Review: The Crimson Pact: Volume Two Although not every story appealed to me in the first volume of The Crimson Pact, I felt it was a good collection overall with plenty of variety. Volume Two promised more of the same but this time with the added bonus of sequels to some of the stories from(…)
stories
Book Review #10: Wave One: Short Stories
As an aspiring author I try to write as often as possible but always remember to have a book on the bedside table. I read for many reasons, mostly the sheer joy of the pastime, but I am constantly trying to improve myself as a writer, finding worthwhile lessons in my successful peers, whether they’re(…)
Susan (Final Part)
View Part 2 It’s half past midnight when I hear the distant sound of a door opening then slamming shut. Susan’s home at last! Where’s she been? What’s she been doing? Who’s she been with? I have to prepare myself to confront her yet again. I thought we were past all these days of deceit(…)
Susan (Part 2 of 3)
View Part 1 It’s now after midnight and Susan isn’t home yet. Where could she be? Why is she late? Has she been delayed getting a taxi? Has she been lured to one of the clubs by her friends? It wouldn’t be the first time. They’ve always been a bad influence on her. I don’t(…)
Susan (Part 1 of 3)
It’s five minutes until midnight and she will soon be home. Susan. Through the bedroom window I can see the full moon in the ascendancy; the glowing beacon in the night sky is supported by countless glittering stars that lend their exquisite splendour to the endless cosmos. This is the perfect setting for what I(…)
The Jarls of the Ocean (Final Part)
View Part 3 That day we fought as our gods have come to expect. Every one of our men hacked and slashed at his enemy, while the mud and water beneath his feet tried in vain to work against him. We threw down our enemy and they too diminished our numbers, but as the battle(…)
The Jarls of the Ocean (Part 3 of 4)
View Part 2 By the next day the oarsmen received word that we were about to land. It was noon when the fleet anchored in the river and we were left to wade our way through the water to the banks. I was one of the last to leave the ship. I wiped my helm(…)
The Jarls of the Ocean (Part 2 of 4)
View Part 1 We were six days at sea when I was called to work the tiller. Only moments after beginning my duty the gathering clouds above began to spew rain onto the rising sea. The rumble of thunder seemed distant but then grew to a tremendous roar. As I felt the tiller become damp(…)
The Jarls of the Ocean (Part 1 of 4)
The peaks of the distant mountains protruded from the dense mist, overlooking the fjord like archers manning castle walls. The mist crept down the mountainside as if it were a waterfall, descending slowly to the muddy banks below where a group of ships lay anchored in the water, their hulls fastened close together to amass(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Final Part)
View Part 6 All around Lorenzo vampires slept contentedly in the shadows while their prisoners remained wide-eyed, fearful and uncertain, hoping for some dashing liberator to spare them from this purgatory. No such solace would come to them now. They were beyond the reach of salvation. Lorenzo felt the need to submit to sleep but(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 6 of 7)
View Part 5 The vampire horde was below deck and safely in the shadows just before sunrise. Dozens of captives lay gagged and bound close by, all living fodder for the vampires back in Deutermia. Lorenzo wallowed in one of the darkest corners and found that the images of Celestia were beginning to recede. ‘Have(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 5 of 7)
View Part 4 My Dearest Lorenzo, I waited so long for you to come back but you never did. I never wanted you to go to war but I knew you were doing it only for me. My parents would never have let us marry, myself being a nobleman’s daughter and you a farmer’s(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 4 of 7)
View Part 3 Erected in memory of my beloved Lorenzo Cyrano Father of Luca Born 11963 Died 11988 It wasn’t possible. Lorenzo considered this truth only briefly then dismissed it straight away. This grave belonged to a man named Lorenzo but it couldn’t be the same person. It was some cruel coincidence, some cheap trick(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 3 of 7)
View Part 2 Graves, old and new, covered the cluster of small hills surrounding a long stretch of lowland. The oldest were made of wood with simple engravings, but the freshest disturbances of the earth came with a stone epitaph. Lorenzo found himself drawn to the far north to three graves in particular. The trio(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 2 of 7)
View Part 1 Lorenzo emerged from the outskirts of serene woodland to find a muddy path leading downhill towards a village. He could make out two guards stationed on either side of the entrance; each clasped a spear in one hand and with the other they regularly passed an amphora back and forth. Even from(…)
The Sparkling Dew On The Lakeside (Part 1 of 7)
Disembarking on the shores of Valadomiar, Lorenzo trembled for the first time in decades. It was not the clamour of the sea breeze that animated his body – life had long since ceased to flow through his veins – but something dormant, lying deep within the barren wasteland of his stagnant heart was beginning to(…)
Amarstrea (Final Part)
View Part 5 Loven held his staff aloft before bringing it down hard on the ground. A cloud of pink smoke erupted and emerging from the vortex was a young man with long black hair, glistening blue eyes, untainted skin and rich attire. He dusted himself down as the enveloping smoke receded and soon halted(…)
Amarstrea (Part 5 of 6)
View Part 4 Loven spoke no words; he simply nodded, his eyes looked beyond Lily’s face to a large mirror hanging from the temple wall close by. Its surrounding was of intricate floral patterns on the surface of fine gold and seated before it, lost in the sight of her own reflection, was Lily’s sister.(…)