Citadel Of Darkness

Here is a special treat thanks to Devon; while talking to her I was browsing though my top draw and looking at my old novels I had put to paper over the many years and began to look through my old novels I tried to write. I ended up finding these two which I am starting up again, although not as Novels, as Novella’s. The difference between Novels and Novella’s are that Novels are usually (and commonly known as) 50+ thousand words, Novella’s are between 10 and 40 thousand, So I know I would never get this one to go as far as 50K like “The Way The Stars Fall” So I am writing this to be a novella, aswell as “The Curse of a Paladin” Which I have mostly written and just need to beef out. ‘The Curse of a Paladin’ will turn out to be about 30K ish, maybe 25k while this one will be just about 20K ish. I am going to write these ones in the brain blocks during the writing of “Stars fall”

Anyway, Hope you enjoy this extract; this is the prologue to Citadel of Darkness, I may throw in “The Curse of A Paladin” Soon, if I get enough liking off this one.

The Image at the bottom of this page is of Revy from Black Lagoon and has nothing to do with the extract, I just wanted to put it here :D

Prologue

Slowly raising his hand from the desk in front of him, Jack ran his hand though his slightly greying hair. How did it all come to this; running though the streets of New York, London, Washington DC and the darkest corners of his imagination in a futile attempt to find his wife and daughter and pull himself from what most people had told him was total insanity?
Staring at the blank page in front of him, Hunter had no idea what to do now, everything had flowed just like a novel, a poem or a script that he had written before. They were closing all around him; beat after beat, his heart pumped in his ears. Jack had been running for hours with hardly any stops and his body couldn’t keep up with it, twice he had ended up throwing up but Jack was determined not to stop, he couldn’t stop. The story had to flow as it was on the page and if Jack did not finish it in real life, there and then; all would be lost; including his wife, daughter as well as Jack's own mind.
On the desk sat an old typewriter; it had been Jacks father’s before him and his father before his. He had been brought up around the old thing and it had started his career of being a novelist but now it was his worst enemy as well as his salvation.
“You must end the story Jack, finish the plot and save your family.” A voice spoke in Hunter's ear. The surge of adrenaline reached new highs as Jack quickly turned to face the source of the voice. There in the darkness; a slim man stepped into the room, slowly circling him.
Jack noticed that the figure did not step into the bright light that flowed from the small lampshade covered bulb that hung from the ceiling above. This was one of the things that had been chasing him for the past 5 years, haunted his dreams and chased him to the edge of insanity before finally pushing him over the edge and forcing his hand.
“No, you will only try to change it. I know what I must do; I know how to get rid of you once and for all but it won’t be just you. You’re only a puppet in this charade; this puppet theatre. I know your master, the Puppet master as the metaphor continues; he will be the one to finish the plot. When I finish with him, I finish with you, the lies he had spun and the lives he had destroyed.”
Jack turned as he spoke and sat down on the small steel chair that sat pushed under the desk. It’s cold touch less then comforting after the hell he had passed though to get here. Knowing what to do, how to end the story. Jack had told the truth when he said the ‘Puppet Master’ would die but he wouldn’t be the only one. Lacing his fingers onto the ivory keyboard, Jack began typing out the ending to the story, in which the protagonist, Jack Hunter, stood upon the precipice of the balcony just outside a pair of glass doors, the only other source of light to enter the room. Staring into the black and endless tide of puppets that had been constantly created thanks to his work; they flowed out under him like an ocean wave. Raising his fist high, Jack opened his palm to reveal the weapon he had devised, the only way to fight the darkness. With a deep breath, he jumped.

(REPEAT MESSAGE FROM TOP)
The Image here is of Revy from Black Lagoon and has nothing to do with the extract, I just wanted to put it here :D