One Night Burns (The Vampires of Livix, #1) (24 page)

Copyright

ONE NIGHT BURNS

Copyright © 2012 by J Gordon Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

Published globally by J Gordon Smith with Ayton & Greene Publishing Company

Official Author Website: http://jgordonsmith.com/

Cover Art & Book Design: J Gordon Smith

[Reference file #: VampiresOfLivix_1_OneNightBurns_120929]

This is a work of fiction and intended for entertainment. The work may contain excessive violence or sexual situations that may not be suitable for some readers. All characters, names, places, incidents, and situations appearing in this work are imaginary or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, businesses, companies, or persons, living, dead, undead, mythical, or magical is purely and entirely coincidental.  

Dedication

To Laraine

…
On our adventure towards a fragile Forever.
 

Special Thanks to

C Rich for reading and providing feedback on early partial drafts, back as far as when Garin was known only by the initials ‘VS’ and Anna by a descriptive ‘girl20’.

L Weldy for voting on the concept of a lawyer protagonist and her love interest who was the son of a murdered wealthy vampire.

A few Harlequin authors and readers that commented about features making the heroine’s love interest more intriguing. I hope I wrote up to their standards.

The Vampires Of Livix Novels

1 -:-
One Night Burns       
 

2 -:-
The Night Discovered
 

3 -:-
Behold This Night      
 

Official Author Web blog:
J Gordon Smith
 

One Night Burns

The front door exploded free of its hinges. Glass and wood shrapnel shattered across the room bouncing from furniture and walls. Garin tucked me protectively behind his body as across the broken threshold strode three snarling vampires. We recognized their master –

Once Patent Attorney Anna Arkena meets the handsome and intriguing vampire Garin Ramsburgh, a bold Investment Analyst at Draydon Financial, she quickly learns how her life in the small mid-western town of Livix will change.

The Vampires of Livix cringe as these two become close – mixing with vampires always ends badly. But the problems escalate in fifty ways as outside interests pressure Garin’s wealthy family to sell their successful military parts business amid faked financial losses while international terrorist and militia groups push their own agendas with deadly effectiveness.

Who is behind it all? What do they want? Is this a spark of a greater fire to come? Can Anna and Garin achieve happiness before the fall of twilight? Will Anna survive the vampires and find her shades of
True Love
?

Find out in
One Night Burns
, Volume 1 of the Vampires Of Livix trilogy.

The Night Discovered

“We have your girl for a trade.”

“– Trade for what?”

“We will call you later with the specifics. Make sure you contact Garin Ramsburgh. You will need his help in meeting our demands.”

The phone went silent.

Patent Attorney Anna Arkena and the handsome vampire Garin Ramsburgh believe they have finally freed themselves of the vampires intent on destroying them. Garin hopes they can continue their relationship unhindered. But like an approaching twilight, Anna has become unsure about her life with a vampire – even one so intriguing as Garin.

However, she has little chance to consider her decision. The vampire investigator Branoc seeks their help in solving a mystery of fifty or more random vampire deaths with strange links to Garin’s family business. Soon the shades part and the terrorists and the militia groups become the least of their worries. Friends turn into treacherous enemies. Love is rejected and new love is discovered.

What happens between Anna and Garin? Has the spark escaped and started an unstoppable blaze? How can an ordinary man complicate her relationships with vampires? Can she ever trust the vampires again? Will
True Love
prevail?

Find out in
The Night Discovered
, Volume 2 of the Vampires Of Livix trilogy.

Behold This Night

The assassin grinned wickedly before me as she curtsied, her sword to the side and parallel to the abrasive concrete. Rising easily, she exploded into a wrenching vampire onslaught striking against my feeble sword that I clung to for protection. She expertly beat my weapon from side to side as she strode against me. I fell back. She struck my fainting sword again. Then again. Then she said, “The girl is yours, Jaina.”

“Danke,” came a voice from behind me, along with the whip of a sword blade through the air. I spun away – my thoughts racing: how could I survive them?

Patent Attorney Anna Arkena and the vampire Garin Ramsburgh strive to stop the fiery face of evil charging unleashed through the twilight city of Livix. Unexpected community leaders and pillars of economic growth are suspiciously involved.

Anna’s complicated relationships between the handsome human Brett and the gorgeous vampire Garin are troubling her in fifty ways or more and it could shake not only her own approaching destiny but the uncertain future of Livix and humanity. Will Anna’s love survive the inevitable showdown with the shades of converging evils? Will she bravely choose her path in love and life and succeed? Or will she be one of the many crushed in the catastrophe – food for the vampires?

Find out in
Behold This Night
, Volume 3 of the Vampires Of Livix trilogy.

About the Author

J Gordon Smith has always had a secret indulgence in reading Vampire stories from the classics like
Dracula
and
Carmilla
to more modern interpretations such as
Interview With The Vampire
and
Those Who Hunt The Night
while having fun reading the
Twilight series.
He hopes you find entertainment in his modified Vampires of Livix universe and the characters that struggle and flourish within it.

Principle outline for the plot of this novel and the series was completed in February 2012. Writing commenced soon after and completed in September 2012. Writing and editing was completed using Ubuntu.com Linux (10.04 & 12.04) operating system and the LibreOffice.org productivity suite (3.5). Cover artwork was created with the Gnu Image Manipulation Program, Gimp.org (2.6).

J Gordon Smith resides in a suburb outside of Detroit, Michigan and runs a successful Engineering and General Business Consulting firm,
Velocity Motive LLC
, supporting both local and global corporations involved with producing cars and trucks that you probably own and drive every day.

Other Books Written by J Gordon Smith

The Gemstone Series

Book I: The Diamond Coronal

Book II: The Black Jewel

Book III: The Fire Gem

Book IV: The Blue Crystal

Book V: The Crimson Furl

These are traditional Epic Swords & Sorcery stories filled with Heroes and Heroines, swords, dragons, and other monsters and magic. The first four books can be read in any order as the events occur along the parallel paths of each main character. Book five occurs at the end of the first four books and it takes all the main characters and all of their growing powers and abilities to save the land from the ancient evil overtaking it in
The Crimson Furl
.

The Diamond Coronal – Book I of the Gemstone Series

“No!” Maurius cried hoarsely as Dorran’s body crumpled to the bloody ground. The lieutenant spun in the crunching gravel path and, with a grin of triumph, he ran toward Maurius – intent upon another kill –

The wizard Maurius seeks a mysterious staff named the Gnarled Burner, blamed for the demise of the inquisitive Snowy Elves a thousand years ago. What begins as a leisurely academic quest into the snow and ice covered Northern Mountains quickly turns into a sprint through the arctic cold to find the staff before it falls into evil hands. Can Maurius avoid the Rubied Assassins that attack him wherever he goes? Will he prevail against creatures nearly forgotten in myth that eerily haunt him behind every stone and hill? What ancient evil awoke bringing war to the land with the vengeance of old dragons?And what dangerous Destiny lurks in the Diamond he carries, has always carried, yet does not know from where it came?

Find out in
The Diamond Coronal
, Book I of the Gemstone Series

The Black Jewel – Book II of the Gemstone Series

Sylanna’s jaw scraped against the rough plastered wall, “You cannot be one of the guardsmen.”

“And how did you guess that? Was it my curt accent or my fashionable attire?”  His sweaty arm clamped tighter, grinding into her belly, while his other hand held a long dagger against her throat.  Sylanna’s mind scattered.  She had not even heard him approach!

The talented thief Sylanna flees to a remote monastery after she is attacked by the Rubied Assassins. But she learns the quiet monastery is anything but silent; pious monks plot against each other, executions and murder are brushed aside, ancient secrets are buried deep under the fortified structure, while the studious leaders supply the brewing War. Will Sylanna survive the monastery and its suspicious monks? Will she escape the Rubied Assassins or will they surprise her behind the monastery’s thick walls and wide moat? Who can be a friend and who is secretly an enemy? Even the Black Jewel, a comforting talisman she has carried since childhood, clutches a dangerous Destiny that unwinds as the menace approaches. Can she stop the evil?

Find out in
The Black Jewel
, Book II of the Gemstone Series

The Fire Gem - Book III of the Gemstone Series

Koren stood and slowly turned in the smoky dust from the shattered throne, her swords still ringing from their violence. She growled behind eyes flaming with battlefield ferocity, “We will have no more sitting – We Go To WAR!”