INTERVIEW
Radiant Shadows: Beginnings
by Sarah
Baethge
In Radiant Shadows: Beginnings, the book's dedication reads: "To my brother Joshua and his wife Jill. Thank you always
for my niece's cool name." Joshua and Jill gave their daughter Olivia the middle
name of Sarah, in honor of her aunt. You can read my interview with the author.
Description
Say there is an
official organization to control how vampires and humans interact.
What would happen to
violators of its 'laws'?
How would the
breaking of its rules be fixed?
What could even be
the motivation for members of this alliance?
Excerpt
Believe me; I never imagined the eventual result I
was left with.
When I was called to
stand before that vampire high council myself, the oddness of the situation had
me a little concerned that their whole event may just be a dramatic bit of show
before I was killed/possibly turned (vampires seem to enjoy creating eerie
situations like that for their own amusement), the only reason I felt that I
might possibly keep my human life was because of the presence of one specific
other human I saw who was sitting among them.
And you have this
admission of nervousness coming from a guy who had long ago simply decided that
the risk of becoming a vampire was just an unmentioned, yet rather obvious,
chance I had taken when signing the contract for my job.
I worked as
something of a human diplomat within the HVA (Human-Vampire Alliance). This is
the organization that exists to tend the fragile threads of agreement both
sides want, in order to prevent some type of all-out supernatural war between
our two societies. If you ask why this is necessary, then I’m sure you can’t
understand exactly how many thousands of vampires really do exist.
That one human I’m
talking about was Caroline Ace, a steadfast human huntress who outwardly
despised most vampires. There is no way that she would voluntarily attend a
death or turning ceremony, and she certainly didn’t look unhappy as if she were
being held there against her will.
–oh sure, like no vampire has ever thought of
breeding and keeping a supply of people in a tiny dark little basement full of
cages reminiscent of some sort of inhumane egg producing facility. ‘Twould make
things a bit easier at their end of the equation, something like that. Yet, I
doubt somehow that their blood-cow choices would include a huntress.
Childish happy ideas
about keeping our dark brethren content with animal blood are really something
of a fairy-tale too. Understand please; some sort of iron or hemoglobin doesn’t
nourish a vampire’s body like it would yours. Vampires are dead. Every person that becomes a vampire has first died. A dead body has no need of
nourishment.
When the life in a
body ends, that living energy normally produced in the brain simply drains out
through the jugular because it can no longer cling directly to the body that
produced it; in the moments just after death, this force has been knocked loose
enough that it can be stolen by a vampire who moves to take it quickly enough.
Sure, some vampires develop a taste for the blood itself, yet the chemicals
within this fluid have very little use to their dead organs.
When a vampire takes
someone’s blood, what they are ‘feeding’ on is human life. By ‘life’ I mean that energy or spirit of self existing
within, throughout a living person that their healthy body will continue to
replenish within itself until death. You might scoff were I to call this force
‘magic’, but if properly controlled, it can have effects that I have trouble
describing any other way.
You see, a good part
of what I negotiate comes down to acquiring vampire help to stand against human
criminals when it might be convenient to simply have them ‘disappear’. I won’t
try to pretend that a good number of confessions from especially nasty
human-outlaws haven’t also come about through the choice of either that or a
close encounter with a grinning set of vampire fangs, as well.
Having no way to
make this living ‘spirit’ energy for themselves, those vampires who do not take
another’s ‘life’-force can just sit back and wait to watch as their own body
begins to rot away without it. I’m not saying that animals don’t have this
energy, most likely they do; it’s just that this force is quite complex and has
a slightly different physical structure for every individual that can produce
it, much like the blood that is normally taken with it. And like that blood,
pumping yourself full of what came from a deer or a moose probably wouldn’t
work all that well.
Robbing a blood-bank
couldn’t really provide it either; a little plastic bag full of blood is really
quite inert, dead and lifeless.
Ultimately; although
neither side may be ready to admit it, vampires and living-humans, physiologically, are all the same
creature. We actually rely on them because
of how they must rely upon us.
To keep relations
civil, vampires will try to have no part in decisions passed against criminal
vampires by the humans as long as humans don’t stand in the way of their fair
and justified human killings (when such a thing becomes necessary).
You see, vampires
are more adept at handling and using this life-giving ‘magical’ power I’ve
described that is so integral to everyone’s survival (even though for some
reason most humans seem to be completely unaware of it) and so, they can more
easily use this energy willingly as a seemingly otherworldly force for everyday
supernatural situations than a human could. These aren’t unusual occurrences,
but are actually so real and so dangerous, the HVA hires diplomats like myself
to work out terms and agreements of behavior between the living and the non-,
that keep both sides happy. The best example of this that I can think of off
the top of my head is the vampire preference that most of humanity is kept
unaware of their darker brothers’ very existence.
This is mainly done
to prevent self-praising human vigilantes from attempting to hunt and kill
vampires to extinction for the supposed ‘good of all humanity’ Actually, my
living co-workers and I will hold the threat of publicly disclosing this secret
about our coexistence as a roadblock against the formation of groups containing
angry vampires ready for a field-day of unprovoked human kills.
Aside from diplomats
like me, my human colleagues, and our vampire counterparts, the HVA has 2 more
divisions:
1. Human hunters who are out to get vampires who
break the rules,
2. And vampire stalkers who work to strike down any human, self-appointed vampire-slayers.
2. And vampire stalkers who work to strike down any human, self-appointed vampire-slayers.
This had always
worked fine until the day came when I was called by a vampire council who
weren’t arguing against human actions; instead, they wanted to help incite a more efficient than human-based judgment
after one of their own.
Who exactly they
were after here was the vampire Randy Martin. He wasn’t just turned yesterday
and rebelling against the new set of vampire-laws that he now suddenly found
himself subject to.
Believe me; we get plenty of that, and the vampires
have their own ways to quickly just deal with it. Generally it’s something less
than total destruction (forgive my wording here, but having already called all
vampires to be dead, I’m not sure that death could really sound like all that
much of a true threat), a period of forced starvation or something similar to
that is usually the normal sentence that these ‘criminal’ vampires actually end
up getting as a punishment.
Although, to call
him old doesn’t really fit the profile either, I know more than a couple
vampires with turn-dates of earlier than 100 years ago. Randy’s was only like
50, at most 75 years before today. He wasn’t exactly ancient, but he certainly
wasn’t new either. He just had the years of experience and the learned
magical control that would easily enable him to avoid capture.
Assuredly he’d been
around long enough that he was aware of the havoc that his actions would
probably cause; he had to know better than to just jump up and start feeding
off of people who had done nothing to deserve it while, at the same time,
leaving their blood-drained bodies in very open places for unwary innocents to
find. It was bizarre enough to get local living, non-HVA police to jokingly
refer to these crimes as ‘vampire murders’.
Actually, by now I’ve decided that their council
meeting with me more was done to decisively impress upon both the huntress
Caroline I mentioned before, and myself, just how seriously they took what they
were making it possible for her to do.
At that time of
course, my law abiding vampire
friends felt quite threatened by Randy’s almost uncaring actions and didn’t
find the nickname of ‘vampire-murders’
to be funny at all. I suppose it’s similar to how you might feel towards
criminals in your neighborhood if you knew that they had a good chance of
angering the closest mad cult into storming out to your place of residence on
some type of murderous, fire-spewing rampage of revenge.
They wanted Randy taken
out for his misbehavior as quickly as possible; permanently stopping the threat of any more deadly actions that
might come from him. Their rize against his attacks was meant as nothing more
than a simple precaution, just so that they could return to their own carefully
built and well looked after anonymity.
Vampire leaders
wanted to put an end to Randy’s reign of terror even if it had to come by their
own direct guiding of the oft’ hated and distrusted human hunters’ hands. They
certainly didn’t want to just sit around idly watching as this much loathed
rival group of law enforcement between the two peoples fumbled around
ineffectively; not if Randy’s random actions could possibly have innocent
vampires blamed and outed for his misdeeds that they were desperately trying to
stop.
Now/then, you’d
probably be surprised to learn just how many paralegals are actually vampires.
Not as often are they full-lawyers; vampires usually try to stay out of the
direct public spotlight, but I can’t really say that about most attorneys. It’s
just that the paralegal profession is really a hotbed of vampire activity! (This would probably be why I gave up trying
to go any further in the legal profession myself, actually.)
The vampires figured
(at least I assumed when they requested
to meet with me) that humans could be used in much the same way as we made
use of them; I could be a convenient human presence to make Randy’s own
instincts lead to his eventual, almost voluntary downfall.
I’m not sure I can stress enough, just how unusual
it is for an official vampire council to be formed simply to address a mere
human, however. Sure, humans have been asked to sit among councils plenty of
times, but the person addressed is always a vampire.
Just as well, I supposed when my notice of Caroline dispelled my immediate dread of
oncoming fangs; working as closely with vampires and their uncontrolled desires
as I did, I had long ago given up the silly adolescent fantasy of being turned
myself. Who could knowingly throw himself into an eternity where any
split-second scent of a person walking by can become a deep-rooted obsession
for the chance to take a possible taste of their blood? I hear it’s a terrible,
desperate wanting; one so strong, in fact, that you would become willing to
risk near-certain death just to get at it!
And unless all of
your friends are close to invincible when you’re originally turned, your new
unnatural strength combined with all of the fun created through possible
flashes of eerily uncontrolled, deadly magic can make you unintentionally kill
off almost everyone you know before you ever come close to learning how to
reign in your new, now supernaturally powered, anger and desire.
As I saw my eventual
transformation into a vampire to be something that was almost inevitable (considering how unlikely it was that I
could ever stop doing what I did for the HVA without ticking off someone of the
no-longer-living persuasion), I had worked to drive off all of my
non-hunter/huntress human friends as well as relocated my place of living; over
the last few years, I had taken to residing in a cabin in the countryside a
short bit away from the city. I wasn’t really totally off of the radar as my
little house was still within driving distance of gas and groceries.
Occasionally, I could even manage to get a pizza delivered. The important thing
is that I had no close neighbors whom I would take with me when my time of
turning inevitably came.
The vampire who led
the council that night would have easily impressed me enough by himself -He who
seemed to be their local-leader. We’re talking a guy who looked to be more than
1000 years old here, even though vampire growth and aging comes dead slowly. I
can’t tell you his real name, I’m still not quite sure of it, myself, actually;
I think it was probably just assumed that everyone present already knew what to
call him. Caroline later referred to him as The Count, and I’m still not quite
sure if she was just joking with some sort of fancy fabricated
vampiric-sounding title.
Whatever you want
his name to be, this well-aged blood-sucker seemed to look directly through me as he commanded: “You vill
follow Mizz Ace out to ze home of Olivia Dominicus. Olivia haz been given ze
infusion; it iz ze last in our supply. It can be used to make Mizz Ace become
stronger. Sir Martin vill stand no chance against an infused huntress. Your
sacrifice vill make ze infusion take hold.”
Then, a flash of fire - a moment of darkness and smoke… No one can make a dramatic exit like a vampire - that’s unless you want to differentiate between one dagger-fanged
shadow and a whole room-full of vampires. More quickly than the blink of an
eye, only me and Caroline were left in the suddenly empty and darkened room.
She made it over to
open the main doorway for light where the sun could be seen setting on the
horizon. I stood in place half frozen with my teeth almost chattering uneasily;
I was still sure that I could still feel the Count’s scathing gaze.
“You coming?”
Caroline called over to me as she walked outside.
“What was he talking
about??” This grim event wasn’t going at
all like I had ever imagined. Did they somehow expect me to follow and beg
for my own death?
Surely they’d
noticed my loss of fascination with their ever-prolonged Hell.
“What he suggested
that I take from Miss Olivia and use as a seraphic infusion,” Caroline began
explaining, (without seeming to take any notice of my dismayed looking around
to make sure that we weren’t being followed); “I’m pretty sure from what I’ve
read that it is something close to angel blood.” She called this back to me as
if somehow that idea could explain everything.
If those vampires had truly wanted to feed on me in
some sort of sacrificial right, why was I still alive?
Still not
understanding her exact reasoning for wanting whatever might be going on in the
first place; I followed the huntress Caroline as she started walking with a
purpose towards something past the horizon.
“But they didn’t get
me. They just ran away…” I replied in confusion.
She stopped walking
and looked at me because she couldn’t seem to figure what I meant.
“Why would I care
about blood?” I tried to explain.
Understanding then
flashed on Caroline’s face. “You don’t get what I mean to do,” she answered as
a grin started to steal across her face. “Stephen, what happens when a human
who has had their goodness/life-light sucked out of them, then partakes of
vampire blood?”
“You’re talking of
how a new vampire is made.” I answered with a slight uncertainty as to why she
was trying to explain this to me.
“With the respect
those leeches showed you tonight,” Caroline suggested without hiding her
disgust; “would it be fair to say that you could go back and beg a little blood
off one of them in order to thereby save yourself, had I a way of taking away
your living light?” The question glowed in her eyes.
The proposition might work, could I find a willing
vampire quickly enough, but a
person drained of life-force sounded rather helpless to do such a thing. “If
you took that power from me, wouldn’t I just die?”
“Taking away the
light of your life would forcibly bequeath my living-darkness unto you,” she
explained. “That primal force of wrongness is stubborn and unwilling to just
sit back and give in, much like that old Count we saw tonight. You’d have to
have at least a couple of hours in which to act before death sets in.”
Earnestly, she was holding out to me what I had
ceased to want.
“But surely, you’d
be in danger as well,” I tried to throw out there. How could I explain to her that this supposed treat she seemed to be
trying to tempt me with was really the last thing that I wanted anymore?
“Because; if you can
take away my darkness,” she continued explaining; “those vampires believe that
my body fully accepting the seraph-like touch of what Madame Olivia now holds
will transform me into the most righteous anti-vampire!” Caroline looked at me
with pleading eyes.
When I only looked
at her with confusion, she added; “Randy or any vampire would become unable to
stand against me...”
If what she had
proposed were true, lives could be saved.
Unrest and greater
troubles might be avoided.
I just had to be
willing to give up my life or at least my
humanity in the bargain.
“…a sacrifice..” I muttered. It was what
The Count had been talking about earlier.
“But not for you!”
She answered all too cheerily as she turned back towards wherever it was that
we had been headed before.
Review
I love a good vampire novel and Sarah had some interesting ideas in this
novella. The scene is told from three points of view in three separate
chapters. While there is naturally some duplication, each chapter offers new
insights into the stories and characters.
Caroline works for the Human Vampire Alliance as a huntress. Her friend
Stephen takes a seraphic infusion brewed by one of the shadow people to make
him an anti-vampire. This results in Caroline and Stephens minds being linked
together as they hunt a vampire named Randy. Caroline is also hampered by her
boyfriend, Marshall joining them in the vampire hunt.
I like the magical powers such as sparking coming from the fingertips
too. This and the magical ideas could use some more development in future
writing.
There are a few areas for the author to work on including: increased used
of emotions, having a hook at the beginning and refining the writing technique.
An example of this would be "You see, I'm pretty sure that was the moment
I died." Such a dramatic statement requires an equal emotive response such
as shock, terror, panic or confusion.
Interview With the
Author
Hi Sarah, thanks for
joining me today to discuss your book, Radiant Shadows: Beginnings.
For what age group
do you recommend your book?
Anyone old enough to enjoy vampire stories.
What sparked the
idea for this book?
I started writing a poem about vampires and when I finished it, I just
felt that I wanted to go a little deeper into the story.
Which comes first?
The character's story or the idea for the novel?
The story came well before I decided to try making a book out of it.
What was the hardest
part to write in this book?
I suppose it was attempting to show my characters horror and fear while
attempting to leave the story tame enough to be read by most people.
How do you hope this
book affects its readers?
I hope they enjoy it, it’s not meant to be anything other than a bit of
fun.
How long did it take
you to write this book?
Just a couple of months.
What is your writing
routine?
I try to write every day, yet I also try not to write all day. I think my
stories turn out better if I don’t complete a work in one sitting so that I am
sure to take some down time thinking about what I have written.
How did you get your
book published?
Amazon KDP
What advice do you
have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Just go for it!
Well said! What do
you like to do when you're not writing?
I like to read.
What does your
family think of your writing?
They tell me that they are proud of it.
That's great! Please
tell us a bit about your childhood.
Not really much to tell, I guess I had good grades in school.
Did you like reading
when you were a child?
All the time.
When did you first
realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was hurt pretty bad in a car wreck and decided that there was no reason
not to try. What is the worst that could happen?
Did your childhood
experiences influence your writing?
Sure, forever reading has left my mind trying to develop a story about
whatever I see without ever even trying to.
Which writers have
influenced you the most?
I like Stephen King and Michael Crichton, should I mention Anne Rice?
Why not? Do you hear
from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I’m pretty much unknown, when I do hear from readers it’s usually just a
general "good job!" or "this sucks!"
Ooh, that's a bit
harsh. What can we look forward to from you in the future?
I do have a pretty long werewolf story in the works.
Thank you for taking
the time to stop by today, Sarah. Best of luck with your future projects.
You too!
About the Author
Sarah Baethge is a fan of science-fiction, fantasy and drama, who lives
and writes in Salado, central Texas.
Links
