Friday, April 19, 2024

SPOTLIGHT: THE DIVINE AND THE DEADLY Book 5 (Taylen Carver)

 


The Divine and Deadly
Magorian and Jones
Book Five 
Taylen Carver

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Publisher:  Stories Rule Press
Date of Publication:  April 18, 2024

ISBN: Amazon 9781779432049
ASIN: B0CQ98S9GK
Number of pages:  220 
Word Count:  81,000 words
Cover Artist:  Dar Albert

Book Description:

The old gods have arrived, ready to punish humans and Old Ones with tribulations that resemble hell on Earth.  

Magorian, the world’s first modern wizard, and Dr. Michael Jones, failed to stop the Siren, Aurelius, from summoning the old gods.  Now the world is reeling from the destruction that Agrona, God of Slaughter and Carnage, is hailing down upon every mortal, no matter what their race.

Magorian and Jones must find a way to send the old gods back to where they came from before their ways crack open the world and destroy everyone upon it, both human and Old Ones.

The Divine and Deadly is the final book in the urban fantasy series, Magorian & Jones, by Taylen Carver.



Praise for the Magorian & Jones Series:

1.0: The Memory of Water
2.0: The Triumph of Felix
3.0: The Shield of Agrona
3.1: The Wizard Must be Stopped!
4.0: The Rivers Ran Red
5.0: The Divine and Deadly

Plenty of exciting twists and turns.

Feel the tingling of danger, the aha's of escaping death, and the excitement of magic.

I loved this and will continue on with the series.

I’m a sucker for wounded, conflicted heroes, and Jones was just that.

I loved it; a magnificent first book in this really different new series.

Will definitely look for further books by this author and series.

Fast paced, exciting reads you won't want to put down!

I'm overjoyed to be back in this amazing world building series

I highly recommend this series to all who love fantasy with a twist, adventure, surprises, and the occasional human, aside from one of our human heroes of course

story manages to be more intimate than ever

This book gets dark and gritty right from the beginning and does not shy away

the kind of story that will drag you in and keep you reading

Well paced, good balance between action and character development

Such is the joy of reading the works of an excellent writer with a great imagination and the ability to tell an absolutely fascinating story.

Excerpt: Chapter One

I have watched hundreds of humans suffer through their transformation from human to Old One.  Some say I am an expert in this, but I would dispute that.  I don’t think there are any experts.  Too little is known about the transformation process for anyone to claim the status.  The experience I have lets me ease my patients’ agony a little, and avoids harming them in the process. But no skill of mine changes the course of the transformation by a single micron.

I watched Henry Magorian writhe and twist on the bed I stood beside, reviewing my uselessness, and finding it ironic that I was so helpless.  Henry was Benjamin Magorian’s older brother, and a slimey wretch of a man.  Yet he was my patient. I was required to give him the best care possible.  His family had flown us out to Montreal from Toledo, Spain, on a private and very expensive jet, for this purpose.

Pain is pain.  I hated seeing the man claw at the expensive sheets, the tendons in his neck and wrists standing out like ships’ hawsers.   He wore only boxer briefs and his entire body was bathed in sweat.  He had been sweating for hours, now.  We had changed the sheets twice.
I made myself look away.  Watching him helped no one.  I put the stethascope on the tray table the family had thoughtfully provided and looked at Jaimie.

She held her hands out over Henry’s body, just above the thrashing shoulders, concentrating on whatever information travelled through her palms.  I wasn’t certain what she could detect, for the mystery of fae magic was not readily shared by any of them.  

Jaimie wore her thick pale hair up in a pony tail at the back of her head, which allowed her pointed ears to be seen.  Normally, she was careful to drape her hair over her ears when among humans, but we’d long since passed that consideration.  We’d been in this room for nearly thirty hours, and members of the family had stopped stepping in to check on their cousin/uncle.  

She held her flawless face in a stiff, neutral expression.  She was not allowing herself to show how worried she was.  But I’d had seen too many transitions.  I was worried myself.

“He’s fighting it,” I said.

Jaimie looked up, then back down at her patient.  “Yes.”  

It was the first time either of us had said it, although I think we’d both guessed as soon as we’d walked into the elegant pale blue and cream room.  The family had bundled all three of us, including Ben, onto a jet on standby at Toledo’s small private landing field, the moment Henry Magorian had shown the first signs of transition.  It had taken nine hours to reach Montreal, plus an hour at either end for local travel and ten minutes of lightning-speed packing.  

So we had first seen Henry over eleven hours after he had begun transitioning, and we’d been here, save for small cat naps in the bedroom next door, for thirty hours.  

Forty hours, more or less, and he still showed no physical changes.  

Henry kicked and moaned, then curled up into a tight ball.

“I can take away the pain. A little, at least,” Jaimie said.  Her voice was strained.  She had slept less than I.  Fae could reduce pain by breathing in bad humours—which was not a medieval conceit for them.  It wasn’t as effective as an angel breathing on the patient, but it did work.
“You know the danger in that.”  We’d both learned that reducing the pain too much let the patient relax.  The transition required that they move, so that the metabolism was elevated, allowing the organs to evolve.  The extreme fever was another function of the transition. It was the mechanism that changed the patient’s DNA expression, the key to the transition.  Lowering the body temperature could suspend the transition, too.  

Jaimie put her fingers to her temples.  She had no medical training in her human history. She had been a soldier in the British army.  It was only her transition to a fae that made health work feasible.  She was less used to watching a patient suffer than I, although she would always find it stressful, no matter how used to it she became.  We all did, despite a hardening of one’s empathy once exposed to too much of it.

“He should have changed by now.”  Her voice wavered.  “I don’t know of anyone taking this long.”

“I have seen some cases last this long,” I said grimly.  I didn’t add the remainder of that statement—that everyone who had fought their transition for this long did not survive.  Jaimie didn’t need that additional worry.   It was quite likely she was well aware of this statistic.  I just didn’t want to bring it to the forefront of her thoughts.

“Is there anything else we can do?” Her wonderful silvery eyes were red-rimmed, but still worth staring into.  Even after thirty hours of hard work and worry, even wearing the travel creased clothing she’d arrived in and slept in, she looked wonderful.  

I pushed away the betraying thought and tried to find an answer to her question, for the fear in her voice was real.  It wasn’t fear of death.  She had been a soldier and now was a fae who dispensed magical healing.  She was accustomed to death.

I knew the source of her fear.   This was Henry Magorian.  Ben’s brother.  Jaimie did not want to let Ben down.  She wanted to save Henry for him.  

So did I, even though I had learned to loathe Henry not long after meeting him.  

I’d sent Ben out of the room hours ago.  His pacing and his unhelpful suggestions, along with his anxious questions every time Henry moaned or moved, had not helped either Jaimie or I concentrate.  As far as I knew, Ben was in the next room and, as it was two in the morning, Toledo time, he was probably sleeping, even though bright summer sunlight streamed through the windows.  

It was eight in the evening, Quebec time, on a blazingly hot day, but none of the external weather reached us, for this house had a controlled environment kept at a pleasant twenty-three degrees with just the right degree of humidity.  The window of the room we were in had remained closed and sealed against the heat outside. The view from the window was magnificent, for the house stood high upon the exlsuive Summit area, with a jaw-dropping view of the Old City and the St. Lawrence river twinkling on the horizon.

The Magorian family could afford the luxury of whole-house environmental controls, just as they could afford private transatlantic flights, and bribes to ease an Old One through two nations’ customs and immigration border checks.

Ben had insisted that they make the arrangements to bring Jaimie into the country.  He had argued that Jaimie could help Henry as much as I could. The family, desparate as they were, had complied, although I had no idea what it had taken to make it happen.  Canada was particular about who they let into their country, especially when it came to the Old Ones.  Unlike Spain, Canada had so far refused refugees, although there were many unofficial refugees flooding across the Canada/United Stated border.  Canada was not xenophobic, though.  It was the first country in the world to acknowledge the Old Ones legally.  

Here, Old Ones were not automatically considered “dead” after turning.  They were in a legal limbo, still, but the assets they’d held as a human, and might acquire as an Old One, were also held in legal stasis, rather than passed onto heirs.  It was a half-step toward giving Old Ones full citizenship, or at least residency, and the rights and obligations that came with it.  The government was still arguing the point in Ottawa.

 But Jaimie, despite a lack of indentity documentation, had merely received a nod of acknowledgement from the customs official who had stamped Ben’s and my passports.  I had spotted a photograph of Jaimie attached to his clipboard.

She stared at me now, hope showing in her eyes, as I appeared to be thinking of another way to save Henry Magorian.  

I desparately wanted to come up with a solution.  I wanted her to look at me with relief and gratitude.  I wanted her to….well, that was never going to happen.  But still, I wanted to please her.

So I made myself consider every single possibility.  What had we not done for this horrible man?  What else could we try?

I stared down at his curled up body.  If he continued to fight the transition, it would not end well.  Did he know that?  Did he resent the idea of becoming an Old One so passionately, that he was putting up this marathon resistance?

That gave me an idea.  I looked at Jaimie.  “It’s a long shot.”

“I don’t care.”

That was exactly what I had expected her to say.   “That thing Ben did, in New York, with the proto-wizard?”

“The mind meld?” She didn’t smile at the pop culture name we’d adopted for whatever it was that Ben had done to the man, as she usually did.  She was a huge Star Trek fan, which I found, well, illlogical, given her former profession.  Or perhaps that was exactly why she liked the show so much.  A professional soldier would appreciate a peaceful utopia.   “What of it?” she added.

“If he could reach Henry, he could tell him to stop fighting the transition.”
Jaimie looked down at Henry, who certainly couldn’t hear us now.  “Do you think he doesn’t already know that?”

“He quite likely does know that.  But Henry likes to get his own way.”  He’d fooled Ben into signing over his portion of the family inheritence because he didn’t like Ben’s choice of lifestyle.  “If Ben could appeal to him, let him see…”  I made myself say it.  “Let him see that if he doesn’t let this happen, he’ll die.  Henry’s sense of self-preservation might kick in.”

Jaimie pressed her lips together.  She hadn’t met Henry, but I’m sure Ben had shared with her the reason why he had to rely on his income as a wizard, when his family was so well off.

“I’ll go and get him,” she said.  “A long shot is better than the nothing we’ve got without it.”



About the Author:

Taylen Carver is the pen name used by best-selling author Tracy Cooper-Posey. 

As Taylen Carver, she writes contemporary, epic and urban fantasy stories and novels.  As Tracy Cooper-Posey, she writes romantic suspense, historical, paranormal, fantasy and science fiction romance, plus women’s fiction. She also writes science fiction, including best-selling space opera, under the pen name of Cameron Cooper. 
 
She has published over 180 titles under all pen names since 1999, been nominated for five CAPAs including Favourite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award. She turned to indie publishing in 2011. Her indie titles have been nominated four times for Book of The Year. Tracy won the award in 2012, a SFR Galaxy Award in 2016 and came fourth in Hugh Howey’s SPSFC#2 in 2023. She has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at MacEwan University. 

She is addicted to Irish Breakfast tea and chocolate, sometimes taken together. In her spare time she enjoys history, Sherlock Holmes, science fiction and fantasy and ignoring her treadmill. An Australian Canadian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a former professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line.









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Wednesday, April 10, 2024

COVER REVEAL: MARKED UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN Book 3 (Susanna Storm)



Marked Under the Midnight Sun
Black Rock Guardians 
Book Three
Susanna Strom

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Cougar Creek Publishing, LLC
Date of Publication: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781960382092
ASIN: B0CKKXFYFC
Cover Artist: Lori Jackson 

Tagline: He was loaded for bear. And he still wasn’t ready for her… 

Book Description:

Viggo

I do jobs no one else in my pack can do. Dirty jobs.

Like kidnapping Liv Hagen.

I didn’t want to do it. I was just following my alpha’s orders.

I never thought my bear would think she’s ours.

But there’s no way I can keep her. The consequences are too dire.

So, when the time comes, I’ll have no choice but to surrender her to fate.

Even if it kills me…

Liv

Kidnapped, held captive, and used as a bargaining chip against the Black Rock Guardians.

Yeah. Seems about right for my luck.

But if the big, bad bear shifter thinks I’m going to submit to his—or anyone’s—will, he’s got another thing coming.

Which is why I’ll just have to ignore my attraction to the sexy jerk. It’s probably Stockholm syndrome, anyway.

I mean, it’s not like he’s my fated mate or anything… right?

Marked Under the Midnight Sun, Book 3 in the Black Rock Guardians Series, is a lightly angsty, enemies to lovers paranormal romance with plenty of spice and tense moments, and just the right amount of suspense, action, and adventure. Download today and get ready for the supernatural romance you didn’t know you needed.

Amazon     Kobo     Apple     BN     Books2Read      


About the Author:

Susanna loves to read―and write―stories full of complex characters who find love, hope, and connection while navigating through an exciting and dangerous world. Susanna lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and two very spoiled cats.






Susanna’s Stormers, Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1572291033136914 





Thursday, April 4, 2024

INTERVIEW WITH MARK TOWSE (Chasing the Dragon)

 


Today we're welcoming author Mark Towse to the page. Welcome, Mark! Let's look at our three quick and easy questions.

Supernatural Central Short and Quick Interview


1. Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

2. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

3. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?


1.

It’s me on the pages of this book: the same upbringing as Simon, the same claustrophobic and uncomfortable environment, all dictated by my iron-fisted mother. If I left crumbs on the counter or a cup next to the sink without washing it, my life would not be worth living. And God forbid if someone parked outside our house or started playing loud music. In those cases, the day, possibly week, would be ruined. My mother even uttered the words, "When will the chaos end?" at one point, thus the multiple references in the story. The Reformo connection is all about the fantasy world I often escaped to. 

Writing this was incredibly cathartic and therapeutic. At its most basic, this is a story about someone trying to escape trauma. Even when Simon’s mother is dead, her voice lives on in his head. He just wants to be free of it, free of the baggage, and to live a normal life. Whatever that means. The only way he believes he can finally escape her hold is to have a cape made by the local chain-smoking seamstress, Janice and take to the streets to “End the chaos.”

Life is imperfect and so are we.


2.

I’m not sure one would class it as a paranormal experience, but I have a memory forever burned in my mind from a visit to Scotland. There were four of us. Kids. No more than twelve. While our parents rested from the long drive, we ventured into the woods, promising we would not go too far. That was often enough reassurance in those days.

The sun was on its way down, creating all sorts of skeletal displays on the forest carpet. Hide and seek was our go-to in those days. Always a winner. I recall finding a good spot behind this massive tree. Oak, I think it was. A shudder just ran down my spine when I think back now. Anyhow, I heard breathing coming from behind. I closed my eyes and pinned myself against the tree, hoping I might get away with it. The breathing got louder. And louder. I closed my eyes tighter still. I was sure I would be found, but I felt no tap on my shoulder. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw my three friends in the distance, searching high and low in the bushes and trees. 

It was just me and that—breathing?

I turned but couldn’t see anything. I’m not sure what possessed me, but I followed the sound, my heart jumping in my mouth when I reached the clearing. It was almost mechanical in nature, a living, breathing patch of earth that opened and closed like a mouth. Wisps of mist expelled from the darkness. I froze. I tried to cry out to my friends, but the scream lodged in my throat. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was David. When he saw the ‘mouth,’ the blood ran from his head. My other friends arrived then, and we all stared into the darkness. Then we ran like the wind.

To this day, I have no idea what it could have been. Part of me doesn’t want to know… the part that still holds on for dear life to the awe and wonder we often felt as children.


3.

I have a book coming out from Wicked House Publishing in January 2025 called 'The Sound of Suffering." It's a much more serious piece of work. Once again, as a lifelong tinnitus sufferer, it's loosely based on my own experiences. Only there are more sinister undertones at play with our protagonist. Every reader on the submission board confirmed the book as the best manuscript they'd seen to date. I'm a little excited about that one.

I'm currently working on two projects: a collaboration with Daemon Manx called 'Try Not to Die in Arcranium,' a spin-off from our very successful novella, 'Arcranium,' and a solo horror novel set in a small British seaside town. Both should do well. Hopefully.




Thanks so much for joining us. Let's take a look at your book now!



Chasing The Dragon
Mark Towse

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Comedy

Publisher: Eerie River Publishing
Date of Publication: 23rd March 2024
ISBN: 1998112268
ASIN: B0CR6PNZLQ
Number of pages: 234
Word Count: 68,650

Cover Artist: Tom Brown

Tagline: The town needed a hero… it got Reformo.

Book Description: 

A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.

Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.

Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos." Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon's plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.

The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.



About the Author: 

Mark Towse is an English horror writer living in Australia. He would sell his soul to the devil or anyone buying if it meant he could write full-time. Alas, he left it very late to begin this journey, penning his first story since primary school at the ripe old age of forty-five. Since then, he's been published in over two hundred journals and anthologies, had his work made into full theatrical productions for shows such as The No Sleep Podcast and Tales to Terrify, and has penned fourteen novellas, including Nana, Gone to the Dogs, 3:33, and Crows. Chasing The Dragon is his debut novel.









Tuesday, April 2, 2024

SPOTLIGHT: THE HOLY MAN'S SINNER-Blood Coven World (T.M. Smith)

 


The Holy Man’s Sinner
Blood Coven World 
Book Three
T. M. Smith

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Date of Publication: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 978-0-3695-0982-6
ASIN: B0CZ18QJRN
Number of pages: 79
Word Count: 1597
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Tagline: An unlikely heart seeks redemption

Book Description:

In an opposites-attract story, the vampire Elisabeta is searching for more than just pleasure and the bludfrenzy. 

When she crosses paths with Nelo, a holy man with a rebellious streak, her world is turned upside down. 

As she navigates a new path filled with self-discovery, romance, and redemption, she must confront the challenges that threaten to tear them apart. 

Will their love transcend the judgment of others and the shadows of their pasts?


Amazon      BN       Kobo     Apple      Books2Read  


Excerpt:

“Tell me about these selfless acts which will heal me.” Her lips caressed the glass as she sipped her drink.

Nelo’s breath caught at the sight. Remembering the conversation, he puzzled his chin with forefinger. “Good deeds will fill your days and contemplation your nights. At the end of your healing, a worthy, seductive male awaits your recovery.” He patted his chest. “The male would be me.”

“Cruor, you lack humility.”

“It is a flaw I work on.”

“In the meantime, you’ll assign me to a soup kitchen until I feel better about myself?”

“To something. Not a soup kitchen.” He tilted his glass, swallowing a sip and noticing how Elisabeta watched him.

“How do you know your solution will work?” she asked.

He rolled the amber liquid in the tumbler. “I am the Cruor, a male wise beyond his years.”

“With only a small flaw.”

“So tiny. Not worth mentioning.” He threw back his drink, rose, and shoved out his hand.




About the Author:

After retiring from her career in education, T. M. Smith settled in to write something more creative than lesson plans on split infinitives and inner-school memos on noise in the hallway.

Taking great interest in the lives of vampires, demons, elves, mages, and other magical beings, she began a paranormal romance series of five books with alpha males who aren't always nice and females who have no problem keeping them in line. The Blood Coven Series is complete. Her new project is a series of stand-alone, short novellas set in the Blood Coven World. In the meantime, she is working on a longer surprise project.

Here are more orts, scraps, and fragments from her life. (a homage to Virginia Wolf and Shakespeare.) She moved from sunny Las Vegas to the less-than-sunny Pacific Northwest. Here she has adventures with her daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters who also moved to the area. She also enjoys a membership at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN), a local organization that supports the arts and offers classes and events in eleven different studios. It was at BARN where her critique group began. With equal time given to in-depth comments on each other's works, snarky remarks, and laughter, they have now been together nearly eight years.



Contact Me Form: https://bit.ly/43AUMjA

Newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/h8rQVL









Monday, April 1, 2024

INTERVIEW WITH LUCINDA WICKED (Cosmic Requiem Circle)

 


Welcome to April, everyone. Today our guest is Lucinda Wicked. Welcome, Lucinda!

Thanks for answering our three quick and easy questions.

Supernatural Central Short and Quick Interview


1. Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

The main characters of this book would be Lady Death and Mistress Misery. They are actually based on characters I created and have been cosplaying for over 10 years. Lady Death is a bubbly curvy woman who has no problem reminding you of your place in her world. She is Death and has been thought and seen the world since the dawn of time. She doesn’t see the world as one where she needs anyone except her reapers which she only creates laters on. She doesn’t even want Misery around. But you’ll have to read the series to get to know more about her.


2. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

I do! I believe that spirits watch over us all the time. We spend time with them and they help guide us sometimes when we need it.

3. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

As of now we are actually working on a few titles. This year we plan to publish a total of 6 books! They are: Chatalos of Chaos which will come out in May 2024. It's the Novella that explains how Mistress Misery Started the Black Plague. It is a mini story based on the Cosmic Requiem Circle Series. The next book that I am currently finishing up is Whispers Across the Styx which is a story that’s a modern day take on the Greek Gods Charon & Circe. He’s Morally Grey and a biker. She's a tattooed and curvy Baddie. It's a good little mix going on with spicy and trigger warnings. That will come out in July 2024 and is open for Pre-Order today on my site. The next would be Serpentine Symphony which goes into the modern story of Norse gods Loki and his wife Sigyn. This is one that is close to my heart as they very rarely talked about as a couple. They as well will be pushed into a modern era. That is expected for August 2024. The final two will be books 2 and 3 of the Cosmic Requiem Circle Series. They are expected for October and December of 2024.


Thanks for joining us. Let's take a look at your book now!

Cosmic Requiem Circle
Book One
Lucinda Wicked

Genre: LGBT, Paranormal, Dark Romance
Date of Publication:  January 13, 2024 
ISBN: 979-8872258339
ASIN: ‎B0CQKNLLF5 
Number of pages: 236
Word Count: 51,097 words 
Cover Artist: Lucinda Wicked

Tagline: Where shadows dance, and echoes of demise intertwine, Lady Death and Mistress Misery conduct the cosmic requiem, orchestrating the symphony of eternal darkness.

Book Description: 

Slice, butcher, kill

Misery has lived the last eon by their code. Hunting everything with and without breath for the right price. Unfeeling, without mercy. A greedy overlord makes Misery an offer they can't refuse. All they have to do is kill the silver ghost

Except this ghost is not really a ghost…

Collect, collect, collect

Death has learned the hard way that solitude is the only way to safeguard her heart. Cold, ruthless and without compassion, the universe has learnt to be terrified of death. Deserting at the mention of her name.

Until there was one who wasn't terrified. One who dared hold a knife to her throat.

Death is curious…

The universe has thrown death and Misery together and an ancient force looms in the background…

Death is about to find out that there are more twisted things in the universe and that perhaps…Death doesn't have to walk alone.


Excerpt:

Death was finally able to take a nap, she rested, moving to a beach in her dreams. As she sunbathed, she felt a ripple through her dream. An odious black thing streaking the sky. She felt a subtle tremor in the cosmic threads, a disturbance that distrusted her sleep, bathing her dream world in darkness.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” She said, stretching her hand for her scythe. She got up and took off the sarong, slipping her arms through the sleeves of a satin robe.

With the sharp edge of her scythe, she ripped through the fabric of the dream world.

“I actually put a lot of work into creating this one. This better be worth it.” Death murmured, stepping out of the dream and entering a black void.

She found herself standing within the threading—a vast expanse where the fabric of existence intertwined.

Threads stretched in every direction, touching each other in a complex web of interconnections. Each thread was connected to another. They revolved around a small spool in the center.

She found herself, a small piece of black lopping around each thread.

“What is it this time?” She said into the endless void, her voice echoing.

Tainted threads manifested before her, the red threads had clumps of black glue choking it. Her face contorted in a grimace.

“Damn. That’s a lot of dirt. What has this soul done?” She asked. “Come. Let’s go find them. Someone has to die.” She sighed.

She stepped into Misery’s dream. She was lying awake in a dark space.

“Really? You have the ability to think of anything and this is what you choose?” She said, scoffing. “You’re unbelievable. I don’t know why I bother.” Death finished.

Deathless eyes stare back at her.

“The dark is comforting. You should know that better than anyone else. It is home to vile twisted things like us. Come lay with me.”

“Would love to but this is a bye bye text. I’m too lazy to reach for my phone. I’m killing two birds with one scythe.”“That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Who cares.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Somewhere terrible. " Death said.

Misery sat up, the shadows binding her to the black space falling away. “Where are you going?”

Death looked up, trying to convince her eyes to unsee Misery soft, white, naked, eyes open in ecstasy.

“To hunt a tainted thread.” Death said mindlessly.

“I’m coming with.” Misery said.

“You’re not. You’re busted up. Why are you naked?”

“I sleep naked.” Misery said, brows scrunching in confusion.

“I did not need to know that.” Death said, making a strangled noise. “Why do you insist on coming with me, Misery?” Death questioned, her mood souring. She looked at Misery with cold emotionless eyes.

Misery, undeterred, responded, “I’m connected to the balance as much as you are. I’m connected to you. It’s a roundabout thing. won’t stay idle when darkness threatens.”

“Everybody is connected to me, little psycho. Try again. I’ll be the last to leave this universe when it ceases endless existence. I’ll turn the lights out behind me. I’ll escort your soul to the after life too. Try again, Mise.”

“I have no soul.” Misery grinned, cracking open her chest to reveal a black empty space.

Death scowled. “You’re still not coming along.”

“Yes I am. I’m coming to cover your ass.”

“Literally or figuratively.” Said Death, her lids lowering. Misery flushed, disappearing into the shadows.

“Well. I’ll see you when I’m back.” Death said.

“I’ll be downstairs in five minutes. We both need to get dressed and you take ten years to change your clothes.” Misery said at the same time, wrinkling her nose.

They looked at each other, both frowning.

“I’m coming. The End.” Said Misery, disappearing into the shadows. Death cursed, opening her eyes.

She stood up, heading to her closet. She yanked out a long flowing lace vest and a pair of leather pants. She wore a silk shirt under the vest, the lace vest on it and a corset on the whole ensemble.

The lace looked like it was sewed to the corset. She slipped on a pair of black studded six inch stilettos and raced outside, sliding down the railing to the foyer.

She rushed outside, opening her Mercedes and taking a seat in the driver’s side. She pulled out of the castle, doing a victory dance.

She dialed Misery’s number, tapping her acrylics on the screen joyfully. The phone rang from inside the car.

She looked back to see a grinning Misery lounging in the back seat.

“You have to be shitting me.” Death said, shaking her head.

“I wish. You’re not supposed to leave people you’re going out with at home.” She said, laughing. She smoothly maneuvered herself from the back seat to the passenger’s side.



About the Author:

Meet Lucinda Wicked – a seasoned cosplayer with over a decade of experience. When she's not donning epic costumes, Luci runs her own gig catering to the spooky souls out there. Stickers, sweaters, and more – she's got your eerie cravings covered. Luci's love for all things spooky is practically woven into the fabric of her creations.

But Luci is not just a business owner; she's a proud member of the LGBT+, BIPOC, and Neurodivergent communities. Embracing diversity and uniqueness is not just a trend for her – it's a way of life.

You can snag Luci's otherworldly wares at Luminous Moon Swag, whether you prefer the virtual aisles of Etsy or the online realm at luminousmoonswag.com. And if you're in the mood for a quick cosmic escape, check out her TikTok micro-episodes featuring the Cosmic Requiem Circle.

In her spare time, you'll find Luci immersed in the magical realms of her own creation, embracing the spooky, and spreading a cosmic vibe. This is Lucinda Wicked – crafting dreams and bringing a touch of the supernatural to your everyday life.