I’ve bought artwork from my friend Colleen Wright many times. Recently, I comissioned some art that I’ll be using in future blog posts and some giveaways. One of the things I wanted her to draw was the symbol that vampires’s human servants, called family, use to identify themselves. So I sent her this excerpt.
Jordan nodded. Thorn’s comment about Montgomery giving her orders had caught her attention. “So Montgomery is going to be in charge of me.” She looked directly at him and raised an eyebrow. “Do I only do what you say, or take orders from every vampire in the city?”
Montgomery shook his head. “I will be your patron. Your primary loyalty will be to me. Another vampire cannot give you direct orders unless I have given them permission to do so. The only exception would be vampires higher in rank, such as Marcus, the elder of the conclave.”
“Conclave?”
“The vampires in a given city or territory,” Thorn explained. “It sounds like it would be a cushy life. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s not easy.”
Jordan studied Thorn for a second. “You sound like you have first-hand experience.”
“Yeah. I do.” Thorn turned his wrist upward so she could see one of his tattoos. Most of the designs decorating his skin were geometric patterns. This one was different. A pentagon the rough shape of a teardrop touched the point of a curved wedge. Both of them were bordered by a circle. “Members of the family display this symbol to identify themselves to each other. Most wear jewelry. I chose a different route.”
Jordan grabbed his wrist. She bent over it, looking at the tattoo. “You were family?”
“Yup. Lots of vampires were family. Most of the family comes from a vampire’s relations—parents, spouses, children, lovers, close friends, and so on. You’re an odd case since you’re a stranger. It happens every so often. Some family are brought across as a reward for service well rendered.”
She didn’t expect that sentiment from Thorn. Jordan studied her own wrist, picturing a tattoo there. But it wasn’t just a tattoo. It was a symbol of a whole new world, and a whole new morality.
When I recieved my hardcopies, this drawing was among them.
Isn’t it awesome?
More of Colleen’s art, as well as carvings and necklaces, can be found for purchase at Root Inspirations.
Chaos Wolf will be released on May 15th. You can preorder at any of these sellers.
If you had signed up for my email list, you would have seen this a week before I posted it here, as well as pictures of my cats and other sneak peeks at what I’m working on.