Inception
Before the Dawn
Long before cave dwellers roamed our land, eons before the giant lizards, when Earth revolved around our brilliant star—the ball of fire that warms us—there was life. Life shrouded in darkness. Creatures were formed, brought to life by vile gods before the one true God created life in His image. The world was black, dank and miserable, and full of endless suffering. Those brave enough to live, forged a dark existence, struggling to survive in the most sinister of places. A place known back then as Xurath, Land of the Undead.
Born into being were two beastly breeds. Two evil sects of incarnation brought to fruition with one purpose in mind, to kill one another. Two dark gods, Folog and Garmut, warred with one another, casting dismal souls upon the black earth to outdo the other. Folog bred the bloodsuckers, undead malformations of his wicked design, walking on two legs, never meant to see the light of day. Garmut bred the shifter-rapts, creatures of many shapes and designs, bearing a cruel combination of hideous features—able to shift and change into various creatures on a whim, a most useful tool in dark Xurath.
The bloodsuckers survived on the shifter-rapts while the shifter-rapts survived on lesser creatures, born from lesser, dark gods. As Xurath journeyed and twirled on its twisted orbit for millions of years, long before our giant star set the world ablaze with light, creatures battled. Fighting to keep their existence, many of them developed special powers over the centuries. Powers that would keep them alive long after the new star was born.
Mutants and hybrids were formed, all of them struggling to overcome black Xurath and live. Many died, killed off by the stronger creatures of the nocturnal land, but those that survived, thrived. A cross creature, born of both bloodsucker and shifter-rapt parentage, a freak of nature some would say, came into being. This creature ruled Xurath before the dawn and still rules today, thriving both in dark and light. He is called Vex. He battles the creatures of bygone centuries. Creatures vile, clever and crafty enough to cross over into the new world, leaving bleak Xurath behind them where living for a day was ordinary. His purpose here and now is to extinguish the rest and send them back.
Chapter One
King’s Cross Station, London, England, 2006
“He’s killed again, Vex.”
Vex stared at the grainy black-and-white photos, taken one hundred and eighteen years earlier, comparing them to full color photos taken last night. Detective Red O’Malley had no choice but to ask for his help. Vex was their last resort. He was used to dealing with the undead, whether it be of the bloodsucker variety or the elusive shifter-rapt; after all, he was a combination of the two.
“I don’t understand,” Vex mumbled, half to himself.
“We think it’s the same guy,” O’Malley added.
“Not just a copycat?”
“We have DNA to back it up.”
Vex’s head shot up as he looked the detective squarely in the eye. “Then why can’t you bloody catch him?”
“We matched DNA from the Whitechapel murders to this murder, but back in 1888, there was no database in play. And so far, this guy’s been clean. At least in this century.”
“Where’d you get the DNA?”
“A piece of hair. Well, a tiny fragment of hair. Less than a centimeter, found trapped in the wax he sealed the letter with.”
“The famous letter to the police? The one promising to kill again?” Vex asked, catching on quickly.
“Yes. For years the letter was thought to be a fake.”
“DNA evidence is hard to dispute,” Vex argued.
O’Malley nodded. “Particularly in this case. It’s a perfect match.”
“Where was the DNA evidence on the recent victim?”
“Semen.”
“Semen? That’s odd. Jack’s never raped before,” Vex replied, scratching his chin.
“Yeah, well he has now. Three times in a row.”
“Looks like he still enjoys pulling out the intestines, uterus and organs,” Vex added while flipping through the photos.
“And mutilating the victim’s face,” O’Malley said, while pointing to a color photo of the most recent killing.
“I’d never taken Jack for a shifter-rapt.”
“Explains why they never caught him,” O’Malley mused.
Vex grunted as he flipped through the photos, comparing the old to the new, all of them eerily similar in method.
“Good Ole’ Jack the Ripper. Who would’ve thought he’d resurface?”
“Seems all the demons are coming out of the woodwork these days,” O’Malley answered.
Vex tucked the photos into his coat pocket as streams of people passed by, boarding the morning train.
“Has the press caught wind of this yet?”
“Not yet. We’re trying to keep a tight lid on this one, considering the hysteria he raised over a century ago.”
“Good thinking,” Vex agreed.
“We won’t be able to stall them long, though. Word travels fast. Rumors are swirling. I heard tell that one of the locals who discovered one of the bodies before dawn has been talking to the tabloids.”
“Who?” Vex asked.
“You know I can’t tell you, Vex. You’ll go threaten him.”
“You’re damn right, O’Malley. Now who is it? Spill the beans. We’ve got three dead girls on our hands. All of them beautiful, young women whose lives were cut short. I need a name.”
O’Malley sighed. It was no use. The hybrid bloodsucker, shifter-rapt would find out anyhow. He seemed to know everyone or every kind, rather. He’d find out. He had his ways and O’Malley knew it. “He’s a bartender. He was on his way home after work. He lives just outside Whitechapel.”
“A name, O’Malley,” Vex repeated, staring the man down.
“Ralph Finnigan. He’s co-owner of the pub.”
Vex was gone before the detective uttered the man’s last name. O’Malley watched as the common black bird flew out of King’s Crossing Station and into the light of day.
Character Interview for Vex Savaker from Nocturnally Vexed by Alisha Paige
My name is Sha-Sha Snow. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to blog with Mary Alice and her readers today. See, I’m an avid reader too and I love to interview my favorite characters.
Every autumn I travel. There’s something about this time of year that stirs my blood. I crave adventure, crisp mornings, cool evenings and wood smoke. I’m in London now, sipping latte on a sidewalk café, interviewing Special Detective for The Metropolitan Police, Vex Savaker, featured in Alisha Paige’s Nocturnally Vexed.
Sha-sha: Good morning, Mr. Savaker. You have a rather interesting ancestry.
Vex: Good morning, Sha-Sha. Call me Vex. I’m King of the Orgulocks, originating from Xurath.
Sha-Sha: Orgulocks? Xurath?
Vex: *deep chuckle* Aye. Xurath is a black planet, void of light, in another dimension. All blood suckers and shifter-rapts were created there by two lesser gods, Folog and Garmut. My clan, the Orgulocks are hybrids, half blood sucker/half shifter-rapt.
Sha-Sha: But haven’t the blood suckers and shifter-rapts been at war forever?
Vex: They have, my lady, but my father, Cole was captivated by an orphaned shifty, my mother, Zephyria. She’d been banished because of her uncommon beauty.
Sha-sha: So, the pairing resulted in the Orgulocks as we know them today?
Vex: It did indeed. My father was a very powerful blood sucker, the leader of his clan. They’re union changed everything on dark Xurath.
Sha-sha: Let me get this straight. You’re a vampire AND a shape-shifter?
Vex: Absobloodylutely! Except the correct term is blood sucker and shifter-rapt. Vamps and shapeshifters are only found in fiction.
Sha-sha: And you’re not fictional?
Vex: You’re here talking to me, aren’t you? Do I look real enough?
Sha-sha: Hmmm…can I touch?
Vex: *Laughs out loud* Go ahead.
Sha-sha: Mmm…nice biceps. You feel pretty solid to me.
Vex: *Sniffs the air* Good, you’re safe.
Sha-Sha: I beg your pardon?
Vex: From Jack.
Sha-Sha: Jack?
Vex: Aye. Jack the Ripper.
Sha-Sha: Whoa! Wait! Jack killed nearly 200 years ago. Are you saying he’s back?
Vex: He’s back.
Sha-Sha: You’re a man of few words, Vex. Good to know but how can you be sure I’m safe?
Vex: I sniffed ya. You’re clean…er…were clean…actually you’ve been sullied up a bit..no offense, miss, but I can tell you’ve…er….had men.
Sha-Sha: *Laughs nervously* Are you saying you can smell my virginity or lack of virgin snow, rather?
Vex: *Nods and grins* Orgulocks have ultra sensory powers. A most useful tool in dark Xurath. Here too. The law enforcement agencies love the services we offer. That’s why I’m working on the modern day Jack the Ripper case. I think he’s a shifty.
Sha-Sha: That would explain why he eluded the authorities all those years ago. Is it the same guy?
Vex: We know it’s the same guy. We have DNA evidence to prove it. He left a hair in the wax he sealed a letter to the police back in 1888 and we have DNA from his recent killings. They’re one and the bloody same.
Sha-Sha: Wow! But I still don’t understand why I’m safe.
Vex: You’re not a virgin. Jack is after virgins this go around.
Sha-Sha: Virgins? But he killed prostitutes in the 1800’s.
Vex: Aye. I believe he’s doing the exact opposite this time.
Sha-Sha: In order to fool the police?
Vex: Either that or for his sick kicks.
Sha-Sha: Just one more question before you go, Vex. And it’s an icky one.
Vex: Shoot.
Sha-sha: Do you feast on humans in order to survive?
Vex: I’m no blood sucker. I’m no shifter-rapt. I’m an Orgulock. We have evolved into greater creatures, keeping the better qualities of each species, honing our skills in order to survive and thrive, both here and on Xurath. Sometimes I do feast on female humans, though.
Sha-sha: Oh?
Vex: Only if they ask me too.
You can find out more about Vex and the Orgulocks by reading Nocturnally Vexed!
www.alishapaige.com
