On 1st December I am releasing a new short story called Never Change and in today’s post I’m going to talk a bit more about it.

Never Change is a short story that I originally wrote in December 2014. Set in the Demon’s Blood universe it can be read either as a stand-alone or as part of the Demon’s Blood story as a whole. It takes place in Nagasaki in winter 1889 which is Taku and Thane’s first winter together. As a newly turned vampire Thane is still struggling with aspects of his new life; mainly having to kill humans for their blood. He is also disturbed by Taku’s pragmatic approach to this. The entire story is written from Taku’s perspective, showing how he is torn between his desire to protect Thane from the harsh realities of their existence and his responsibility as Thane’s sire to teach him how to survive.

Taku refuses to talk about his own past and its effect on him. Haunted by the death of his first lover, Minoru, Taku is afraid that a similar fate may befall Thane. Being abandoned by his own sire deepens the sense of loss and grief that Taku feels. Believing that dwelling on the past only causes pain he’s managed to shut himself off from it and cannot see that even now it influences his every decision concerning his lover.

Thane himself shies away from his vampire nature and desperately tries to hold onto his humanity. Deep down he did not want to become a vampire; he just wanted to save Taku the pain of their eventual parting by his death. His inability to accept what he has become further enforces in Taku’s mind that Thane is too fragile to deal with the realities of their eternal life.

Never Change shows the crucial moment where Taku consciously makes his decision to protect Thane’s gentler nature. Years later during the events of Demon’s Blood Taku is unable to save himself due to this decision, which leaves Thane vulnerable. In Demon’s Blood’s sequel Thane is not only having to find a way to save Taku, but also embrace the vampire side of himself that he rejected so many years ago.

Never Change will be released on 1st December 2018. Also from 1st to 8th December readers will be able to purchase Demon’s Blood for $0.99 on Amazon.com.