A Friend In Need (Ebook)
A Friend In Need (Ebook)
Book 2 in The 72 Demons Urban Fantasy Series
Audiobook Version
Paperback Version
If you can’t count on your friends, who can you count on?
When Carter Monk, one of the Circle of Sorcery’s agents, goes missing in Australia, Dasiuke Kugo and his partner Helena are dispatched to find out what happened.
But just getting to Carter’s last known location is a challenge since Australia is now a sealed country, no foreigners allowed.
When they finally arrive, they’ll have to deal with monsters, demon magic, and an obsessed cult if they want to rescue their friend and get to the bottom of the mystery he’d been investigating.
Succeed or fail, nothing will be the same after this mission.
Look Inside
Look Inside
Carter Monk had made many poor decisions in his life, but coming to Milden Station had to be right at the top of the list. As the hub for all trade in this sector of the outback, it was inevitable that his search for the demon prison would bring him here. When his brother’s supply caravan arrived at his base camp two days ago bearing a note saying that the information he needed to complete his mission could be found here, Carter had to check it out.
He arrived a couple hours before sunset and started chatting with the locals. None of them had a clue, either about the note or anything resembling the demon prison. Then the sun set and everything went completely to hell.
Now Carter found himself sprinting through the dark down Milden Station’s solitary road.
He glanced over his shoulder. A shadow flitted through the moonlight, passing between a pair of tin shacks before disappearing again.
It seemed whoever’s punch bowl he’d pissed in was still after him. As a member of the Circle of Sorcery, he had considerable skill in magical combat and an individual shadow was no match for him. The problem was, Carter had already destroyed three shadows and seriously doubted the one he just saw was the only one left. The bloody things just kept coming. Whoever summoned them was either exceptionally powerful or had been building up his or her—Carter really had no idea who he was dealing with—forces for some time. Before he could make up his mind which was the least-bad prospect, a shadow appeared right in front of him.
An instinctive blast of divine energy blew it to wisps of black flame.
That had been too close. He wiped sweat from his brow. Despite the sun having set an hour ago, the cursed heat lingered.
“Gah!” He twisted away from a stabbing pain in his back and staggered a step.
A shadow had snuck up behind him and the blow had drained a chunk of his strength.
A burst of divine energy exploded out in all directions, blowing the shadow away and leaving Carter even weaker. He needed to get the hell out of the station and back to his basecamp. Easier said than done considering his dune buggy and, more importantly, the supplies he needed were on the opposite end of town.
He also seriously doubted the shadows would just let him leave in peace. The first hint of a backlash headache was building and that boded ill for his long-term prospects.
His only small comfort came from the fact that he’d convinced Justine, his research assistant, to stay behind in camp. If Carter had had to protect her as well as himself, he’d be dead already.
Limping along as quickly as his limited strength would allow, he finally reached the edge of the station. A simple bar gate attached to a shack controlled access to the town. The guard who was supposed to be on night watch lay flat and limp on the ground beside it. A quick glance through the ether confirmed that his life force was still strong. Thank heaven for small favors.
In front of the gate six shadows had gathered, all of them bigger and more solid-looking than any he’d destroyed so far.
A black disk appeared in the middle of them and a shape oozed up out of it. The shape grew and became decidedly feminine in form. Finally, the blackness slid back into the disk and vanished, leaving a stunning brunette behind. He guessed her age around midtwenties. Silky black hair hung down to the middle of her back. Bloodred lips that looked even darker given her pale skin turned up in a smile when she looked at him. Normally that expression on a woman this beautiful would fill him with joy. When it was combined with her glowing red eyes, the effect was decidedly colder.
The black dress she wore did little to hide her curves. It was slit up to her hip on both sides and down the front to her belly button. How there was enough material to restrain her massive breasts was a mystery he’d ordinarily be delighted to explore.
Unfortunately, he was fairly certain she was the architect of his current predicament. He also had serious doubts about her humanity.
He spun only to find six more of the denser shadows closing in from behind. You’ve really stepped in it this time, Carter. Assuming he survived, the boss would never let him hear the end of it.
Fighting wasn’t going to serve him now, so Carter raised his hands to the side and smiled. “Good evening. Fancy meeting a pretty lady like you in a place like this.”
Not one of his better lines, but it had sounded sincere, at least to his ears.
“Good evening?” she said. From her accent he guessed she was French. What the hell was a French shadowmancer doing here of all places? “I think not. Nothing good ever comes from strangers visiting my station uninvited and asking questions best left unasked.”
“Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. I received a note yesterday inviting me here. I never would’ve come otherwise.”
Her frown of displeasure didn’t reduce her beauty in the slightest. “Who sent it?”
Carter shook his head and very slowly reached into the front pocket of his cargo shorts. He pulled the note out and offered it to her.
A tentacle of ether plucked it out of his hand and pulled it to her. She unfolded the note and read it. The process didn’t take long as there were only two paragraphs and a stylized X for a signature.
She flicked the note away and it quickly crumbled to dust. “Someone, it seems, wants you dead.”
“That surprises me less than it would most people. Look, I don’t know who you are and I don’t care about your business. How about we just go our separate ways? I promise never to come back.”
“There’s a part of me that’s tempted to do just that if only to spite whoever had the audacity to think they could use me as their personal executioner.” Carter’s hopes rose just a fraction only to be dashed a moment later. “Unfortunately, I can’t imagine a light caster like yourself simply forgetting what you’ve seen. Despite your best intentions, I fear you would eventually return with a larger force. Given the time and energy I’ve invested here, I can’t risk it.”
Carter gathered divine energy around his hands. As he did, the pounding in his head grew worse.
He might get off two blasts if he was lucky.
An explosion of darkness shot up all around him.
His light magic shield held for a few seconds.
When it broke, a moment of blinding pain was followed by nothingness.
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