The Book: The Blackwatch Chronicles

By H.M. Clarke

If Books Could Kill…

A down on his luck thief finds more than he bargained for one night while stalking the streets of Kaldor

Features Dagan Drake from Proven

• Language: English
• Publisher: HMC Press
• Release date: May 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201733032

H.M. Clarke

In a former life, H M Clarke has been a Console Operator, an ICT Project Manager, Public Servant, Paper Shuffler and an Accountant (the last being the most exciting.) She attended Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, where she studied for a Bachelor of Science (Chem), and also picked up a Diploma in Project Management while working for the South Australian Department of Justice. In her spare time, she likes to lay on the couch and watch TV, garden, draw, read, and tell ALL her family what wonderful human beings they are. She keeps threatening to go out and get a real job (Cheesecake Test Taster sounds good) and intends to retire somewhere warm and dry – like the middle of the Simpson Desert. For the time being however, she lives in Ohio and dreams about being warm…

Book preview

The Book

A Blackwatch Chronicles Short Story

H.M. Clarke

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HMC Press

Copyright © H. M. Clarke 2020

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

First published in The United States of America in 2020

HMC Press, Dayton, Ohio.

Cover design by Getcovers.com

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

Contents

Dedication

1. The Book

About the Author

Also by H.M. Clarke

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As always, this book is dedicated to my two beautiful children, Keith and Ariadne.

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The Book

‘If books could kill…’

The red silk cover of the book shone in the moonlight and the gold and silver thread embroidered on the front cover glinted as Kurt bent further into the light to study it.

The design was in the shape of some kind of bird, wings raised in flight to lift it out from the fire that raged at its feet. The gold and silver contained in that picture alone could let Kurt live like a prince for months. His dirt-encrusted hands lifted the cover and quickly flicked through the pages of the book. There were no pictures to speak of, only the jumble of ink marks that he recognized as writing.