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…
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…
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.…
Simmy curled his long-nailed fingers around the chain at her neck. The fiery metal burned against her skin as he drew the amulet out. "What do you want with it?" Laina pressed the chain against her chest and recoiled. He let it slip from his grasp and slowly lifted his gaze to…
The echo of Laina's steps grew louder as she ventured farther into the alley. The chill intensified, as did smells of urine mingled with traces of cheap rum. She pulled her scarf over the lower half of her face. Layered graffiti webbed the building walls to her right and left with an…
The bus wheeze-squeaked its departure as soon as Laina's boot heel hit the curb. Graffiti tattooed the dingy bodies of buildings and passers-by alike. Half-dressed toddlers screamed from the hips of terse-lipped teenagers. A frigid breeze whipped a fringe of ragged towels and stained clothing on the firescapes. Shoes dangled from their…