combatants had become surrounded by a spherical conflagration that pulsed and bloated like a tick gorging on blood, blocking any passage around them. Now fully committed to their conflict, the Carcosans progressively lost their humanity as their appearance morphed into forms too horrid to tolerate. Fortunately, the conflagration grew translucent as it enlarged, and Eile could see little clear detail.
"What do we do?!" Sunny wailed.
Dracula stuck his head and shoulders through the door that led into the outer corridor. "Stand aside!" Then he retreated back into the hallway beyond. Eile and Sunny grabbed Differel's hands and they ran away from the entrance along the front wall towards the safe, just moments before a huge mass rammed into the armored door. It rattled and buckled, but did not give way. The force hit again, and a bulge popped out, but still the door stayed closed. A third hit, and it tore loose from the frame and flew into the room, landing and skidding across the floor towards the desk.
Dracula gestured at them. "Hurry!"
They ran out, Differel in the lead. As they entered the hallway, Eile saw it was filled with troops, with Aelfraed, Mr. Holt, and Maggie King in front of them.
"Take cover!" Differel said, and they dispersed back down the hall as she turned and ducked into the conference room; Sunny followed and Eile brought up the rear.
A sound like a crash of thunder coming simultaneous with lightning hitting a building rent the air as the whole house shook. Eile fell to her hands and knees, along with Sunny; Dracula caught Differel before she fell. She braced herself, expecting another shock, or the roof to collapse, or the floor to cave in, but when nothing happened she opened her eyes and stood up. The quiet felt eerie, but as she glanced at Sunny and Differel, she realized they thought as she did:
It was over.
They hurried back into the office. For a second time Eile stopped dead, as did Sunny and Differel, but for a different reason. The entire rear outside corner of the room had been blown out, leaving a ragged hole. The floor and ceiling seemed to be intact, but the windows on either side were missing. They walked up to the opening and looked out over the porch into the garden beyond. A swath of destruction ran to the nearest gravel path, where a pit like a sinkhole had appeared. Looking up, Eile saw the conflagratory sphere high up in the sky, so high it appeared almost too small to see. It flared suddenly and disappeared, followed by a low rumbling peel of thunder several seconds later.
They turned back into the room, and Eile saw that the contents had been almost completely destroyed. Differel went to what remained of her desk, shifted through a few pieces of debris, and salvaged the humidor and her father's lighter. By that time, members of the staff and guard milled about outside the door and the ruined wall.
Differel took a moment to light a cigarillo before putting the lighter in a pocket and the humidor under her arm. Looking at her and Sunny, she remarked, "Why is it that whenever the two of you visit, some disaster befalls my house?"
Eile grinned and blushed at the same time.
Sunny said, "That's not true!" Then she flashed an embarrassed smile. "Is it?"
She gave them a warm smile. "No, of course not. But I couldn't resist, under the circumstances."
Eile chuckled as Sunny twittered.
"Still," Eile said, "it's too bad about yer office."
She shrugged it off. "This isn't the first time this has happened; I did much the same myself when I was pregnant. Nothing here is irreplaceable, not even that." And she pointed at the portrait of her father, which had somehow miraculously survived.
Then she sighed and her body slumped. "I could use a good night's sleep."
"What you need is a vacation!" Sunny squealed.
"Yeah, I think we all do," Eile chimed in. "Aelfraed suggested we take you back ta our place in Colorado. How about it?"
The blue-blood looked as if she had just told her the secret to happiness. "That sounds wonderful. I can be ready in half an hour." Then she squared her shoulders. "Let's get out of the way so the clean-up crew can do their jobs." She turned around. "I'll have Aelfraed--"
She cut herself off with a hiss, as the cigarillo fell out of her mouth and the humidor dropped from under her arm.
She and Sunny rushed up beside her. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Differel could only point at her father's portrait. What Eile saw turned her gut to ice water as her knees almost buckled. Sunny squeaked a wordless exclamation as she gripped Differel's arm.
"Holy Jesus God!" Eile whispered.
The face of her father had been painted over with a childish portrait of a laughing girl, with words scrawled underneath, both in fresh neon orange paint that dripped like blood. The words read:
Until next time, Cousin.
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For more information on Sir Differel Van Helsing and the Caerleon Order, see the official site [https://www.sir-differel.com/].
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About the Author
Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.
Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing. Most of his works will be sold as ebooks through various online retailers, but he also plans to make some available for free exclusively on Goodreads.
He writes primarily speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres--but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.
Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:
Medb hErenn [https://www.medbherenn.com/]--One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.
Eile and Sunny, Team Girl [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/]--They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.
Sir Differel Van Helsing [https://www.sir-differel.com/]--The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.
He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.
Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.
For more information, see the Songs of the Seanchai [https://www.seanchaisongs.com/].
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Discover other titles by Kevin L. O'Brien:
A fidus Aranea, Adventurer's Honeymoon, Barbarians R Us, The Beast of Exmoor, The Christmas Vampires, Dark Vengeance, Desperate Acts, Disposable Commodities, Do Unto Others, Far-Sight, Feline Savior, The Golden Mushroom, Gourmand Hag, Gratuitous Crossover, Gruff Tolls, Immanuel, In an Octopus's Garden, Inseparable, The Lions of Inganok, Man Friday, Masie's Mind, No Torrent Like Greed, Oak Do Hate, One-Percenter Vendetta, Post-Traumatic Redemption, The Price of Folly, Pride and Fall, Redshirt, Sacrificial Offering, Shenanigans, The Steel Gazelle, The Temple of Ubasti
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
A Deliberation of Morality, The Denver Walker, The Differential Damsel, Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams, Felis ex Machina, Fun 'n' Games, Jigsaw Dragon, A Little Hospitality, The Peril Gem, Pyrrhic Victory, A Typical Friday Night, Youthful Indiscretion
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Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien Online:
Twitter: https:/
/twitter.com/KLOB_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.l.obrien.1
Website: https://www.seanchaisongs.com/
DeviantArt: https://teamgirl-differel.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kevin_L_OBrien
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Sample Excerpts
From "The Price of Folly"
Dimitri Karishnikov stared at the hunk of grayish-black rock that sat on the exam table in the middle of the laboratory. As chief of security for Dis, Avernus colony's one and only city, part of his job was to keep it under close surveillance, but he found it difficult to maintain a disinterested attitude. Its potential excited him too much.
If pressed, though, he would have admitted that it didn't look like much, not at first glance. It was oblong in shape, approximately a meter tall, a half-meter wide, and a third thick, with a dull metallic sheen. One point of interest was that it had a geometric shape, but since it followed no regular form, it could still be dismissed as a natural crystalline formation. Which everyone did at first. It wasn't until the surface had been acid-washed, to remove the outer layer of patina in preparation for metallurgical examination, that its one truly significant feature had been revealed: a smooth, polished surface covered with coded designs.
The importance of that discovery