Vampires, mermaids, and witches…oh, my! Black Veil is full of them all, but at the end of the day, it’s The Blood Boss who has the last word. Ever since The Final War, Vampires rule Black Veil, and with The Blood Boss in charge, peace reigns.
Keeping the vampires under control is a task Cain takes seriously. Humans have accepted his rule, and anyone who seeks to destroy his territory is given swift punishment. His promise to keep Black Veil safe comes with great sacrifice and selflessness; never does he dare hope for more in life. Until one day, a man walks through his front door and changes everything.
Jayce has a happy life. His adopted parents love him, he wants for very little, and he lives every day to the fullest. But when a normal evening turns into a nightmare, and Jayce is forced to come face-to-face with The Blood Boss, the world as he knows it feels like a lie.
Then a great secret is revealed, and nothing is what it seems. Cain and Jayce must work together to stop the forces uniting against the vampires. Life and love are in jeopardy as they fight those who seek to destroy them. Can Cain and Jayce keep Black Veil from crumbling into the sea when every attempt to do so seems impossible?
HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!!!! Once again Davidson King has proven that the Force is strong within her because . . . WOW! The talent for storytelling that runs through her veins is so strong, if it really was the force she could singlehandedly blow up the Death Star. Her gift of words is so powerful you can't help but get sucked in once you start.
I won't say she had "fears" about venturing into the paranormal genre but I'm sure there were inner hesitancies but she needn't have worried because the world King has created in her new series, Black Veil, really is the complete package. The Blood Boss, or as those closest to him call him, Cain may be a vampire of few words but you know he's the boss by his presence. "Presence" may seem like an odd word to use in literature since you aren't seeing the character on a screen or stage but the world building that Davidson King has created is so vivid and descriptive, I felt like I was witnessing it right outside my window. You really lose yourself in the book and become part of the environment that is Black Veil and the desire to discover all it's little nooks and crannies, rumors and truths, and how the lines of good and evil can sometimes blur.
As for the main characters, Cain and Jayce? Well, I mentioned the power Cain gives off but he also has heart(and yes I realize that's an odd thing to say about a vampire but its no less true), he cares for others more than he wants the world to know. We meet Jayce as he steps in to receive punishment for a debt his father hasn't been able to pay back and he doesn't do this on a whim, this is the kind of man he is. Put these two together and you have a recipe for what could be complete and utter chaos or the grand champion winning pie at the fair that you want to eat even though its been sitting on the judging table for days. Which is it? Trick question really, on one hand I won't give particulars to spoil anything but truth be told Cain and Jayce are a little bit of both, chaos and champion.
Cain and Jayce and the supporting cast of characters who I'm sure we'll get to see more of in future installments makes The Blood Boss an absolutely delicious read sure to satisfy any and all your fiction hungers.
RATING:
Chapter One
Jayce
“Good night, Jayce.” Sibell, the old lady who owned the bookstore where I worked, squeezed my shoulder when she passed.
“Stay safe, Sibell, I’ll see you Monday morning.”
She smiled softly, her dark eyes twinkling as if they held a million secrets. Nodding quickly, she shut the front door.
I had worked here from the time I was eighteen and loved it. Now that I was twenty-three, Sibell was able to hand over a great many important tasks to me, such as counting the drawers, locking up, and ordering inventory. She’d told me the day she promoted me that she was grateful to finally have someone she trusted to watch over the store when she couldn’t. I took the responsibility seriously and was equally as grateful.
After I flipped the sign on the door to closed and locked the cash drawers in the safe, I did a sweep of the rows to be sure they were all tidy and nothing was out of place before leaving and locking the door.
“Late night?” the baker across the way, Burt, shouted as he shut down his own place.
“Fridays always are. Have a good night, Burt.”
He waved and got into his truck. I didn’t drive; the desire to learn how never intrigued me. If it rained I took the bus, but on clear days like today, I used my legs to get me home. I always traveled along the sidewalk that paralleled the ocean. In the morning, the sunrise would be my cup of coffee, and in the evening, when the moon made the sea glitter, it was a nightcap of delicious Chardonnay.
I was raised in foster care, though I didn’t have horrible and traumatizing memories like many in the system do. I was one of the lucky ones. My foster parents loved me from the second they found me on their doorstep at only a few days old, and I’d always felt like I was their son. At the age of five, I went from a foster kid to an adopted one, and Michael and Anne Harlow became my legal parents, and Black Veil City my home.
While not perfect and constantly humming with magic in the air, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I heard the chimes from the church bells, indicating it was nine in the evening, and I hurried my steps. See, I loved this city, but when the sun was fully tucked away, it was safer to be home.
As I passed the police station, one of the officers stopped me.
“You shouldn’t be walking around at night, son. Do you need a ride?”
“No thanks, I’m just around this corner.”
“Okay, be safe.” I could feel the officer’s eyes on me until I turned down my street; everyone was vigilant at night.
I wasn’t born when it happened, but as the story goes, the world was falling apart, and humanity was responsible for it. In school, I was taught that due to humans killing the planet and each other, a balance no one knew existed had been upset.
The textbooks referred to it as The Final War because there hadn’t been one since. Mom would tell the story so dramatically, it was almost humorous. The first time I’d heard it, I was ten:
“From the Earth’s core the demons climbed, and from the stars the angels fell. The sea came alive, and the waves brought magical creatures ashore. The trees trembled with life as winged magicians swept through the forest. Humanity was not destroyed in this war; it was set to order.”
That was how she always started the story. Vampires, fairies, angels—all of them had come to Earth’s aid and saved it. When the dust settled, a new hierarchy was created and humans were not at the top. I was okay with that because, first of all, I’d known no differently, and also I’d learned that the oceans became cleaner, the air was safer, and there was zero pollution. But the fact that humans weren’t number one meant something else was, and here in Black Veil City, that was vampires. Namely, The Blood Boss.
I had never met him—hell, he didn’t show his face anywhere that I’d ever seen, and I knew very little about him. But he controlled all vampires, and while the streets weren’t running red with blood at night, it was the time they tended to roam, and crime was rare but it did happen.
I could see the porch light shining at the house and was just about to climb the steps when I realized there was a sleek black Cadillac in the driveway that didn’t belong to anyone I knew. Who could be here at this hour?
Something crashed inside and I rushed through the door, worried Mom, Dad, or the foster kids inside were in trouble.
“Jayce!” Mom shouted from the couch. Her hands were on her lap, and tears streaked down her cheeks. Dad was on the ground, his nose bleeding. But what had me frozen in place were the two hulking vampires in the living room. One stood beside Mom, and the other hovered over Dad.
“What’s going on here?” There were laws in place that vampires couldn’t enter someone’s home and dominate them for anything unless they had proper documentation from The Blood Boss.
“Who are you?” The one who was beside Mom narrowed his eyes.
“I’m Jayce Harlow, and I live here. Who are you?”
“Jayce, don’t…” A sharp look from the vampire above my dad shut him up.
“I’m Emil, this is Petru, and we’re here under orders from The Blood Boss.” Emil was the one guarding my mother, and he slipped a piece of paper from the pocket of his expensive suit.
He walked over to me, and I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze. He had to be over six five or something. His blond hair was styled in a short cut, his eyes an eerie shade of blue—a cross between white and baby blue. I’d noticed all vampires had odd-colored eyes; it was one way of identifying them.
“Take a gander.” He held the paper out to me, and I took it, reading every word carefully, hoping I’d find a reason to tell them they had no right to be here. But there was none and…
“You borrowed money from The Blood Boss, Dad?”
Petru stepped back when my father tried to stand, but he stayed close.
“I had to, Jayce, I had no other choice.”
I read the line that scared me the most. “Failure to pay the agreed-upon amount will result in your punishment being ruled on in front of The Blood Boss and a fair judgment dealt.” I looked up, and tendrils of fear licked at my skin. “Dad, this is serious! It says you borrowed over fifty-thousand dollars.”
“I know and—”
“Do you even have it?” I knew he didn’t; money was tight even with what we were given from the government to care for the foster kids. I’d told my parents not to take any more kids in, that we couldn’t afford it, but they hated turning away a child in need.
“No.” His voice was a whisper, and he flinched when Petru grunted.
“Emil, is it?” The vampire nodded. “Can I ask what punishment my father will get?”
He shrugged. “I’m not The Blood Boss; you’d have to ask him, but the reason there is order in Black Veil is because no one gets to slide by without repercussions for their actions.”
“But from your experience, what would you say he’d get for it?”
Emil spared a glance at Petru before answering. “The reason Michael Harlow borrowed money had to do with the fact that the bank was about to foreclose on his house. It’s a noble reason. My guess is he’d likely make him work it off.”
The bank was going to foreclose on the house? Why didn’t anyone tell me?
“He already works two jobs. If you take him away, the bank will surely take the house. Isn’t there another way?”
Emil shook his head. “Anne Harlow could take his place as payment.”
My mom was a schoolteacher during the week, and on the weekends she worked at the community center to help children who were struggling in school. She couldn’t be away either.
“If you take Mom or Dad, they will be even deeper in debt with the bank, the foster kids will have to leave, and I don’t have a lot of hope for them in the system, and they’d lose their other jobs. Please, is there any other way?”
Emil looked over at my mom, then at my dad. When he met Petru’s gaze, it was as if they were having some sort of telepathic conversation, and maybe they were; I didn’t know a lot about vampires’ abilities.
“Are you their son?” Emil turned toward me again.
“No!” My dad made to run over to me, but Petru stopped him easily.
“I am, why?”
“It’s not typical, and I’ve never seen it done, but you could go in your father’s place.”
“Jayce, please.” My mom was sobbing, and I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps above me. No doubt the kids were listening and frightened. Michael and Anne were amazing foster parents. If it weren’t for them, I’d likely be in a shit situation, and if they left here now it would be a disaster.
I, on the other hand, only worked at the bookstore and while Sibell needed my help, she wasn’t completely lost without me. Mom and Dad would take a little hit financially, seeing as my paycheck went to help out around here. It was the sole reason I stilled lived at home. However, without me here it would also be one less mouth to feed, so things might balance themselves out.
“I’ll do it.”
My mom cried harder, and my dad tried to break free of Petru’s grasp. They loved me and didn’t want to see me handed to The Blood Boss, especially for something I had no control over.
Emil held a small square device in his hand. “I need your finger.”
Reflexively I clenched my fists. “It will be hard to work off my father’s debt if I’m down one finger.”
Emil and Petru chuckled. “You can keep your fingers, just slide one in here.” The square device opened and there was a tiny needle sticking up inside. “I need a drop of your blood.”
I glanced over at my parents, Mom’s cries were softer, but my father looked as if he were about to come apart.
Slowly, I stuck my finger inside the device, feeling the brush of the needle. Emil gave me no time to react; he shut it and I felt the quick, piercing pain.
“Repeat after me,” Emil said. “I, Jayce Harlow, agree to take punishment for Michael Harlow’s debt to The Blood Boss for the allotted time agreed upon by him.”
I repeated what he said, and he went on.
“This is a blood oath you are making at your own free will and without coercion?”
“Yes.”
“I hereby stand witness to this pact and agree to the substitution of Jayce Harlow in place of Michael Harlow.”
Emil released my finger and I immediately stuck it in my mouth, earning a chuckle from both vampires.
“I bet you’re delicious.” Emil winked but quickly walked to my dad.
“I don’t allow you to take my son!”
“Michael Harlow, you are hereby excused of your obligation to The Blood Boss—”
“No! I refuse.” He tried and failed to break away from Petru as he raged and cried.
“Dad, please. Let me do this. Conner, Lisa, the twins, they need you and Mom here.”
“What if he hurts you?” My mom spoke through her sobs.
“A debt is not punishable by death or physical harm,” Emil answered, his voice laced with boredom. “Petru, I will get Jayce to the car, and then you may release Michael and join us.”
“Can I say good-bye?”
Emil’s expression hardened. “I’ve been as kind as I’m going to be, Jayce. Let’s go.”
Even if I wanted to, I wasn’t going to argue. I followed Emil out of the house, hearing my mother’s loud cries all the way to the car.
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
When she's not writing you can find her blogging away on Diverse Reader, her review and promotional site. She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she'd tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you're afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
