The Books
Volume 0.5 – An Ominous Opening
Volume 1 – The Thompson Incident
My name is Jayde Matthews and I’m a vampire hunter. I know how that sounds. The supernatural isn’t supposed to exist and killing people for a living is frowned upon globally. I’m not going to help my case by saying I’m uniquely qualified for the job because I’m the überpsychic they call the Seer. More importantly, telling the truth is complicated, bordering on embarrassing, and not a good idea for a card-carrying member of the supernatural world. Telling my story isn’t something I really want to do. I don’t think I have a choice though. I usually don’t.
Killing is the necessary evil of my world. Jail isn’t exactly a practical solution and most humans aren’t equipped to go up against the supernatural. I don’t like it but there it is. It doesn’t really matter that it’s just a job to me or that I’m uniquely qualified for it. It doesn’t even matter that I believe in innocent until proven guilty. There’s no way to put a positive spin on it. I end lives. A lot of them. And I’m good at it.
Being a hunter is about all being the überpsychic is good for. My unpleasant backstory is proof of that. So is my love life. I don’t have much to live for and I may very well be a monster but I don’t want to be. I want to be the kind of person that does what’s right instead of what’s easy and I have an overblown sense of responsibility to show for it.
I like to think I chose this life and I’m doing some good in the world. Those are the illusions I cling to. The truth is I never had a choice at all. Being a hunter is all part of the plan because I was born with a bunch of psychic powers I don’t want and my destiny is controlled by people who can see the future better than I can. Like anyone trying to stay sane, I pretend it’s not happening. It’s not like I don’t know though. I’m reminded every time someone calls me the Seer because of a prophecy made more than three centuries ago.
Like I said, the truth is complicated, bordering on embarrassing. The world I know makes it that way. We aren’t a hard bunch to figure out though. The supernatural world is full of just as many tired clichés as there are possibilities in the future. Apparently, I’m not the only one clinging to illusions. There are a few rules I’ve learned to help navigate my world but separating fact from fiction is always easier said than done.
1. Everything can and does happen.
Everything you think you know about the supernatural world is probably true. Evidence can be found in every ancient civilization on the planet and there’s at least some truth to every myth and legend. There are some who would have you believe all vampires are the evil and unnatural creatures of darkness portrayed in folklore and crappy horror movies. They would have you believe that being a lycanthrope is a curse and magic is the devil’s work. None of that is true. The first vampires were born to humans, lycanthropes evolved from the same cavemen as humans, and sorcerers are humans who can manipulate energy. As for psychics, we aren’t always human but there has never been one like me before.
2. It really is a small world after all.
There are roughly ten million people that make up the supernatural world and half of them are vampires. As you can imagine, life in my world is comparable to living in a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business but there’s a lot more drama and violence. The only thing no one seems to know much about is the prophecy of the Seer. You might think being überpsychic would make that irrelevant but it doesn’t.
3.Everything is a conspiracy no matter what they tell you.
There are vampires who are thousands of years old and clairvoyants that can see and control the future. There are even abilities to keep psychics from seeing people or events. The Vampire Queen is all three and I strongly suspect she’s behind the prophecy I know nothing about even though it’s about me.
4. It sucks to be me. See all of the above.
Maybe I’m a crazy person. Maybe I’m a fictional character. Or maybe I’m telling the truth. It doesn’t really matter which you believe. I’m still Jayde Matthews, vampire hunter and überpsychic. Welcome to my world.