For the readers of the Zoë Martinique Investigation Series, this short introduces Jason Lawrence, Revenant. Attacked for the mythic youth his blood promised, he must now face the thief... his ex-lover, Rene. But that is all it is, a myth. Revenants cannot be made by drinking the blood, only a ghoul can. And ghouls, when not fed from the blood of their makers, go mad.

Meet Jason Lawrence—former pianist, successful entrepreneur, and Revenant. Not necessarily in that order. And then meet Mephistopheles—comes from a large family of Abysmal Symbionts known as First Born, and bonded to Jason, body and soul. Revenants are what laymen call vampires, creatures who feed off of blood—preferably human blood. They crave culture, experience, and passion. And no matter what else you do—don't anger them. They are in the physical plane to survive—by whatever means necessary. A week before Halloween, Jason's ex-girlfriend discovered what he was. She believed his blood could give her eternal youth and beauty. But when Jason refused her, she attacked him and drank from him. The reason for his refusal was simple; Jason's kind cannot make Revenants from blood only—there must be a bonding with a First Born. Those who drink from a Revenant without that bonding become Ghouls. And the humans that drink from Ghouls become… Monsters. Before Jason could end his ex-girlfriend's life as a Rogue Ghoul, and stop the bloodshed she'd begun, Rene visited the new love of his life, Christina, and forced her to drink from him, thus making her into what the Revenants call, a Lamia. Lamias obey the command of their makers, and the last thing Rene told her little toy was to destroy Jason Lawrence's life. Seek out and kill the ones he loved. Make him pay. Christina finds herself on a plane to Atlanta, Georgia, where the monster blood inside of her takes control before Jason can find her. Will Jason and his Ghoul, Nick Shay, along with help from an old family friend, Rhonda Orly, be able to stop Christina before she kills? Read Native Soil, the first of the Revenant Novellas from Caldwell Press. The prelude story, Ghoul, has been included in this edition.