Rise of the Reaper

by Lorna Reid

  Beyond the open window beside her bed lay the passageway and the portal. The picture of her father stirred in the breeze and fluttered down onto the pillow beside her.

  *

  Danny looked at the images plastered over his bedroom wall. It was the result of days of idle sketching. Being grounded was useful for something, at least. He had tried to capture the dreams and nightmares; to give them form was to exorcise them. At least, that had been the plan. The tower, the purple eyes, the Reaper, the carvings – it hadn’t stopped them.

  He stared down at the photo of his mother once again and set it back beside his bed where it belonged. ‘We’re coming for you,’ he whispered.

  Danny’s pure faith in his father carried him through the days. The quiet, playful writer revealed as the fighter, the mage, and the man who would do anything to save Danny’s mother.

  He smiled, hearing his father downstairs, bantering with Thom and playing a few notes on the piano. It was different now. Now they knew, and now they could act. Through all the misery and grief of the past days, hope was electric in the air and it lifted Danny to heights he had not found in years.

  Soon, he told himself. It shouldn’t be a problem now. Unless they couldn’t find the way into the Darklands that they’d been frantically researching these last few days. Danny shook away the doubts, crushing them down.

  Feeling suddenly irritated with himself, he sought distraction with his new toy and took the wooden box from its hiding place under a loose floorboard. He turned it over in his hands before opening it and smiling.

  The Reaper scale glistened in the light of his bedside lamp. He trailed his fingers over it before setting it beside him in its box and lying down. As he drifted off, beneath the purple eyes and the black tower, with his mother’s picture looking down on him, he felt his fingers tingle.

  Soon.

  The End

  Jump straight into Darkwalkers – The Broken Lands: Book 2 now!

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  Thank You For Reading Rise of the Reaper!

  If you enjoyed the book, then would you please consider leaving a short review? As an indie author, without the backing and might of one of the ‘Big Five’ publishers, reviews are crucial in gaining a foothold in online retailers, and in helping market my work so that I can continue writing.

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  Other Books by Lorna Reid

  Darkwalkers – The Broken Lands: Book Two

  He shouldn’t have taken it. He shouldn’t have used it. Now, everything is in chaos.

  When a magical accident shatters Danny’s world nothing will ever be the same. Only the Darklands, forbidden and sealed, hold the key to saving him, but time is running perilously short.

  When they get separated from their shadowy guide, Danny and Katrina must fight through the sinister underworld of the Darklands together, each facing their own dark awakenings while evil closes in.

  Meanwhile, Poppy and Russell have their own struggles, as a reckless decision leads to disaster. They are forced on a terrifying journey, beset by shadows, and pursued by death. A face from their past offers the only flicker of hope that they have, but will it be enough and how far can they trust?

  With the friends divided, each will walk their own dark paths… but what and who will they find, and will Danny’s race against time end in grief?

  Buy it today

  *

  The Septic Circle (a standalone novel)

  You can’t catch a ghost using marmalade. Fact.

  As the only sceptic in Cravenly’s new and not-very-psychic circle, how many haunted toasters, possessed worry dolls, and ego-ridden celebrity psychics can one man cope with? Jay Taylor’s patience may already be stretched to breaking point, but the odious presence of so-called psychic star Fenwick Arcana could just push him over the edge. And he hasn’t even had his morning dose of Frosties.

  Having taken the nervous wreck who started this whole psychic mess, Freddy, under his wing, and with gossip-monger Lysander and irrepressible believer Marnie to cope with, the circle’s most reluctant member is about to have his sanity severely tested.

  Gathered together, their diaries chronicle the circle’s first year, as they struggle through a minefield of paranormal detritus, smug wizardry, revenge plots, and the filming of a disastrous paranormal TV show, Spirit Squad.

  Buy it today

  Acknowledgements

  To my wonderful copy-editor, Sophie Playle, my proofreader, Richard Sheehan, and my cover designer, Mark Reid, without whom this book would not have been possible.

  Thank you to my partner Mark, for his unending support and patience, and my sister Tania for her enthusiasm and determination to winkle endless spoilers from me. You guys showed an interest inthe early days, when this was more a swirl of ideas than reality.

  Thanks to Peter Swann, Mark ‘Zero’ Smith, and Ed Price for your support and messages of encouragement during this long journey - you’re awesome and every message, tweet, and kind word is very much appreciated.

  Thanks also to the lovely Laura Lotz for kindly taking the time to reassure me and answer a last-minute panicky question, and to the supremely talented photographer Pawel Klarecki for the kind permission to use his stunning work.

  Copyright

  Copyright © Lorna Reid 2015

  All rights reserved. The right of Lorna Reid to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

  No part of this publication may be altered, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including, but not limited to, scanning, duplicating, uploading, hosting, distributing, or reselling, without the express prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of reasonable quotations in features such as reviews, interviews, and certain other non-commercial uses currently permitted by copyright law.

  Disclaimer:

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, locations, and businesses are purely products of the author’s imagination and are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, living, dead, or somewhere in between, or to businesses, places, or events is completely coincidental.

  Rise of the Reaper by Lorna Reid

  Published by Ravensforge Books

  About the Author

  Lorna Reid is a certified geek and writer, who currently lives in the sunny climes of Scotland, surrounded by books, retro consoles, collectors’ edition game nonsense, and an Alan Wake cut-out. She is the former Editor-In-Chief for UK videogame site GamingLives, where she wrote and edited features, reviews, and previews, and occasionally makes freelance contributions to videogame publications, such as GamesRadar and PC Gamer.

  Words, videogames, and an incurable Columbo habit tend to dominate much of her free time (along with endless Star Wars/Marvel movie breakdown videos on YouTube), but she also sometimes manages to maintain a blog in a dark corner of the internet.

  She is and always will be a PC gamer, but regularly visits her consoles on the side.

  You can find her lurking in the hostile wilderness of the internet on Twitter @SketchStone, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lornareidauthor, or lornareid.net.

  Here be Pirates!

  Hey you… yes YOU! Did you pirate this book? (Or are you just reading this to be nosy, in which case, jog on, you paid fair and square and this bit’s not for you.) If you did
pirate this book and you actually enjoyed it, then perhaps you would consider one or more of the following options?

  1 – Buy a copy of ANY of my books from your retailer of choice.

  2 – If you’re too cheap, cheeky, or too poor (or all three), and the thought of online retailers bring on your allergies, then at least help out by leaving a decent review somewhere. It may help bring in actual sales, which help me to continue writing books like this one.

  3 – Both! Sales and reviews are the two things that help ensure that it’s worth anyone carrying on with this writing malarkey!

  Ta muchly.