Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More

by Rebecca Hamilton

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  KALE OPENED HIS eyes. Just little slits against the light. His mind was like a blank slate. No memory. He blinked and rubbed the grit from the corners of his eyes. His hand felt heavy, as if it didn’t belong to him. He let it fall back to his side. He didn’t know where he was and it didn’t occur to him to be bothered by that. This wasn’t his room at the department. To big, to light and airy.

  Where am I?

  Dead? Maybe. That thought didn’t bother him either.

  Little snips of memory began to flit in and out of his brain.

  Tanya.

  Had Tanya killed him? He tried to sit up because it seemed like he should.

  A soft hand on his shoulder gently stopped him. “Let’s just take it slow, okay?”

  Kale stared at the hand, followed the arm up, and looked into a face he didn’t recognize. A woman sat next to his bed. She had shiny brown hair pulled back from her face and very kind eyes. She was older than him, maybe fifty. He had never met her before. He was sure of that.

  He wanted to ask who she was, but his voice refused to cooperate. A short raspy noise was all that came from his throat.

  The woman took a cup from a side table and helped him to drink from it. Water had never tasted so good.

  “I’m Ingrid. I know you have a lot of questions, but let me start by telling you that I’m a friend and you are safe.”

  Kale swallowed. “Cross?” The word came out this time but his voice sounded rusty, like it hadn't been used in some time.

  Ingrid swept hair from his face. “He’s here and safe. He’ll be upset he missed being here when you woke up.”

  Kale closed his eyes and sought his brother. He needed more than this woman’s word. Almost immediately he found Cross and he relaxed. He grinned as he understood that Cross had not only heard him, but was now on his way to wherever he was.

  He must have fallen back to sleep. When he opened his eyes again, Cross was there holding his hand so hard it hurt. Kale didn’t mind. It confirmed they were both alive. “Hey.” His voice sounded more like the one he was use too, but still soft and weak.

  “Don’t ‘hey’ me,” Cross said. He sounded like he was mad, but he was smiling. He was also looking directly at Kale. No dark glasses.

  “You can see.”

  “Yeah, I’m getting better at it. God, it’s good to see you awake. How are you, man? I mean really, how are you doing?”

  Kale tried to hitch himself up a little in the bed, but didn’t have the strength.

  Cross offered a hand and helped him to sit against a pillow.

  “Where are we? What is this place? Who’s Ingrid?”

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” Cross relinquished Kale’s hand and sat back in his chair.

  Kale rested his head back against the pillow. Nothing came to him at first. But then images floated across his memory. One face stood out from the rest. “Tanya,” he said, and that one image opened the flood gates. “Tanya.” He remembered it all and closed his eyes. “What happened? I remember…I pushed her. I thought she killed me. I wanted her…” He opened his eyes and found Cross staring back at him.

  “You nearly got your wish,” Cross said. “There was nothing wrong with your push. Tanya tried to do exactly what you told her to do.” Cross pointed to the bandages covering half of Kale’s chest. “She stabbed you. Nicked a major vein. You almost bled to death. You should’ve bled to death.”

  “Then why aren’t I dead?”

  “Because a hell of a lot of people made sure that didn’t happen. Jesus, Kale, I want to be furious with you. I told you we could handle her together. Why? Why did you think you had to do that?”

  “I thought if I was dead, then you wouldn’t have to worry about her using me anymore. And she couldn’t use me to hurt anyone else.” He tried for the cocky grin. “It seemed like a really good idea at the time.”

  Cross sighed and Kale knew he was trying hard not to smile.

  “Okay, so that’s the part you remember. I suggest you hang to something for the rest because it’s a bumpy ride.” He crossed one leg over a knee, but kept his eyes on Kale. “While you were deciding to be all self- sacrificing and noble, Gabriel was paying me a little visit. He gave me back Niko and told me all he wanted was to be free of the department. I didn’t trust him, but I guess he was telling me the truth. Tanya had him killed.”

  “Gabriel’s dead?” Kale wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  “I felt him it.” Cross tapped the side of his head. “Up here. I felt his pain and then I felt him die.”

  “Wow, I thought he was always Team Tanya, you know?”

  “Yeah, me too. What he didn’t tell me was that Tanya had finally caught onto Vic. He was the one who helped me. She had him roughed up, locked him in a cell. Probably would’ve had him killed. Gabriel let him out.”

  “Vic shot Tanya that night. He blames himself for this.” Cross indicated Kale’s injuries. “He doesn’t like losing.”

  Kale sucked in a breath. “Then Tanya is dead. Was this the bumpy ride you were talking about?”

  “Part of it. Gabriel gave me something. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, wasn’t even sure I trusted him enough to use it.”

  “What did he give you?”

  “A second chance,” Cross said. “This place. He told me about this place. He grew up here. Ran away when he was a kid and never came back. But his sister stayed.”

  Kale thought about that. Little pieces were beginning to fall into place. “Ingrid.”

  “Yeah,” Cross said, “Ingrid. She’s our aunt, Kale. She’s like us. You know- different. The Department isn’t going to just forget about us because Tanya is gone. They know about the tunnels. They know everything. We couldn’t stay there and be safe.”

  “Where exactly are we?”

  Cross pushed out of the chair and went to the windows. He raised the shade and lovely, soft moonlight invaded the room. “Paradise, man. Paradise.”

  Kale struggled to see out of the little window, but all he saw were tree-tops and the pale light of the moon. But Cross was right, it was a far cry from his cold little cell at the Department.

  “Gabriel told me no one at the Department knew about this place or Ingrid.”

  “So we’re safe here?”

  “You are very safe here.” The voice from the doorway had them both turning. Ingrid stood there. She had a kind face, Kale decided. Soft and smooth, but her eyes were tough looking. Like she had fought a lot of battles and won them all. Then he remembered she was his aunt. His blood.

  Family.

  “I thought I told you to go slow with him,” she said to Cross. She came and sat on the edge of Kale’s bed. One hand touched his forehead. “For two weeks this boy has given me nothing but sleepless nights.” She lowered her hand. “I won’t have you putting him at risk now. I worked too hard to keep him breathing. Out.”

  “Wait,” Kale realized what Ingrid had said. “Two weeks? I’ve been out of it for two weeks?” Cross turned back, but Ingrid shushed him with a look and shooed him out the door. Cross gave an embarrassed shrug.

  Later, man. I promise.

  Ingrid sent Cross a disapproving look. Obviously she had heard Cross’s thoughts.

  This is going to be interesting.

  “Indeed it is.” Ingrid said. “I told your brother he had a few minutes. He’s had that and more. I know you have more questions, but you’re weak and you need to rest. Everything will fall into place when it is time. Sleep. I’ll know when you’re awake. You’ll be stronger next time. I promise.” She kissed Kale on the head, pulled his covers up, and smoothed a hand over face. “Sleep Kale. No one can hurt you here.”

  Kale believed her and closed his eyes.

  When they were outside Kale’s room, Ingrid quietly shut the door and glared at Cross.

  “I’m sorry, he needed to know. I needed to tell him.” Cross looked, of all things, uncertain.

  “Am I really all that scary?” I
ngrid tried not to laugh. “It’s okay, Cross. I’m not sure I could have done better if the situation had been reversed.” She took his face in her hands and studied him with concern. “You need rest as well. You took far too much of his injuries. He is still too weak for you to give them back. They’re yours now, you have to treat them that way.”

  “I’m fine,” Cross said. “I’m great, now that I know Kale will pull through.”

  “Hmmm, he might pull through, but you, my dear Cross, are stubborn and just this side of fine. Get some rest. You’ll be no good to anyone like this. You need to be strong for what is coming. You need to be strong for all these souls who, like it or not, look up to you now for answers.”

  “I don’t have any answers. I’m just trying to do the best I can. I’m just trying to do the same thing they are. Survive.”

  Ingrid gave him a side-way glance. “Well like or not, those people look to you for answers, and I think we can do a lot better than just survive, nephew. Perhaps we might even manage to figure out how to live.”

  “There’s more of them, you know. The ones still kept in cages back at the Department. I’m responsible for putting some of them there. I have to make that right. I can’t leave them there.”

  Ingrid wiped a thumb softly across the bruised flesh under his eye. He was worn out and feeling guilty. She could feel that as easily as she felt the tears on his face.

  “We won’t leave them. I promise. But for now, you need to rest. I’ll look after your brother.” She led him to his room down the hall. Once he was lying on the bed, she placed a small sleeping spell on him. He would be angry over the deceit, but he would feel so much better in the morning if he slept without worrying about everything. She took his shoes off and covered him, dimmed the light and left the door opened a crack. He was sound asleep before she left the room.

  With both Cross and Kale sleeping, Ingrid walked on silent feet through her house. She made sure Vic and Finn were settled in. She checked on every one of her charges and soothed raw nerves and left calmness in her wake. Only then did she go through her nightly routine.

  All the locks were checked, the candles blown out. When she determined everything and everyone was safe and secure, she went to the back door and turned on the small porch light. The one she had turned on every night since Gabriel had run away as a child. Just in case he came home in the dark. Ingrid wanted him to know she had never forgotten about him. She still waited for him.

  The light wasn’t bright, just a small beacon in the dark.

  A little glimmer of hope in the night for all those who were lost to find their way home.

  * * *

  Find out more about the origins of The Department and how it led up to Dark Crossing with the first book in my Coyote Moon series: FALLEN. Also look for the next book soon to be out, CROSS ROADS. a bridge book between Coyote Moon and my new Darking series!

  http://amzn.to/1VQe7n7

  annsimko.com

  * * *

  About Ann Simko

  When not writing, Ann Simko works as a nurse at a level one trauma center. Her first novel Fallen was originally published in 2009, where it became the number one best seller for thrillers in her publishing house for almost a year. She writes thrillers, anything with a ticking-bomb type of plot, maybe with a wee bit of paranormal thrown in for fun.

  She lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband who puts up with her over active imagination, two scary teenagers who try to ignore her, three very large dogs, six cats and five extraordinarily large lawn ornaments otherwise known as horses.

  * * *

  Read more by this author!

  http://amzn.to/1VQeeze

  annsimko.com

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  JUMP TO...

  A DOSE OF BRIMSTONE by NOREE COSPER

  END OF DREAMS by KIM FAULKS

  HAUNT by HEATHER HAMBEL CURLEY

  DARK CROSSINGS by ANN SIMKO

  HEADSPACE by CALINDA B

  THE OTHER F WORD by SUSAN STEC

  UNLEASHED by RACHEL MCCLELLAN

  HIDDEN INTENTIONS by STACY CLAFLIN

  THE COMPLETE BLOODLING SERIAL by AIMEE EASTERLING

  SHE WHO FIGHTS MONSTERS by KYOKO M

  ST. CHARLES AT DUSK by SARAH M. CRADIT

  WICKED BY NATURE by MADISON SEVIER

  UNDERLIFE by MARISSA FARRAR

  DRAGON’S REDEMPTION by EDEN ASHE

  MILAN’S RETURN by GRAE LILY

  THE BREAKERS CODE by CONNER KRESSLEY

  THE MEDIUM by MR GRAHAM

  WICCAN WARS by HEATHER MARIE ADKINS

  CARPE NOCTEM by KATIE SALIDAS

  A QUESTION OF FAITH by NICOLE ZOLTACK

  HEADSPACE

  BY CALINDA B

  Copyright @2013 Calinda B

  Vienna Venetta, gifted mutant psychic with an extraordinary twist, has phenomenal intuition and the ability to make people think they actually had the experience she pulls from their mind. She operates a high tech, fantasy reality business, as a sought after virtual mistress, in her private room known as Headspace. Vienna's very successful in her virtual, high tech world but in her real life, she's never climaxed. That's been her secret since high school.

  When Vienna confides her secret in Jonas, her long time best friend, he wants to help, promising success by her birthday. Only thing is, he's in a committed relationship with a steady girlfriend. When his shrewish girlfriend becomes jealous over his friendship with Vienna, will he cut off the friendship and break her heart? Or will Vienna pull the plug, ending the friendship? Find out in Headspace: Seattle. Year 2052.

  Published by Sumner McKenzie, Inc.

  Kingston, WA, 98346

  Ebook Edition

  Copyright @2013 Calinda B

  All Rights Reserved

  License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people, but it can be lent according to the retailer’s coding. If you would like to give this book to another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an online retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Preface

  Seattle. Year 2052 -

  REMEMBER THOSE MAD Max movies from a million years ago? How they lived in barren, apocalyptic circumstances, scrambling along the desert like motorized rats, using what’s left to fashion their reality? Seattle’s kinda like that. Whole world, actually. Only it’s not so much sterile, as it is a mash up of techno meets nature wipe-out. You do what you can to survive. Make ends meet. We’re all struggling to get by. To pick up the pieces of this sorry world and shape it into something recognizable.

  Me? I managed to score a job as a virtual fantasy mistress. More like created it. I’ve got crazy mutant skills no one on planet Earth can quite comprehend. They’re more along the lines of my “need to know reality” and no one, and I mean no one, needs to know about them. The only thing my customers need to know is how to find me, how to pay me, and what device they need to get before they show up.

  I’m good at what I do. Clients pay me big money. I’m wealthier than I could ever be working mainstream. And right now, I’m trying to come up with some new marketing material.

  I type on my keypad, I’m an enactor of your fantasies. Your wildest dreams. Anything you want to try. It all comes true in my Headspace.

  I wipe the screen with my hand. No. Too cheesy. Needs more mystery. I try again.

  Does your headspace need a jump start? Welcome to my world, where fantasy collides with your deepest desires in an explosion beyond your wildest dreams. I chuckle. Kind of dramatic, but not an exaggeration. I erase and try again.

  Let me enter your mind, access your fantasies, and enact them with you. Let’s have some fun, shall we?

  I cock
my head and study the words before me. They hang in the air, awaiting their fate. I like it. It’s simple. To the point. I snap my fingers and the words dissolve, fading in a stream heading to some marketing firm in Malaysia. The finished materials will be delivered to my marketing distributor by ten tonight.

  Satisfied, I power down the computer, and prepare for some relax time, when my pulse-com chimes in my head. A fleeting thought buzzes through my mind, wondering if the person calling me will be the one who enables me to find love. I mean, come on—anyone can act out a fantasy. All you have to master is Moaning 101. Few manage to find and maintain true love.

  Chapter 1

  “SO,” I BEGIN, twirling a long lock of purple hair around my finger. The purple lock is surrounded by blond hair. I have Nordic features—blond hair, light blue eyes fringed with blond lashes, pale skin—but a rebellious streak in me calls for touches of bold color from time to time. “What if I told you a secret?” Where the hell did that come from? I nervously pick at a scratch in the desk, flicking it with a long, purple painted nail.

  “I’d say, ‘What this time?’” the male voice on the other side of the phone answers. He chuckles. “You tell me everything.”

  “I do seem to.” I picture his dark wavy hair and intense blue eyes. His eyes are like liquid heaven. Sometimes, when he looks at me, he makes me squirm like he’s sliding his fingers inside my secret longings and finding places I’d rather not feel…or else want to explore wholeheartedly with an abandon I cannot afford.

  I imagine his six-foot-four-inch body clad in jeans and a clings-to-every-muscle, recyclable, thermoplastic, 3-D fiber, high-tech, T-shirt, which is his uniform of choice. The man is sexy, sexy, sexy. And he’s taken, taken, taken. And even if he were available, I’d run. It’s as it should be, I think for the millionth time. No deep love for me. Not in this lifetime. I pick up a pen from my desk and tap it thoughtfully on the scratched wood and dinged-up silvery titanium accents.