|
NEW AUTHORS SHOWCASE |
|
03-02-04 (p7-12m) |
|
In The Cold Light of Day by P. B. Cave
(125,000 words) |
|
Synopsis
A chance encounter with the mysterious and beautiful Anna Palova pitches Josh Summers into a bloody struggle for his freedom and his life. He suffers a violent and unprovoked attack in a dark alleyway, then wakes in hospital to find that his assailants have been brutally murdered; and worse, he’s the number one suspect. Assigned to the case is Lieutenant Harry Balooga. As he begins his investigation it rapidly becomes apparent that the City of Chicago has a particularly vicious killer on its streets. Unable to believe Summers is capable of such atrocities on his own, Balooga tracks down Anna Palova; and although at first she appears to be helpful and cooperative, the detective quickly begins to unravel a more sinister side to her. Josh escapes from his guarded hospital room and flees to Anna’s apartment, in the hope that she holds the key to clearing his name. But he finds her missing and instead is confronted by the inhumanly wicked Jonus, who leaves him in the midst of more bloodshed before disappearing into the night to continue his own relentless pursuit of Anna. It is Josh who finds her first, and they manage somehow to escape both Jonus and the police, taking refuge in a motel room where Anna shares with Josh the fantastic tale of medieval Vikings and her ancient adversary, Jonus. Now Josh begins to understand why Jonus is bent on destroying Anna, and how the future of mankind depends on her very survival. Together, they embark upon an incredible train journey that brings them to the abandoned and remote Colorado mountain resort of Sunlight Peak, closely pursued both by Jonus and by Balooga and the FBI. Caught in an avalanche, law enforcers and fugitives must now come together in a bid to triumph over Jonus and his terrible plan to bring about an eternity of darkness.
Prologue
SHE sat high and in darkness. Below her, a multitude of beautiful and exotic people hurried by, oblivious to the enigma above them, which was hidden within the shadows of some long-dead carcass. The enigma’s two older sisters, night and darkness, had been her long-time allies, cloaking her within their eternal arms. She did not consider herself beautiful - unlike the majority of people beneath her - although she would not have stood out amongst them, for she was older than beauty itself. Born before the first word had ever been spat from between blood-red lips, she was almost as ancient as life. She smiled slightly as the herd rushed past in a blaze of colour and bewildering noises: laughter, shouts, cries and screams. Not the cries and screams she was most familiar with; there was no sound of desperation, pleading or absolute horror, only carefree abandonment and intoxicated banter. In addition to her smile there was a slight shake of her head - she could not believe how easy it had become to feed her forbidden hunger. For her, this was an unquestionably fruitful time; the bounty was unlimited. With a herd of millions, it was not a question of how, when or where. Just who. She was not reckless or complacent in her choice of food, aware that all had potential hidden dangers, but relied instead on an instinct that had kept her from harm for countless aeons. There would be no food tonight, for she had recently fed. The night had unlimited possibilities and there were other hungers which needed to be satisfied. Tonight she hunted for something else entirely. Sex.
Chapter Thirty (sample)
He heard her scream and reached their compartment. ‘ANNA!’ he shouted, pounding on the door. The door opened in an instant and he fell through with a wave of black smoke at his back. He landed heavily on the floor, rolled onto his back and kicked the door shut. For a few precious seconds, the black fog remained trapped outside their compartment. But like a lethal exhaust, the gap at the bottom of the door pumped in thick caustic vapour. Josh looked up and saw Anna standing in the thick of the smoke. He reached up and pulled her down into cleaner air. Teardrops cascaded down her face. ‘What happened?’ Before Josh could answer, they felt the compartment judder around them as the train lurched forwards in a sudden increase of speed. ‘Josh, what’s happening?’ she cried. ‘Goddamn dining car went up like a bomb,’ he told her, and wiped away his own smoke-induced tears. ‘How?’ ‘Some sort of explosion, in the kitchen… I don’t know. One minute I’m ordering bagels and coffee – and the next, all hell breaks loose,’ he said, his throat burning with raw pain. Anna sensed the train had gained even more speed. She gripped his arm. ‘Why aren’t we stopping?’ ‘The fire’s really blazing and the dining carriage is right next to the fuel tanks.’ ‘So?’ ‘So, some asshole next to me, said he use to be a Fire Marshall and the quickest way to put it out is to choke it with air.’ ‘Is he crazy?’ she asked. ‘They’ve opened all the compartment windows between the engine and the fire, in the hope that the slipstream will either blow it out or spread the flames this way and away from the fuel.’ ‘Are they crazy?’ ‘Anna, I can’t breathe,’ Josh said, and coughed back smoke. He stood and grabbed the straight-backed chair. ‘JOSH - NO!’ she screamed, seeing his intentions. The chair slipped from his fingers. Instead, he threw the backpack down next to her and pulled away the bed sheet. He opened the sheet out then covered her with it, and made sure its edges were firmly tucked underneath her body. Then he snatched the chair back up and ignoring the pain in his wrist, he launched it through the window. The chair crashed through the window in an explosion of shattered glass, sticky tape and dark material. A blast of fresh air entered the compartment and within seconds it cleared the room of the thick choking fog. A light haze of grey mist lingered like rancid breath. As the smoke dispersed around him, Josh got a brief second to catch a glimpse of expansive green fields and snow-capped mountains. Anna moaned in agony. ‘Shit,’ he snapped. The flow of air made the sheet flap wildly around her head and shoulders. ‘It burns. It burns,’ she whimpered, as the sun’s rays scorched her exposed skin. He smothered her in his arms and held the sheet down at her sides. ‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ he said, over the shriek of the wind. ‘Josh – I can’t leave,’ she told him. ‘Anna, we’ve got to go – now.’ ‘No, I’ll burn. The sun – the sun.’ ‘Anna, if we stay here, we’ll both burn! Now come on,’ he said, and dragged her to her feet. He pulled her up and held the cover around her. ‘I’ll look after you, I promise, but we’ve got to get to another carriage.’ ‘You go. I’ll wait here and take my chances,’ she said. Her hands rose and she shaped the sheet about her head into a makeshift cowl. ‘The hell you will! You’re coming with me,’ he told her. ‘But I can’t let anyone see me like this, and we’ll need to pass through the lounge to get to the other side of the train,’ she warned him. ‘Then we’ll find another way,’ he said, and moved up to the door. ‘There isn’t another way.’ Ignoring her, he placed his hand against the wooden surface. Intense heat radiated from the other side. He ordered her to stand back then pulled the door open. Thick smoke filled the compartment in an instant, and although it quickly escaped through the open window, the blazing fire in the carriage adjacent quickly replaced it with a constant supply. The black vapour swirled about them like some miniature tornado. Josh reached out blindly and found Anna’s hand. He pulled them out of the compartment and into the narrow passageway. Most of the passageway was cloaked in a blanket of dark mist. But as the smoke churned about them, bright slivers of sunlight pierced through this living black cloth. Josh timed their progress, careful to avoid the shards of light. Occasionally, Anna had to duck under or step over the burning beams. They reached the automatic door and waited for it to open. There was a quick release of compressed air and the door threatened to open. Instead, it released a squeal of protest and remained fast. Jammed shut, the door offered an inch of escape only. |