After centuries ago accepting what they are, John and Danielle want nothing more than simply to be left alone. As ancient vampires commanding immense power, vast resources, and robust infrastructure, it seemed a goal easily within reach. Unfortunately, a chance encounter exposes their existence to a centuries-old organization spanning the globe.
With an enforcement arm of seemingly endless well-equipped and well-trained hunters backed by werewolves, the Sword of God knows a War of Attrition can only end one way. Unwilling to simply surrender, the couple must consider any possibility which may bring victory, including political ones. All while beginning to question what they truly are.
Faced with extinction, as their resources are stripped away, and casualties continue to mount, they realize the world will always treat them as demons, no matter the truth. If that’s the case, perhaps it’s time to prove the world is right.
A decade has passed since the strange end of their brief, violent war with the Sword of God, and our couple has decided to try suburban life. Their new haven is subtle, well-protected, and wonderfully peaceful, and it would seem that life is returning to normal for their strange family. A family that now includes their first vampire childe, their very own priest, and a new weapons master.
Everything is as it should be until the ancients are ripped from their slumber by a powerful summons. A summons they had been unwittingly ignoring for a long time and from something they could never imagine. It forces them to travel across the world for answers, only to discover they were not the only ones to hear it.
The answers they seek come at a price. Encountering a foe even they didn’t believe was real, their battles reach new levels of brutality. Even with the help of an unknown ally, victory is beyond their capabilities, but they have no choice but to fight anyway.
Unable to return home for support, they must fight alone against abilities they have no defense. As John and Danielle continue fighting for their very survival, they realize physical pain and suffering are the least of their concerns. Even when, against all odds, victory seems within their grasp, they learn their true enemy is something that can’t even exist, much less be defeated.
Separated even from each other, forcing themselves to fight anyway, comes something even more difficult. Learning to let go.
The thousand years following the Great War, and the writing of the First Law, were not always peaceful, but nothing could compare to the slaughter that came before. The three races continued to make their way through the world in relative prosperity, even after the separation of the Eastern Kingdom over five hundred years prior. The horrors of the Great War faded into the annals of history, except for a single problem.
It was all a lie.
Distrust of the ravens was beginning to spread from an unknown source. The disappearances were growing more frequent and were joined by even darker rumors. Through all this, the Raven Queens continued to research the truth for centuries. How do you prove a lie with no evidence? How do you find evidence from a thousand years ago?
What really happened? How did the Great War truly end?
Queen Nánfēng knows she will not live to see the answers but knows they are running out of time. All she can do is prepare the way for her child-prodigy of a daughter. A seven-year-old Princess who cares more about complaining and hiding from her training than she does about the state of the world.
It will be up to Princess Qiàn’s Wolf Protector to keep her on the proper path. The true road to being the Raven Queen is a brutal one which no one would ever want to force on another. However, through the suffering and sacrifice of one, perhaps all others will be spared.
Unbeknownst to all, even the Raven Queens, their world has been being watched closely for a very long time, from both sides.
Queen Qian is missing and presumed dead, and the demon has obliterated everything in its path. Despite this, the new alliance between Raven’s Realm and the Eastern Kingdom seems to be off to a promising start. Unfortunately, there are those working from within to tear it all down. The seemingly sudden disappearance of the demon removes the common threat and encourages others to make their move.
Meanwhile, Qian and K’tar must come to terms with their battle’s result and complete their mission to learn the terrible truth about the dark influence spreading throughout their world. The more difficult task will be getting anyone to listen. Along the way, they meet a strange survivor of some unknown tragedy who displays both amazing abilities and abject terror of the world around her.
Gabriella wakes up after being cast down as a mortal with no knowledge of the world around her, or even her own body. The former Angel of Voice rendered mute. As her thoughts settle, she understands everything about the truth of the world she had always been watching, but what difference does it make?
With no voice, and the need to keep her former identity a secret, there was no way to warn them. Not that it would do any good. The consumption would begin eventually, and the power to stop it simply didn’t exist. Her punishment was to stand helpless and be consumed with the rest. She vowed to try anyway, and even learned how to make friends and have hope.
Even Gabriella didn’t know that the final battles were only the beginning. That they were all still being watched. That even victory was still defeat.
Eternal Nights Series by Richard Spegal 