‘Inside the Mind of a Vampire’ by Sarah Jane Stratford

Brigit, the vampire heroine of my debut novel, The Midnight Guardian, is over one thousand years old, very powerful, and does not suffer human monsters in silence. She and four other British millennials have come to Berlin after Kristallnacht with the goal of destroying the Nazi Party. Shortly after their arrival, she takes a quiet moment to contemplate the state of modern Germany. She is unimpressed.

Berlin. 1 December 1938

I and my kind have seen centuries’ worth of human wars. People and civilisations torn to ribbons. Again and again and again. The humans certainly don’t need us to wreak havoc or create a disturbance. We watch, and are often amused. But this is different.

I’ve been to Berlin before. I was here when Mendelssohn conducted Bach’s St Matthew Passion. And later, I did as I am doing now – stood atop the Brandenburg Gate so as to examine the statue of victory. Victoria. They meant her to be a harbinger of peace, until Napoleon carried her away.

Now she bears an Iron Cross instead of an oak wreath, and that makes her something else. Her face still has a sweetness about it, though. I think she means well.

She and I look down over the city. Perhaps we think the same thing. Neither of us are human, but we are both female. That counts for something. We know what it is to observe men. The men who marched beneath the goddess in 1933 were new sorts of creatures, the sort that could make even these stone horses shiver.

Foolishly, I was sure that when Germany moved beyond its witch-burning days, such evil fires were tamped down forever. I do hate being wrong. They should be ashamed. The land that developed the printing press now burns books. And buildings.

I lie my cool hand on the goddess’s cold one. I come from a time that believed in her – well, something like her – and so from me, she will always have respect. I choose to believe she prefers to see a city at peace. If the humans will not comply, that peace must be found another way. Let’s not call it force, but rather ‘cajoling’. It won’t be easy, but don’t anyone tell me it’s impossible.

Besides, we millennials adore a challenge.

It’s bitter cold tonight, but the goddess and I are comfortable enough. So is too much of Berlin. Ah! There is a lone SS officer strolling beneath us, on his way who knows where. What fun. I may not have wings, but I can jump from heights twice this high and land like a cat. And it’s especially nice when I’m guaranteed of something soft upon which to land. Do this right, and I won’t even snag my stockings.

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Sarah Jane Stratford received an MA in medieval history from the University of York in England. She lives in New York. The Midnight Guardian is her first novel.

Book Synopsis:

London’s ancient tribunal of vampires is aghast at the destruction taking place on the Continent. Though vampires try not to interfere with human politics, Hitler’s terrible plans force them into action. They resolve to send five of their most formidable vampires to Berlin— millennials that have lived over 1000 years and whose age and wisdom make them close to invulnerable— to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy the growing Nazi war machine.

The brilliant and beautiful millennial Brigit is loath to go, but her powers are needed if the mission is to have any chance of success. She must summon all her strength to endure the separation from her lover Eamon, whom she made almost eight centuries ago, but whose lack of millennial status makes him an unacceptable choice for this operation. Though he longs to join her, his duty to Brigit is best served from afar, by nurturing their deep psychic connection and reinforcing her spirit with his fierce devotion and memories of his tender embrace.

But as the millennials attempt to penetrate and sabotage Hitler’s armies, they discover that the Nazis are more capable than any human force they’ve yet encountered and more monstrous than they’d ever imagined. Forced to take bolder, more dangerous steps, they soon attract the attention of specially trained vampire hunters loyal to Hitler and his vision of a vampire-free Europe. Exposed, deep inside enemy territory, with vicious Nazi officers and hunters at her heels, Brigit must attempt a daring escape from the Continent, guarding precious cargo that marks the only hope of salvaging their mission.