DEEP WITHIN THE SHADOWS Coming May 18th!!!
I don't have a set release date yet but Deep Within The Shadows will be out in May. I'll keep posting updates to keep you notified. Deep Within The Shadows is a Paranormal Urban Fantasy set in the southeastern hills of Kentucky in a small town named Superstition.
THE FINAL BLURB:
Welcome to Superstition, Kentucky
Twins Miranda and Juliet Templeton have been haunted by childhood trauma their entire lives. One has the reputation for being bold and rash, the other compulsively responsible. When both are viciously attacked within minutes of each other, they are forced to leave their differences behind in order to survive.
Caleb Faulkner has always loved Miranda Templeton. Her
letters to him, during his deployment gave him a slice of home to hold on to.
Even though they’re finally together, something is keeping her from acting on
her feelings. When she and her sister are injured Caleb’s driven to protect them
both. But all his military training can’t help him combat this danger.
Detective Chase Robinson is lead investigator for the murder
of Tanner Newton. When the two hired thugs responsible for Tanner’s death are
killed and Juliet, his only witness, nearly strangled to death, Chase is
certain the crimes are connected. He decides to stay close to the twins so he
can catch the real killer. But his police training is useless against his
growing feelings for Juliet and what’s hiding DEEP WITHIN THE SHADOWS.
PROLOGUE
A hungry
scream echoed behind him in the distance. Willy jerked, a strangled gasp tearing from him. His
heart beat high in his throat. He kicked his shuffling jog into a run. Sweat
ran in rivulets down his face. After the coolness of the basement he’d just
left, he was baking alive in the hot, still humidity that hung in the air.
Damn that security guard for
putting him out. He wasn’t botherin’ nothin'. Fucking jerk. Luckily he knew
where Gerry was staying. They’d split up weeks ago, hoping to throw the shadows
off. It hadn’t worked. They just kept coming, night after night. And now the
daytime creatures were on the prowl there was no place left to hide. God he was
so tired.
Another angry cry sounded from a
block away. They were getting closer. If he could get far enough ahead he might
find somewhere to hole-up until daylight. Somewhere no light could enter. A
basement, crawlspace, anything. He’d even take the bottom of a dumpster if he
could find one that was empty enough for him to squeeze in.
He careened around the corner of
Kentucky Street and slipped into a dim alley. The sour smell of his own sweat
mingled with the odor of rotting garbage from the dumpster at the back of one
of the restaurants. His feet hit a flat sheet of corrugated cardboard and his
right foot slid forward before the other could catch up. His left knee hit the
ground with all his weight and he cried out.
“Jesus, oh Jesus.” He was hurt.
Something had cut into his knee. Pushing up with one hand, something gooey
squished between his fingers. He swore and slung his hand to get it off as he staggered
to his feet. Hugging the brick wall of the building, he settled back into the
deepest pool of darkness he could find. He wiped his filthy hand on his pants
and probed the knee with the other one. A triangle of glass stuck out of his
flesh and blood welled up around it. He jerked the shard free
and a whimper of pain tore from him. He slung the piece of glass away with a
sob.
They’d smell the blood and track
him. He didn’t know how they did it, but they always seemed to know where he
was. Oh God, if only they hadn’t tried to kidnap that girl. He knew she had
something to do with them. They’d shown up right after they’d killed the guy
she was with. The burns had finally healed and now he had a cut that would
probably rot his leg off.
He hobbled forward a foot or two.
The pain made him light headed. The coppery scent of his own blood turned his
empty stomach. He gagged.
How long had it been since he’d
eaten. Two days. He’d been afraid to leave the safety of the basement. Until
the asshole guard had tossed him out. If he could just reach Gerry’s motel
room. Gerry would have some food. Maybe some weed. They could wait out the
night in the dark together.
Another scream came from the end of
the alley and he jumped. In the wide, yellowish-white circle from the
streetlight, a dark gray form rose. Its arms hung down nearly three quarters of
its form. Strangely elongated
fingers repeated a grabbing movement like a crab's claw, as though it hoped to pluck
him from his hiding place. Though it had no eyes, and he hid in the deepest shadows
cast by the three-story brick building, it homed in on where he stood twenty
feet away with unerring precision. The creature opened its mouth like a black
pit and screamed again. The sound, a blend of a baboon-like cry and an ear-ringing
roar, was filled with frustration and rage.
Willy quivered in fear. His knee
ached like an abscessed tooth. His mouth tasted pasty and dry and his bladder
felt uncomfortably full.
The shadow paced back and forth
looking for the light it needed to travel by. Willy stumbled further down the
alley, hugging the building. The rough bricks picked at his clothing and
scrapped his arm, his hand, as he attempted to stay out of even the most anemic
light cast from the windows above him.
His head jerked up at the sudden
rumble of an engine approaching. A silver car swung into the street directly in
front of him, the bright headlights pinning him against the wall. Willy opened
his mouth. “No-o-o-o-o!” The scream of denial worked its way up his throat.
Almost from beneath his feet, a shadow leaped from the ground with inhuman
speed.
Willy half turned to run. A slicing pain caught him just
beneath his ribs and he was shoved against the wall and lifted. His legs scissored, running in space. A suffocating fullness invaded his chest. His heart seized. The pain
stole his breath and limited his scream to a choked gurgle. His bladder released and the warm urine
ran down his legs to wet his pants all the way to his socks.
As the creature squeezed his heart
to bursting, Willy’s last thought was one of relief. His two-month hell was
over.
I hope you enjoyed the preview!!
Read on,
Teresa J. Reasor
Comments