Chapter 19: Undercurrents of Evil

Detective Blackhorse resumed his efforts to revive Smokey, fearing that the thready pulse would cease altogether without his rescue breaths. The bell over the front door rang and Blackhorse heard footsteps. Relief washed over him. Without looking up, he barked at Chet, “Call 911!” “Huh,” came the baffled response from Officer Schneider, who peered down at them over the display […]

Chapter 13: Door Number One

Deidre felt riveted to the spot, wanting to move but unable to tear her eyes away from the shambling freak of nature. The bat-like brutes which had crawled across the ceiling of the dungeon her first night of captivity had been sleek and powerfully built. This pathetic malformed thing with its sickly pallor and unsteady gait managed to seem both […]

Chapter 57: Reconnaissance

Marko was still arguing with the spell weaver, when a bang sounded in their midst.  The group ducked, looking around for a shooter. They were bewildered until Janet drew their attention to a red dot of light which suddenly materialized, right in front of her. They watched it grow steadily into a small pulsating orb, that momentarily hovered in place, […]

Chapter 56: Wrongfully Accused

Plum left me alone, so that I could rest, with a promise to send up a dinner tray. She admonished me to eat everything, because I needed my strength. I was sound asleep, before the door closed behind her. What felt like a moment later, a nudge awakened me. Thinking that Plum had forgotten something, I opened my eyes expecting […]

Chapter 7: Conspiracy Theory

Detective Eduardo Hector sat across from Gustaff Karlsson awaiting his assistant Aron’s return with the client list. One awkward silent minute dragged on into five, under the weight of Gustaff’s unwavering appraising gaze. Hector’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he was relieved to have an excuse to leave the room. “Excuse me Mr . Karlsson. I need to […]

Chapter 8: Like Pulling Teeth

Chester strode into the Sit N’ Dine, half an hour after he had agreed to meet at the diner. Marcus looked up and forced a smile onto his face, to match his friend’s lopsided grin and mask his irritation. Ordinarily, he felt cheered at the sight of his buddy. Recent events had him questioning everything he thought he knew about […]

Chapter 9: Killer Confession

Caitlyn continued to scream hysterically, until Diedra slapped her across the face. The effect was instantaneous. Caitlyn looked dazed and then came to her senses. She started to speak, then looked back over Deidra’s shoulder towards the bathroom mirror and her knees buckled. Deidra caught Caitlyn and walked her over to the bed, supporting her weight and then easing her […]

Chapter 56: The Demon Speaks

Marko and the others arrived at the doorway to the security office in a panting tangle. Their eyes all went to the physician lying facedown inside the doorway. Jason was standing across the room, in front of a wall mounted control panel with his back to them. He paused, on the act of punching a code into the keypad and […]

Chapter 9: Following a Thread

With daylight beginning to fade, Detective Blackhorse revised his previous decision to go down the list of suspects in order and selected a woman at the address closest to his motel. Weariness had settled on his shoulders like a heavy cloak. The sooner he got this next interview over with the better. After sleeping all folded up in his car, […]

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