DARK NEEDS: Three Twisted Tales of Horror
Page 8
Nick aimed his gun with a shaky hand.
“You found your answers,” a raspy voice echoed off the walls. “It is time to let her go.”
“No.” Nick tried to place Madame Xang. “I won’t leave her like this.”
Now there were dozens of glowing eyes circling him.
Madame Xang slithered to the edge of the glow, the lower half of her body now the scaled coil of a black serpent with spiky legs. A long tail whipped in and out of the light. She was looking down at the tapestry, high cheek bones gleaming. “You have seen too much already.”
She lifted her face, a forked tongue flicking out. A dozen other women with serpent bodies filled in around her, hissing flames.
Nick backed away, stumbling over the carpet.
Madame Xang began chanting in an alien language. Her face pulsated like a soup of writhing snakes. The flesh and bone shifted in and out of structures. Familiar faces formed then fused from one to the next: Ming’s into Nick’s face then finally into something reptilian with a jagged crown.
Nick stared in awe at the black wings protruding from the women’s backs. “Jesus, what the hell are you?”
The creatures sculpted back into Asian women, beautiful and exotic. “We are an ancient sisterhood. We are succubus. We are man’s deepest desires.” Madame Xang pointed a long talon toward the monstrous female mummy on the carpet. “Ming broke our most sacred law. Never fall in love with a being of this world.”
Nick stared down at the tapestry that imprisoned the love of his life. She was weeping again in some chamber between the worlds. His pistol fell to the floor. “Please, set her free. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”
“Ming has chosen her fate. And you have chosen yours.”
The other women dispersed, slinking back into the void. Madame Xang, her eyes vibrant and seductive, dragged a claw across the strap of her robe. The fabric ripped and fell to the floor, exposing a bare upper torso that still resembled the soft, sensual skin of a woman. A black-scaled tattoo coiled over one shoulder and forked, curving under each breast. The tattoo seemed to be slithering, as if she were shouldering a black python.
“You can never go back to your world, Nick.” She slithered over to him. Her hands gripped his chin.
He stood there, entranced by her gaze. “Please, let us be together,” he whispered.
“Your fate can only reflect that which is within your heart.” The succubus pressed her lips to his. For a long second, he felt he was kissing Ming again. Then Madame Xang pulled away. Her eyes lit up and mouth opened.
“No.” Nick screamed, as a vibrant green flame enveloped him. The floor fell out, and he was freefalling into a chasm of emerald fire. He landed soft. When the bright flames subsided, he was lying on a stone floor. Nick pulled his arm away from his eyes. The giant vault was gone. He now lay in a chamber with a bed and silk curtains. Golden light poured through large windows that overlooked mountains. In the distance flew two giant birds. No, not birds.
Nick stared in awe as two dragons with expansive wings circled one another.
The weeping woman on the bed looked up. “Nicky.”
“Ming.” Nick climbed onto the bed and threw his arms around her. He touched her hair, her skin, her lips. She was warm, soft, alive. “Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here, baby. I’m here.” He remained there, rocking her delicate frame, watching her spiky black legs and tail shift back into the smooth legs of a woman.
* * *
Inside the vault, Madame Xang stared down at the tapestry of the man rocking the young concubine.
The pale body Nick had left behind floated beside Ming’s skeleton at the center of the carpet.
“Some men choose to live with their demons.”
Madame Xang held up a palm. The carpet rolled up like a scroll and floated back to the top of the mound of tapestries.
Some houses should be left alone.
In 1972, twenty-five people were brutally murdered in one of the bloodiest massacres in Texas history. The mystery of who committed the killings remains unsolved.
Forty years later, Sarah Donovan is dating an exciting man, Dean Stratton. Sarah’s scared of just about everything—heights, tight places, the dark—but today she must confront all her fears, as she joins Dean and another couple on an exploring adventure. The old abandoned Blevins House, the scene of the gruesome massacre, is rumored to be haunted.
The two couples are about to discover the mysterious house has been waiting all these years, craving fresh prey. And down in the cellar they will encounter a monstrous creature that hungers for more than just human flesh.
Darkness runs deep ...
Marty Weaver, an emotionally scarred poet, has been bullied his entire life. When he drives out to the lake to tell an old friend that he’s fallen in love with a girl named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.
“Moreland has assembled a masterpiece novella that I cannot recommend enough. Upon first reading, this is easily one of my favorite horror releases of the year. On second reading, it may be one of my favorite of the decade.” —Horror Underground
Beneath the city of Boston, evil is gathering.
While living under a bridge with the homeless, journalist Daniel Finley witnessed something that nearly cost him his sanity. After returning to normal life, he publishes a book about a mysterious group of vagrants who call themselves “the Seekers”. Are they a cult or something else? Now, Daniel is being stalked and everyone he loves is in danger.
Drake O’Malley, ruthless leader of an Irish-American mafia clan, has had his own run-ins with the vagrants. And Daniel Finley just might be the key to getting rid of Drake’s problems. But Daniel and the O’Malley Family are about to enter a living nightmare. Evil is rising from Boston’s abandoned subway tunnels. And its followers are preparing to shed blood on the street.
Coming Fall 2017...
In this collection of five tales of horror, serial killers are on the loose and terrorizing innocent victims. This eBook will include two classic stories, as well as three new ones, including the terrifying thriller, I’m Still Here.
About the Author
Brian Moreland writes dark suspense, thrillers, and horror. His books include Dead of Winter, Shadows in the Mist, The Witching House, The Devil’s Woods, The Vagrants, Darkness Rising, Dark Needs, and coming Fall 2017, Dark Killers.
Brian loves hiking, world travel, and going on adventures. He’s been known to explore caves and rain forests from Australia and New Zealand to Costa Rica and Hawaii. He lives in Dallas, Texas where he is having fun writing new thrilling fiction.
Website: http://www.brianmoreland.com/
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