Affliction

Affliction is the second Volume in the series, but as a "prequel," takes place immediately prior to *Sorrow* and covers the events shaping the current state of the Vampyre conflict. The Trilogy Edition of Affliction was released November 2021 after a long series of delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs, and the author's active duty military career. Affliction showed significant promise over the writing style of *Sorrow*, but was difficult to promote with four years elapsing since the first book and the cost of print materials at an all-time high. In-person book signings. readings, and events were largely shut down during this time due to the pandemic, which made it impossible to advertise using the large retailers Affliction was sold through. With a social-media driven campaign, sales jumped in the first few months of release with the help of friends and family, and was well-liked on Amazon reviews and social media. The *Legacy* Edition of Affliction does not see any major changes, but has a rebranded cover and interior to fit the new franchise.

## Synopsis

As the rival factions of Vampyres continue their long-standing war, an abrupt escalation in hostilities creates a paradigm shift in the war’s dynamic, forcing its leadership to reconsider the focus of their battle. Kara, leader and most powerful among them, struggles with her own inner turmoil as she tries to deal with the latest casualties of her war.

New threats begin to emerge in the form of an evolved and more active enemy, and the race is on to shut down the clock of the apocalypse before humankind is wiped from the face of the earth. Kara’s Counsel and the city’s most powerful warriors scatter across the country with the hope of a final strike. After leaving his own brand of combat, one human is brought into the unseen war by way of a budding and tumultuous relationship… unknowingly with one of the most powerful beings in existence.

## Storyline

Spoilers for *Sorrow* and *Affliction* will be contained in the following section.

Affliction begins with Sonya and Kara joining a Special Forces team in Afghanistan, as they've lost their commander, Captain Jalix Kane, to rubble during an explosive gunfight. Sonya and Kara had received intelligence that one of Kilkovf's operatives may be embedded with a Special Forces unit, and Jalix is selected as the possibility due to their belief of him being a Vampyre (survival under impossible conditions, infamy within the unit for being the top performer, known presence in significant conflicts, etc). After searching the Kandahar Valley village where they were attacked, they pull him from the rubble and discover that he is a human. While evacuating him, the group is ambushed and Sonya covers Jalix's body during an IED explosion, severing her left leg and hip joint, right arm above the elbow, and inducing a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). Kara's reaction to her friend's injury was severe, her telekinetic powers taking the form of volatility and exploding the entire mountain they were being attacked from. Sonya and Jalix were both flown by Krystal back to Walter Reed Memorial Hospital for further treatment.

Meanwhile, Valterius is continuing his own missions in Kara's absence, investigating the suspicion that Raven, Robert Schillinger's daughter, is beginning to take part in her father's plot to overthrow humanity and supplant them with obedient Vampyres. She was handed a failing company, MayVax Research Industries, and given the funding to completely revitalize and rebrand it as Raven Biopharmaceuticals. Valterius infiltrates their headquarters building with his girlfriend Alice, and after confirming that Raven is still human, escapes the building with Schillinger's personal tablet computer. This is given to Eric, who immediately begins decrypting its information. While he waits for the results, Val decides to spend time with Violet, who is emotionally struggling with her best friend Krystal being away once again. He takes her to an art museum in Boston, where it is revealed that the family donated one of her paintings entitled "Love and Sorrow" and it will be traveling around the world to various museums. During the end of the visit, Violet and Val receive the phone call that Sonya has been grievously injured.

Shortly after the family meets with Sonya to say their well-wishes during her coma, Eric calls them all (except Kara) back to Aerael for an important meeting. The results of the decryption of Schillinger's computer yield something called Project Cerberus, revealed to the Counsel while Kara continued to mourn and watch over Sonya in Maryland. Project Cerberus is a three-pronged attack to infect the United States with a "reaper" variant of the Vampyre Virus, a highly infectious disease that would kill nine out of every ten infected people and eradicate those in poor health, elderly, or under the age of 10 (with the remaining infected converting to Vampyres). This was a means by Schillinger to diminish the global population to enforce a new order and maintain control over it as the globe would develop into a purely-Vampyric society. Without Kara's presence or approval, Eric sends three teams to stop Project Cerberus from becoming a success. The first consists of Val and Eric, who go to New York, followed by Alice and Krystal in Miami and Violet and Jared in Los Angeles. While Eric is aware of enemy activity in these three locations, nothing further can be deduced from Schillinger's computer.

Kara returns from Sonya's side infuriated to find her Counsel gone and spread across the country, and after an argument with Eric, attempts to collect herself and properly deal with the personal toll of Sonya's injuries. During her stay with Sonya, Kara had met Jalix and at a bar and is convinced by Eric to attempt a social life while she awaits the missions' results. Shortly thereafter, Kara and Jalix go to dinner together and share an awkward set of misunderstandings before they realize their similarities. On a rooftop near the end of the date, the two share a moment together and Kara is inclined to recognize her unusual feelings for him.

After weeks of observing, Valterius and Tony's mission in New York finally merits a result once Eric calls them and warns the pair of device being transported to the downtown metro region of Manhattan. Fearing a viral attack, the two launch into action and stop the incoming watercraft to reveal that the device in question is a hard drive of unknown origin, marked with the logo of Raven Biopharmaceuticals. Witnesses see the two attack the recipient of the device, and are led on a wild goose chase around the streets of New York as they evade the police. They finally escape and make their way to Aerael, allowing Eric to begin decrypting the storage drive. During the weeks of their mission, Kara and Jalix have grown closer in the wake of his former team's deaths and subsequent series of funerals. After one of them, Kara takes a trip to see Sonya in the hospital and is informed that her friend of many centuries now has retrograde amnesia, to include no memories of her past whatsoever, and the motor and language skills of a toddler. Kara mourns this loss with Val's help.

Krystal and Alice begin their mission in Miami a few weeks later, finding canisters of alleged viral matter in the small clinic of a local doctor. The clinic is set on fire and the evidence is destroyed after Krystal kills the doctor to the dismay of her sister. Krystal later explains that in spite of her narcotics addiction, she was able to deduce that the doctor worked for Schillinger and was not innocent. Alice convinces her sister to quit her addiction and Krystal remains in Miami after their mission to detox from her drug use.

After another few weeks, Kara embarks on several trips with Jalix, one of which is in Los Angeles to secretly watch over Violet and Jared as they hunt for their part of Project Cerberus. Eric eventually provides them with a lead, but claims that they can return after its investigation, as it is likely a trivial pursuit. As Violet and Jared investigate the warehouse indicated through Eric's sources, Schillinger himself traps them and demands to know Kara and Sonya's whereabouts. As they refuse, Violet stalls for time and waits for a response from the message she was able to get to Kara. Kara arrives at the scene and obliterates Schillinger's forces in a display of her power and martial skill, but Schillinger is immune to her telekinetic abilities due to his own, and escaped unharmed. Upon returning, Eric reveals that the hard drive recovered in New York reveals a fourth site: Washington, D.C.

With no time to spare, the Counsel (minus Violet and Sonya) embark on a high-speed mission to Washington, D.C. in order to stop a missile launcher from spreading the "Reaper" variant of the Vampyre virus through targeted biological warfare. After Kilkovf is confirmed to be at the scene, Kara's powers present themselves as a volatile explosion and decimate the mass of forces that showed up to contest the group's success. Krystal escapes the scene quietly and pursues Kara, who is attempting to catch Kilkovf. The chase leads Krystal to an ex-girlfriend, Rachel, who provides her with narcotics before an argument separates them. Krystal finds Kara in a hotel, holding Kilkovf's female companion as a semi-cooperative hostage. Kara threatens Kilkovf with her death unless he exposes Schillinger's precise whereabouts. Kilkovf reluctantly admits his presence in the new Raven Biopharmaceuticals headquarters, and vows revenge on Kara for the threat. Citing the protection of their Vampyre nature, Krystal kills the woman in cold blood.

Kara is infuriated at the lack of regard for human life, and dismisses Krystal as an unwanted nuisance. Kara stalks Schillinger, attempting to destroy his building with explosives, but is stopped after realizing that Jalix was also present in the building due to the nature of his investment work. The two come to an uneasy and temporary truce, each escaping back into the world unharmed. Kara admits to Val and Alice that Jalix would be in imminent danger, and states that he would have to be converted and brought to the city in order to be safe. Kara awaits Jalix's return from his meeting, where Kara struggles to speak her mind and her admission of the truth is delayed for a later time. The story ends after a difficult night of sleep for both of them, resulting in Kara's quiet playing of the piano: the same moments that begin the story of Sorrow.