“Murder
and Mayhem” An urban fantasy with a dose of romance and a zest of humor.
If you liked Buffy the Vampire slayer, you'll enjoy May, the vampire killer!
Meet May, the vampire killer. She's quick,
clever, and deadly, and she takes life very seriously having been killed once
before by a mob of rogue vamps. Her father, a powerful necromancer, brought her
back to life. She's M.U.C.I.'s (Mutant and Undead Criminal Investigation) best
man, er, woman, well, zombie actually, for catching and killing rogue vampires,
so when two kids show up with all the signs of having been killed by a rogue,
May gets the case.
Clues lead straight to a certain Bartholomew
Aelfrith, a vampire, whose sense of humor and tall blond good looks are enough
to convince May he needs killing, even if he's not the killer. If he makes one
more joke about her chop-sticks, she's going to stab him through the heart with
one. The problem is, Bartholomew is probably the only person who can catch the
real killer, so May has to put up with his insouciance and his wise-cracks, and
his penchant for picking up strays of all kinds.
But if he says, "I've got a plan"
one more time, she's going to scream.
Teaser
May stepped outside and
opened her umbrella. The burst of hail had changed to sporadic, slushy rain. It
was a glowering, bitterly cold evening. Clouds moved sullenly across the dark
sky.
From her street on the
hill, she could see the river curving in its gentle S, the two bridges,
Christmas Junction where the sky scrapers glittered, and downtown, where she
could hopefully find a taxi. The clouds were so low that they hid the top half
of the skyscrapers in Christmas Junction. A train, far in the distance, looked
like a brightly lit caterpillar crossing the busy downtown area below.
The street she lived on
was in a quiet residential neighborhood with old trees and a large park behind
a tall, wrought-iron fence. The buildings, trees, and fence all leaned
together, conspiring to keep the riffraff out. The sidewalk was clean and the
cars lining the road gleamed. No riffraff here tonight … unless that shadow
was up to no good.
May tilted her head to
get a better look. In between two cars, on the opposite side of the street,
huddled a shadow. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Something was not
quite right. The shadow was too small to be a human, but too large for a dog.
It slid around to the far side of the car to hide as May drew even.
What was it hiding from?
And what was it? May was curious. She closed her umbrella and hooked it over
the fence on her left, and then she darted across the street and peered behind
the car. Crouching near the rear bumper was a small, skinny boy.
“Hi there. Are you all
right?” May started toward him.
He bared his fangs and
hissed as she drew near.
May’s step faltered. A
vampire child. An abomination! Who the hell had made him? The prickle of
fear turned into a full blown shiver. Poor creature. Too young to fend for
itself, but dangerous nonetheless. As soon as it realized its powers it would
go on a killing spree, and nothing living could resist it. Slowly,
she eased her hand into her purse to get her cellphone to call for backup.
“Don’t hurt me,” he
whimpered, cowering against the car. His eyes were huge with panic. Blood on
his neck and a wet, brown stain on his T-shirt showed he hadn’t changed his
clothes since it had happened, and that it had been recent. That was a
blessing, at least. The more recently he had been killed, the weaker he would
be. She might be able to handle this on her own.
Staying well back, she
examined him. He wore no jacket and one of his shoes, May noted, was missing. “I won’t hurt you. Where’s your other shoe?” It
was best to stick to unimportant things. Or at least, things that seemed
unimportant. At times like this, anything could be crucial.
Anything could set him off. She had to be careful. A rogue vampire had made
this creature, and its saliva was deadly for anything other than a full-blooded
vampire.
“My shoe?” He glanced down
at his foot and flinched. “I don’t know.” He looked back up at her, his eyes
pleading now. “I don’t know. I woke up nearby, I think, in a park. I woke up
when the hail hit my face. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who I am. Can
you help me? I should be cold …” His voice trailed off. “I’m dreaming. Is that
it? Is this a dream?”
May nodded, forcing her
lips into a smile. “Yes. It’s a dream.”
Poor creature. He’d been
badly made, hastily made, and made against all the laws and rules that governed
the vampire clan. Not that they had many rules, and not that they really cared.
They followed the rules only because they feared the consequences of breaking
them and not from any moral obligation. May moved very slowly, so as not to
startle him into attacking her.
“I can help you,” she said,
crouching in front of him. “It’s a strange dream, isn’t it? I can help you.”
“I just want to wake up.”
His voice was hoarse and his fangs, sharp as needles, glittered with bloody
saliva.
“All right.” May eased her
hand into her purse. “I want you to stand up straight. That’s right. Now, close
your eyes and say, ‘There’s no place like home.’ Say it three times, and you’ll
wake up.”
“All right.” He nodded,
pathetically glad to obey. He screwed his eyes shut. “There’s no place like
home. There’s no place like home.”
May took careful aim and
drove the stake through his heart.
“There’s no place like … home.” The creature opened its eyes, but they
were empty and saw nothing now. He was so slight he fell like a ribbon to the
sidewalk, landing without a sound. His bare foot pointed at the sky. It started
to rain again, harder.
About the Author
Jennifer Macaire lives in
France with her husband, three children, & various dogs & horses. She
loves cooking, eating French chocolate, growing herbs and flowering plants on
her balcony, and playing golf. She grew up in upstate New York, Samoa, and the
Virgin Islands. She graduated from St. Peter and Paul high school in St. Thomas
and moved to NYC where she modeled for five years for Elite. She went to France
and met her husband at the polo club. All that is true. But she mostly likes to
make up stories.
Find Jennifer on the Web
Buy the book at Evernight Publishing (available
June 11!)
May's traditional zombie stir fry recipe:
Honey Lemon Chicken and Asparagus
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1/4 cup chicken both – (May uses chicken bullion
cubes)
1 teaspoon chilli sauce or a pinch of cayennne pepper
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions
- Mix honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, broth, chill
sauce, lemon zest, garlic, ginger and set aside in a bowl.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the
chicken and stir fry until cooked through and browned a bit.
- Add the asparagus and stir fry until it turns a
brighter green, about 2 minutes.
- Add the honey, lemon juice mixture, stir
- Whisk the water with the corn starch, stir in to
coat and cook until the sauce thickens, about a minute.
Serve over rice. (May likes
to drink ginger beer with this, and finish up with lychees and her father's
smoky moon-shadow tea.)
