Damn the Consequences: A Catherine Harker, Vampire Hunter Novella: The Harker Legacy, #0

By Erin Hayes

What if Jack the Ripper had been a vampire?

Catherine Harker hunts vampires in Victorian London, so she immediately recognizes what has been killing prostitutes in Whitechapel. But when she comes face to face with the monster, she may have met her match.

This is a 7,000 word prequel to I'll Be Damned. It also includes the short story O Little Town of Bedlam.

From the New York Times Bestselling author of The Harker Trilogy comes a look at an earlier time in the history of the Harkers. This time, it's in Victorian London with a dash of steampunk and darkness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erin Hayes
• Release date: Apr 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393765561

Book preview

Damn the Consequences

Damn the Consequences

A Catherine Harker, Vampire Hunter Novella

Erin Hayes

Erin Hayes Books

Contents

Preface

Damn the Consequences

O Little Town of Bedlam

About the Author

Preface

Author’s Note: There is enough mythology and legend around Jack the Ripper to call it Ripperology. So many theories, explanations, and conspiracies have floated around to make the killer larger than life. Many have devoted their lives to solving the murder, some to skepticism and others to pure contention. My own interpretation of the Whitechapel Murderer isn’t necessarily accurate—I’ve taken a few liberties with his story. But this story asks the question: what if Jack were actually a vampire?

Damn the Consequences

October, 1888 London

I look like a leper. I frown at my mottled reflection in the mirror as I get ready to go out for a hunt in Whitechapel.

"You are essentially a leper, Catherine, my little sister Hazel tells me, a sad smile playing about her rouged lips. Your flesh is rotting and eating itself. Is that not what leprosy is?"

She has a point.

Children must think I am the Bogeyman, I tell her.

"And you can tell those children that you hunt their Bogeyman."

Again, she has a point, although we are not supposed to tell anyone that we hunt the supernatural. Hazel always did have a macabre sense of humor. It is a must when you grow up in our family.

I slip a lace glove on over my ruined right hand. It feels uncomfortable and pulls at my sensitive skin, but it does the job and covers up most of my disfigurement. I suppose I am not contagious to normal humans, at least.

So, are you saying that I should keep my distance? Hazel counters in a dry tone. Despite her words, she reaches over and helps me with the glove on my left hand. This hand is faring better than the other, possibly due to the fact that my magical sword appears from my palm. It must help keep the infection at bay. The glove still feels constricting, though.

From me? Always. People always seem to die around me.

It is the curse of being the Harker, Hazel murmurs mildly.

Soon to be your curse.

Hazel’s eyes crinkle at the corners, her smile fading. But she does not deny it. We both know what happens to our family when a vampire attempts to Turn us. Scarring all over our bodies, violent fits of mania where we cannot control our bodies, and an untimely death.

We both know I am dying.

One such vampire attempted to Turn me nearly half a year ago. All the telltale signs of my demise are evident, from the red, pus-filled blotches that cover my body, to wracking coughs and manic episodes that leave me unconscious.

I do not have much time left on this