Chapter 2

Marilyn went and stood on Coppergate and tried to visualise the scene. There was something wrong if the carnage was just a byproduct of a targeted hit. The Ram must have been waiting nearby, with a spotter in the Walk. If there was forward planning, the killers had to know, in advance, that the target would be there at that time, which meant a meeting had been set up.

The next day comes with a heaviness I don't recognize at first - not the cramping, which has mostly eased, but something underneath it. Behind the sternum. In the legs when I stand. I eat breakfast and drink coffee and it doesn't lift the way tiredness lifts with caffeine. Just sits there, systemic, the whole body running slightly below its usual output.

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When Samantha wants to help Jenna, she finds out her friend is the victim of a three hundred year old family curse...and a whole lot more.

“There’s no room,” I announced. “We’ll have to take it all back.”

After a man is stabbed in the back and dies, he wakes up in the Labyrinth with a new body, new power, and another chance.

This story takes place in the same universe as my story Invoker.

Halloween Princess

Chapter 1

Detective Inspector Marilyn Houseman and Detective Sergeant George ‘Ginger’ Kidman walked into the murder team office, with the rest of the team stopping to look at them. Marilyn smiled and they all cheered.

“Terry Hanson got twenty-five years for each murder, consecutive, with the judge appalled at the brutality. That’s on top of the five that he got for smuggling and possession of illegal firearms. He’s unlikely to be out in our lifetime.”

Morning light finds him asleep in his clothes, barely rested. He packs both devices into his messenger bag and heads for the closest repair shop.

The bell jingles as he enters. A technician glances up from behind the counter — early twenties, a name tag reading ETHAN. His eyes skim past Caden's shoulders, landing somewhere around chin level. "Help you, ma'am?"

Caden's breath hitches. He sets the laptop and phone on the counter.

"Sir," he says, his pitch higher than expected, higher than a man's should be. He coughs, tries again. "Biometric lockout."

The digger was delivered the next morning as planned. Dora was on hand to watch Tom drive it down the narrow drive towards the house.

Absinthe and Roulette both go home for Christmas vacation, but events draw them and their friends together.

https://whateley.academy/index.php/forum/index

Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

II. The Hearing

“What are we to do with you, Aylesea?” Pyotr Wylock asked as he stared at me. I answered his question with silence.

I stood in the center of the council chambers, my hands shackled. The men in the council looked bored…except for Feederk Wydosk, who stared at me with disdain from the far side of the table.

There are changes afoot but at least life looks to be settling down a bit for the Wunderkind. Or is it, things are hotting back up with BlauHase and at the Tanzklub but at least Mum is back home.

Rising Above The Humiliation

I had been away at college, just finishing my senior year. My major was business management since my parents wanted me to eventually take over and run the family business. Most of my life and studies had been in preparation for this job, my mother particularly wanting me to follow in her footsteps.

When Samantha wants to help Jenna, she finds out her friend is the victim of a three hundred year old family curse...and a whole lot more.

At the house that was apparently ours in the world we ended up in, we took the opportunity to wash our clothes, and we looked through papers to try to see how we lived on this world. It looked like we had a handyman business.

“Great car,” a voice called out as I opened the driver side door.

I turned to see Andy standing next to his car wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans. He hoisted his backpack up and walked over to me.

“My parents want me to invite your family over this weekend.”

“I reckon they’re going to be expecting a wedding proposal.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I replied.

There's a single-occupancy bathroom at the end of the east corridor — the one with the accessibility sign and the slightly sticky lock that everyone knows about and nobody has ever put in a maintenance request for. I've used it before when the men's is occupied. Today I go there first, directly.

I push the button to lock the door and it clicks.

Chapter Four

When they arrived back at the house, there was immediately a complication.

A car that Sam didn’t recognize had taken their spot in the driveway, and someone else had parked on the curb. He wasn’t ready for anyone to see him like this! Wasn’t all the wedding stuff supposed to be the following day? He hadn’t considered that Fiona might end up having company that wasn’t on the itinerary, since the bridesmaids were all friends and relatives of hers.