by Amos Cassidy
The blue light surged brighter and the Tinkers buzzed angrily.
Henry’s face broke into a smile and his gaunt face was transformed, he looked almost handsome. “Thank you, ladies.” His voice already sounded stronger, more vibrant.
Thistle stared at the shield in awe. “What’s happening?”
“Your collective energy is feeding the spell.” He let out a thrilled bark of laughter. “We’re doing it! Together we can do it!”
The Tinkers hovered for a moment longer then surged into a huddle as if conferring.
Flo frowned. “What are the little buggers doing now?”
“I don’t… oh dear...” Henry shook his head as one of the Tinkerbells turned and made a beeline in Rose’s direction.
“Back off, she’s mine!” Faye waved her hands at the Darklings and the Tinkerbells, commanding them to move away. The darkling obliged immediately hopping from foot to foot eagerly. The Tinkers buzzed with annoyance having been denied their prize but, after a slight hesitation, obliged also.
Rose faced Faye, her hands clenched into fists at her side.
“You know what I really want?” Faye purred.
“A smaller arse?” Rose quipped. She notice Faye flinch almost imperceptibly– she’d always had a complex about the size of her behind.
Faye’s eyes were narrow slits of menace. “I want you dead!”
“Well, I want a Big Mac and fries but we can’t always get what we want.” Rose let out an exaggerated sigh of longing.
The corner of Faye’s mouth tugged up in a half smile. “That’s just so you isn’t it? Hiding behind that smart mouth of yours.” She stroked the handle of her whip. “Hiding your feelings behind little quips and sarcastic comments, hiding the hurt and fear and despair behind a carefully manufactured don’t give a shit attitude.”
Rose couldn’t help but flinch as the point hit home. It was true and she knew it. She knew that if she turned her head slightly to the left she would be staring into the dead face of Roman. She knew that if she allowed herself to she would fall apart. She would not allow that to happen.
So, instead, she raised her chin in defiance. “Cut the amateur psychology and get to the point.”
Faye’s jaw hardened. “The point is that I’m going to give you your dearest wish right now.”
“You’re going to get me a Big Mac and fries?” Rose allowed her eyes to widen in mock surprise.
“I’m going to send you to your lover boy.”
“Bring it on, bitch.” Rose allowed the anger to flood her, revelling in it as it mutated into the rage that she had been holding in check thus far. She felt the familiar tingle of power as it unlocked itself and surged outwards from her centre to her extremities. Her hands began to glow.
Faye cracked her whip, falling into battle stance.
They moved in unison toward each other, both yearning for the other’s blood.
There was a loud crack like the sound of thunder. They both stopped, glancing up simultaneously.
The turquoise power was no longer whirling on the ceiling but had condensed into a large ball, which hovered directly overhead. It took them only a moment to take in the sight before another crack sounded. A bolt of turquoise energy shot out of the ball and lanced straight into Rose’s chest. There was no chance to scream as all breath was expelled from her lungs
Rose could feel the invasion like hot needles piercing her skin but was powerless to prevent it or to loosen its grip. She saw Faye’s eyes, wide with shock, saw her lips moving, but her ears were filled with the roaring of a thousand oceans. She staggered, her legs giving way, she landed hard on the ground. Her heart, it had her heart. Her head hit the ground, her eyes flickering, and she saw him– Roman, so close, she could reach out and touch him. And so she did. Her senses screamed in pain and then she was swallowed by light.
45.
THE BEGINNING
“You can’t keep me in here.” She was tired, so tired, yet full to the brim with energy. How could it be that the world was so bright? Every tiny mote of dust sparkled like a jewel. She reached out to touch them, these floating gems. It wasn’t so bad in the box but she missed home– earth that tasted of cinnamon, air that smelt of all the seasons rolled into one. She shook her head, confused at thoughts that were not her own. Home. Home is…a man with drawn features and a plump lady who smiles easily and…the jewels in the air were so pretty.
“She’s distracted again.” Raven sighed. “We haven’t a clue what’s going on out there and no idea how to stop it.”
“Keeping Rose in the box seems to have isolated the power. We’re preventing any further damage.” Richard watched the beautiful girl with the golden hair as she pirouetted inside the glass box, snatching at the air and giggling like a child. The glow emanating from her was muted at the moment, but over the past couple of days he had seen it so bright it had almost blinded him. Something resided within her now, a fey power, which they had no control over, and no inkling as to how to remove it. The only thing they were sure of was that its release into their world had caused a rip in the fabric of their reality. The survivors of the feys’ scheme had returned to an eternal night where hungry creatures lurked in the forever dark.
“And the evacuations?” Raven asked.
“Already begun.”
“Its hell outside.”
“Let’s just hope we can stop it from spreading.” Richard turned his back on the glass box and walked toward the exit. “There’s nothing we can do for her now, Raven.”
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SNEAK PREVIEW OF CRIMSON DARKNESS
PROLOGUE
November 1st 00:08am:
Robert looked up at the sky. It seemed really dark, darker than night normally was. He was sweating, and taking a moment to gather himself before replacing yet more rails just outside London Bridge Station.
He hated working weekends. His job would be perfect if he didn’t have to work weekends. And if working a weekend wasn’t bad enough, it had to be a night shift! That’s what you got working on the railways in London; weekend engineering works.
I could murder a fag…
He felt the ground tremble a little.
“Phil?”
His supervisor turned to face him. “Yes, mate?”
“Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?”
The ground shook again.
“That.”
“What was that?” Phil frowned.
Robert noticed the lights of The Shard, the tall glass tower, flicker and then glanced down at the ground; it was vibrating.
Some of the other men had stopped work too; they were glancing about, looking confused.
“Phil…”
“We’re getting off here and getting some people to come and have a look. I don’t know what this is but we’ll stop till we get it checked out. Come on, Rob.”
The rails bent, screeched, and popped off their sleepers, lifting from the ground and falling back with a loud clang.
“Get off the tracks!”
Robert didn’t need telling twice. No one did. He moved quickly, avoiding each rail that broke free. A bolt struck his head and he stumbled.
“Shit!”
He fell to his knees, blood streaming from his forehead and trickling down his face.
Phil spun round. “Rob! You all right, mate?”
Before Robert could answer, a rail burst upward from behind Phil and impaled him through his stomach. Blood and shredded entrails spilled to the ground. Phil’s eyes went wide. Blood spewed from his mouth. And then the top half of Phil’s body fell forward and hit the ground with a horrible crunch.
Robert screamed and gagged and threw up all
over himself.
There was a cracking sound, a strong deep vibration beneath him. The ground felt suddenly loose and unstable. Before he could react, his body was in the air, hurtling towards The Shard.
Robert Green’s last thought was a question - where were the stars? He died in flight. His heart gave out as he flew through the air at record speed, gaining height. Being spared the impact was a blessing. He struck The Shard in an explosion of pink and red. Part of the glass surface of the building fractured and cracked. Pieces rained free, plummeting to the ground in a killing descent.
November 1st 0:15am:
“Man, you look fucking hot in that outfit,” Sean breathed huskily into her neck. Sarah squirmed against him partly in pleasure and partly in discomfort. The bricks in the wall were digging in to her back. Sean’s lips found the pulse at the base of her throat and he licked and nipped his way up her neck, across her jaw-line, finally stopping to claim her mouth in a hungry kiss. Sarah forgot all about the wall and gave herself up to the moment.
His hands were hot and demanding, tugging at her mini-skirt until it was bunched up around her waist.
“Wait.” Her breath was short and shallow. She could feel how wet she was; the sheer fabric of her knickers was stuck to her sex. “Maybe we should go back to the hotel.” She rubbed herself against his hand, moaning in pleasure as he pushed her knickers aside, his fingers finding her clit. “Oh, Sean! Oh, God! Don’t stop!” She whimpered in pleasure.
“Fuck, Sarah. You’re so fucking wet. I want to taste you.” And then he was slipping down her body, his hands gripping her waist, his lips planting fiery kisses across her hips, her pubic bone.
She tensed in anticipation.
His tongue lapped at her, sending fiery impulses flashing through her body, her back arched against the wall as his mouth claimed her and he sucked hungrily. She was close, so close…
She threw her head back and watched the moon through slitted eyes. “Oh. My. God.” The orgasm ripped through her with a ferocious intensity that knocked the breath from her lungs.
And then the moon went out.
Something scrambled in the dark to their left. “Sean, what was that?” Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she looked down on him. The pounding of her heart was now due to fear more than extreme pleasure. A primal part of her was urging her to flee but the rational part held her steady. “Sean?” She shook him, pulling his lips from her skin.
“What?” Sean looked up, his usually bright blue eyes consumed by shadow, his lips glistening with her juices. It was suddenly too dark to see. The moonlight was gone, and the only illumination filtered weakly from a street lamp outside the alley on the other side of the road. She felt suddenly claustrophobic. She wriggled. She wanted to get out of here, back to the hotel.
“Sean, we should go.” Her voice quivered.
“In a minute.” Sean reached up to caress her breast but his hand never made it because something leapt out of the darkness and ripped it away.
Sarah choked on a scream as Sean was suddenly swallowed by darkness. She stood braced against the wall, her skirt around her waist, her fingers digging into the brick work, legs trembling with fear.
“Sean?” she whispered, her eyes scanning the almost absolute dark. When had it gotten so quiet?
Something caressed her leg, licking its way up her calf. She stood paralysed by fear, tears of impotence trickling down her cheeks. Move, dammit! Move! Her legs refused to obey and she could do nothing but watch in horror as a lizard-like creature wound its way up her thigh. It stopped when it reached her crotch and raised its head, dull obsidian eyes stared up at her and its head split open to reveal row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. It whipped back its head and latched on, and the scream locked inside her throat finally found release.
November 1st 00:20am:
Everything was dark, so fucking dark!
Everyone was running, pushing, shoving. She couldn’t see anything, her head was spinning. Damn those cocktails!
Something shrieked, there was a sharp pain in her side, and then she was on her back. She waited for the feet to trample her but they didn’t. Instead, sharp things scraped her cheeks, hot inhuman breath toxic to her senses. She didn’t cry out, didn’t scream. She was numb. Instead she laughed. It was all too funny, too bloody messed up. Damn cocktails! She’d had too many. Piss head! Go on, have another Sex on the Beach. Or was that have another Shag on the Beach? Ha! She wished! Bloody John and his wandering eye, or should that be his wandering Third Eye? She’d got him good though, real good. And that made her happy.
The smile didn’t leave her face even as half of it was torn away.
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About the Author
Amos Cassidy is the pen name for Richard Amos and Debbie Cassidy. Amos is a 31 year old Diva and Cassidy a 38 year old mother of three; well, four if you include the husband. A common love of all things Joss Whedon, Urban Fantasy, and a tug of war over Jensen Ackles, brought them together, and one cold February afternoon, over nibbles and coffee, their partnership was born.
You can find Cassidy hard at work in her fortress of solitude which has eaten up the majority of her garden, and Amos...well he's still trying to get the invisibility gizmo he got off a friendly alien in exchange for a pair of earphones to work. Funnily enough, he hasn't been seen around much lately...
Frequent doses of sugary snacks, coupled with regular injections of caffeine, aid in their production of a unique brand of cross-genre tales. They are always writing, but are happy to take a break to chat to their wonderful readers, so drop them a line at amoscassidy.com, or just pop over to see what they're working on and they'll bust out the biscuit tin.
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