Beau Gabriel is the one who introduced me to the vampire hunter.Beau Gabriel is the one who introduced me to the vampire hunter. Which was damn inconsiderate of him, since I am a vampire. And it was particularly thoughtless when you consider that Beau's the one who made me that way. Me? I'm Amanda Carlton. Used to write a mildly popular series of vampire horror novels--until I got a visit from the real thing. Who, as it happens, had thought my portrayal of the undead a bit bigoted and decided to give me a taste of reality. Beau? Okay, picture a vampire. Got it? Well, he doesn't look anything like that. Now look in the mental cliche file that reads "cowboy." That's Beau. He's got an open, thoroughly American face, handsome in a weather beaten kind of way, with wheat blond hair and honest eyes that are very, very blue. He's the only man I know who can wear cowboy boots and a black Stetson without looking self-conscious. That's because it's no costume to him. He is a cowboy. Or was, from 1870 to 1881. But on July 8, 1881, he ran into this dance hall girl who was a little long in the tooth... Which is why, when I met him in 1990, I mistook him for a timber wolf. It was an easy enough mistake to make. He was rearing at the foot of my bed, narrow forepaws on the mattress, gray ears pricked and jaws gaped so that every fang in his head gleamed whitely in the moonlight. It was a hell of a sight to wake up to at 2 a.m., let me tell you. But you know the one that goes, "his bark is worse than his bite?" It's certainly true in Beau's case. His bite is wonderful. As a result, I soon found myself haunting bars with him, searching for somebody for us both to bite. |