I fought in the Vampire Wars for five years alongside my dog, Gizmo. Between us we slaughtered more Vampires than any other unit in the Army but still Humanity was losing.
The Werewolves came out and joined Humanity simply because they hated Vampires.
Then more mythical creatures were found to be real. Fairies, Demons, Goblins and many more.
We defeated the Vampires and soon they and the Werewolves were integrated into society.
For the most part other creatures kept to their own realms.
I had left the Army and was working as a Private Eye. A low rent flat / office and largely low rent clients but it suited me.
Then one day a Vampire came through the door. A beautiful Vampire who needed my help
She liked dogs and wore bright purple DMs and was called Sam. Plus she was related to the most powerful Vampire in the world whose daughter had been kidnapped.
Soon I found that many children had been taken, Human, Vampire, Werewolf and Elf. Never any ransom, the children simply disappeared.
We travelled realms, fought with Dragons and found Mabel - probably the most evil person I have ever met.
I fought in the Vampire Wars for five years alongside my dog, Gizmo. Between us we slaughtered more Vampires than any other unit in the Army but still Humanity was losing.
The Werewolves came out and joined Humanity simply because they hated Vampires.
Then more mythical creatures were found to be real. Fairies, Demons, Goblins and many more.
We defeated the Vampires and soon they and the Werewolves were integrated into society.
For the most part other creatures kept to their own realms.
I had left the Army and was working as a Private Eye. A low rent flat / office and largely low rent clients but it suited me.
Then one day a Vampire came through the door. A beautiful Vampire who needed my help
She liked dogs and wore bright purple DMs and was called Sam. Plus she was related to the most powerful Vampire in the world whose daughter had been kidnapped.
Soon I found that many children had been taken, Human, Vampire, Werewolf and Elf. Never any ransom, the children simply disappeared.
We travelled realms, fought with Dragons and found Mabel - probably the most evil person I have ever met.
Where to start?
One
“My Master wants to hire you.”
I sat in stunned silence for several moments. For so long that she leaned forward and said: “Did you hear me?”
“Yes,” I replied softly. “Who is your Master?”
“Benson Rabbet” she said.
Again the thin, piercing wail tore through my heart, shredding my soul. The child was dying in agony, wordlessly begging for mercy, for life. But I could do nothing.
Still I ran, desperately searching for the child in the maze of dark and quiet streets, praying that I could stop the torture. I rounded a corner and there she was, across the road, her arms stretched out to me while malevolent darkness swirled around her.
A child of nine, perhaps ten years. Long, blond hair in tight bunches, fair skin dirtied by tears falling from brilliant green eyes.
I stepped forward and the road became a chasm and I fell into darkness forever.
Vampire War
The monsters of myth came out of the cupboard
One
The Vampire War had been going for about three years.
It was messy and dangerous and made worse by idiotic decisions from the Government but then no one expected parliament to make much sense. None of them had ever been on the front lines, none of them had raided a nest slaughtering vampires and watching your comrades get ripped apart.
So I wasn’t too surprised when I was pulled off combat duty and sent to the barracks at what used to be Horse Guards Parade and told to wait for orders.
At least I had a comfortable bed in an empty barrack room.
I had just gone to sleep, Gizmo laying on the floor beside me when the first warning came.
Gizmo let out a very low growl.
“Danger!”
The room was totally dark. I couldn’t see or hear anything but Gizmo obviously could so I connected with his senses.
When I connect with my dog it’s not like “seeing” or “hearing” in the normal sense. Gizmo’s senses of sight, sound and most importantly smell are merged together and I get something like a three-D radar screen.
What was, to me, a quiet, dark room changed instantly. The soldiers creeping through the barrack might as well have had neon signs pointing out where they were. Five men, all in full battle gear and night vision goggles crept slowly forward. Just as slowly I reached under my bunk, grabbed the hilt of my sword and silently withdrew it from its scabbard.
Gizmo stood up, fur bristling up from neck to tail, lips pulled back from his teeth. I tensed up, ready to leap off the bunk the moment Gizmo attacked.
The closest soldier stopped and held up his fist to signal the others to stop. He laid his rifle on the ground and crept forward again with his hands in the air.
“Devine” he whispered. “This is not an attack. We need you to come with us. Special orders direct from Her Majesty. Get your kit and meet us outside. Code alpha dog Gizmo. It’s Dum Dum”.
I knew Dum Dum or Sean Strathearn, we had worked together several times. His nickname came from the original hollow point bullets, designed for maximum damage.
Slipping quietly out of bed I collected my rifle, handgun, sword, boots and battle kit. Outside two full squads of SAS were waiting for me plus two more dog teams.
Vampires are faster, stronger and heal much more quickly than humans, making them a very difficult enemy to fight. The SAS had intensive training and a cocktail of drugs to make them nearly as fast and nearly as strong but the drugs made them very twitchy and sometimes trigger happy. It was not a good idea to sneak up on them.
“Hello lads” I called in a loud whisper.
As one, twenty guns and twenty swords pointed in my direction. There was a brief and terrifying pause before Dum Dum spoke up.
“Okay lads, it’s Devine.”
Yes, I know. SAS using swords?
Vampires are very hard to kill, even with the latest mini rail guns and flechette rounds because you have to be so accurate. A shot to the head or heart will kill them, anywhere else they hardly seem to notice. With a sword however you can hack off limbs and slow them down enough to put a bullet through their heads.
“Hi Jason,” Dum Dum spoke quietly. “We’re doing a raid on a large number of Vampires. We don’t know exactly how many but we do know that they’re mixed in with some humans.”
I was puzzled. If there was a Vampire nest nearby I was pretty sure I’d know about it.
“Where?” I asked.
“The House of Commons” he replied and shrugged his shoulders.
I was too stunned to speak for a moment.
“You’re mad,” I finally said. “We can’t attack the House of Commons!. That’s treason, a military coup. The military hasn’t attacked the government in this country for centuries. Besides they’re guarded by soldiers and armed police, it’ll turn into a civil war.”
“Actually,” a feminine voice spoke from the group of soldiers. It was too dark to make out anything more than outlines but as she stepped forward I could see that she was wearing a dress and carrying a sword. “Treason isn’t a crime against the government, it’s a crime against me.”
It took me a few moments to process what was being said and then the penny dropped. Even though I could still see only shadows I knew who it was. Queen Charlotte!
“So you’re the man who’s killed more vampires than anyone else. How come?” Queen Charlotte spoke quietly but with an underlying assumption of authority.
I’m not tall, slightly below average probably but the Queen was tiny. Slim, petite yet radiating power.
“I don’t know your Majesty,” I mumbled, which was true. To a point.
“Let’s go then,” she turned and walked away, not even looking over her shoulder, knowing everyone would follow her. “We’ll see if you’re as good as everyone says.”
REVIEW: Devine Enquiries by Martin Hull
Devine Enquiries by Martin Hull is a great book. It’s well-written, face-paced, and full of surprises. While set in modern times, it’s “postVampire Wars,” where humans were victorious (yay!), and people, vampires, werewolves, and other mythical creatures now all live together, side-by-side in London. But these mythical creatures are not the gentle folk of children’s bedtime stories. No, no, no. Think carnivorous unicorns using their horns to maim and impale; pixies with razor sharp teeth who eat people; fairies that use magic to suck the emotions out of humans; gigantic dragons, with “head[s] the size of trucks, talons the size of trees” that are beholden to no one, and kill for sport. More Brothers Grim than Mother Goose.
I do like a good urban fantasy, so Devine Enquiries is right up my alley. Set in a world that I recognize, but with differences — lots of differences. Who wouldn’t like to find that all the creatures of fairy tales exist and live among us? Werewolves working in security? Why not! That’s what I like about this book — it incorporates all the different creatures into every day life.
The vampire leader’s young daughter has been kidnapped, and our hero, Jason Devine and his dog Gizmo have been hired to find her, which leads to the discovery that other vampire children have also disappeared without a trace. As Devine delves into the mystery of those missing vampire children, he finds that children of the other species have also been stolen. In his quest for answers he travels to the different realms, faces unforeseen dangers and terrifying creatures, all the while trying to find out who took the children and why.
It’s written in the style of a hard-boiled detective novel, with the standard characterizations — the hero with a dark past, the wealthy scion with a problem, the snitch, the beautiful woman, the macho sidekick, the burnt-out cop, the corrupt government agent. They just don’t all happen to be human, that’s all.
Devine Enquiries is a fun read. It’s well-structured, with identifiable and relatable characters. The situations that our hero finds himself in are unique because of the different worlds and creatures. Martin Hull’s world-building never gets in the way of a good story, which is always a plus when reading any type of fantasy novel. If you like well-written fantasy or hardboiled detective mysteries, Devine Enquiries should be high on your list of must-read books.