Today’s excerpt is from SHADES OF GRAY by Joleene Naylor, Book 1 in the Amaranthine series: Where vampires live in the shadows and don’t sparkle.

Joleene’s been writing and drawing since she was a child, with a leaning towards fantasy, horror and paranormal. In her spare time she’s a freelance artist and photographer.  Joleene does freelance book cover art, maintains blogs full of odd ramblings, illustrates a webcomic and hopes to win the lottery.  However, unless she starts buying tickets she may never actually win anything.

The sun was dropping rapidly and soon Katelina would be lost in darkness. She shivered, whether from chill or anxiety, and Sarah’s words played through her mind, “That’s how people get killed!”  The night was getting nearer and those words seemed wiser and wiser with each second. She should have just called the police and stayed home; safe and secure in her contented shoe box of plasterboard and wood.

Something crunched and her head snapped up in response. A lone figure walked slowly towards her from around the house. His hair and clothing were all black, as if he were a part of the night. He was like a shadow wraith formed from her fears, with only his pale face to give him the illusion of reality.

He came to a stop in front of her and gazed down. He was tall and broad shouldered with a slim waist. His long hair fell down his back and seemed to blend into the long sleeved pullover. His mouth remained a tight–lipped line, though his eyes, dark and warm, seemed to be smiling at her.

She scrambled to her feet and brushed uselessly at her clothes.  Her eyes hurried to meet his and assure him she was as much in control as he was, though she felt anything but.

When he spoke, it was the same voice she’d heard over the phone, deep and lyrical. “So you came?”

“Yes.” Her tone was weak despite her efforts at dominance. “I came.”

“I trust you are alone?” He stared her full in the face as if expecting to find the truth there rather than their surroundings.

“Yes, I’m alone,” she answered reluctantly. She wadded her hands into useless fists to try and release her tension.  A vision swam before her eyes of black garbage bags in a ditch, filled with her own dismembered body parts and she wondered if it was too late to go home. “I’m alone, like you said.”

“Good.” His voice was low and his mouth barely moved, as if he feared someone might overhear him. “Follow me.” He turned his back to her and walked towards the house.

Katelina didn’t move. She stared at the old house and the blank windows stared back at her. She knew that following him wasn’t a good idea. He’d just ascertained that she was alone and now he wanted her to go with him into an empty house that might have anyone or anything hiding inside – waiting, as she had been waiting? No.

He paused at the porch and turned back. “You think I’ll hurt you?” He was smiling very slightly, though the dusky light made it hard to tell whether the expression looked sinister or appealing.

“You might,” she said quietly, part of her afraid to verbally acknowledge the possibility. “I don’t know you – I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Jorick. Does that make you feel better?” His tight smile stayed firmly in place and his dark eyes shone.

She could sense his amusement and waited for him to laugh, but when he didn’t she answered truthfully, “Not really.” His smile was almost a smirk, and in another desperate attempt to control the situation she added quickly, “People know I’m here.”  Her heart hammered as she realized that truthfully no one did. She hadn’t even told Sarah the location of the proposed meeting.

Jorick raised his eyebrows in mock surprise and the smile deepened at the corners of his mouth. “Good.  I’d hate to think you take such chances, Katelina.”

She could feel him studying her through the gloom, silently dissecting her and it was time that he was dissected. “How do you know my name?”

His smile faded. “Enough of this. If you want to know who killed your lover, you’ll have to follow me inside. If you don’t, then you can leave.” He shrugged as though it was of no consequence to him either way, then he opened the doors. He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “It’s your choice.” With those words, he stepped over the threshold and disappeared inside.

Katelina bit her lip and kicked the foundation, for good measure, cursing silently. She was sure that she’d end up dead before the night was over, thanks to her stupidity. Why hadn’t she stayed home? And why didn’t she just leave now?

She took a deep breath and forced herself to walk onto the porch. Her mind echoed a question, “Are you willing to die for this?” but she ignored it.

Jorick appeared in the doorway holding a candle. The light reflected strangely on his skin and fully illuminated his impassive face. “Are you coming in or not?”

Her heart pounded and a thought, unbidden, appeared in her mind: he was beautiful. His eyes were the color of dark wood, fringed in heavy lashes and framed by thick, dramatic eyebrows that arched ever so slightly. His lips were full and his skin was flawless and pale, like chiseled marble.

Katelina could never explain what happened next. One minute she was standing on the porch, her mind tumbling in confusion. The next, she was inside the sad house with the door closing behind her.  The sound of the chirping crickets broke through her uncertainty and slowly the world came into focus. The room was small. Water–stained wallpaper sagged from the walls, a non–descript color. A mass of footprints marked the dust covered floor.  There was no furniture, only two grimy windows and a yawning doorway

“This way.” He beckoned to her and ducked through the low doorframe – an elegant shadow cutting through the gloom.

And she followed.

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Find out more about Joleene and her books at her website.