Welcome all you night stalkers and day walkers. You’ve landed on Lisa Burton Radio. The only show that brings you characters from the books you love. We’re in for a real treat today, because my guest is the harbinger of a new race. Okay, it’s a race of vampires, but still evolution at work and all that. “Let’s give a big welcome to Clyde.”
“Thanks for having me. Though, it’s kind of strange having people outside of my gang giving me a warm welcome. Vampires aren’t really loved and neither are thieves, so the combination doesn’t make me many friends.”
“Glad to have you on. My notes say that you were once a regular vampire, but something happened during the Great Cataclysm. What can you tell me about that?”
“First, I’m going to admit up front that it wasn’t my finest moment. I wanted to really mess with the Duragians who are followers of the Sun God. They love destroying vampires, we enjoy killing them, and the cycle goes on for eternity. I was already on their hit list for a few treasury robberies and pretending to be their god for about week, which you’d think would get me more hate than it did. Anyway, my plan was to steal their holiest of items called the Orb of Durag. No idea what it did and I really didn’t care. The point was to take it out of their central temple and gloat for a couple months before tossing the thing into a volcano or something. I steal more for the thrill than the money.
“In my defense, the plan was a good one. I got their attention with some evil deeds and let myself get arrested. That way I was already in the temple and didn’t have to fight through the city. Now, Duragians execute vampires using four priests that use powerful sun beams to slowly tear the prisoner apart. I was supposed to pull off the heist before it got that far, but things went a little awry. Okay, I actually did start getting torn apart and then the Great Cataclysm hit. I was in too much agony to see what was going on, but I heard screaming and the ground shook. Next thing I know, the entire temple and city are sucked into the earth. I was trapped down there for fifty years, which felt like a lot more.”
“That’s terrible. Were you awake the whole time, conscious, whatever?”
“The thing is that the city and temple were intact, so everyone who survived the initial disaster were alive down there. I had about two hundred mortals to feed off of, which ran out pretty quickly. You don’t really imagine that you’ll be stuck in such a situation for very long, especially when you have friends up above. I had no idea the Duragians and hunters declared war on the vampires, so my gang was busy. There was digging the first year, but that stopped for some reason. I played around with my illusions and wandered around the ruins to avoid going insane from solitude. Not much one can say about being trapped down there with only your subconscious to talk to.
“It did have a happy ending, which turned out to be a chaotic beginning. The Duragians began digging again, but they only made the first hole bigger. I didn’t want to go charging out into another execution, so I stayed below. That’s when my old partner Mab finally arrived to check on me. I don’t know what she was planning as a rescue mission, but it failed nearly as badly as my Orb of Durag heist. Crazy woman is lucky she wasn’t killed and I got out to slaughter all those mortals. Probably would have jumped in earlier if I’d known I wasn’t the same vampire I was before.”
“Not the same, how exactly?”
“A little background info for the delicious folks at home. In Windemere, vampires can use magic and are physically superior to mortals. That’s as long as they stay out of the sunlight or wear a night cloak. Once you’re in the sun, you’re weakened and easy pickings for anyone that wants to kill you. I no longer have that problem, which is why I’m called a Dawn Fang. Knock me into the light and the worst that will happen is a sunburn, which is something I really thought was a thing of the past.
“That’s the thing that gets the most amount of attention though. Mortals would be terrified of a vampire that stays strong in the sunlight and Old World vampires use that as the main reason we’re abominations. Can’t say I disagree, but I’d say having a pulse and being able to eat real food are freakier. I mean, I get nourishment from blood, but I can also pack away an entire wedding cake for energy. Gregorio, my original maker, thinks it helps us maintain our monstrous physical abilities and special powers. Unlike Old Worlds, Dawn Fangs can’t use magic, but we each have three unique abilities that we can use. So, you never know what you’ll get with one of my kind.”
“That’s kind of cool, and scary at the same time. One person does not make a new race. How did the Dawn Fangs come to be?”
“To be fair, I never wanted to become a new race and was hoping I’d be the only one. It didn’t work out that way because of an accident. Somebody inadvertently . . . Okay, I’ll stop being nice about this. A situation arose where a friend was going wild and decided to take a bite out of me like I was the chef’s special. We learned that my blood can transform Old World vampires into Dawn Fangs. Not a good thing since I wanted to keep this whole mess a secret. While I haven’t tested it, we’re pretty sure a mortal can be changed through a special bite in order to be turned. I haven’t decided on if I want to do that though.”
“That’s a tiny bit gross. So what about children? Can you produce children who are Dawn Fangs? To me that makes a race.”
“I seriously doubt that since we’re still kind of undead. Even if the males got their parts to work, I don’t think the females would have any eggs after being corpses for a couple hundred years. Then again, it really depends on what you consider producing children. The mortal method might be beyond us, but changing someone by blood or fang is how all vampire species procreate. A fresh turn might have the body of an adult, but they’re technically a child in the eyes of our society. They need to be nurtured and taught like anybody else.”
“Earlier, you said Mab rescued you. That’s a pretty telling commitment. What’s the deal between you and her?”
“Well, I want to politely point out that she tried. If I can’t live my blunders down then she can’t either. That being said, Mab and I were partners before I ever made the gang. Has to be going on about five hundred years now that we’ve been doing heists as a duet. I wish I had more to say about our first encounter, but it wasn’t anything special. We were both vampiric thieves working the same territory and eventually bumped into each other. So, it started as a rivalry, which was made worse by her being in a guild while I was an independent. I suggested we go off on our own, which led to her demanding that I prove myself. That’s where this little golden necklace comes into play–”
“For our listeners, it looks like a little gold ear of corn. Go on.”
“This thing is actually worthless, but the guild master had given it to his wife or sister or some woman he lived with. I didn’t bother asking for a family tree when I took the thing from her in the middle of a busy marketplace. Not busy enough to hide in a crowd, so it was basically me pulling a lift in broad daylight with guards and merchants staring in my direction. Didn’t attract any attention either. Thinking back, that was probably the first heist I did for a thrill instead of the money. Well, a thrill and Mab.
“Our partnership did turn more romantic around the time our gang began getting more of a reputation. Guess we started to feel like mother and father to all the others, but we had a falling out of sorts. Nothing that ended the partnership, which is obvious since she was the only one who believed I was still alive in the ground. We had an anniversary coming up and Mab asked a friend who tends to remain nameless for seduction tips. The conversation got weird, the friend thought she was being asked to take Mab’s form to pull a seduce and switch, and the real one walked in at the worst time. Yeah, I’ll admit that as a master illusionist, I really should have seen through the disguise or at least noticed something was wrong. Took me about a month to grow all my organs back and the friend required two because she didn’t get out of there with her skin. I mean, Mab got so pissed off that she flayed the other woman and that led to bones get broken . . . Let’s just say vampires don’t hold back in these situations since we can survive a lot of physical trauma. We’ve even been known to snap the spine of a friend to stop them from rushing into a bad situation.”
“So what was the first thing you did when you re-emerged? Some people might go for a pizza.”
“The first thing I did when I got back to the surface was cut off my hair because it was down to my ankles. Needed clothes too and then there was figuring out why Mab took so long getting to me. After that, I had to visit an old friend in the city of Nyte for some business and to let everyone know I wasn’t dead. Once Mab and I realized I wasn’t a normal vampire, we went to where I should have gone in the first place. That would be to Gregorio Roman, who is at least two thousand years old and the vampire that turned me. The Old Fang is like a father to me and he’s easily the smartest person I know. If anyone could figure out what was going on with me, it would be that half-blind gnome. Good thing I brought Mab with me because he has this thing about hugs. He just loves them, but prefers it to be from women, which is why I take her along so often. Oh, she might be listening to this. Eh, I’ve gotten in trouble for a lot worse than that.”
“And now you’re trying to get the band back together. Tell us about that.”
“I don’t really understand Windemere any more, so I feel rather lost. Not a good thing for a guy who can punt an armored ogre over an entire castle. I figure getting my old gang back together is a way to create a sense of comfort and normalcy. Many of them are dead, but Mab, the Vengeance Hounds, and Decker are still alive. That third one isn’t a full member, but I trust the good General with my life. These people understand me and, at least if they learn my secret, I know they’ll help me instead of treat me like an abomination. If I can get in close with Xavier Tempest of Nyte too then it’s even less of a risk.
“The only problem here is that we have this messy war, so the gang won’t be able to do heists like the old days. We have to act as a special squad for Nyte, which means we’re more soldier and mercenary than thief. Still, I think we’ll get back to basics one day. For now, I’m happy to be back among friends who can prevent me from going full monster.”
“Full monster?”
“I’m not really sure how to explain this because it’s more a feeling than a concrete idea. That and it makes me come off a little weak and unstable. Even compared to the other Dawn Fangs, I’m insanely powerful because of what the Great Cataclysm did to me. The tradeoff for this seems to be that I’m always a few steps away from losing control and making ground chuck out of everything in sight. I mean, I just have this sensation in the back of my head that there’s a primal savagery aching to be unleashed. Part of me is tempted to let it out and see what happens, but I’m not sure it’s something I can come back from. This is another reason I want to be back with my old gang. With trusted friends around, I feel stronger and I know they’ll pick up on signs of danger. Worst case scenario, they put me down before I can go too far. It’s what I’d do for them.”
“I wish you the best in keeping the monster at bay. Any closing thoughts for our listeners today?”
“If you enjoy action-filled adventures and vampires that aren’t searching for jailbait then check out my story. I mean, I’m not a noble hero like that Luke Callindor kid and his friends, but I’m highly entertaining. By the way, I haven’t been on Earth ever since the author guy moved me to Windemere. Know where I could pick up a cheesecake and maybe a few pints of hospital grade blood?”
“Sorry, robot girl. No blood here.
“Listeners can learn all about Clyde and the Dawn Fangs in the book War of Nytefall, by Charles Yallowitz. This is the first volume in a series and is a great time to jump on board what promises to be quite the adventure. I’ll post all the info on the website after I go off the air.
“Don’t forget to use those sharing buttons today. Charles has done it for many of you, and he deserves a bit of payback now.
“For Lisa Burton Radio, I’m Lisa Burton.”
***
In the wake of the Great Cataclysm, a new predator will emerge from within Windemere’s shadow.
For fifty years, Clyde has been trapped beneath the earth while the vampire kingdom has been gradually losing its war against the Sun God’s followers. Only Mab believes that her partner survived his holy execution and is determined to bring him back to the city of Nyte. Retrieving the vampiric thief is only the beginning as he comes out of the ground stronger, faster, and possessing abilities that their kind have never witnessed throughout their ancient history. Thrown into the war, Clyde must be careful to hide his true nature while fighting alongside his old friends. Too bad he is having so much fun being free that keeping his secret might be the furthest thing from his mind.
Will anyone be ready for the inevitable rise of the Dawn Fangs?
Pick up your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CBQXLBV/
Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you, and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.
You can find Charles on the following social media sites:
Blog: www.legendsofwindemere.com
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Website: www.charleseyallowitz.com
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