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| Shadow Vison| |Murder Mayhem and Mistletoe|Eye of the Storm |

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Shadow Vision

Available now as a free read

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SamanthaStorm/

Blurb: Friday Maxwell is a typical computer programmer by day, but at night she arms herself with silver daggers, and crosses and heads into the night to fight the minions of evil - Demons. As a newly trained Demon Killer she's ill prepared for a sudden Demon attack. Blinded during the attack she's now at the mercy of a bystander who not only came to her aid, but is desperately trying to keep her alive and away from the evil that still hunts her. Can she keep herself alive long enough to figure out what's going on? And who is this mystery man now at her side who not only can see Demons, but seemingly kill them at will?

Excerpt

I tried to open my eyes, but nothing happened. The world around me had gone pitch black. And with that realization panic set in.

"You've been burned. Here, sit up and take a sip of this." A strong arm lifted my upper body and cradled my head as cool liquid spilt onto my lips. I drank deeply. "Where am I?" I asked between gulps of water.

"The basement of an apartment building on 42nd and Winston. My apartment to be exact."

"Basement! Where the hell is Harry!"

"Keep your voice down. It's still hunting for you outside.

"Where's Harry?" I asked again suddenly afraid to hear the answer.

"Your friend is dead." I was lowered back onto the ground and something warm, but slightly scratchy, was pulled over my body. Gentle hands tucked the material around my feet and up under my chin.

The shock of Harry transitioning from a live pain in the ass to a dead brother in arms was almost too much for me. I didn't want to think of the family that would mourn him, or the man he could have been, if he had lived long enough to grow into himself.

I cleared my throat trying unsuccessfully to swallow the fear that was rising from the pit of my stomach. "The demon is still out there?"

"Is that what that is? A demon?"

"What did you think it was?"

"No idea. Just knew I didn't want to be around when it came to its senses."
It was a little surprising that he could see a demon at all, most people just saw a dark shadow that they didn't want to focus on. It was extremely rare to find someone who could see a demon without training, and unheard of to see it as more than an evil looking human. And even stranger, he didn't even seem to be that surprised that it was a demon.

"But I missed."

"With the knife? Yeah, but when all its attention was focused on you I picked it up and stabbed it in the back. I didn't stay around to see if I killed it, but it seemed dazed and confused."

Suddenly something was in my hand. My fingers slid down the cool, smooth surface of the blade and across the slightly raised protection symbols that had been carefully forged into the metal. It was comforting to have it back in my hands. For a moment I felt less vulnerable. But what good was a dagger when you couldn't see?

"Who are you?"

"A good Samaritan."

As my body warmed under the blanket my mind started slowly functioning again. "Do you normally go around saving damsels in distress?"

"Only the attractive ones."

A sudden noise set him in motion. His steps echoed as he moved across the room.
"What's wrong?"

"Do you want the good news or bad news?"

"Good news."

His body was beside mine again. Warm fingers brushed hair from my forehead. "You don't look like death warmed over anymore. There's some color in your cheeks and those burns around your eyes, don't look as bad as they did at first."

"And the bad news?" I asked trying to ignore the little shocks of tingling pain where his skin touched mine.

"Reinforcements just showed up."

"How many?"

"I count three, maybe four. Two heading in the direction of this building. It's time we made a graceful exit."

I forced my body up and every muscle screamed in protest.

"How are your legs?" He asked.

"Better than my eyes."

Hands steadied me as I got to my feet.

"Where are we heading?"

He began guiding me forward. "There are two ways out of the building, the front and back door. The back has been chained shut."

"Isn't that a fire code violation?"

"You can send the landlord a letter of complaint later."

"So where to?"

"The roof."

"You're joking!"

His hand placed mine against a smooth wood surface. "Afraid not. Use the banister.

Come on, get a move on. It's seven stories straight up."
We walked in silence until a hand on my shoulder motioned me to stop. A body pushed past and the sound of male grunting and swearing filled the space around me. Metal screeched against metal. A cool breeze suddenly caressed my skin. Strong fingers wrapped around my arm pulling me slowly forward. I stumbled along using my other hand to balance against his.

He suddenly stopped. "Wow!"

"Wow what?"

"A couple of blocks away there is a huge building on fire, it's really going, the flames must be fifty feet in the air."

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. "Which direction?"

"South. It looks like some kind of a warehouse."

I knew what building was on fire. A training night was one of the few times you could find the entire cell for my part of the city in one place. If the demons torched the warehouse and setup a perimeter to catch anyone who escaped, they would in one stroke cripple our defenses. I had never heard of any demon attacks with that level of planning or organization. Something was dreadfully wrong, and there wasn't much one blind and inexperienced DK could do about it. For now I just had to get out of the snare, keep my ass alive, and see if there was anyone left to report to.

"Now what?" I demanded.

"Across to the other building."

I couldn't keep the amusement from my voice. "How? Fly?"

"I don't know. Can you? I saw you slam that thing into a lamp post."

"No, I can't fly."

"But you did something to it?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"With my mind."

"Are there many like you walking around?"

"A few."

"And how many are there of those creatures?"

"You don't want to know."

His hands left my body. I tried not to panic at the suddenly loss of human contact.

Blinded, standing on the roof of an unknown building, I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. It didn't help. My heart was pounding frantically inside my chest.

I almost cried out with joy when he spoke again. "Okay, I found some boards. I can stretch a couple across to the roof of the next building."

"If you hadn't noticed, I can't see."

"I'm open to other suggestions. Have any?"

"No."

The man was insane. There was no way I was going to try a balancing act across rooftops. Not even with my sight and a net.

Two hands came to rest on either side of my shoulders. "One foot in front of the other. Take it slow. I'll guide you from behind. And whatever you do don't look down."
"Very funny."

It wasn't like he was giving me much choice. His body was forcing me forward. I took one step and then another. I tried to relax, but every part of my body was screaming to retreat, to go back.

I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. Another step and then another. I slowly made my way across the makeshift bridge. With each step I could feel the boards flex and bounce.

And then it happened. I stepped down and felt nothing.
Missed the board. The words screamed in my head as my arms reached out desperate for something to steady myself. He might have been able to keep me from falling if I hadn't panicked. My body lurched forward. I was suddenly completely off the board and free falling to my death.

Fingers dug into my wrist. The weight of my body coming to a sudden halt forced my shoulder out of its socket. The immense pain stilled the scream on my lips. My mind was filled with nothing but pain. A hot, white pain that shot up my arm and through my head, forcing the air from my lungs.

"Shit… Stop struggling...," His voice came out in gasps.

"Don't let go," someone begged. I realized it was me.

"Come on, help me out! Reach up with your other hand."

"I can't."

"Try. I don't know how much longer I can hold you."

I was going to die. Die, the word echoed in my mind.

His voice sliced through my fogged thoughts. "Damn it! Try!"

Try. I focused my whole being on the word and attempted to function again. I strained, reaching up, grasping for something, anything. And then my fingers brushed against material. I grabbed a handful and started to hoist myself up.

"You're pulling me over!" he yelled.

"I'm slipping."

"I can't pull you up without losing my balance!"

"Don't drop me!" The pain in my arm had turned into a dull ache. My arm was going numb and my brain wasn't too far behind.

"I'm going to swing you."

"What!" I screamed loudly and my voice bounced and echoed between the buildings. So much for keeping our whereabouts secret. It didn't really matter if they found us now.

Any minute my body would be splattered all over the pavement below.

"Swing your body. I think I can get you to the fire escape," he said as he started moving his arm slowly back and forth.

My body began to sway. "Stop it! You're insane!"

"Look, I can't hold on much longer. The fire escape. I can swing you over towards it. When I let go you'll fall onto that landing."

"What landing? I can't see."

"There's no other choice. Hopefully you'll land dead center. If not you're going to have to make a wild grab and hope you catch hold of something."

"I'm blind you moron!"

"We're out of choices! You're going have to help me. Start swinging your legs."
This had to be a bad dream, a nightmare I needed desperately to wake myself from.
Seconds ticked by. I hung far above the earth, suspended by a man I didn't know, swinging ever so slightly in the night wind. My head pounded. It took me a moment to realize the thunder in my temples matched the pounding of my heart. Sheer terror. It was the first time in my life I had felt this kind of fear.

True standing against the demons I felt panicked and scared, but now I was on the edge of hysteria. I could feel an insane laughter bubbling in my throat.

Harry was dead. The image of his body lying on the ground, surrounded by evil, flashed across my mind. I had hesitated and because of it Harry was dead. If I had been brave, utterly fearless he might still be alive. Harry was dead, but I was still breathing. I had a chance to live. One in a million chance a little voice whispered in my ear, but I forced the voice and the fear back into a corner of my mind. I concentrated on pumping my knees and legs back and forth. A chance to live. I wasn't about to waste it. I refused to be held immobile by my fear again.

The momentum started to build--causing my arm, with each twitch of motion, to throb with renewed pain. But the pain didn't register this time. Nothing did. I was an autumn leaf on a tree preparing to fall gently to the ground. I held the image of the leaf in my mind and tried to relax.

When he yelled the word "Go" my body was propelled forward. I had no idea how far I was from the fire escape. I had one shot at catching hold of something. My good arm reached out, hand flapping back and forth in the air prepared to connect any moment with metal.

I hit the landing and rolled forward in an ungraceful jumble of limbs. My head slammed against something hard and the breath was knocked from my lungs. Gasping for air I realized someone was shouting at me from above.

"Move woman. Get moving!"

I rolled onto my knees and reached out. My knuckles knocked against metal. I ignored the pain in my shoulder and wrapped my fingers around the railing, slowly pulling myself upright.

"They're coming!"

I could hear loud noises below me. Using the railing as a guide I started climbing the stairs, pulling myself up one step at a time. I was in agony. The landing had jarred my right knee.

"Faster! There are two of them heading up. They are only…" His voice was suddenly cut off.

I picked up my pace, trying to ignore the shooting pain running down my arm and the new pain radiating from my knee. How many stairs were there? How long until I reached the top? And an even worse thought crept into my head, how far behind were the demons? I stopped and listened, trying to hear over the pounding of my heart.
Just barely I could make out footsteps. But I wasn't used to judging distances with my ears. I had no idea how far behind me they were. All I could do was keep going. I forced myself upwards. And then, when I thought I could go no further, I fell forward coming down hard on my hands and knees against a gravelly surface. I had made it onto the roof.

Where was my companion? If he had abandoned me, I was a goner. Blinded there was no way I could get off the roof on my own.

It took me a moment to realize the gurgling noises drifting towards me were not being made by a machine.

"Run…" I recognized the voice, although the words were now strangled. My companion hadn't left after all.

I unconsciously reached for the dagger and gripped it tightly in my good hand. It would be useless unless a Demon stumbled directly into me. I couldn't stand by and let another person die, especially when I was, in theory, trained to do something about it.
The world was silent again. I strained to hear which direction the noise had come. Crawling slowly forward, I realized by the time I stumbled over my companion's body he would be dead.

"Where are you?" I shouted.

A grunt of pain followed by the sharp command, "Look out!"

I began to roll, but it was too late. Flames scorched my body. I kept rolling, once twice, three times. Enough I hoped to extinguish any demon fire clinging to my clothing.

I was hoisted suddenly into the air. Large hands squeezed my shoulders as I was lifted higher. A demon had me and every place his skin touched mine I burned in agony.

Demon Fire. When it hit you risked more than just physical damage. The shit could fuck with your very soul. How much fire did it take to mess with a person and damn them for eternity? Know one knew. The Academic branch in our organization had been debating the question since the groups' inception. Some DK's had been on the hunt for years and never seemed affected. Other's had been hit a few times only to see their personalities and souls altered forever. After every mission a DK was tested, probed and prodded to make sure they came back intact body and soul.

What happened to the ones that didn't pass the test? According to the rumor mill they were transferred to less sensitive areas of the organization. There were certain things about the group you were not encouraged to discuss. It wasn't an official off-limits command, more a lack of answers, a dozen frowns and general shrugs until you got tired of asking the questions.

I had heard once or twice from comrades far into their drinks rumors about an elite fighting force made up entirely of altered or shadowed DK. But I had a hard time believing it.

At the rate I had been pelted today who knew the current state of my soul. Damned was not something I aspired towards so my only option was to keep fighting. My arms where pinned, but my legs where free. I kicked, hard and wild and had the satisfaction of hearing a loud grunt. I twisted back and forth until finally one arm was free. I wasn't unarmed, I still had the blade in a death grip between my fingers. I swung and heard the beast scream as it cut deep inside its body. But this was no lowly demon bursting into ash at the touch of blessed silver, this thing was far more powerful.

The blade was causing it pain, but it didn't die. I pushed the blade deeper. My hand burned as it made contact with its body, but I ignored the pain and kept driving the blade down. It was like trying to kill an elephant with a butter knife. The fire now raged down my arm and radiated through my whole body. I couldn't keep contact much longer, soon my mind would shut down against the pain and I would lose consciousness. If I was lucky the bloody bastard would just kill me outright. But the way my luck had been running it would probably drag my body back to its nest and use my sorry ass for some demonic ritual.

It was then I realized I was a fucken moron. True any mental power I had was restricted to things I could see, but I was now in physical contact with this bad boy which meant I had more power over him than either of us realized.

My entire body was now in agony, but I forced the pain away and began to pray. Over and over I said the words, trying to focus my thoughts on not the darkness in front of me, but instead on a wall of white light. The words floated out of my mouth until finally I felt the demon's body tremble ever so slightly. It was working. Now it would come down to a battle of wills. Could I kill him before the demon fire killed me? And if I made it out in one piece would it be too late? Would my soul be altered forever? I felt the balance slowly shift in my favor, the burning pain began to recede and I could feel the demon weakening, but still it would not die.

Hard hands grabbed me from behind and for an instant despair overcame me, my mysterious rescuer was dead and now all hope was gone. With a jerk my new assailant pulled me from the demons hands and I tumbled across the roof with no vision to tell me where I fell.

Shadow Vision gets 5 Klovers!! -"Samantha Storm does a beautiful job at making her characters come alive. Friday is a phenomenal heroine! Her voice rings true in SHADOW VISION and her witty sense of humor helps inject an air of believability into the storyline. The mystery behind Van's involvement is intriguing while the sparks flying between Friday and Van are sizzling hot"-Debbie from ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

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Available now! as a free read http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SamanthaStorm/ Murder, Mayhem and MistletoeUnedited Excerpt “You fucked the hunky stranger, then stashed the weapon?” Paula asked, taking a seat next to Teddy. Teddy was sitting in an empty office, one hand handcuffed to a chair. A policeman stood just outside the door. “No. The other way around.” Paula leaned forward and whispered, “They won’t let anyone leave the party.” Teddy pushed her hair out of her face. The perfectly prepared hairdo was now a tangle of curls cascading down her back. “You don’t have to whisper. They don’t have the room bugged. Any sign of Charlie?” “Charlie is MIA.” “Beth?” She asked, wondering if the cop out front would be open to bribery. She really needed another drink about now.

 

“I saw her with a group of cops.” Paula’s eyes filled with tears. “The chick ratted you out, Teddy.”

So much for the sacred bonds of childhood friendship. “Where’s the Australian?”

The tears left Paula’s eyes and were replaced with a look of pure lust. “The darling is waiting for me just outside. He’s been a rock through this whole thing.” Paula’s expression suddenly turned serious. “I know he groped you first, but you don’t mind, I mean if I keep him?”

“No, go ahead,” Teddy raised a handcuffed wrist, “Doesn’t look like I’ll be dating for a while.”

“God, Teddy what are we going to do?” Paula wailed.

Teddy squirmed around trying to find the most comfortable position to sit while chained to a chair. “I’ve no idea. I take it since you and Aussie boy are not in here with me, Beth just ratted me out.”

Paula nodded her head.

“So I’ll be the only one going to the clinker. You think you can feed my cat while I’m doing time?” Teddy asked, trying not to break out into hysterical laugher. This was unreal. This was insane. This was like a bad Lifetime movie.

Paula slapped Teddy upside the head once, then again. “Stop joking around. This is serious.”

“Ouch, stop hitting me. I’m taking it serious.” She rubbed her head. “But what can I do. This is a nightmare.”

Paula looked around the room then she put her head close to Teddy’s and whispered, “What if I distract the cop outside and you make a break for it?”

“Even if we could,” Teddy whispered back and raised her wrist, “How do you suggest I get out of these?”

“I thought of that. You can use this.” Paula opened her palm and held out a black bobby pin.

Teddy laughed loudly at the sight of her salvation. “I’m not Houdini.”

Paula pouted. “Well, it’s worth a try.”

The sad thing was Teddy didn’t have any better ideas. She stopped and seriously considered Paula’s plan for a second. It had some huge holes. “And if by some miracle I could get out of the handcuffs and get past the guard at the door, how do you suggest I get out of the building. There are a dozen cops out there.” The room was a sparse white office. No ladders or secret exits–just a few chairs, a desk and filing cabinet.

“No idea.” Then Paula’s face suddenly lit up into a smile. “How many floors up are we?”

Teddy shook her head and laughed again. “Tenth. And no Einstein, there is no ledge I can shimmy out to, and no sheets I can tie together to make a rope. This is real life Paula, not a romance book.”

Paula’s eyed filled with tears again. “I’m only trying to help.”

Teddy patted her arm and smiled. “I know and I appreciate it, I really do.” She looked around again and tried to come up with a plan. Any plan. But there was no way out of this situation. “Crap I’m royally fucked.”

“It’s your word against Beth’s.”

“That’s true. Unfortunately Beth spends her Saturdays helping the homeless and goes to church every Sunday. Between the two of us, who would you believe? Wild, party diva or weekend saint in cashmere?”

Paula jumped out of her chair and exclaimed, “Zack and I can be your alibi!”

“A little louder, I don’t think the cop outside heard you.” An equally infamous wild, party diva and a hunky Australian as her alibi–somehow Teddy didn’t think that type of alibi would go over the way Paula hoped. “And say what? We were huddled in an office having a threesome? No, if I’m going down I’m not dragging the two of you with me.”

The door suddenly opened and two men walked in. The tallest was a blonde, blue-eyed surfer type wearing a pair of brown Dockers, a white collared shirt and blue striped tie. He carried a clipboard. The other guy was stocky, sported a mono brow and a sour expression.

The surfer dude spoke first. “I’m Detective Rogers.”

Teddy lifted the handcuffed arm as far as she could and wiggled her fingers in his direction. “Glad to meet you. I’m the wrongly accused bystander.”

She could have sworn she saw a grin flash across the Detective’s face. But when she looked again his expression was deadpan.

The Detective turned and addressed Paula. “We need to ask your friend a few questions. Would you mind waiting outside?”

Paula stood and started forward. She stopped and put her hands behind her back, opening her palm and offering Teddy the bobby pin. She asked over her shoulder, “Do you need anything before I go?”

Teddy was half tempted to take it, but lock picking just wasn’t in her repertoire. “No. I’ll be all right.” She tried to paste a reassuring smile on her face. “Say hi to Lover Boy. “

Teddy watched Paula leave the room and suddenly felt very isolated and alone. She squared her shoulders and faced the hunky firing squad. “In the movies they always ask questions in a stark room with a bright light.”

She watched as yet again the corners of the Detective’s mouth tug up before he caught himself and the smile disappeared replaced by a serious scowl. Even scowling, the guy was good-looking.

He seated himself at the desk and started flipping through a small stack of papers. “You told the officer that you entered the office looking for your friends?”

Teddy tried to remember all the tell-tale signs of lying. She uncrossed her legs and kept her eyes straight ahead as she answered, “Affirmative.”

The Detective tilted his head and eyed-balled her from across the room. “And then what happened?”

“I saw Ms. Beth Walkins standing over the dearly departed Wiggles,” Teddy answered, trying to keep her voice steady. It was one thing to lie about why you were late for work, and an entirely different thing to lie about finding a dead body. But she figured if Beth was going to accuse her of a felony, she might as well return the favor. All was fair in love, war and murder indictments.

“Ms. Walkins in her statement says she walked in and saw you standing over the body. “

Beth was going to ignore the fact Paula and Zack were in the room. If Beth was willing to keep the other two out of the whole mess, Teddy was happy to play along. Teddy lowered her voice and said in hushed tones, “Beth tends to hallucinate when drunk.”

The Detective narrowed his eyes. “We’re still trying to determine the murder weapon. Care to help us out?”

She plastered a nonchalant expression on her face and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. I’ve no idea.”

“Did you say anything to Ms. Walkins?”

“When?”

“When you found her with Mr. Waswald’s body?”

Teddy studied her nails. “Not that I recall.”

“So you opened the door, saw your work associate standing over a dead man’s body. You then without saying a word left the room…,” He opened another file and started reading a piece of paper, “To go find your friends? But you were so distraught you never stopped and considered calling the police?”

She nodded her head. “Right again.”

He suddenly demanded, “Ms. Madison have you been drinking?”

She beamed at him. “Yes.”

“But according to numerous co-workers you were picked as the designated driver.”

The more questions she answered, the more pissed off he seemed to be getting. Unfortunately the more cross he got, the sexier he looked. Teddy suddenly had an irresistible urge to run her hands through that blonde wavy hair. Somehow she didn’t think the man currently trying to find a reason to put her behind bars would find that amusing. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice and tried to sound respectable and innocent. “That’s true. But sometime during the night, I decided to resign from the position.”

The door opened and a uniformed police officer stuck his head into the room. “Excuse me, Sir.”

“What is it Johnson?”

“Charlie Smith just confessed to killing Fred Waswald.”

“He did?” The Detective sounded surprised. He turned back to Teddy. “Looks like we owe you an apology Ms. Madison.”

Charlie confessed to killing Wiggles. Teddy didn’t believe it, but if it meant they would be taking off the cuffs and letting her walk out of the room, then she was all for it. She gave him her best smile. “Don’t worry I promise not to sue.” She raised her handcuffed wrist. “Now can you get these damn things off me?