Terminalia

By Kari Kilgore

The perfect house in the city of dreams. A lovely old bungalow on a quiet oak-lined street.

When you live a double life, you never take anything for granted. Kelly Webb finally feels safe.

Until nighttime, when all but Kelly's name changes.

An enchanting tale of the crossroads between science and magic.

An excerpt from Terminalia:

"I need… I don't understand what's happening here," Kelly said, getting to his feet. Debbie didn't move.

"What you're feeling is perfectly normal. I won't tell you not to be frightened. I certainly was in the beginning. Before you go, let me ask you one last question." Kelly stopped at the door, but he didn't turn. "Is there something you've tried to keep hidden? Something you've been afraid of another person knowing about since the day you figured it out for yourself?"

Kelly gripped the doorknob, gritting his teeth, cold sweat covering his body. 

This could be a chance. 

This could be a trap. 

He didn't know enough to figure that out, but he needed to get out of here.

"Yes," he whispered, squeezing his eyes closed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spiral Publishing, Ltd
• Release date: Feb 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386524977

Kari Kilgore

Kari Kilgore started her first published novel Until Death in Transylvania, Romania, and finished it in Room 217 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where Stephen King got the idea for The Shining. That’s just one example of how real world inspiration drives her fiction. Kari’s first published novel Until Death was included on the Preliminary Ballot for the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel in 2016. It was also a finalist for the Golden Stake Award at the Vampire Arts Festival in 2018. Recent professional short story sales include three to Fiction River anthology magazine, with the first due out in the September issue. Kari also has two stories in a holiday-themed anthology project with Kristine Kathryn Rusch due out over the holidays in 2019. Kari writes fantasy, science fiction, horror, and contemporary fiction, and she’s happiest when she surprises herself. She lives at the end of a long dirt road in the middle of the woods with her husband Jason Adams, various house critters, and wildlife they’re better off not knowing more about. Kari’s novels, novellas, and short stories are available at www.spiralpublishing.net, which also publishes books by Frank Kilgore and Jason Adams. For more information about Kari, upcoming publications, her travels and adventures, and random cool things that catch her attention, visit www.karikilgore.com.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Kelly Webb lay in bed, eyes closed, wondering which pronoun would fit today. These few minutes first thing in the morning were the most comfortable of any day. Everything was undefined, so everything felt right. Stubble against the pillow answered the question.

He got up instead of hitting the snooze button again. Shaving always made the morning a bit longer. Kelly didn’t understand what went on during the night or why, but going to sleep with facial hair of any length resulted in horrible acne as a woman. Knocking it back first thing made the bedtime rituals a little easer. He’d stopped worrying about his armpits and legs a long time ago.

He watched the dark red hair, much darker than on the rest of his body no matter what gender started the day, swirling down the drain.

Kelly grabbed his plain black phone off of a cardboard box beside the bed, leaving hers, the same model in a dark red case. Paying for two phones was a nuisance, but trying to deal with two lives on one phone was a nightmare.

He’d moved into the 1920s Craftsman bungalow in Atlanta just a couple of months ago. The sturdy woodframe house had been restored without losing its graceful charm, but it was past time Kelly unpacked and made it a home. The place was still a cluttered jumble of half-emptied containers.

Having guests over would be tricky depending on what day it was, but he hated for a mess to keep him living like a hermit.

The phone’s shared calendar was empty for both freelance gigs today. Finding a full-time job that would let him telecommute most of the time was proving harder than expected. Waking up as Mr. Kelly on a day when Ms. Kelly had to be