Urban Legends: An Eve Hathaway's Paranormal Mystery Collection Part 4

By Eve Hathaway

From the Publisher that brought you popular short story series Chains of Darkness, Song of Teeth, Children of Time, Splicers and now... our two stories in 1 book!

Urban Legends, real or not?

Chains of Darkness Part 4 : The Grace Bearer

Things go to hell, ironically enough. When Melinda and Gabe manage to leave hell they carried Daniel with them.

Caleb is hunting her all over the world. Left suddenly alone, Melinda has no idea where Azgaroth took Gabe and Daniel. Luck leads her to them — and to Ophelia, a woman who provides the weapon they need to stop Caleb. But Caleb is more clever than Melinda is, and her plans quickly unravel. Can she manage to stop Caleb before they all become completely undone?
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Song of Teeth Part 4 : The Last Note

With Ally captured by the rival scientist Dr. Kyle Rubidio, Mark, Tatiana, and Dr. Sanders reel from the loss of their work and this new threat to their friend. After each tries and fails in their separate ways to rescue Ally and their research, the three turn to each other again for help. After exhausting all legal options, they resort to any means necessary to save Ally—and possibly her entire species—from Dr. Rubidio’s cruelty. Their secrets are in danger of being exposed, and their loyalties are severely tested. But help appears in several unexpected places....

Eventually, tensions and old fears erupt in a horrific clash between reptile and human that will leave the city of Fontel reeling, and forever change the lives of everyone involved in an instant. The human world can no longer ignore what exists beneath its feet.

In the meantime, Mark’s home life causes further strain when he learns his brother has been arrested. Faced with the enormous task of saving an entire lost civilization, and with trying to repair his relationships with his family and Tatiana, Mark must find the courage and reason to withstand the greatest challenges of his life. Everyone must decide what is worth sacrificing, and what is worth saving.

If you wish to read more, download and find out what happens!

Other titles in Eve Hathaway's Paranormal Mystery Collection:

Urban Legends Part 1 which includes The Child of Mystery & The First Voice

Urban Legends Part 2 which includes The Spawn's Blood & Pale Eyes

Urban Legends Part 3 which includes The Grace Bearer & The Last Note

Download and discover why readers follow Eve Hathaway.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandra Ross
• Release date: Nov 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311880161

Book preview

Urban Legends Part 4

By Eve Hathaway

Published by Publications Circulations LLC.

SmashWords Edition

All contents copyright (C) 2013 by Publications Circulations LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, companies and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

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The Grace Bearer

Chains of Darkness Part 4

Chapter One

SHE COULDN'T HOLD her focus.

Melinda found that the downside of being so aware of everything was that it took away from the effort required to envision herself as a creature of light. The envisioning was not too difficult, but all of the things her light touched as she, Gabe and Daniel traversed the ethereal plane left their impressions on her mind and she felt her light starting to fade. Dark patches of herself came back as she was.

Melinda, Gabe said, take control of it.

It made sense, once she was aware of what he was suggesting-to let herself go one little bit at a time, to fade away from this plane and fade into the earthly one. She began to hear sounds around them, to smell the hot scent of popcorn and barbecue, the fertile and earthy scent of animal dung, and then she realized that she could feel a breeze against her skin-that she had skin again. For the first time in a long time she blinked, and the world came rushing at her: bright lights and electronic carnival music, beeps and dings and Winner! signs flashed in front of them. They were standing-Melinda and Gabe were standing, Daniel was lying in a quivering wreck-in a field at what appeared to be the back end of a country fair. They were behind the Ferris wheel. It was late in the evening and they were surrounded by darkness. Somewhere in the distance, a man on a megaphone was making an announcement-something about fireworks and the end of summer. Melinda couldn't believe it was almost Labor Day.

Gabe sniffed the air. Man, they have hot dogs, he said. Want some?

Melinda was reminded that she was now in corporeal form again, and as such, she needed to eat. Yeah, she said, and her stomach growled in agreement. She glanced down at Daniel-and wished she didn't, because Daniel still looked as dismembered and abused as he did in hell. How he survived, with half of his head missing and his entrails hanging out, was beyond her. She was just glad that he was too weak to scream and give them away, because otherwise, she would have to explain how and why he got this way.

Gabe had vaulted the barbed-wire fence that enclosed the fairgrounds. Melinda wondered how he planned on paying for the food, but she couldn't leave Daniel alone. Not like this-and only now did it occur to her to wonder if he was still alive. She carefully peeled his fingers off of her arm...

I wouldn't do that if I were you, Azgaroth said, gasping.

Melinda froze. Why not? she asked.

Azgaroth looked disheveled: his suit was crumpled and his pale face was smudged with soot. Melinda was alarmed by this, only because through their entire adventure together, she had never known him to be anything other than immaculate, even after he had his tail cut off. Because if he died again, Azgaroth said, suppressing a cough, he would go straight back to hell. Your touch-as you apparently have his grace-is the only thing keeping him alive.

Grace?

Azgaroth waved impatiently. Ask Ariel to explain it. Come on; let's go somewhere private so I can heal him.

We need to wait for Gabe, she said.

Gabe can go fuck himself, Azgaroth snapped. That thing Caleb tore Ariel a new one, and he's been hunting me all over the world, out of one plane and into another. If he finds us all together...

Do it here, Melinda insisted. We're not leaving Gabe.

Azgaroth started to argue but at the last second, he saw something-something had changed about her, and he was awed into silence. You may not have much of a choice, he said grimly, but time was of the essence and so he threw himself into healing Daniel.

He began some kind of droning chant, knelt down and began to rub dirt into Daniel's wounds.

Much to Melinda's surprise, as she listened, she could understand what Azgaroth was saying:

Man is a creature of mud and dirt

The stuff over which I rule

I command thee to heal his wounds

And ease him of his hurts.

Even more surprising was that it worked. Daniel's body arched and twisted, but the unnatural bends in his limbs straightened, and the back of his head was... replaced. His eyeballs pulled back into their sockets.

As far as Melinda could see, Daniel was healing-and fast, through there was some magic she didn't want to contemplate.

Chapter Two

IN THE DISTANCE, the fireworks display for the night started going up. Enormous chrysanthemums of red and gold exploded overhead.

She saw Gabe's silhouette making its way back towards them and she started waving, hoping to catch his eye. But Gabe didn't wave back and as he climbed back over the barbed-wire fence.

Then she saw why.

Caleb was following him. Caleb had again assumed his original form of the pale-haired, gray-eyed boy Melinda had rescued.

Azgaroth, hurry up, Melinda murmured, fighting down the panic that was threatening to rise.

Healing isn't something that can just be done, you know, Azgaroth muttered and resumed his chants. Daniel's burnt flesh was turning pink again. It takes time for the mud to recognize what it's supposed to do and what it's supposed to look like.

Can he let go? Melinda asked.

Yes.

I'll stall for time, she said.

Melinda stepped away from them and stepped forward to face Caleb. Gabe motioned her away but she ignored him. What do you want, Caleb? she asked.

Caleb smiled. He looked so sweet when he did that. Despite the fact that he'd tried to kill her twice already, Melinda found herself incapable of connecting this little boy with the angels and demons and the terrible things he'd done.

I want you, of course, he said.

Stars burst in a rainbow of colors above them. They heard people ooh and ah at the display in the distance. Caleb grinned and held out his hand, where flames danced at his finger tips.

I know you don't really want to go, he said. But do I have to explain what I'll do if you don't?

Melinda understood the threat-the fireworks display still had some fifteen minutes left to go, and it was a small-town carnival, which meant there were lots of children. All of them, gone to ashes. There wasn't really much to decide at this point.

She waved Gabe back.

Melinda, Gabe said, but he didn't dispute her when she stepped forward.

Go help Azgaroth with Daniel's chains, she said, quietly.

She could tell