Carnival of Stone: A Novella (The Soren Chase Series) by Blackwell Rob

Author:Blackwell, Rob [Blackwell, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: urban fantasy, supernatural suspense, forest of forever, closed at dark, dark fantasy
Published: 2015-09-28T04:00:00+00:00

*****

It wasn’t until he saw Emily walking toward him that Soren understood just how badly he’d miscalculated the situation.

The snakes had hemmed him in, forming a small circle around him. They appeared to want to keep him in place rather than attack him. When he tried to move forward, they hissed and reared back as if to strike. But if he stayed where he was, they left him alone.

It wasn’t hard to assume that someone was coming for him, and probably not so they could give him coffee and a donut. It just hadn’t occurred to him that the someone would be Emily.

The snakes parted for her automatically as she strolled towards him, clearing her way forward and then closing in behind her. Her entire body language was different than earlier. She didn’t look scared or anxious—and certainly not the least bit afraid of the snakes. Instead of a tentative walk, her stride was calm and confident, even slightly seductive with her hips swaying side to side. She smiled at Soren and it should have lit up her face. Instead, Soren wanted to take a step back. But he couldn’t. There was nowhere to go.

“Where’s Glen?” he asked as she neared him.

“That’s your first question?” Emily said, raising an eyebrow. “Not why the snakes are letting me through?”

“I want to know if my partner is alive,” Soren said.

“He is,” Emily said.

She didn’t add “for now”—she didn’t have to. The addendum was written all over her face.

“It wasn’t the professor who controlled the gorgon,” Soren said. “It was you. When he came into the tent, he wasn’t trying to kill all of us—just you. Because he knew.”

Emily scowled at the mention of the incident.

“Something like that,” she said. “I don’t know how he knew. I’ve been trying to find him for two days and I assumed he’d welcome me as another survivor when he saw me. He must have figured it out while he was hiding. Still, I have to thank you. You and your friend helped flush him out for me. It’s why I’m going to add you to my collection, unlike poor Andy there. He had to pay for trying to kill me.”

She nodded in the direction of the professor’s body, still fortunately buried under a pile of snakes.

“Your collection?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Emily said. “I’m reopening the Carnival of Stone. It’s going to be magical. You saw the specimens in the church—the mother and child, the butcher. They’re magnificent, aren’t they? So lifelike, so beautiful. I’m going to be famous.”

“You’re mad,” Soren said. “People will know what you’ve done.”

Emily laughed.

“I think you’re overestimating how smart people are,” Emily said. “And underestimating their gullibility. In your experience, how likely are people to believe I had dozens of people turned to stone? That’s crazy.”

Soren knew she was right. People’s capacity to deny the existence of the supernatural was almost limitless.

“Besides, it’s not like I’ll open the Carnival here,” Emily said. “That would be a tad risky, even for me. I’ll do it in Europe.

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