Shrouds of Darkness

by Brock Deskins

  “I can’t believe that gorgeous woman at the bar has been checking you out for the past ten minutes,” Danny says, looking over at the bar to his left.

  “What woman?” Kurt follows his gaze to the bar. “Her? No way, dude. She’s like forty.”

  “Yeah, but a Courtney Cox forty. That is one hot cougar and she’s totally checking you out.”

  “You’re crazy; women like that don’t look at guys like us.”

  Nevertheless, the woman is looking right at him and gives him a wink. Kurt points at his chest with a quizzical look. The stunning, raven-haired woman smiles, nods her head, and beckons him with a crook of her finger.

  Kurt whips his head back to face his best friend. “Oh my God, she’s a hooker!”

  Danny shakes his head empathically. “No way, dude. If she’s a hooker, she’s one of those really high-class ones that cost like ten grand a night and she would know we don’t have that kind of dough just by looking at us.”

  “What, you’re now an expert on prostitutes?”

  “Actually, yes. I realized by my junior year that if I want to get laid before I am thirty my best bet is to pay for it so I’ve done my homework. Now get over there before she sobers up and realizes you’re a total dork!”

  Kurt looks at his friend, back at the seductress and then back to his friend before standing up and nervously walking over to the bar.

  He swallows deeply and says, “Um, hi. My name’s Kurt.”

  “Hello, Kurt,” the woman says in a feint accent and demurely extends her hand.

  Kurt takes her hand, gives it a small shake and starts to bow to kiss it before he realizes what he’s doing and shakes it once more.

  “You are amusing,” she says. “Do I make you nervous, Kurt?”

  “Actually, a little. Women like you do not usually talk to guys like me, and the girls that do just want help with their schoolwork. You don’t look like you need me to do you’re math homework.”

  “That is the difference between being a girl and woman. Girls are foolish and cannot appreciate the quality of a good man.”

  “That’s an interesting accent. Where are you from?”

  She takes a sip from her glass and gives him a slow, almost predatory blink. “Quebec. I like to come to New York when I’m feeling especially playful. There is so much life in this city. It is unlike anywhere else in the world. Are you feeling playful, Kurt?”

  Kurt feels a tingling rush course through his entire body. It is so strong he has to set his beer down on the bar before it falls from his nerveless fingers.

  “Playful? Did you want to go to Coney Island or something?”

  The woman gives him a laugh that nearly buckles his already trembling knees. “You are so cute. I have a room upstairs. Come with me.”

  She takes him by his hand and leads him to the elevators before he can even respond—not that he could. Kurt can feel the blood pounding in his head and the whole world takes on a something akin to a dream state. He is also uncomfortably aware of the blood pounding almost painfully into another part of his body as well.

  Once the elevator reaches the desired floor, she continues to lead him by the hand until they reach her room. Reaching into her small, expensive bag, she swipes the keycard in the reader and steps into a lavish suite.

  Kurt pauses just outside the door, taking everything in, praying that he does not wake up from what must be a dream.

  “Aren’t you coming in?”

  “Sorry, I’m new at this sort of thing. I don’t even know your name.”

  “Lesile,” the seductive woman whispers as she gently takes him by the tie and pulls him inside.

  A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

  I hope you enjoyed this fun little tale and will try my other works. Please drop by at http://www.brockd.us and give them a read. Feel free to look me up on facebook! You can also check me out on my new blog at http://brockdeskins.blogspot.com. I post release dates, answer questions, and occasionally some new covers for my books! Definitely check out the blog. I apologize for all but abandoning my website and forum but the blog is much easier for me to maintain and keep current.

  The Sorcerer’s saga is an open-ended fantasy series.

  The Sorcerer’s Ascension, first of the series, starts with Azerick as young boy of wealth who loses everything before discovering great potential as a sorcerer while trying to survive on the deadly streets he now must call home. Travel with young Azerick as he grows up, grows strong, and grows steadfast in his determination to survive and make those pay who have taken everything from him.

  The Sorcerer’s Torment: Azerick has flees The Academy but quickly falls prey to powerful beings that use his skills and power for their own amusement. What these creatures do not understand is the power of the young sorcerer's will and the lengths he will go to for vengeance. Despite becoming a prisoner, Azerick finds his first true love but can he keep it?

  The Sorcerer’s Legacy: Azerick has found himself a home and tries to settle down. He takes on an apprentice and tries to put all the death and desire for vengeance behind him. But when the Rook finds him, Azerick is once again pulled back into Ulric's schemes. Knowing that all he has worked towards and everyone close to him is in danger as long as these schemes are ongoing; Azerick decides to put an end to it, once and for all.

  The Sorcerer’s Vengeance: After narrowly avoiding being killed in his own bed by the land’s most feared assassin, Azerick leaves his school behind to find out who sent him and to put an end to the threat once and for all. Azerick’s search will take him to the vary pits of the abyss and back to unleash hellish fury upon those that threaten him.

  Shrouds of Darkness is a modern day vampire tale. Who doesn’t like those these days? Leo Malone has been a vampire for the better part of the twentieth century. Once a prominent Sherriff (vampire cop), he now earns his living as a private eye and occasional bodyguard for anyone that requires some serious protection. Leo is hired by the daughter of a mob accountant who has gone missing.

  The fact that he is also a werewolf has Leo following a trail of grisly murders that will lead him through a web of intrigue and conspiracy involving his fellow vampires and the local werewolves that make New York their home, all the while trying to keep one particularly determined cop off his back and himself out of jail. Leo is not some pretty-boy vampire that all the girls ogle over but a hard eyed, remorseless killing machine who doesn’t take crap from anyone.

  The Portal is a fun and exciting story of some less than popular teenagers that accidentally open a portal to a mystical land during one of their role-playing games. Drew, a dour and anti-establishment teenager, is pulled through and captured by evil creatures lying in wait on the other side. Now it is up to his friends and older brother to rescue him, but who will rescue Drew’s captors from him?

  Again, I just want to thank everyone who has purchased my books. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I have been able to provide something enjoyable to so many people.

  Thank you all for your patronage. Buying my books keeps me from living in a box under the overpass, which frankly, is not conducive to the creative process. If you received a copy without actually purchasing it then I hope you will have the decency to feel bad as you drive past me holding my cardboard sign that reads: will write for food. Thank you and good journeys.