Heartbeat: The World That Is
Kaleigh R Conway
Author Bio
Kaleigh R. Conway studied Psychology and Renaissance drama and literature at Simon Fraser University, which she believes fanned the flames of a life-long passion for all things medieval, macabre, historical and blood-soaked, including a particularly dark interest in Black Death history and lore. Well travelled throughout Britain she currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia with her husband.
Kaleigh’s love for stories and the complicated relations between people only grew during her time as a crisis line operator and mental health advocate, giving birth to her favourite observation “There are no complex problems, only complex people”. For her, stories, histories and adventures are just problems with thousands of possible solutions – complexity resides within the individual choosing which one to go with.
She began writing as a child and has been inseparable from the craft ever since, writing alongside cultivating other hobbies including opera singing, historical costume sewing, gardening, and archery.
Having grown up on Vancouver Island Kaleigh was eager to travel and see the world and lived five years in Vancouver while studying, writing, and holidaying, making time for at least one international adventure a year including Indonesia, Japan, and New York. Kaleigh met her husband on a holiday trip to England, and since then they’ve travelled to Italy, Wales, California, and Egypt!
Description
Nyx Stewart is a woman on the run. With a unique ability to hear lies and a blossoming drinking problem, this anxious Canadian ex-socialite is trying her best to lay low in a new city and forget the severed branches in her family tree. A father she barely knows, a mother she’s railed against her entire life and a dead grandmother with secrets to tell.
But after witnessing the horrifying death of a family friend only Nyx seems to believe was a murder, a letter arrives from her estranged blue-blood mother and a mysterious invitation to an exclusive vampire-themed nightclub lands in her lap. Nyx’s ‘normal family-free’ life dissolves into one of malicious plotting, senseless violence and secrets beyond which even Nyx is willing to accept, including the truth about who she really is: the born-in member of a secret society going back before the modern man had left the Fertile Crescent. The Order of Auras.
With no one to trust and everyone to fear Nyx stands alone and pursued by two factions of an ancient and bloody conflict both hell bent on ensuring that history repeats itself in sinking the world into an underground war. Mired in blackmail, history lessons and a baffling paper trail Nyx must learn to follow her instincts, and face an agonizing choice: return to her previous life and live an “ignorance is bliss” lifestyle or risk it all for a chance at something more. Nyx will end up battling the forces that seek to divide the world into the black and white pieces of “us” and “them” and realize that the truth lies within the silvery shadows in between.
From the crowded city streets of London, England, to the subterranean mountain fortress of the vampire elders in Switzerland Nyx is pushed and pulled between nightclubs and 18th century manor homes, unofficial hideouts and underground trains, arsenals, hospitals and even Buckingham palace. It’s a trip through history as well as a race against the clock that can only end in bloodshed.
In this contemporary fantasy, a young woman who unwittingly becomes a pawn between feuding vampire moguls and an unwilling player in imperial and corporate intrigues must seek and own the truth before she can unravel a plot that puts millions of lives on the line.
Book excerpt
“Jesus, Nyx, get ahold of yourself,” she moaned out loud, taking a few more deep breaths of air when a noise to her right made her freeze.
Listening carefully, she strained her eyes to see into the darkness of the alley to spot where the noise had come from when she saw them. Two men had sacks slung over their shoulders, throwing them in the back of a van. Nyx might not have noticed them at all in the darkness if it hadn’t been for the noise. They were shapes of shadows moving in almost complete silence, save for the scuffling of shoes on dirty pavement.
Taking another breath, Nyx paused, a sudden apprehension gripping her now as she watched them. She couldn’t place it, and she didn’t understand it, but the feeling of danger was now nearly overwhelming. Quickly, she darted into the shadow of a nearby dumpster, losing her high heel in a steam grate on the way.
In a flash instant, Nyx felt silly, crouching beside a skip in an alley with only one shoe. A deep shade of crimson licked at her cheeks in hot embarrassment when she heard one of them speak.
“We just ain’t going frew enough of these bodies to create demand. It’s simple numbers, mate. We’s ‘emorrhaging funds keepin’ this wee gamble alive,” the first man stammered in a deep Cockney accent Nyx had only ever heard in pantomimes.
Bodies? Had Nyx heard that correctly? Couldn’t have. Still, the pink stain was retreating from her cheeks at an alarming pace, paling her out with ferocity as she stared into the darkness. What were they hauling into that van?
When the second man spoke, Nyx was surprised. His was a refined accent, upper-class no doubt, with a hint of something else in it, something foreign. “Not all business ventures are a success. Still, it was worth investing a scant amount of time and effort in finding out.”
Nyx was stuck listening. It was too late now to clear her throat and alert them to her presence, and no one could lift themselves one-footed out of the shadow of a bin with decorum. She’d tried before.
When the first spoke again, Nyx shuddered. “Wot you want me to tell Margaret then? This ‘as been her baby from the start.”
The second sighed, and Nyx gulped as the shadows shifted again. Those weren’t sacks they were slinging. “Leave it to me. Despite this meagre setback, I think she’s shown ample initiative and potential. And the idea has merit. Just not this way—harvesting drugged bodies—inspired in fact.” They were people.
Nyx’s eyes widened to the size of tea saucers in that moment as her breath caught in her throat and her mind raced, trying to wrap her brain around what was going on.
Nyx hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath until she gasped out, losing her balance while crouched in the darkness, her shoeless foot landing in a small puddle of something reeking of hell.
Conversation cut short, shadows of heads turned in the blackness of the alley as footsteps began to move towards her.
Jesus Christ. Think, think! Her brain shouted at her as she fumbled about, trying to regain her balance before dropping to her knees. The footsteps stopped two feet away.
Author Website
http://www.kaleighrconway.com/