Character Interview | Augustus Thorne from @WestonAndrew latest release #darkfantasy #horror #books
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  • N. N. Light
    • May 12, 2022
    • 11 min read

Character Interview | Augustus Thorne from @WestonAndrew latest release #darkfantasy #horror #books



Are you a dark fantasy or horror reader? Today's your day because I secured an interview with the main character from A Hybrid's Tale by Andrew Weston. He's a busy creature and I was lucky he was free. So, sit down and join us. Augustus, take it away.


Hello, my name is Augustus Thorne. To those I meet in the everyday course of my public life, I’m a highly successful dealer in antiquities, based in Belgravia, London. My business interests take me all around the world at a moment’s notice. And just as well, because that jet setting lifestyle allows me to indulge in what many would view as an unlawful and much less savory pastime: Hunting monsters. Something I’m exceedingly good at. But then again, I would be . . . because I am one. A Cambion, to be exact. The hybrid offspring of creatures that simply shouldn’t exist. You see, it’s because of the unholy lusts of my Incubus father that my human mother was forced to live a life of poverty, misery and isolation until the day she died. Yes, thanks to him, I am a menace to society and cursed with a hunger I can barely control. But fortunately for you readers, my mother’s influence and guidance during those early years molded me into something of an enigma amongst the demondid. So much so, that for more than two hundred and fifty years, I’ve fought against my nature and actively pursued my kind. And I’ll never rest. Not until they’re all gone and the scum that sired me is dead.


Just as well I can live for a very, very long time eh?


What is your greatest fear?


My greatest fear is that I might not be up to the task of eradicating the demondim as a viable, potent entity. It’s a mammoth undertaking, you see. They’ve been around for millennia, ever since the Fall from heaven, in fact. And from that ignominious beginning, they’ve wormed their way into so many aspects of civilization that it’s hard to know where to begin. Religion. Government. Culture. They were there at the start, steering things to their advantage. And as mankind grew and developed, so did they, by expanding their influence into such venues as trading and commerce, the arts, finance and banking, and over the last century, the pharmaceutical and information and communication industries. Their mark is just about everywhere, and I’m forever playing catch-up, trying to bring the most prolific of the demondim to justice.


What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?


The dreadful hunger that afflicts my kind.


Let me explain.


As I revealed above, I’m a Cambion, a human-demon hybrid. But what you don’t know is that my main source of nourishment comes from the emotions given off by other living souls. The stronger the better. Taking in such esoteric sustenance on a regular basis allows me to age much slower than normal people without the need for sleep. It also enhances a whole host of supernatural abilities that mark me as different. Now, while it’s true that I can eat normal food like anyone else – especially if it includes a lot of bloody meat – it’s the heat of sexual excitement, the shock of raw terror, or any other powerful feeling that are the most satisfying and nutritious. Unfortunately, those emotions are also the most addictive, for they spawn a relentless, gnawing ache inside me that borders on torture; a craving that dominates my every waking hour. Think about it, I walk among humans every day. And when I do, it’s like a junkie trying to navigate a hall filled with different kinds of drugs, because all you do as you go about your business is broadcast the very thoughts and feeling that trigger my desire to feed. Not a pleasant situation to find myself in, because when my kind feeds, it usually results in the death of the subject. So I’m always on guard.


And the reason is simple.


If I ever let myself slip, just once, I’ll be no better than my spawn-father, Fanon. And I can’t imagine anything worse than that.


Which living person do you most despise?


Ah, we’re back on the subject of what’s most loathsome. That’s easy to answer: My spawn-father, Fanon.


As a well educated young woman with a sound reputation, my mother was the epitome of eighteenth century modesty. She was also beautiful and caught the eye of the son of the local lord. A bright future lay ahead of her . . . or it would have, had she not come to the attention of a roving Incubus. Attracted by everything she stood for, Fanon picked her out from the teeming millions of humanity and subjected her to a nightmare existence of degradation and abuse. And I was a result.


As you can imagine, that didn’t sit too well within the moral climate of the time. Cast out, she was left homeless, abandoned and impoverished, without a name or a future, and died alone and destitute at the tender age of forty.


I’ll never forgive him for ruining her life, nor the manner in which he achieved that end, and have vowed to exact revenge on her behalf.


And I will, no matter how long it takes.


What or who is the greatest love of your life?


Up until this point in my long and lonely existence, that would be my mother, Rosemary Smith – vul – Thorne. An absolute saint in human form.


She never blamed me for the circumstances leading up to my birth. Not once. And it can’t have been easy for her. Life in the latter half of the eighteenth century was hard. And here she was, outcast; nameless; an unmarried woman with a child – one that didn’t have a heartbeat for the first seven years of his life. It was a struggle to make ends meet. And when puberty kicked in and my Cambion heritage reared its ugly head? Well, all I can say is that it’s due to her wisdom and counsel, her wonderful strength and example, that I became the man I am today. You see, I knew what I was, how I came into being, and the kind of behavior my spawn-father exhibited as a matter of course. It was part of my inbred nature as a hybrid. Yet I abhorred what he had done to her, and was horrified by what I might turn into. Yet, thanks to Rosemary’s patient loving guidance, I was helped to understand the future wasn’t set. I might not be able to change what I was. But I could most definitely decide who I was. And because of her, I chose to be an advocate of all those who had suffered at the hands of the demondim. Something I still devote myself to after all these years.


What are your most treasured possessions?


My most treasured possessions are the diaries my mother left behind following her death. Although painful to read now, they still contain a wealth of knowledge, and insights that help me in my quest to rid the world of my father and his demondim kin.


And in that regard, she left me a priceless gift, taken from her demon abuser: A weapon, Rose Thorne – or as I simply call it, Thorne – an ancient dagger crafted in the style of a Gaelic skean. To look at, you can see Thorne is special. Silver runes are inscribed along both sides of its six-inch long ivory grip. The double-ended cross guards are cut from two solid diamonds, and the blade is a rare amalgam of the finest steel ancient Arabia could produce, mixed with a mystery alloy that shimmers through all the colors of the rainbow in subdued light.


My mother told me the artisans behind the work were beings called, the Forge, Incubi and Succubae assassins of the highest mastery who worked marvels into the metal I never thought could be possible. Tempered within the flames of Tartarus – the source from which all earthbound devils gained their power – the blade does much more than look otherworldly; it kills demons instantly if it pierces their hearts. What was more; the gems adorning each end of the grip can be infused with arcane power, and are capable of absorbing the essence of those slain for later use.


Just the thing I need for my kind of work. And let me tell you, thousands of the demondim have met their end feeling Thorne’s sting.


What is your most marked characteristic?


It’s often said that the best place to hide something is out in the open. And that’s what we demondim do. We hide in plain sight. Odd, really, because you’ve only got to take one look at us to know we’re different. And I’m not talking about the supernatural arsenal at our disposal, either. No, something about the paranormal condition of all Incubi, Succubae, and Cambions makes us extremely attractive to the either sex. In my case, I come in at well over six feet tall; I’m blessed with an athletically lithe and well muscled body that would put an Adonis to shame; and my jet-black hair, perfect teeth, lightly toned skin and piercing dark eyes add to the killer effect. So, to answer your question succinctly, my most marked characteristic is the sheer animal magnetism I exude when I’m in your presence. When you consider the obsession I have to contend with each and every single day, it’s not a situation I’m particularly happy with. Believe me!


What is your greatest regret?


Not being able to enjoy a normal relationship.


I’ve travelled the world extensively, and everywhere I go, I see people in love. Couples who eventually get together and settle down. Who then enrich their lives by building a home. Having children. Becoming grandparents. Growing old together, happy and content that they’ve left a lasting legacy behind.


What a marvelous thing that must be to experience, eh?


Alas, I’ll never know. Such things are denied me because of what I am. . .


But at least I can dream.


What is your motto?


Revenge is a dish best served hot on a pyre of scalding rage.


Thank you, Augustus, for the insightful look into who you are and what makes you tick. Readers, to read more about Augustus and A Hybrid’s Tale, scroll down.



Title: A Hybrid’s Tale


Author: Andrew P. Weston


Genre: Dark Fantasy/Horror


Publisher: Raven Tale Publishing


Book Blurb:


Born a Cambion – a half-demon, half-human hybrid – and cursed by a terrible hunger he can barely control, Augustus Thorne spends his long and lonely life hunting and exterminating any Incubi and Succubae he can find. But no matter how many he destroys, he can always make room for one more. Especially if it’s the foul scum who raped his mother; Augustus’ own spawn-father, Fanon.


Guided by his mother’s diaries, Augustus pursues Fanon down through the centuries and around the world, until fate seems to point him toward his heart’s desire. Yet, things are not as they appear, and the revelations Augustus uncovers are mind boggling. For if he wishes to face his father, he must first learn more about his own unique heritage, and the awful circumstances that led to his creation.


The trouble is, doing so might just cost him his humanity.


Excerpt:


Then one day, without explanation, Fanon left and never came back.


Before then, I’d heard of strigoi, the Jinn, goblins and poltergeists, and a whole host of other demons but never gave them much thought. However, the details contained within my mother’s diary set my blood ablaze!


They were real, they existed in numbers, and while the majority were confined to hell, some—and Incubi and Succubae in particular —were able to walk the mundane halls of the human world. The strongest of the demondim belonged to something called the Chapter and they were amongst the most cunning, calculating, cold-hearted vermin you could ever wish not to meet. One of them, the abomination that was my father, had subjected my precious mother to months and months of repeated abuse that had marred her life and darkened her outlook forever.


Though it went a long way to explaining things that were different about me, I still didn’t believe it at first. And why would I, for such things bordered on the realms of folklore and fairytales. The stuff old women gossiped about and saner people shut themselves away from when they locked and bolted their doors at night. But as my own appetites grew, I came to understand I’d inherited a curse that would influence the path I would walk for all eternity.


I was a hybrid, a Cambion, and my urges would only get worse as I matured.


Yes, there were obvious advantages to being what I was. I aged much slower than normal people and I didn’t need to sleep. Instead, I’d enter a meditative state for several hours—one in which I remained fully aware of my surroundings—and from which I emerged fully refreshed.


I could skirr—a condition similar to flying—whereby I would adopt a quasi-corporeal state to flow through the air, had an astonishing resistance to fire and was able to render myself invisible to others.


It was apparent I had access to a host of extrasensory talents too; telepathy and coercion to name a few, though it went much further than that. Reading thoughts and sensations at a distance posed no problems for me, especially as I was adept at inducing the haze, a deep hypnotic sleep in others. Once prey was subjected to my will, I had the capability to then fugue them and actively overwrite selected memories or wipe them entirely.


As if this blend of talents wasn’t lethal enough, I had another ace up my sleeve that was purely demonic. I could unleash the Fey, a combined wave of compulsive pheromones that induced an extremely high state of arousal.


A deadly combination when you considered the downside to my nature, for I had also inherited the hunger; a gnawing ache that bordered on torture; a hankering that dominated my waking hours and tainted the way I looked at people.


It was so easy to trigger the biochemical and psychic reactions that provoked strong emotions in humans. Such offerings were like nectar to me, extending my life and increasing my strength to many times that of a normal person. Yes, I could eat food like anyone else, especially if it included a lot of bloody meat, but the heat of sexual excitement or shock of pure terror was highly addictive and a constant temptation I had to contend with every day.


What made my craving harder to fight was the additional bane my Cambion side had endowed me with. Stunning good looks!


Something about the paranormal condition of all Incubi, Succubae, and Cambions made us extremely attractive to the either sex. Just what you needed when you were trying to fight an obsession like mine.


At well over six feet tall, I was blessed with an athletically lithe and well muscled body that would put an Adonis to shame. My jet-black hair, perfect teeth, lightly toned skin and piercing dark eyes added to the killer effect.


Without my mother’s support in those early years I’d have turned into a monster, preying on people and using them to satisfy my selfish lusts, exactly as my father had done. And I was determined never to become the thing my mother abhorred.


That was the controlling factor in those early years, the presiding influence, which helped me collar my natural inclinations in a leash and drag them, kicking and screaming, until they were kenneled in a bottomless pit of indignation. I would not become a brute to someone else’s mother, daughter, or sister.


There, exiled to a lonely world of self-imposed segregation—an isolation fuelled by passion, loathing and abhorrence—the molten core of my fury waited patiently; glowing, simmering, churning, boiling; waiting unwearyingly for the day I’d meet my father face to face. Only then, would my rage be uncapped and vengeance unleashed.


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Author Biography


Andrew P. Weston is a Royal Marine and Police veteran from the UK who now lives on the beautiful Greek island of Kos with his wife, Annette, and their growing family of rescue cats.

As creator of the critically acclaimed IX Series, the Cambion Journals, along with Hell Bound, Hell Hounds, and Hell Gate, (novels forming part of the Heroes in Hell universe), Andrew has the privilege of being a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the British Fantasy Society, and the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.

When not working, he also devotes some of his spare time to assisting NASA with one of their remote research projects, and writes educational articles for Astronaut.com and Amazing Stories.


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