The creature stabbed his fingertips into Christie's side. Pain shot through her gut, but the grip at her throat muffled her cry. He licked her blood from his fingertips. “Sweet liver, but I came for the whole deal—from your heart to the marrow of your soul.” The monster allowed Christie to drop…
Steeple chimes echoed through the clapboard chapel’s rafters. Christie raised her forehead from the altar railing. Polished oak furnishings glinted in the candlelight, while darkness oozed through the stained glass windows. Perspiration trickled from her temples and followed the lines of her long neck. She wiped her moist palms across the…
Blood Mercy: A Vampire Tale Staked in Profound Meaning Guest Post by Janeen Ippolito When we created the world of Blood Mercy, Julia Busko and I wanted to shed light on hidden issues. Things that people normally keep to themselves, lest they face stigmatization from society. Conditions and life experiences that…
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…
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.…
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…
Laina scanned the lavender ribbon of sky between the buildings. How long had she been in Simmy's shop? The mechanical sigh of a heavy brakes summoned her toward the street. She hustled down the dank alley. Her feet struck the sidewalk just as the city bus pulled away from the curb.…