Shannon nodded. “That’s how it felt. It was ‘Babe,’ Gray’s girlfriend. She’s a zombie or something.”
Benny shook his head. “She’s one of Toby’s undead demons. Her name’s Brigitta and she dropped in on us, too, but Toby and Mike convinced her to leave by—”
“I can’t believe the whole plan worked,” said Toby with something like wonder in his voice.
“Of course it did,” snapped Benny. “I said it would, didn’t I?”
Scott cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. “Gray survived. The bullet hit his gun, and he wasn’t even scratched.”
Benny shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He’ll never get out of prison. Not again.”
“And you’re sure about that?” asked Mike.
“Doesn’t it stand to reason? Gray escaped from a maximum-security prison. They’ll put him somewhere federal, I bet. Maybe that supermax in Colorado.”
Scott’s face twisted. “Are you saying that because you know—saw it somehow—or because you believe it?”
“It stands to reason,” muttered Benny. He focused on Shannon and reached toward her, but then pulled his hand back.
“I won’t break, Benny,” said Shannon, leaning her head against his chest. Benny wrapped her in a hug and glanced around, eyes wide. The other three men laughed, but not unkindly.
Scott cleared his throat. “Did you… Was…was he with the boss, the king demon?”
Toby put his hand on Scott’s shoulder. “No, Scott, he wasn’t. I’m sorry.”
“So LaBouche is still around.”
“Oh, yes,” said Benny. “He’s still around somewhere. So is Brigitta. We need to be careful for a while.”
“What do we do about Oneka Falls?”
“I’ve got an idea about that,” said Benny. “Here’s what we need to do…”
Dusk fell as they spoke, and high in a tree at the edge of the woods, a lone, yellow magpie looked down on them, watching.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll through Oneka Falls and are dying to see what happens next. Wrecker picks up where this novel leaves off and you can find it here: https://ehv4.us/4wrecker.
If you’ve enjoyed this novel, please consider joining my Readers Group by visiting https://ehv4.us/join. Or follow me on BookBub by visiting my profile page there: https://ehv4.us/bbub.
For my complete bibliography, please visit: https://ehv4.us/bib.
Books these days succeed or fail based on the strength of their reviews. I hope you will consider leaving a review—as an independent author, I could use your help. It’s easy (I promise). Complete instructions for leaving your review can be found below.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is where Mr. Story informed me that Toby’s tale would end for the time being. I’ve always liked the ending—the hint that there is more to come. I guess I’m a sucker for endings that leave room for growth.
Toby (and friends) will be back—in fact, their tale spans at least five more novels of this size (or two more collection-sized books if you prefer). Lately, I’ve begun to wonder if that’s enough pages for the tale…
I’m excited to see if it is. Mr. Story has been quite active in the telling of both Wrecker and Black Swan, the next two books in The Bloodletter Saga (which together make up The Hag in The Bloodletter Collections if you prefer your fiction in longer chunks). I already know who the demonic stars of the last three books will be, and I can’t wait to get that story going. I hope my casting choices surprise and delight you.
And scare you silly.
Returning to Toby’s story has been fraught with challenges for me. I spent the first quarter of 2019 in a wheelchair, and in equal parts tremendous pain and pain-med-induced stupor. I have no memory of February 2019. I didn’t feel up to serious writing until May, and let me tell you, that seriously cramped my style. Since then, my dictation software developed a month-long penchant for torturing me, but, knock on wood, thirty-seven thousand pokes with a sharpened stick have rectified that.
Which is good, since I’ve just formalized my publication schedule for the rest of the year. It’s all Bloodletter, all the time, and carries me through December 6, 2019. If the series wraps up where I think it will, that will mean 2020 will be time for something new, and I’ve got several ideas percolating—and all of them are filled with dark, evil beings intent on ruining your sleep.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erik Henry Vick is an author who happens to be disabled by an autoimmune disease (also known as his Personal Monster™). He writes to hang on to the few remaining shreds of his sanity. His current favorite genres to write are dark fantasy and horror.
He lives in Western New York with his wife, Supergirl; their son; a Rottweiler named after a god of thunder; and two extremely psychotic cats. He fights his Personal Monster™ daily with humor, pain medicine, and funny T-shirts.
Erik has a B.A. in Psychology, an M.S.C.S., and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence. He has worked as a criminal investigator for a state agency, a college professor, a C.T.O. for an international software company, and a video game developer.
He'd love to hear from you on social media:
Blog: https://erikhenryvick.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerserkErik
Facebook: https://fb.me/erikhenryvick
Amazon author pages:
USA: https://ehv4.us/amausa
UK: https://ehv4.us/amauk
Goodreads Author Page: https://ehv4.us/gr
BookBub Author Profile: http://ehv4.us/bbub
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Erik Henry Vick
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Ratatoskr Publishing
2080 Nine Mile Point Road, Unit 106
Penfield, NY 14526
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Blackened/ Erik Henry Vick. -- 1st ED.
Blackened Page 21
