Kateesha

(You can find Kateesha in Shades of Gray & Legacy of Ghosts. Her story begins in May, 1868, roughly three years after the American Civil War, and takes place in Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas.)

Kateesha and Daniel steered their horses through the trees. The night clung to their shoulders like the black cloaks they wore, and they moved through it wordlessly. Ahead, shafts of moonlight danced into a clearing. Kateesha stopped and threw back her hood. Her dark skin gleamed and her mahogany eyes skimmed the surroundings.

"I can smell them."

Her partner reined his horse to a stop and looked left to right, his eyes invisible beneath his hood. Though she couldn't see them, she knew them. She'd gazed into them more than once, watched as his pupils flared and shrank with blood lust. They made her think of another set of eyes; eyes so dark they seemed black, fringed in heavy lashes and shimmering with a thousand demons.

Jorick.

He'd been her partner so many times, in more ways than one. They'd come from the old world together, just her, him and their master. She'd sworn an oath of blood to them both, though she knew she would break it a thousand times over if Jorick told her to. On his word, she'd betray Malick and damn the consequences.

She thought suddenly of her master. Though the ancient vampire was shorter than she was, he seemed a giant. His long beard and flowing hair were the color of fresh snow, and his eyes were like staring into the heart of a lightning storm. When she'd last seen him, he'd sat at a long table and glanced absently at a piece of parchment. "It appears we have a coven in Arkansas that has overstepped their bounds. My daughter, you and Daniel will bring these wayward children back to us so that I may chastise them myself." A dark look came from one of the council members and Malick added, "Gently, of course."

"Of course, Father." Though they used those titles, the relationship was not of human birth. Rather, he was her father in blood; her father in darkness. The mysterious man who'd swept through the brothel and brought her an immortal kiss, promising her a new life and a mate for eternity.

Jorick.

"Where are they?"

Daniel's question brought her back to the task at hand. "Near." She motioned towards the source of the scent. "It appears they've chosen to gather in the woods. However, their den is not far from here, if our information is correct." She spurred on her horse, "Giddyup, Aethenoth."

The animal whinnied and followed her directions at an easy pace. Kateesha breathed in deeply, as if seeking assurance. Yes, she could smell them still. Five men, or the remnants of them, now made immortal. They gathered around a campfire, no doubt more for comfort than for warmth or light. Beneath their scent was the smell of human blood from more than one source. They'd made their meal and either kept the corpses or neglected to clean themselves.

The camp fire was suddenly visible between the trees and she slowed her horse to a walk. Old leaves crunched beneath his hooves and small animals scurried away. Though vampires could move silently, the horses couldn't.

She signaled to Daniel and they stopped and dismounted. She tugged a sword from her saddle and motioned him to do the same. She hid the weapon under her heavy black cloak and crept forward. As they drew closer, she could see five figures huddled around the fire. They wore tatty, stained gray uniforms, relics of the newly ended war. Beards sprouted from their chins and faces, clotted with gore and blood. Seven bodies lay crumpled on the ground around them. Five wore the Union blue. The other two had dark skin and were dressed as civilians, or more likely ex slaves. All of their throats were identically torn out. The youngest, a boy of perhaps fourteen, still twitched. His eyes rolled in his head and his blood dyed his shirt crimson.