Author Thoughts: Being Dea

Source: The Odyssey Online

I miss my vampires. I'm writing the two-book Dark Wings series now, which is set in Georgia and features angels and demons...and I love it...but there are moments when I'm sitting on the minibus or walking along Rustaveli Avenue and I get a longing for the cool shade of the English woods where the cottage stood. I can feel the dry grass and crunching leaves beneath my bare feet, see the dappled sunlight through the leaves and smell the earthy dampness. I can see myself sitting on the hill with Santi, the thunder clouds rumbling above us as we ponder the mysteries of life and each other. I can even stand on that same hill hand-in-hand with Stuart, looking down at a forest shrouded in mist as I withhold the most important secret from him: where to find me. And then I can be in the cold dark depths of the temple, running my fingers along the cold, damp stone as I walk the corridors looking for escape with the sound of deep male voices in the distance chanting the words that will raise the dark god Apophis. Flash- and I am back with the Coven: laughing, joking, enjoying a mug of hot chocolate as Lucas and Takeshi argue a point, Mica fixes their socks and Charlotte flicks through a magazine. Elias enters, smiling, healthy- no idea of what will happen, fresh back from a hunt. Of course, he checks how we are and then heads straight to the study to...what, I don't know. He's a mystery. The beautiful smoky-grey Bastet walks in purring, knowing she is home and loved, and David bends down and scoops her up, stroking her behind the ears. He throws a smile my way, then passes Bastet to me and goes to join Elias. It's winter, the fire is lit…and then the fire and Coven are gone, as is the cottage. The world has changed- no people on the streets, the occasional ominous cackle of a vampire on the hunt and the dry leaves blowing past the abandoned cars. I catch the smell of rotting flesh on the wind- a recent kill, no-one to come and collect the body and bury it- whoever the vampires drained will continue to rot, might be found by the wild animals or dogs, ultimately ending up as bones wrapped in scraps of cloth, forgotten. But even though my story has been written, the story of my friends is not over: Santi, David, Elias, Lucas, Charlotte, Mica and Stuart- they will all have their stories told; they will not be forgotten, and I will live the memories again, as will you..