A scraping sound came from behind
the small bar in the corner of the
office; Stan swiveled his head in
that direction. From the corner of
his eye, he caught Jo’s mocking
smile.
With legs as heavy as lead, Stan
marched to the bar, hoping his tough
front would veil the shiver buried
deep in his being. At the bar, he
placed both hands on the wooden
counter and leaned over, and into
the yawning blackness of his dead
aunt’s eyes. “Aunt Maude?”
She was coiled on herself and
slumped behind the bar, facing him,
her ancient crêpe skin stretched
with the pressure of her jutting
bones. Through chattering blue
lips, she pleaded, “Do her bidding,
Stan. Do it or she won’t let me
rest.”
The begging quality of her voice
squeezed the life out of his heart.
His proud, confident aunt was
reduced to this creature? He backed
away. “This is a trick. You’re
playing with my mind.” He whirled
around and faced Jo, who’d shifted
around until she could peer down on
the old woman as well.
“It’s no trick.” His aunt’s low
whisper made him turn again to her,
her anguish-inundated gray eyes
fixed on Jo. “This witch is a
necromancer as well.” Her gaze
shifted to him. “Have mercy on me,
Stan. Give her what she wants.”
Wetting his lips, Stan gazed down at
the woman who’d raised him like her
own son. He couldn’t do this to
her. Of their own accord, his hands
stretched to touch her, to ease her
pain and worry. All of a sudden,
she vanished. Just like that; one
moment she was there, and the next
he was staring at the small
rectangular carpet.
“Do you believe me now?” Jo asked in
a calm tone.
He gritted his teeth so that the
pain in his gums would distract him
from lashing out. “Why are you
doing this?”
“I already explained that I need
your services.” When he shook his
head, she continued. “I can bring
your family to you, one by one.
You’ll see them in different stages
of decomposition, none of them as
pleasant or jubilant as you
remember. I will mutate and twist
your memories.” She paused. “Dead
spirits are never happy when
raised.”
No shit, he thought to himself. He
returned to his desk and plopped on
his chair. “What makes you think I
have what it takes to resurrect
you?”
“I was a witch long enough to know
the necessary ingredients for a
resurrection, and a powerful warlock
or witch is essential to its
success.”
“Why me?” He raised a hand. “And
spare me the bullshit.”
She shrugged. “It boils down to two
factors. One, you’re in the
spiritual business, so you will
think twice before asking any type
of authority for help.” She winked
at him. “Which, by the way, won’t
work. Two, you are buyable. Your
conscience is on a very long hiatus,
it doesn’t twitch even when you
hustle an old woman out of her only
source of income, her husband’s
pension.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “I’m getting
a lecture from a dead witch about
the morality of my actions.”
All of a sudden, Jo was in his face,
glaring down at him. “You can be as
sarcastic as you wish, Stan, but
you’ll also get initiated as a
powerful warlock to resurrect me.
Your other option is endless
suffering until you throw yourself
off a balcony or in front of a
speeding bus. And when you die, you
will be in my dominion. Think about
that.”
Reviews:
©
I Heart Reading:
"...If you
want to read a fun, quick, but scary and
disturbing book, look no further. Hellbound
is the ideal book to read at night, when the
roads to hell are easier to find than during
the daytime. For everyone who liked some
twisted stories, this is definitely an
excellent choice."
Read more
©
Manda-Rae Reads A Lot:
"...The
best comparison I can give this book is
comparing it to the Final Destination
movies. I love those movies only because of
the bizarre outcomes (and the special
effects). This book definitely has a lot of
bizarre outcomes, and it is very
descriptive..."
Read more
©
E-Reading on the Cheap:
"After
reading this book the first thoughts about
Su is that dang she is truly one disturbed
individual and that she is totally deranged.
The second thought was “Guess What?”. I
must be to because I totally loved these
stories. ..."
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more
