A Vampire Gathering Part Two

These interviews and articles are background material for The Chronicles of the Grey Raven. Book One, Angel of Mercy is now available on Smashwords and Amazon and Amazon UK

Last night I went to my first vampire Gathering and although I’ve learned that these immortal beings are far removed from the mythical vampires of page and screen I was still surprised when Cat pulled up outside the Morningside United church on the corner of Cambridge and Morningside streets. One of four churches at the intersection, it has given the area its local name, Holy Corner and is the last place I’d expect to find a lone vampire let alone a whole group.
“Churches have no fear for me,” Cat looks up at the imposing tower, “granted I don’t feel the presence of God in churches but I have no fear of church. It’s just a building dedicated to the worship of an invisible being. The idea that vampires recoil from crosses is stupid,” she thumbs the remote on her car key. “And holy water is just water that a priest prayed over. It doesn’t make it lethal to anyone although I’ve seen some pretty dirty holy water in my time.”
As it turns out we’re not in the actual church. The Morningside guild has a monthly use of a hall in the Eric Liddell Centre right next door and she glances briefly at the banner outside that celebrates the athlete immortalised in Chariots of Fire. “I saw him run once.”
She leaves me with that thought as she leads us inside, her daughter, Samantha has accompanied us as well. It was once a church but with falling church attendances even here on Holy Corner, it became a community centre.
“A far more useful building,” Cat quips as we enter a meeting room, “the centre has no idea that vampires rent out the hall once a month. This group is a legally registered charity, the Alex Sutherland Foundation. The membership dues and charity drives they run go to support various charities,” she indicates a table with flyers and other paraphernalia on it.
“We’re collecting money to support Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. One of the members of the steering committee was actually approached by someone from MI5 who wanted to know where the money was going and practically threatening to shut the group down.”
She picks a leaflet up and smirks, “three days later police arrested him after a tip off about child porn on his computer and nothing more was said about their support for Palestinians. Never piss off a vampire, you may not be bitten but you could wind up in serious trouble.”
She hands me the leaflet and I’m about to reply when Jana steps into view and greets Cat and Samantha with a kiss on the cheek before turning to give me the once over.
“So, you have come to a Gathering, finally.”
“He took a bit of convincing but he’s trying to understand us,” Cat smiles.
“Then this will be interesting,” she holds out her hand, “welcome to the Morningside Gathering, we hope you enjoy your night here,” she releases my hand. Read More

When my stepmom’s plane went down a part of me died, Cat was my world. In her place she left us to her friends, the Grey Ravens. Over the years I slowly came to realise her death was a mere facade. When we were reunited I learned the truth about Clan Grey Raven and her remarkable history. Some people will always love. Some people never lose hope. Some people never die…SmashwordsAmazon.comAmazon UK

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