Morvicti Blood (A Morvicti Novel Book 1) (46 page)

He believed him.

Octavian wrote on a piece of paper. “This is my direct line. If you ever need me, you can always reach me here.”

“Thank you.”

“Remember, you are not under the protection of the Imperial Morvicti Council, so please be very careful.”

“I will. And you remember, I’m a Navy SEAL.”

“Yes, you are.” Octavian nodded and stood. He went around his desk, opening a drawer. “I want you to have this, Austin.” He handed him a photo of Katherine. “This is the day we learned she was pregnant with you and Angelique.”

“Thank you, sir.” Austin stared at the picture of his mother. Her smile looked just like Angelique’s. “I guess this is goodbye.” He stood and took a couple of steps to the door before stopping and turning back around. “For now. It’s been my honor serving with you again.” He stood at attention and saluted.

“The honor is all mine, son.” Octavian returned the salute. “I’m proud of the man you’ve become.”

PRESENT DAY

Bremerhaven, Germany

CHAPTER 82

The silence of his long slumber ended abruptly. Simon Bathry rose, excited to learn of his bloodline’s victory. He stretched, realizing the aches and pains of his past life were gone.

The room was dimly lit and broken crates littered the floor.

Strange.

“My lord,” a man said, handing him a mirror.

Youth has returned
. “Where is my son, David?”

AUTHOR’S NOTES

There was a great deal of research that went into “Morvicti Blood” before a single word was typed. The books on Jack the Ripper are numerous, as are the theories of the killer’s possible identity. Similarly, the fields of genetics and anthropology have produced a multitude of volumes filled with new and exciting findings.

Jack the Ripper was responsible for the murders of five women in 1888. I studied many of the written investigations by the contemporary authorities at the time to present as accurate a picture of those horrible events as possible. Modern experts refer to those slayings as the Canonical Five: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.

The locations mentioned in “Morvicti Blood” are also accurate, including the present day street names; for example, Buck’s Row in Whitechapel, where Nichols’ body was found, is now Durward Street.

The nineteenth century correspondence—allegedly from Jack the Ripper—referenced in the book, are known as the
Dear Boss Letter
, the
Saucy Jack Postcard
, and the
From Hell Letter
. Those three greatly influenced the notes received by Dr. Wilson, Angelique and Austin, from Jack.

In the book, The Ripper mentions a protégé in one of the notes to Angelique by the name “James.” During my research I was fascinated by the theories of who the killer might actually be, but more than any other, James Kelly’s story jumped off the page. Perhaps it is because he supposedly continued his killing spree in the United States. Perhaps it was because he allegedly confessed to the Whitechapel crimes upon his return to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, from where he’d escaped years earlier. Whatever it was, I wanted to give him a brief mention.

Mary Jane Kelly was buried in St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic cemetery on 19 November 1888. Currently, there is a marker in the cemetery, though her actual final resting place is unknown.

Eyewitness accounts mentioned seeing Mary speaking with a man who held a red handkerchief on the night she was killed. In the book, this item was actually Roxanna’s that Jack had stolen from her long ago, which she retrieves the same night Mary’s body is exhumed.

The two headless mummies in the book refer to an event that occurred in Egypt in early 2011. During the political upheaval in the country, Cairo’s Egyptian Museum was vandalized. Two mummies, who some believe might be the great-grandparents of King Tut, were damaged, their heads severed from their bodies. The perpetrators have yet to be apprehended.

Also in the book Dr. Wilson presents an argument about how the Morvicti might be able to digest human blood without any consequences to their health. His idea comes from the differences found in human populations’ ability to digest milk beyond infancy. What he presents about lactose intolerance is well documented.

As part of Dr. Thomas Wilson’s hypothesis on hyper-hibernation, Wilson mentions Hubert’s bacteria in the book. Casey Hubert from the Geosciences Group at Newcastle University, UK, with colleagues, discovered unique bacteria while studying biological activity in sediment samples from the sea floor off the Norwegian island of Svalbard. It is believed that those bacteria were dormant for millions of years. When the scientist raised the bacteria’s temperature they reanimated.

There were many more factual places, events and theories included in “Morvicti Blood” but the final ones I would like to highlight are in the area of genetics.

In recent years, the discovery of a finger bone fragment in the Desinova Cave in Siberia created a great deal of interest and excitement in the scientific community. Dating back nearly 40,000 years, the bone fragments are believed to be from a young female. After DNA testing, scientists concluded the fragment was not from a modern human. But it wasn’t from a Neanderthal or any known hominid either. It belonged to a new kind of human being, never before seen.

The sequencing of the Neanderthal genome has shown that many modern humans have DNA from both
Homo sapiens
and Neanderthal. Some scientists believe that cross breeding, while giving modern humans useful genes to help them cope in cold climates, may have produced offspring who suffered from significant fertility problems. The two hominid groups share a common ancestor that probably lived in Africa more than half a million years ago. The ancestors of Neanderthals migrated to Europe and Asia first, while our ancestors stayed in Africa. But less than 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens interbred with their Neanderthal cousins.

The ancient genomes, one from a Neanderthal and one from a member of an archaic human group called the Denisovans, were presented on 18 November 2013 at a meeting on ancient DNA at the Royal Society in London, referred in their Royal Charter of 1663 as “The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.” In “Morvicti Blood,” Dr. Thomas Wilson’s presentation to the Society on his hypothesis about another undiscovered hominid occurs the very next month.

Main Characters

Austin McCord:
Biological son of Octavian Drake and Katherine Abbott, brother of Angelique, adoptive parents Alice and Carl McCord. McCord, Navy SEAL. Halfblood Morvicti.

Angelique McCord:
Biological daughter of Octavian Drake and Katherine Abbott, sister of Austin, adoptive parents Alice and Carl McCord, wife of Michael Remington. Halfblood Morvicti.

David Bathry:
Son of Simon Bathry, brother of Lisa Bathry, head of the Bathry Bloodline, keeper of The Sanctuary of the Forgotten. Directorate at the Metropolitan Police. Also known as David Bell.

Octavian Drake:
King of the Morvicti, father of Austin and Angelique, grandson of Roxanna, brother to Romulus. Also known as Lt. Warren Davis and Oliver Turner.

Thomas Wilson:
Geneticist with a hypothesis about the Morvicti that has negatively impacted his entire career. Human.

Belisarius Drake:
Also known Bill Poole, Commissioner of the City of London Police, cousin of Octavian Drake.

Githianna (Gita) Drake:
Also known as Gita Drazek, Dr. Wilson’s housekeeper, cousin of Octavian Drake and daughter of Lucretius. Sister Irina, deceased.

Michael Remington:
Fellow Navy SEAL of Austin’s, married to Angelique, CIA field officer. Human.

The Imperial Morvicti Council

Acacius Lupei:
Duke and head of the Lupei Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in Africa, father of Gail Simmons.

Darius Vale:
Duke and head of the Vale Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in North America, also known as Senator Shaw in the U.S. Senate.

Edmond Grollin:
Duke and head of the Grollin Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in Europe, father of Nancy Black.

Fiona Sevann:
Duchess and head of the Sevann Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in South America, sister of Duchess Lupei.

Hephaestus Kitholan:
Duke and head of the Kitholan Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Italus Marveaux:
Duke and head of the Marveaux Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Marcellus Turellek:
Duke and head of the Turellek Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in the Middle East, Pakistan and India, husband of Jessina Turellek.

Tatiana Hoffsey:
Duchess and head of the Hoffsey Bloodline, rules the Morvicti in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Minor Characters

Albert Bathry:
Caretaker of The Sanctuary of the Forgotten.

Alice McCord:
Adoptive mother of Austin and Angelique.

Amanda Brown:
Deputy Director of the CIA, a member of the Lupei Bloodline.

Andrea White:
Newscaster at the BBC.

Astoroth Drake:
Ancient ruler of the Morvicti and ancestor of Octavian Drake.

Carl McCord:
Deceased. Adoptive father of Austin and Angelique.

Cassandra Drake:
See (
Cassie Wright
)

Cassie Wright:
Also known as Cassandra Drake, niece of Lucretius Drake and daughter of Seraphina. Halfblood Morvicti.

Charles Olive:
See (
Lucretius Drake
)

Charles Sevann:
Head of the Morvicti science division.

Christina Drake:
Young woman of the Drake Bloodline.

David Bell:
See (
David Bathry
)

Eric Shaw:
Also known as Eric Vale, nephew of Darius Vale.

Gail Simmons:
Also known as Galene Lupei, an actress, daughter of Duke and Duchess Lupei. One of The Ripper’s first two victims.

Galene Lupei:
See (
Gail Simmons
)

Gita Drazek:
See (
Githianna Drake
)

Irina Drake:
Deceased mother of The Ripper, sister of Githianna Drake.

Jack the Ripper:
See (
Nicolae Nothusson
)

Jadzia:
Sister of Jessenia Turellek and Judith.

Jessenia Turellek:
Wife of Duke Turellek, sister of Jadzia and Judith.

John Reeves:
See (
Nicolae Nothusson
)

Judith:
Sister of Jessenia Turellek and Jadzia.

Katherine Abbott:
Biological mother of Austin and Angelique and wife of Octavian Drake. Human.

Kharon Bathry:
Ancestor of the Bathry Bloodline.

Lisa Bathry:
Sister of David Bathry.

Lithia Sevann:
Young woman of the Sevann Bloodline.

Lucretius (Luke) Drake:
Father of Irina and Githianna, uncle of Cassie Wright Drake.

Nadia Grollin:
See (
Nancy Black
)

Nancy Black:
Also known as Nadia Grollin, a Tory MP, daughter of Duke Edmond Grollin. One of The Ripper’s first two victims.

Nicolae Nothusson:
Jack the Ripper, son of Irina Drake. Halfblood Morvicti.

Oliver Turner:
See (
Octavian Drake
)

Ophelia Drake:
Wife of Darius Vale, daughter of Romulus Drake.