Narcissus

By Adam Godfrey

"Terrifying...You'll never again trust what's looking back at you."-Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters and Quiet Part Loud

 

"A clever look at an unsettling legend, with one of the best kills I've read in years." -Johnny Compton, author of The Spite House

 

If the remainder of your life was only as long as your ability to avoid your own reflection, how long would you last?

 

An hour? A day? Perhaps a week?

 

It's been said that at the core of every legend lies a seed of truth. For four American tourists vacationing in Greece, this is a lesson learned the hard way.

 

When the group sets out to find a subterranean pool that's rumored to be the one by which the demi-god Narcissus once wasted away in self-obsession, what started as a fun excursion quickly escalates into a full-blown nightmare. After looking into the waters of the pool, they come to find their own reflections have become infected by an ancient evil. As they're picked off one-by-one by a malevolence that resides in the reflective world, those remaining race to find a way to bring the nightmare to an end before it takes them all.

 

In the meantime, all they'll have to do is avoid their own reflections.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shortwave Media
• Release date: May 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781959565062

Book preview

�'ܝebook_preview_excerpt.htmluYM�ܶ�+(�gG�\r��-ٲd9�슕r��=$4$A
���������_������*)UI3�ׯ_C��_�n������p���}�n��Ϟs�t�*.�������'qs'n�s���>���/c�o�!���N|��5d�O'�9�KM ��uU���(9c�8��s�y�~>�W)|)$���ٷ8&b���T�I��;�!.s�:��(>���c���{�r�B����0�y����M�Z��O��l��؎g$������-�~iZ�����4�r������N����_�%����v�c��6��p��ӝ�~�������� .�qͮ�!���E#6^�)�!���NO0�p��pp��g�.�<�K=…H��Cț��a��q@�M"H�����ÄY_\Fl2���.��� i����ɽq�$Ƭ�Yc����Wn���rp�( &�\t
��m���"����ã獘�nJf��bΫ���T Ǻ֏.2kX<�q]kq��=�8IG5�X�Z���<�4�GW4���
��}�,����)�Y���ik !�D����0�� ~̈���a���P^�
�x��X�=�A&�7wZj`
���ʼ�?`�IdVk��L1qaE�h���s�t
/�S~�[\��r�{���?'�w����~-��O�~(<:s��[���QNp�����=�F� ��x.| �?����l��ހO�^ѳ��P�3Զ�QZx<�,�t߻���4��֋����t�5����B�lcpR����H��� �|�;�Lt���',���%� ~�;8fE�&��q5���2.R ���%w�!j������1s�)=��6�J�e��1f
�V�-�Mϐ��p����笛��iI#\�y�]z�r�G`�*����z ��&[|��� /d��;H��3�S�,D|���1.mGKAK����`�oԺ�"1�z���;����,���%��QJ�����wx�o�6�1��O�F�/�::���H��8J�2)=�����p�k���)���H�$H��)h([O����s���L;���B�U(Oh��-?�c�,��� ��� ��ڟw8��s��G��7���� �f�Th�����Z�V�6ʽ���f�$�Y'���A ���d6�A�W:���m,$O�86֋�NIO=�{�9��&�ޅ.ݼ��@�o�_ϟwg����q4 $�Y
����,JD���}�����iFhvb@<�8F��w��8�D�<ϧ��� 7���x����/c�(_
��:I�6�����_V���^�F�N��?��g_��O���N3��$��}�������] �c���ӕ� �����`��w�1���wm�j������ސ%���{��="�,7[�Z!{��K��CZ�sU�|gWB��>�l�Qs5��"5�>�@9�Y�P���G���W��k�)� �\��U,����^_*V{ ��y�]��L�X��Q9�f*���#Wz=���k��,�k����%�t���bb�!{��n6�Avz0��V ��&/���|Pcx�b݇%�ޝR��"�P<���|Qx
Ō,Z ���3*F��r�%@!�BON
��9O�(�@��0UB�Xi�z�(��B,<"����
�l҅���CۀP ��L@PH�"(��C�{�!Lߒ�*��LJ���K?��wɇ�t��?����{�R�� S4�Ў%h$ŀ�Cٟ��dc��B��taA�j��K�X� �`�M����,��@������%b ���(��OK���ta�t4h�M�'aסd.��>�lu+Ḗ9��ž���T������ʁ�D_zm)x�4O��*;�X�$TI�g�TEz���\ �$Fʹ�:��N�Ut��zO<��J�K݉�Kvx� v�'sY� ����[��Ͻ�-�U�������zug�f���c��23/��E/�R9���/^hS@��{�U5�3�ռ��8~9�����!FQ��K'E����)��P�� �
j{ӶHO��/B)Ѭf)6��JЫؔκ2#��>��E�kp)Im‰�[(ԯ��)�J<�5m��cC`t�`:��slͣ�*Ȃ�"(2����шLPֿ!3`��޴����I#���z&I�+?I�%� c���\־������2���?r�n>.��5N����b{��&7��,�Џ�����=K���@Ju�:��� { ��L�2��P����Sk���3/e�VF՛S;;�T��,yuP ����i��*�.c}�tK?�X��8�29B1�@��� ��F�N����Ӽ���~�����xf�DҠ�Q��xt���?Szo��k&JVR��D��B:`�2��lMZ2:=+��s*��]A�$������W)@�؀��h�T�Ak k��.Q��؈<:����(�e��m��I��Xð�V����
�x�`*��S˙UQ��.ʯ��v��t>��{
� "F�s��7�.�,`d�y�ɄS��׋�63�9�T���w�.���"�/���`$׺7S��>2�O�y�{�L��"�� ��_�|��q0�H�Z�$ƕ�B���/�����5��^%\g�Q{�����a�� �b�J��~9�|�A�a��L��ђU!��L��Z�%�x)UT�8Vvx�� ��ǪRz�`W����LjW��6Kb9���&7?i@������(#�>%�$i��a#LH�A?~�������%dפ {�k��r��kE�Qe�X\�3��l� �3j_ݱh�-��!t�q������{�j��p>��}�|��гv}���VX�WR�,8���yI� _�Um�₲g�;����d�M��A'�lb�W�(���Kj���1�%��@k�x��추��=b���<���A_l1Z[�_��=TgD��Ƃ]�n�T��x��B��+?�0��4J��w!j��T�Z��*���j�7ʮ�� ��v4ܐQ��Ѓ� ��iAjV@ƭ��LbQ�&䤫�U�9�r��e��l����G�R)%���Su�^F7ڞgc��EaF���6dDp>� �N�0���z��ڒw7�! ~6b=�����v��?plT0^.n�@t�a'?N�c�6����L��P�������*-�UMH`��c�
�o8z�,nǨ�B('�J��}H�J_���7ߨ�UM�[uWhC�i�ڨ�B�y��/P\DC���7Ĩ1k�Οx����=Gi��S�
.�����)6s2��c���5�]P�qnT.�"M��/#.͠�

Reviews for Narcissus

[zeenia shah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Four American tourists sneak into a forbidden underground pool and encounter more myth and legend than they bargained for. This short novella is wonderfully precise and terrifying.