Chompers: The Carmilla Sheridan Adventures, #2

By Lee Cushing

Carmilla Sheridan is a former monster hunter in a world where humans and supernatural creature co-exist.

 

Now working as a police consultant, she is called in when a bizarre series of murders are committed and appear to be the work of an hired killer.

 

The only clue in the murders are an collection of false teeth used to tear the victims apart, a clue which leads Carmilla to suspect the killer is well versed in the dark arts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lee Cushing
• Release date: Oct 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223530879

Lee Cushing

Lee Cushing is a paranormal thriller author and a lifelong fan of the occult. Having become obsessed with supernatural folklore and the world of horror from an early age, Lee has spent years studying tales of the occult and immersing himself in stories of otherworldly phenomenon. He’s also the owner of a number of vampire and horror-related groups in Facebook, where fellow fans of the supernatural come together to celebrate and discuss all things paranormal.  His debut novel, Voodoo Mambo, blends high-stakes action and shadowy agencies with a dark underworld of demonic creatures and their insidious plots to attack humanity. Lee draws his inspiration from classic horror movies – including Hammer and Universal – as well as beloved TV shows including Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Avengers, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. 

Book preview

Prelude

The Whispering Shadows

I

It is a mysterious prologue featuring a chilling prophecy about cursed teeth, sowing the seeds of the main plot.

Moonlight poured over the cobblestone streets, casting eerie silhouettes against the crumbling facades of ancient buildings. Elders often spoke of the forgotten rituals and curses that soaked into the very stones underfoot. Tonight, those legends were awakening in the form of a chilling prophecy, a tale not to be ignored.

Rosamund, an oracle burdened with otherworldly vision, felt the stirrings in her bones. Wrinkles adorned her face like cryptic runes, each line earned from years of battles waged in spiritual realms. She shuffled to her sacred corner, adorned with mystical symbols, feathers, and the omnipresent aroma of burning sage.

With quivering hands, she reached for the relic that beckoned to her—a weathered jawbone studded with teeth that appeared human but hinted at something far more sinister. The teeth were aged yellowed, some marred with cracks, but all imbued with a dark energy she could feel in her palms. A whispered voice, devoid of bodily form, cascaded through her thoughts: These teeth are not for mortal men.

Conjuring ancient incantations, her fingers hovered over the gnarled relic. Her eyes rolled back, revealing milky whites as an otherworldly force seized her. Images flitted through her mind: shadows creeping along walls, a crescent moon turning blood-red, and finally, a figure Camilla Sheridan, shrouded in existential tumult.

And then words, twisted and guttural, poured from her lips: Cursed be the fangs that thirst for souls, bound by bone and sealed by woe. Mark the hunter turned consultant; she who seeks shall bear the brunt.

Snapping back to her senses, Rosamund knew she had ventured into dangerous territory. She felt drained fragile, like a candle burned to its last flicker. The prophecy was more than just a suspicion; it was a precursor. Whoever wielded those teeth could rip through the very fabric of reality, melding the realms of the living and the damned.

She quickly penned the prophecy onto parchment, using ink mixed with dragon's blood for permanence and protection. This message couldn't fall into the wrong hands. Before sealing it with wax stamped with her sigil, she murmured an incantation over the parchment. It glowed briefly, a brief dance of light, and then returned to its earthly hue. It was now shielded from prying eyes, accessible only to the one with the most actual intent—Camilla Sheridan. She had to know and be warned because the cursed teeth were no longer a legend. They were a weapon, existing in bodily form, yearning to be wielded.

Rosamund sent for a raven, one trained to seek the mystical aura that Camilla exuded. With a solemn nod, the raven took flight, clutching the message in its talons. It soared into the night, guided by celestial paths unseen to the human eye, on a journey toward an unknown destiny.

A chill swept over Rosamund. Despite her preparations, she couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that enveloped her. The prophecy was now out of her hands, spiraling towards its fateful crescendo. Camilla would soon find herself in a labyrinth of danger, choices, and dark temptations. And the cursed teeth waited somewhere in that twisted maze, ready to unleash chaos that could swallow both worlds whole.

For Rosamund and the world unknowingly teetering on the precipice, all that remained was hope—that the message would find its way to Camilla in time, that the raven would not falter, and that destiny, though written in teeth and bone, was not yet etched in stone.

As Rosamund sat alone in her sacred corner, her thoughts began to spiral around the people she had known—warriors, healers, even monster hunters like Camilla. Each one had a tale, but none as potentially catastrophic as what lay ahead. The looming dread almost made her question the usefulness of her visions. Almost.

Flicking her gaze towards an old hourglass on a rickety table, she watched as the last grains of sand cascaded down. Time was running out, not just for her or Camilla but for the world as they knew it. There were moments when destiny could be nudged, rewritten, or even shattered. This was one such moment, teetering on the edge of unfathomable darkness.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she extinguished her candles, plunging the room into darkness. Rosamund whispered one final prayer, not to a god or celestial being, but to the very essence of life itself—let the prophecy find the right path, let the cursed teeth be stopped, and most of all, let not the future be as grim as the shadows in her visions.

Chapter 1

Midnight's Consultant

––––––––

Camilla Sheridan is introduced during a high-stakes monster negotiation gone wrong.

Meet Camilla Sheridan, a force to be reckoned with—a lady who could stare down a werewolf and make a vampire think twice about that next bite. Once a monster hunter, she had traded her silver bullets and enchanted blades for a consultant's badge with the police department. Her hunting days were supposed to be over, but the monsters? Well, they didn't get the memo.

Listen, Zarok, I don't care if you've been banished from your underwater kingdom. Murder is murder, Camilla declared, locking eyes with a disgruntled merman seated across the negotiation table. To her left, two police officers nervously glanced at each other. They needed to be more strictly trained to handle cases involving mythical beings with serrated fins and a penchant for human souls.

The room was dim, the atmosphere stifling, with layers of tension thick enough to cut with one of her retired enchanted daggers. Zarok snorted, a spray of saltwater misting from his nostrils. You think your laws apply to me? I am royalty!

Camilla leaned back in her chair, eyeing a set of enchanted cuffs explicitly designed for aquatic felons. Your Highness, in the mortal world, that crown doesn't keep you above the law. You've got two options: comply, or we find out how well merfolk fare in prison.

The merman's scales shimmered in agitation, but he finally slumped back, murmuring a sullen agreement in an ancient tongue that echoed like the ocean depths. Just as Camilla felt a glimmer of triumph, the walls vibrated with an