Fang Shway in LA Read Free

addition, they don’t need to drink human blood. Any warm blooded mammal will suffice and they do garner their strength from feeding on mammals. I prefer it when they stick to non-cuddly mammals but anything is better than me. Vampires are the living dead and should always be avoided. This is the Spark Notes version on vampires.
    Only a fool enters a vampire lair alone after dark but I didn’t have much choice, time was of the essence. Technically, there is never a good time to drop in on vampires. Better late than dead, I had to prepare, pushing up from my chair I went to my office. I would need to be armed to the teeth to save my neck - dressed to kill , so to speak.
    There are four different types of wizards. I’m an adept and I use thaumaturgy and theurgy. Thaumaturgy is the use of magic, which in my case means harnessing the natural elements. Theurgy is much different and it uses divine intervention or spirits to intercede on behalf of humans. Although, I know there are some that should not be saved - so not my call. Nevertheless, I can’t literally or figuratively wing it. I need to study and prepare my spells and shields well in advance. Harnessing nature’s energy takes careful planning. The smallest miscalculation could kill me or someone else and it was a risk I’ve never been willing to take. The expression ‘unintended consequences’ just isn’t acceptable. I couldn’t live with myself if my carelessness cost someone else’s life.
    Divine intervention isn’t as complicated as making potions or casting spells. Thankfully God doesn’t expect perfection, which in my case is a darn good thing. My guardians and God’s angels watch my back. All I need to activate this source of energy is faith and that I have in spades. My office is lined floor to ceiling with books, vials, plants, rocks…in short all the accoutrements a wizard needs to create. I took pride in assembling a first-rate lab for making my potions. Still I would need help with this. It was time for me to call in reinforcements. I couldn’t handle this alone and I missed Traygen? Traygen has been my on-again off-again lover for most of my adult life. He’d marry me in a heartbeat if I’d let him. I just couldn’t say yes and I am not sure if it is fear of commitment or loss keeping me single.
     

Chapter 3
     
    All magical creatures have given names and true names. We guard our true names with our life because anyone who holds your true name owns you. Yes, literally. My true name is Lauren Bell Cartier Simon. What can I say - my mom loved life’s finer things and my dad loved adventure. Gertrude Bell was a preeminent explorer and Cartier needs no explanation. Jason is the only living person who knows my true name which is why I work for him. My work for him requires me to preserve the balance between love and strife. It sounds pretentious, even to me, yet it's as true and as old as time. Early Greek philosophers believed the universe remained in constant flux between strife and love. Wizards like me try to make sure strife and chaos doesn’t overwhelm love, and you thought your job sucked.
    I’m the wizard responsible for the Los Angeles basin. In the Los Angeles area this means keeping an eye on a wide array of magical creatures – wizards, vampires, fae, demons and werewolves to name a few. Because when these creatures mingle with the millions of citizens of L.A it can get scary and people die, which isn’t okay with me. One of my biggest weapons is my clairvoyant sight. I’m often plagued by snippets of dreams that foretell the future. I use the term plagued because the dreams may or may not be accurate. Wizards can’t ethically alter future events and doing so is a misuse of magic, punishable by death. However, my dreams do sometimes tell me when something might be up. More often than not the dreams are just that dreams. So, I need to rely on good, old-fashioned sleuthing, my skills as a wizard and my friends.
    Fortunately, I