Khovahsh Burgoos, an elitist demi-shifting reincarnate, is a nine thousand-year-old member of the Dragonhead AncientsâŚ. Alicia Chay, the sadistic queen of torture, ruled for forty centuries under the identity of someone else. With a family of savages as her fledgling, she detests mortals, but she loves feeding on them for blood. Her passion for protecting animal life poured into the creation of the âTreaty of the Animals.â Itâs a declaration signed in supernatural blood by the Kings of every Animal Tribe in the supernatural world to maintain the balance between good and evil... But thereâs one problem. She became a vampire, built The House of the Hounds and created a treaty without clearance from the Dragonhead Ancients or the Queen Mother, Armona. Alicia hunts down insubordinate vampires that illegally use human bodies to snub precious animal life. Meanwhile...she is being observed by Khovahsh. He has direct orders to deceive her, but he has his own agenda. When they encounter each other, a chain of events compromises her life and opens the door for Muzzle, an angry villain, to threaten her for turning her back on The House of the Hounds.
Khovahsh Burgoos, an elitist demi-shifting reincarnate, is a nine thousand-year-old member of the Dragonhead AncientsâŚ. Alicia Chay, the sadistic queen of torture, ruled for forty centuries under the identity of someone else. With a family of savages as her fledgling, she detests mortals, but she loves feeding on them for blood. Her passion for protecting animal life poured into the creation of the âTreaty of the Animals.â Itâs a declaration signed in supernatural blood by the Kings of every Animal Tribe in the supernatural world to maintain the balance between good and evil... But thereâs one problem. She became a vampire, built The House of the Hounds and created a treaty without clearance from the Dragonhead Ancients or the Queen Mother, Armona. Alicia hunts down insubordinate vampires that illegally use human bodies to snub precious animal life. Meanwhile...she is being observed by Khovahsh. He has direct orders to deceive her, but he has his own agenda. When they encounter each other, a chain of events compromises her life and opens the door for Muzzle, an angry villain, to threaten her for turning her back on The House of the Hounds.
I told myself that if I was ever able to tell my storyâŚ
The story of a dark-skinned girlâŚ
Forced into a life as a rebellious vagabond against my free will...
I would do it in unconventional order.
Tell it as I remembered itâŚ
I must admit that I didnât know much about being a vampire. As a creature of
the night, I slaughtered and killed humans for decades, hoping it would erase the memories of my human life.
Sadly, that never worked, not that I
expected it to. Emotion wasnât a part of my vocabulary, nor did I mourn anything. I didnât wear my heart on my sleeve. I was always naked. The only attire I wore was a coat of blood.
I fed on random humans all over the world at my leisure, without regard to who may miss them.
I hunted humans for sport. It was a passion of mine. I studied them in
the shadows. I loathed civilization, more so humanity. Inevitably, Iâd found calm, peace, and discipline in loving animals because they were true to nature. I made a vow to protect them.
Sigh, how naive and foolish I was.
Before I let you into my world, I must warn you that I wasnât
friendly. I didn't need friends. I was a passionate lover. I hadnât time for impropriety when it came to self-preservation. In the realm of
survival the fittest wasnât safe.
Cuneiform writing was just developed in Sumer, an ancient civilization of southern Mesopotamia and Egypt, hence the origin of my recorded history. I documented my beginning on Kish tablets to get a better picture of my reality. I did this until Ptahhotep, a city administrator (and vizier to Pharaoh Djedkare in the Fifth Dynasty) developed literary writing. This account would not have existed otherwise.
I didnât do this for attention. I didnât care about mortals and their opinions. With bloody hands, I chiseled my experiences on the limestone of this
Kish tablet with hieroglyphics. It wasnât done for praise.
I remember pieces of my human life. I transitioned into a carnal fiend. I thrived in the shadows when the sun rose and lurked in the wilderness when it was time to hunt. I was in the beginning phase of my supernatural existence.
One day, the world would read about the system of betrayal that turned my heart cold, but for right now, that wasnât a priority.
My heartbreaking story began in 2 B.C., Asia. I was covered with the blood of random humans I drained dry in Chad, Africa shortly after my painful transition.
I experienced a rebirth into a cold ball of death. Seeing life through human eyes was one thing, but seeing it as a vampire was frightening. I was on my own. I didn't have a home.
I was hungry and tired. There was no need for rose-colored fantasy when a world that ran parallel to life as I once knew it lurked before my eyes as they turned black.
I refused to turn around and look at my once-human life with those
eyes. Black shaded everything in its indefinite hue, so thoughts of my mortal life came to a halt. I'd turn to salt if I looked over my shoulder and the darkness cast its filter on my memories and experiences.
To my immediate right was a small pond. A few lilies floated peacefully on the serene water. Deeply overwhelmed, I fell to my knees. The moist grass cushioned them, but not the emptiness in my heart. I drank from the pond, but I spat it out. It was disgusting.
I closed my eyes. I loomed over the water. Images of my past raked my brain.
I had on a linen dress. I was making love to someone. His face was cloudy. I was hugging a girl, laughing. I became ill, too weak to crawl.
My head snapped backward. I opened my black eyes. I stared at my reflection in the water, and she stared back. My face was reconstructed and more refined. I was alluring, seductive, elegant, and powerful, with a hint of danger.
My breasts, hips and thighs were fuller. Startled, I jumped sixty feet backward. I slammed into a rocky totem pole, cracking it down the center. My body ached from the blow. Asian faces were carved into the stone.
The dawn of my supernatural existence began, standing under a Waxing Gibbous moon. I felt alone, like I didn't belong. In front of me was the unknown, fear and opportunity. Behind me was a path of destruction. The boost in adrenaline caused me to lose my bearings. Before I knew it, I fainted.
I didnât know how long I was unconscious, but I was awakened by a strange man. I slowly opened my eyes. His calloused hands groped my forehead.
I sighed with relief. His fingertips trailed the length of my legs, down to my toes. His dreadlocks were decades old.
He handled me with tenderness. Good energy radiated from his body wrought with the sands of time. Only one man touched me in this manner. I was
choked up with emotion thinking about him. Donât look back! I really wanted to, but I couldnât.
This was harder than I thought. I didnât know who I was anymore.
My wants and needs differed from anything human. What I used to crave I no longer desired, and what I never desired, I now craved.
I fell asleep once more. With a jolt, I was running through the scary woods in fear for my life. Heat beat at my chest. Bile rose along my parched throat. I reached a clearing.
I dashed along a winding path like a pack of deadly wolves were chasing me. A foreign sound betrayed the quiet of the belly of the forest.
Wildly, I looked around, trying to find my way out.
There!
A few feet ahead was another clearing nearly hidden by overlapping branches. Frightened, I ran again. I was near the exit.
Suddenly, I saw the Village in the distance.
I laughed with joy, relieved that I was safe. I learned how to navigate through my environment.
A flash. I had my first orgasm.
I was weak in the knees. I ran back into the forest.
There was a dead gator by a creek. A snake sunk his fangs into the gator's tail and threw it in the air.
It rose like a King Cobra as the gator fell into its mouth. I was petrified.
Oh my! I shouldnât have stopped running!
Was I naive and blind?
I awakened from the dream.
The strange man grunted. I hadnât been this relaxed since I was human.
Nervously, he washed my feet with aloe and water. I was at peace.
No one had ever washed my feet before. I wasnât bound or gagged. There were no locks and chains. He was worried about me, even though we didnât know one another. His upper face was shaded. I couldnât see what he looked like. There wasnât much light. Flames burned on wooden staffs along the rocky walls. The air was stuffy and stale.
My eyes were half closed. I didnât want him to know that I was awake, but he knew; he didnât seem to mind. He didn't have company in ages.
He was a loner. I was lonely by choice. I fell back asleep.
I was taunted with more images from my past. I was in Africa as a little girl. I didn't think that I was special. I wasn't worthy of the gifts waiting to unfold as I grew older.
My body went through major changes. My family's secrets hindered me. They unfolded before my veil-covered eyes.
The lace was snatched away the day I fell in love and gave my body to a man that was a seducer of other women. Yes, I fell in love with him.
Of course, I was naĂŻve. I had a false sense of security. I didnât know that he slept with those women, women like me. He chose them in secret and with discretion.
The women Like Me were enchanting, sworn to secrecy. Amongst each other they discussed how good he was and how deep he could go.
Twenty women, all Like Me!
From all over the Mother Land!
They hosted a âcongregationâ deep in the forest, down by a glimmering lake filled with fish. Gorgeous flowers spread as far as the eyes could see!
There was a secret garden outside of my Village we were prohibited from seeking. No one in the Village had broken those laws, except me and those twenty women.
One night I awakened with a start. I saw my friendâs mother, Larshaw, creeping from her hut. There wasnât a light source in sight.
The moonâs glow failed to reach the Village. Any other night the glow
was bright enough to cast a light that guided me in the remote darkness. My Village was a great distance from Town and the Upper Market Place.
Larshaw and I never spoke to one another. I was a teenager, and she was an adult.
It was forbidden to engage in chit-chatter with an adult that wasnât your parent, brother, sister or Elder.
Elders could speak to whomever. Unfortunately, they were the biggest concubines in all the land. I loved my Village, but the politics overwhelmed me.
Along dirt paths garnished with trees, random women were yanked into the brush and disapprovingly assaulted along with their self-esteem and environmental teachings by tribesmen from other territories. Because of that, I could hardly do a thing by myself. When I went to the Upper Marketplace, a man from the Village had to escort me.
Little murmurs broke my thoughts. I followed the gentle sounds that
reminded me of ecstasy and pleasure.
I proceeded, one foot over the other. Along the way, I picked up a huge stick just in case I needed to defend myself. My heart pounded.
My breathing came in short gasps. I reached another break in the forest.
The winding path made of soft mulch relaxed me.
I paused before a cliff, nearly tumbling over. I was two hundred feet above a rocky turf. Behind me lay the horror of a darkened forest. Something sinister lurked. It danced on my dirty skin.
To my immediate right was a large bridge. It took my breath away. I
heard another voice.
"Proceed, my Curious Child. Cross the Bridge of Understanding!"
Across the bridge I ran!
Something appeared over the horizon.
The bridge led to an open portico made of flowers, leaves and branches.
Spanish moss was everywhere. I slowed down and covered my mouth.
It was beautiful. Amazing. Resilient! I was caught off guard by twenty women
from my Village loving each other.
I awakened with a start, pushing away the memories. Before I knew it, I burst into tears. The stranger held me tightly to his warm body.
"Itâs okay to cry, young lady. I donât know what youâve been through, but youâre safe here. You are welcome to stay as long as you like.â
His words didnât register in my brain. I wept. I let go. My body trembled, remembering who I used to be.
I hesitantly moved forward in the darkness. The further I ventured, the darker it became. I didnât know how to deal with it.
How did I go on living if I was dead? I was an oxymoron with fangs.
I loved my friends; I loved my family. I had to love them enough to let them go.
I craved blood. It was a taste I had to get used to.
Taking me by surprise, the stranger kissed my lips. I welcomed it.
I melted in his arms.
The Law of Beasts is a fantasy novel that focuses mainly on Alicia, a vampire turned without permission, who has difficulty figuring out who she is. Without guidance, Alicia shows complete disrespect for supernatural laws, which lands her in all kinds of trouble. At 200 years old, Alicia meets the queen of all supernatural beings, Armona, who takes Alicia under her wing. Centuries pass, and several events link Alicia with Khovahsh, one of the ancients.
I chose to read The Law of Beasts because of the promising synopsis and the raving reviews on Amazon (2x verified-purchase reviews). Unfortunately, the story did not live up to the hype. I observed formatting, spelling, and grammatical errors from the start. While the odd spelling or grammar mistakes can be overlooked when a story is gripping, the fact they were recurring throughout the novel made them more noticeable and distracted from the reading experience, as I had to reread certain sentences before they made sense.
The storyline feels rushed; events happen centuries apart, and no imagery is present to help the reader visualise scenes or characters. The plot seems stuck in the beginning phase as characters jump from scene to scene without the events connecting; there is no apparent climax or conclusion. These plot holes become more apparent when a plot twist is introduced toward the end that is missing the groundwork to create that aha moment.
Some chapters describe a characterâs background and reasoning for their actions; however, most are not linked to the plot, which is puzzling, to say the least. An example: a wife is telling her husband she plans to leave him. She says, âI decided that Iâm going to move back with my father. Heâs a glassmaker.â The discussion between husband and wife continues; she eventually says, âIâm moving down with my friend Yu-yummy. She has space in her hut just for me.â These two sentences, which are one page apart, are inconsistent. Also, the fact that the wifeâs father is a glassmaker is insignificant and an odd addition to the conversation, as the father is never mentioned again, and you'd expect the husband to be aware of the father's occupation.
I think The Law of Beasts has potential as the author created supernatural beings I haven't seen before. This book could prove an interesting read if the author takes this novel back to the drawing board, checks the plot outline, and gets an editor to flag any remaining plot holes.
In conclusion, I donât recommend this book.