Revenge and Blood Sacrifice

Revenge and Blood Sacrifice, Celeste Walker, Amazon Digital Services LLC, 2012

This novelette is about the things that some people, including vampires, will do for love.

Seamus is the leader of a group of Vampire/Areneas (giant spiders) Hybrids living high in the Himalayas. He recently lost his daughter, Ariel, to a true vampire named Caleb, so Seamus wants revenge. The rest of the Hybrids agree to join the war; it is not just Seamus' battle. Nessa's human lover/husband, Thomas, agrees to stay behind; he would simply get in the way, and Nessa would spend too much time worrying about him.

The battle turns into all-out war, with a number of true vampire casualties. Caleb joins the battle, and tries to tell Seamus that Ariel's death was an accident. Seamus is not interested. Just then, Aidan, a nearly indestructible First Vampire, and Caleb's uncle, joins the battle. Both sides really hate the other. Seamus falls in battle, along with Caleb, so the Hybrids decide to retreat.

Nessa is among the Hybrid wounded, having been bitten on the neck by Aidan, which is supposed to be fatal. She is alive, for now. The only way to heal her is to replace her blood with a fresh supply of blood, not from a blood bank, but from a living human. What does Thomas decide to do?

This one is pretty good. If it is part of a larger novel, I would like to read that novel. It is well written, and is more than just vampires or just violence. It can be read in a few minutes, and is worth reading.