Darkness, I - Paperback

by Tanith Lee (Author)

Reborn from her previous tragic life, an extraordinary girl is the key to the future of her family's vampiric bloodline in this Gothic dark fantasy.

World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award-winning author

"The Scarabae . . . We are history. We are the truth."

Ancient and near-immortal, the Scarabae have lived among humanity for centuries if not millennia. Hunted like animals, driven from their homeland, the family retained their substantial wealth, surviving in seclusion. To ensure their survival, some choose to breed with ordinary humans.

Rachaela is the offspring of one such union--and she has been seduced by the Scarabae to birth two daughters. Ruth was consumed by rage and violence before dying at the hands of one of her victims. Anna is driven by art and culture, calm and serene. Both matured at a rate that defied their natural biology, developing otherworldly beauty and intelligence in early childhood. Rachaela never wanted to be a mother, fearing her children's uncanny nature, and believing Anna to be the reincarnation of Ruth.

Then Anna is taken by the progenitor of the Scarabae. He calls himself Cain, claiming to be the Biblical figure who spilled his brother's blood and fathered the vampire clan. Now, he pursues a new future for his family, one beyond the Scarabae legacy that alters Anna's very fate.

Author Biography

Tanith Lee (1947-2015) was born in the United Kingdom. Although she couldn't read until she was eight, she began writing at nine and never stopped, producing more than ninety novels and three hundred short stories. She also wrote for the BBC television series Blake's 7 and various BBC radio plays. After winning the 1980 British Fantasy Award for her novel Death's Master, endless awards followed. She was named a World Horror Grand Master in 2009 and honored with the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2013. Lee was married to artist and writer John Kaiine.