She finally told me her name!

This morning, I returned to a neglected manuscript: my Urban Phaze novella, Succorae. The protagonist had been reticent to reveal her name, but she opened up to me this morning. Her given names are Gianna Grace, and her family calls her Gigi. Surname, as yet, unknown.

Gigi is a Succorae, a race of supernatural beings who feed on evil. Through sex, the Succorae absorb their partners' unsavory characteristics -- like benevolent succubi.

Given that I hope to dress as Gigi for the Romantic Times Blood & Steel Vampire Ball, I really needed to flesh her out (so to speak).

Here's an excerpt from the prologue:

The blade sliced through the meaty part of her thigh, carving flesh from bone, and Gianna watched in detached fascination as thick blood welled from the wound. It looked like motor oil, viscous and black in the hazy moonlight. She waited for the pain to register, knowing it must logically follow. It seemed to take a long time, but she forgave her nerve endings for their lassitude. A quick inventory told her she bled from at least three places, not least of which her ass. At least, she thought it was her ass. He might have torn her through when his cock failed and his fist took over.

When the fresh pain hit, it sucked the scream from her lungs and sent it echoing off the corrugated tin shed that served as shelter to the man hovering over her. The scents of blood and semen fought to overpower his Skoal-laced Iron City breath. Like a jackal, he turned his head, lifting it into the night, moments before she heard the approaching siren.

As he stood and hurriedly zipped his fly, Gianna thought she just might live to see another sunrise. That was a split second before he plunged the rusty dagger into her navel and disappeared into the muddy shadows of the Monongahela River bank.

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