Halloween Bargains

Two stories for lovers of horror and curses: If Wishes Were... by Natasha Duncan-Drake and Happy Families by Sophie Duncan.

Is it a symptom left from his brain haemorrhage, or a guilty conscience that is making Tristan McCall see things no-one else can?

Forced out of the police by scandal and illness, Tris is trying to rebuild his life through the renovation of the home he hopes to share with Xander, his husband. A sprawling Gothic pile, Berwick House is in need of attention, but Tris soon realises the attention is not all one way. Faced with a presence in the house only he can sense, Tris must decide if his damaged brain is playing tricks on him, or if Berwick House really holds a dark and dangerous message from beyond the grave.

Two short stories of the spooky kind created for All Hallows Read 2013.
The Visitor by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Ruderbaker by Sophie Duncan

Earth no longer belongs exclusively to humans. Ever since the hoard came demons roam the wreckage of old Earth just as humans do. Karon spans the divide, both human and demon, and, yet, neither at the same time. At the mercy of his vampire heritage he seeks a trade with a powerful demon prince and can only hope that his price will be accepted.

The Hidden War has been raging unseen my normal eyes for generations and Zac Kithrall, demon-seer, and Damon Wulfres, demon-raiser, have grown up on opposite sides of it. Now they must work together, but Zac can't remember why.

The bargain has been sealed, Umi is now a vampire and belongs to Hieron as his concubine. Yet, Hieron cannot reconcile himself to the secrecy behind his new slave, it makes him dangerously angry and the vampire lord lives up to his warning to Umi that he will be cruel.

Hieron, vampire lord of Harkham, is unaccustomed to visitors in his private bedchamber unless he has expressly invited them. Such an unsolicited intrusion should mean the interloper's death.

Dan works his magic with food as a new up and coming chef, what he does not need is his restaurant being destroyed by an explosion and ending up trapped with the UK's hottest food critic in what's left of his kitchen. When vampirism enters the equation it makes things a whole lot worse.

Nate hunts vampires and he's good at it. However, when he comes across Lexie while stalking his latest quarry, he finds out life can be a whole lot more complicated than even he knew. Lexie is a white witch with a dark secret.

This is a two story horror anthology created for All Hallows Read 2012.
Catcher of Souls by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Some Things Are Stranger... by Sophie Duncan