Tainted By Darkness
By J T Chapman
()
About this ebook
They gather in the dark: those who did not traverse to face their judgement when their mortal shells expired. It is within these darkest regions that the veil to the mortal realm is weakest.
Sentinels stand at each of the seven gates, commanded by the gods to guard against the spirits that try to break out of Akasha.
But there are some who manage.
Many come seeking closure, demanding retribution for wrongs done onto them by their mortal brethren. No longer visible, they collate shadows, merging with the darkness to assume corporeal form that allows them to move among you, yet remain hidden; at least until it’s too late to do anything more than beg for mercy.
For darkness taints even the purest of souls.
J T Chapman
Books have always fascinated me. I can vaguely remember my older brother coming home from school and showing off his new books. Word recognition came easily and by the time I started school a year later I could read most of the books they set in front of me.Life has a way of throwing you off balance. It did for me when at nineteen I became a mother for the first time. Plans for the future were put on hold, fading into dreams and later to what could have beens. I've no regrets.My passion for writing came late in life. With my family reared and ready to leave home, I needed a hobby. It was a natural migration for this avid reader to pick up the pen, or laptop as the case may be, and begin writing. The result surprised me.I guess I've always been a story teller, making up tales of epic battles with spiders and other nasty creepy-crawlies from an early age.Callie is my first completed work of fiction, my baby isn't perfect; she's a vampire witch, an Enchantress and the result of an over active imagination. Everybody loves her, especially me.
Related to Tainted By Darkness
Related ebooks
Spirit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hunted- A Story from the Realm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fiddler of Dawn and Dusk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAngel Rises: Soul Forge, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Foreigner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Eye For An Eye Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlpha Mage: A Clutch Mistress Book 4 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escape of the Alpha: Escape of the Alpha, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Losing Neverland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoodoo Kiss: Ancient Legends, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFated Mates: The Coven, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Perfect Lie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark of Demons: A New Adult Paranormal Romance Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Realm: The Essence Saga, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne More Bite Book One: One More Bite, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One More Bite Book One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHis Dancing Flames Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed: The New Rulebook & Pete Zendel Christian Suspense series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ascended (The Saving Angels book 3) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reaping a Pain in the Axe: Fear the Reaper Saga Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fall of Cairnnon Castle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOblivion Gate Episode Three Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Something Wicked Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Central: Carnalis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood Vice: Blood Vice, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vespertine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knight's Fall: Xavier Knight Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lycan And His Angel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Vampire Music: Beginnings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarden Fields Series Duet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Short Stories For You
Explicit Content: Red Hot Stories of Hardcore Erotica Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sex and Erotic: Hard, hot and sexy Short-Stories for Adults Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Short Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Skeleton Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Past Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Birds: Erotica Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sour Candy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Breath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don Quixote Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Five Tuesdays in Winter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Years of the Best American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Was Just Another Day in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBurning Chrome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unfinished Tales Of Numenor And Middle-Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Scorched Men Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Tainted By Darkness
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Tainted By Darkness - J T Chapman
Tainted By Darkness
J T Chapman
© 2012, J T Chapman
Smashwords Edition
Published by KittenPress
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
Table of contents
Tainted By Darkness
In The Name Of Love
A Song For The Ferryman
Inked
Fallen Star
Trapped
Retribution
Resurrection
A Mother’s Love
Tainted By Darkness
They gather in the dark: those who did not traverse to face their judgement when their mortal shells expired. It is within these darkest regions that the veil to the mortal realm is weakest.
Sentinels stand at each of the seven gates, commanded by the gods to guard against the spirits that try to break out of Akasha.
But there are some who manage.
Many come seeking closure, demanding retribution for wrongs done onto them by their mortal brethren. No longer visible, they collate shadows, merging with the darkness to assume corporeal form that allows them to move among you, yet remain hidden; at least until it’s too late to do anything more than beg for mercy.
For darkness taints even the purest of souls.
In The Name Of Love
Sometimes, we must do terrible things in the name of love.
I watch her sleep, my little love, her arm curled around that flaming dog in an embrace I wish she could share with me. The veil between our realms will not permit it, nor will it allow her to see me. Perhaps that's a blessing for I am no longer the man she once called Dad.
The blast that took my life also scarred me in death, disfigured me beyond recognition. I glance at the photo on her bedside table; the one Laura took of Sophie and me together the day before I left for Afghanistan. She looked so happy; we both did.
No amount of training could have prepared me for that day, the day I heard the click and felt the sand move beneath my foot. They say your life flashes before your eyes, but I can assure that's not what happens - at least not in my case.
The sand rose in slow motion around me. I watched with sadistic fascination as my boot disintegrated, the flesh flayed from my limb. I felt everything. Every molecule of skin and tissue as it broke away. The flames that followed the burst of sand seemed to stop before they engulfed me completely. Their heat seared as they flickered and licked at my skin. From their depths appeared a horned creature with breath hotter than Hell itself.
So young,
it said. Your one desire is within my power to grant, if you wish it, but it comes at a price. Are you willing to serve me in exchange?
Anything!
The word left my throat in an agonised scream. I felt almost detached from it, as if someone else had said it.
How could I have known the deal I made with the creature would guarantee my eternal damnation?
Flames spewed from the creature's mouth with its triumphant roar, swallowing me and bathing me in blistering agony once more.
When I opened my eyes, I stood at the sandy roadside devoid of my army issue clothing. My comrades rose to their feet from where the blast had thrown them, and they stared through me to the ground behind. I turned, following their line of sight. In the bottom of the crater left by the road mine, sat a limb, a left hand. It wasn't mine; mine was still attached to my arm. I searched the faces of those left alive to determine whose it was. They were all accounted for.
Jesus,
Bill rasped, sweeping the helmet off his head. Where's the new kid?
His words confused me. I'm known as the new kid and I was standing right in front of him by this point. He moved forward, straight through me, and I felt his body heat. It wasn't unpleasant, a little uncomfortable perhaps, but not something I would go out of my way to avoid. I know he felt something too, because he looked around with a frown creasing his forehead, then shook his head as if to clear away an unwelcome thought. He used a rag to pick something up from the ground beside a few nearby boulders, wiped it, studied it for a few seconds and tucked it into his breast pocket.
Someone want to retrieve the kid's hand? Looks like that's all that's left of him,
Bill asked as he patted the pocket he placed the item into. Apart from his dog tags.
The enormity of what I'd agreed to became apparent within a matter of moments. The creature appeared beside Raz and made a gun shape with its hand, pointing it at his head.
It showed its teeth with a fiery grin as it spoke. I don't care how you get it, but I want this one's soul.
What?
I stuttered. Not Raz, please. He's my friend.
Was your friend, you mean. Would you rather collect another soul, one a little closer to home, perhaps?
With a snap of its claw-like fingers, we stood at the edge of a road. My road. Outside my neighbour's home. The street looked different than I remembered, the moon seemed unnaturally big and the colour of everything muted with tones of amber. Reasoning dictated that it was the sudden change from bright desert sun to the overcast late evening of a town several hundred miles away that affected my vision.
Two burley men stood tall at the entrance as if on sentry duty. The creature motioned me