The Forbidden Wood’s ebony thickets clamored at the moon, stealing half its light. Plumes of dust galloped toward it along the East Road. Luren. He would murder her mother like the others. So clever in other matters, why had she insisted on devotion to the King? She pressed her lips onto…
Laina shifted her boots on the threadbare floormat, nudging the margarine tub. The medallion fragments jostled and slinked inside their plastic cell. She withdrew her feet and hugged the edge of the passenger seat. The downtown corridors heightened into a labyrinth of manmade fortress walls. Glowering steel and concrete stretched to obscure the…
A scream whirled from an alley across the street, punctuated by barked obscenities. Rubbish tinged the bitter wind pricking up the fine hairs on Laina's clammy arms. The bar-enforced door slammed shut behind her. A shudder slithered up her spine and niggled at her scalp as Arden clicked his key into the…
Pounding footsteps and silhouettes raced past the sheet-curtained alley windows. A battery of obscenities rattled in their wake. The crunch of flesh triggered groans. Laina crept toward the window. "I think someone's getting hurt." "Best stay clear of the windows after dark." Arden took an empty margarine tub from the shelf and…
Laina took a shaky step into the luminous circle around the pillar candle on the floor. The amulet lay just beyond the light puddle. The flame's reflection flickered in its emerald stone. "Why isn't it over?" She bent and stretched her hand toward the medallion. "Don't touch that." Arden fetched a bar rag…
Candlelight gilded Arden's scarred cheek and drove the shadows over his shoulder as he bent over her. "Laina, do you ..." His voice washed over her in mumble-squelched waves. "... and submit your life to Jesus Christ?" Her breath croaked and clenched. She forced her chin to dip in a slight nod.…
Laina choked. The burning in her throat intensified. Talons dug at her collarbone and scratched their way up her neck. Wrists compressed against the floor, she stretched her trembling fingertips across the gritty linoleum. She gulped a breath. Tarry smoke laced with a hint of sulfur gusted into her nose and mouth,…
The chain scorched Laina's fingers as she lifted the pendant over her head and its links clawed at her hair. The medallion throbbed and its gem blinked like a viper eye. She boggled it from her grasp and off her lap. The floor shuddered at the amulet's impact. Shadows flew past the windows, swirling…
A shaft of the hallway light kissed the tops of his shoulders, giving Arden an ethereal glow. Laina folded her arms. "What on earth made you think I came to visit Simmy?" "We call this area the Cauldron for a reason. Folks come here for drugs or the occult. I can…
A shaft of the hallway light kissed the tops of his shoulders, giving Arden an ethereal glow. Laina folded her arms. "What on earth made you think I came to visit Simmy?" "We call this area the Cauldron for a reason. Folks come here for drugs or the occult. I can…