Killer's Quest: A Dark Crossroads Urban Fantasy, page 16
Sameera looked down from Cain and stared at her feet. She rubbed her chin, struggling with what decision she was going to have to make. After a few moments of deliberation, she finally announced her choice.
"Cain's wrong," Maya blurted out. "This was my mission and he was under my command. I should've reported earlier that it wasn't working out, but I didn't. That's all on me and I accept full respons--"
Sameera interrupted. "I'd say that's quite enough."
Maya shut her mouth and let her head fall between her shoulders like a scolded child.
"The only thing I hate more than excuses is martyrdom. Cain's right, things don't always go the way you hope," Sameera continued. "Could you have played this better? Maybe. But I agree with Cain that most of this falls on his shoulders, not yours. We still have people missing and I still expect you to find them for me. And that's why I want you and Cain to find out more about wherever Lynch sent them."
"Lynch's security will be heightened after all this," said Maya.
"Then you find someone else who knows," said Sameera. "I don't care what it takes, you use whatever methods are necessary to get the job done. Because one thing you absolutely did is uncover Lynch's growing movement against our kind. That's not something that's going to go away on its own, so we need to be willing to fight fire with fire."
"Understood. And agreed," said Maya.
"Good," said Sameera. "Now go get some rest, you're going to need it for what's coming next."
Maya stood and gave a quick bow. "Thank you, Sameera. I promise I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." Sameera gestured towards the wall to materialize the door. "Go on. Cain and I have some business to go over."
Maya looked at Cain and mouthed the words, 'Thank you.' Cain just gave a slight nod to acknowledge her gesture and then she left.
The door vanished and Sameera went to the corner of the room where her minibar was located. She took two glasses from the top shelf and set them in the preparation area.
"What do you drink?" she asked.
"Bourbon, but basically anything hard'll do."
"Neat, I assume?"
That's right."
"A man after my own heart."
Sameera took a bottle of Knob Creek and poured a little into each tumbler. She carried them both over to Cain and handed him one. He accepted it graciously and she tapped her glass against the edge of his. Cain raised it to his lips and--habitually--gave it a quick sniff before he took a sip.
Sameera returned to her chair and settled back down before she sampled her own drink. "Cain, can I be direct with you?"
"That'd make you a woman after my own heart. I'm not a fan of ambiguity."
"Good, then I'll put this to you straight." Sameera looked up, her eyes zeroed in on Cain. "You fuck this up again, and I promise I'll find ways to make your eternal life extremely difficult."
Cain scoffed and took another sip. "Well, that was unexpected..."
"It shouldn't have been," said Sameera. "I thought I'd made myself very clear at the outset that Maya was in charge of this mission and yet, you undermined her leadership almost every opportunity you got."
"Am I crazy or did I already admit it was my fault?" asked Cain.
"You did, but that's not good enough for me," said Sameera. "Because of your arrogance, you exposed yourself to the world and I lost one of my best agents. So you'd better believe you're going to make this right."
"Nobody blames me more than me."
"Then from now on I can trust you to follow Maya's directives?"
Cain nodded. "She proved she's got what it takes, so I'll be the attack dog you need me to be."
"Good, because I think that's exactly what we're going to need going forward," said Sameera. "Now get out of my sight before I really lose my temper and fix your mistake."
Epilogue
Robert Lynch sat in the back of a limousine, his phone pressed to his ear as he finished up a conversation. "I'd say the situation speaks for itself. I've spent my career preaching about the dangers of the demonic threat and now, I've revealed it to the entire world."
He paused to allow the other party to finish their thought. Lynch eventually tired of the deflections coming from the speaker and he cut them off.
"Yes, I know the media is trying to discredit this revelation. That's what the media does. They've long been a tool of the forces of darkness. The video's been trending for a straight week and it's breaking watch records all over YouTube. My organization has been flooded with donations. People are responding to this, so what are you going to do?"
Lynch allowed the other person to respond. As he listened to them speak, his lips slowly curled into a smile.
"Well, I'm very pleased to hear you say that, Senator. I'll be out of town for the next week on a retreat with some very influential people. I'm sure they'd be happy to donate to your re-election campaign, so I'll be sure to put in a good word for you. In the meantime, you can coordinate with my associate, Mr. Mercer, about that new bill. Thank you, sir."
Lynch ended the call and slid the phone into his jacket pocket. He looked across the limo's cab at Mercer, who sat across from him with his back against the divider.
"I take it that went well?" asked Mercer.
Lynch gave a nod. "Very well. We're opening up a brand new front in the war against the supernatural. We've worked together for years to try to bring this to fruition and now, it's finally happening. No longer do we have to worry about appealing only to the fringes of society. We're becoming mainstream."
"What about Cain?"
Lynch frowned. "Disappointing that we won't have him on this retreat. But no matter. I'm sure our paths will cross again at some point and when they do, we'll have plenty of opportunity to deal with him."
"I doubt he acted alone. We've suspected for years that they have their own network and now, they might begin plotting against us," said Mercer.
"Do you think there's reason for us to be worried?" asked Lynch.
Mercer gave it a thought, then shook his head. "I doubt it. Their community has always been suspicious of everyone, even each other. Hell's too consumed with internal power struggles after the Morningstar's disappearance and Heaven couldn't care less."
The limo rolled to a stop and Lynch looked out the rear window. They were now at a small airstrip with a private jet waiting.
"The senator is onboard and you'll be hearing from him shortly. I want to get this proposal moving through Congress soon, so put whatever pressure on him that you have to," said Lynch. "Meanwhile, I'll be speaking with our mutual friends on the trip. I'm sure we can find a way to forge ahead."
"Understood, sir," said Mercer.
"And as for Cain, see how you can make his life difficult. I imagine many of these freaks won't be happy with his role in the revelation, so I want you to use what contacts you still have to help sow more discontent. If he's too distracted by other priorities, he won't be able to worry about what we're up to."
Mercer nodded. "I believe I have some ideas of how I can do that."
"Good," said Lynch. "Thank you for your help in this matter, Brother Mercer. I don't think we could have come so far in such a short amount of time without you."
"I was a warrior for the righteous cause when I was human and that desire hasn't changed," said Mercer. "I believe that together, we can destroy the rising darkness."
"Excellent."
Lynch opened the door and climbed out of the limousine. He walked across the tarmac towards the private jet and its extended staircase. Inside the plane, he settled into a large, leather chair and awaited the flight to begin.
The creatures were already en route to the final destination. Soon, he'd be surrounded by other wealthy and righteous individuals.
And then, the hunt would begin...
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to read Killer’s Quest, the first in the Mark of Cain series of urban fantasy novels.
Indie authors like myself don’t have huge marketing departments to promote our books. Instead, our careers depend on word-of-mouth from readers just like yourself.
The easiest way to help support an indie author is to leave a review. So if you enjoyed this book, then please post a review. Just a few words telling people why you enjoyed it would be wonderful.
Thanks, and I’ll see you in the next series!
Don’t forget to pick up your FREE book!
Go to cross.percivalconstantine.com to see where the Dark Crossroads series started.
Afterword
I’ve been writing for long enough to know one thing for certain: after a while, I get bored.
It’s just the way my brain works. I have about a thousand different ideas for different characters and stories I want to write. Even if I wasn’t a full-time educator with two young kids, I still wouldn’t have time to write all the ideas I want to explore. After I’ve written five or six books with a single character, I start to get antsy about switching gears. It’s happened every single time.
So when I started writing the Luther Cross series, I was keenly aware of this fact. But readers love series. So what to do?
This is where my background as a fan of superheroes comes in. I grew up reading superhero comics and one of the coolest things about them was the shared universe. The Beast was a member of both the Avengers and the X-Men. Spider-Man and the Human Torch were rivals who became friends. Doctor Strange is who the heroes go to when something weird happens.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ve probably learned this, too. Spider-Man and Black Panther both appeared in the Captain America films before getting their own movies. Ant-Man had to break into the Avengers Compound and fight the Falcon. Star-Lord became insanely jealous of Thor.
That’s why when I was writing the Luther Cross novels (and later the Morningstar books), I intentionally introduced ancillary characters that I felt could possibly carry their own books at some day in the future.
I already planned for the next series to feature Lucifer, so I just dove right into that once I completed Devil’s Finale. But when I got to the end of the Morningstar series, I wondered what character I would write next. I had some ideas, but I felt it’d be better if I asked my readers what they thought.
So I ran a reader poll and distributed it through my Dark Crossroads mailing list (which you can join by going to cross.percivalconstantine.com). I told my readers that I was going to be doing another series set in the Dark Crossroads universe and wanted to know what they thought. I included several characters who had appeared before and just as an afterthought, I tossed in Cain.
In truth, he was just there to fill out the list. I didn’t really expect anyone to vote for him. But people will surprise you and Cain ended up being the top three finalists in the first round. When I ran the second round of voting, he was the clear winner.
I was nervous at first. I had ideas for the other characters but wasn’t sure about Cain. But as I dwelled on it, eventually some ideas started coming to me. And I decided this would be a great opportunity to expand the Dark Crossroads universe beyond just the Heaven and Hell concepts.
I’m excited about the possibility for expanding the universe and I hope you are, too.
Thank you so much for your support. And if you’re one of the readers who voted for Cain, I hope you’re pleased with the result!
Percival Constantine
Kagoshima, Japan
May, 2023
About the Author
Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.
Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. He currently resides in southern Japan, where he teaches literature and film while continuing to write.
percivalconstantine.com
pc@percivalconstantine.com
Also by Percival Constantine
LUTHER CROSS
This dangerously handsome, effortlessly stylish half-demon is Chicago’s foremost paranormal investigator. With magical aptitude and specialized weapons, Luther Cross will handle your supernatural problems…for the right price.
THE MYTH HUNTER
All the legends of the world have some element of truth to them. And to track down those legends, there are the myth hunters. Some, like Elisa Hill, are explorers, trying to learn more about the world. And some are soldiers of fortune, whose only goal is profit and exploitation, no matter the risk.
INFERNUM
A shadowy, globe-spanning network of operatives run by the mysterious power broker known as Dante. They hold allegiance to no one, existing as rogues on the fringes of society. No matter the job, Infernum has an operative to execute it—provided you have the means to pay for it!
NAKAMURA DETECTIVE AGENCY
Osaka is one of Japan’s greatest cities, but it also has a dark side. Whenever a person falls prey to Osaka’s seedy underbelly and the system fails to help, there’s only person they can turn to—private investigator Kyoko Nakamura. Discover a more sinister aspect of Japanese society in this noir series!
VANGUARD
The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!
Visit PercivalConstantine.com for an up-to-date list of titles!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Percival Constantine
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by Pulp Corner Press
http://www.percivalconstantine.com
Percival Constantine, Killer's Quest: A Dark Crossroads Urban Fantasy
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"Cain's wrong," Maya blurted out. "This was my mission and he was under my command. I should've reported earlier that it wasn't working out, but I didn't. That's all on me and I accept full respons--"
Sameera interrupted. "I'd say that's quite enough."
Maya shut her mouth and let her head fall between her shoulders like a scolded child.
"The only thing I hate more than excuses is martyrdom. Cain's right, things don't always go the way you hope," Sameera continued. "Could you have played this better? Maybe. But I agree with Cain that most of this falls on his shoulders, not yours. We still have people missing and I still expect you to find them for me. And that's why I want you and Cain to find out more about wherever Lynch sent them."
"Lynch's security will be heightened after all this," said Maya.
"Then you find someone else who knows," said Sameera. "I don't care what it takes, you use whatever methods are necessary to get the job done. Because one thing you absolutely did is uncover Lynch's growing movement against our kind. That's not something that's going to go away on its own, so we need to be willing to fight fire with fire."
"Understood. And agreed," said Maya.
"Good," said Sameera. "Now go get some rest, you're going to need it for what's coming next."
Maya stood and gave a quick bow. "Thank you, Sameera. I promise I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." Sameera gestured towards the wall to materialize the door. "Go on. Cain and I have some business to go over."
Maya looked at Cain and mouthed the words, 'Thank you.' Cain just gave a slight nod to acknowledge her gesture and then she left.
The door vanished and Sameera went to the corner of the room where her minibar was located. She took two glasses from the top shelf and set them in the preparation area.
"What do you drink?" she asked.
"Bourbon, but basically anything hard'll do."
"Neat, I assume?"
That's right."
"A man after my own heart."
Sameera took a bottle of Knob Creek and poured a little into each tumbler. She carried them both over to Cain and handed him one. He accepted it graciously and she tapped her glass against the edge of his. Cain raised it to his lips and--habitually--gave it a quick sniff before he took a sip.
Sameera returned to her chair and settled back down before she sampled her own drink. "Cain, can I be direct with you?"
"That'd make you a woman after my own heart. I'm not a fan of ambiguity."
"Good, then I'll put this to you straight." Sameera looked up, her eyes zeroed in on Cain. "You fuck this up again, and I promise I'll find ways to make your eternal life extremely difficult."
Cain scoffed and took another sip. "Well, that was unexpected..."
"It shouldn't have been," said Sameera. "I thought I'd made myself very clear at the outset that Maya was in charge of this mission and yet, you undermined her leadership almost every opportunity you got."
"Am I crazy or did I already admit it was my fault?" asked Cain.
"You did, but that's not good enough for me," said Sameera. "Because of your arrogance, you exposed yourself to the world and I lost one of my best agents. So you'd better believe you're going to make this right."
"Nobody blames me more than me."
"Then from now on I can trust you to follow Maya's directives?"
Cain nodded. "She proved she's got what it takes, so I'll be the attack dog you need me to be."
"Good, because I think that's exactly what we're going to need going forward," said Sameera. "Now get out of my sight before I really lose my temper and fix your mistake."
Epilogue
Robert Lynch sat in the back of a limousine, his phone pressed to his ear as he finished up a conversation. "I'd say the situation speaks for itself. I've spent my career preaching about the dangers of the demonic threat and now, I've revealed it to the entire world."
He paused to allow the other party to finish their thought. Lynch eventually tired of the deflections coming from the speaker and he cut them off.
"Yes, I know the media is trying to discredit this revelation. That's what the media does. They've long been a tool of the forces of darkness. The video's been trending for a straight week and it's breaking watch records all over YouTube. My organization has been flooded with donations. People are responding to this, so what are you going to do?"
Lynch allowed the other person to respond. As he listened to them speak, his lips slowly curled into a smile.
"Well, I'm very pleased to hear you say that, Senator. I'll be out of town for the next week on a retreat with some very influential people. I'm sure they'd be happy to donate to your re-election campaign, so I'll be sure to put in a good word for you. In the meantime, you can coordinate with my associate, Mr. Mercer, about that new bill. Thank you, sir."
Lynch ended the call and slid the phone into his jacket pocket. He looked across the limo's cab at Mercer, who sat across from him with his back against the divider.
"I take it that went well?" asked Mercer.
Lynch gave a nod. "Very well. We're opening up a brand new front in the war against the supernatural. We've worked together for years to try to bring this to fruition and now, it's finally happening. No longer do we have to worry about appealing only to the fringes of society. We're becoming mainstream."
"What about Cain?"
Lynch frowned. "Disappointing that we won't have him on this retreat. But no matter. I'm sure our paths will cross again at some point and when they do, we'll have plenty of opportunity to deal with him."
"I doubt he acted alone. We've suspected for years that they have their own network and now, they might begin plotting against us," said Mercer.
"Do you think there's reason for us to be worried?" asked Lynch.
Mercer gave it a thought, then shook his head. "I doubt it. Their community has always been suspicious of everyone, even each other. Hell's too consumed with internal power struggles after the Morningstar's disappearance and Heaven couldn't care less."
The limo rolled to a stop and Lynch looked out the rear window. They were now at a small airstrip with a private jet waiting.
"The senator is onboard and you'll be hearing from him shortly. I want to get this proposal moving through Congress soon, so put whatever pressure on him that you have to," said Lynch. "Meanwhile, I'll be speaking with our mutual friends on the trip. I'm sure we can find a way to forge ahead."
"Understood, sir," said Mercer.
"And as for Cain, see how you can make his life difficult. I imagine many of these freaks won't be happy with his role in the revelation, so I want you to use what contacts you still have to help sow more discontent. If he's too distracted by other priorities, he won't be able to worry about what we're up to."
Mercer nodded. "I believe I have some ideas of how I can do that."
"Good," said Lynch. "Thank you for your help in this matter, Brother Mercer. I don't think we could have come so far in such a short amount of time without you."
"I was a warrior for the righteous cause when I was human and that desire hasn't changed," said Mercer. "I believe that together, we can destroy the rising darkness."
"Excellent."
Lynch opened the door and climbed out of the limousine. He walked across the tarmac towards the private jet and its extended staircase. Inside the plane, he settled into a large, leather chair and awaited the flight to begin.
The creatures were already en route to the final destination. Soon, he'd be surrounded by other wealthy and righteous individuals.
And then, the hunt would begin...
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to read Killer’s Quest, the first in the Mark of Cain series of urban fantasy novels.
Indie authors like myself don’t have huge marketing departments to promote our books. Instead, our careers depend on word-of-mouth from readers just like yourself.
The easiest way to help support an indie author is to leave a review. So if you enjoyed this book, then please post a review. Just a few words telling people why you enjoyed it would be wonderful.
Thanks, and I’ll see you in the next series!
Don’t forget to pick up your FREE book!
Go to cross.percivalconstantine.com to see where the Dark Crossroads series started.
Afterword
I’ve been writing for long enough to know one thing for certain: after a while, I get bored.
It’s just the way my brain works. I have about a thousand different ideas for different characters and stories I want to write. Even if I wasn’t a full-time educator with two young kids, I still wouldn’t have time to write all the ideas I want to explore. After I’ve written five or six books with a single character, I start to get antsy about switching gears. It’s happened every single time.
So when I started writing the Luther Cross series, I was keenly aware of this fact. But readers love series. So what to do?
This is where my background as a fan of superheroes comes in. I grew up reading superhero comics and one of the coolest things about them was the shared universe. The Beast was a member of both the Avengers and the X-Men. Spider-Man and the Human Torch were rivals who became friends. Doctor Strange is who the heroes go to when something weird happens.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ve probably learned this, too. Spider-Man and Black Panther both appeared in the Captain America films before getting their own movies. Ant-Man had to break into the Avengers Compound and fight the Falcon. Star-Lord became insanely jealous of Thor.
That’s why when I was writing the Luther Cross novels (and later the Morningstar books), I intentionally introduced ancillary characters that I felt could possibly carry their own books at some day in the future.
I already planned for the next series to feature Lucifer, so I just dove right into that once I completed Devil’s Finale. But when I got to the end of the Morningstar series, I wondered what character I would write next. I had some ideas, but I felt it’d be better if I asked my readers what they thought.
So I ran a reader poll and distributed it through my Dark Crossroads mailing list (which you can join by going to cross.percivalconstantine.com). I told my readers that I was going to be doing another series set in the Dark Crossroads universe and wanted to know what they thought. I included several characters who had appeared before and just as an afterthought, I tossed in Cain.
In truth, he was just there to fill out the list. I didn’t really expect anyone to vote for him. But people will surprise you and Cain ended up being the top three finalists in the first round. When I ran the second round of voting, he was the clear winner.
I was nervous at first. I had ideas for the other characters but wasn’t sure about Cain. But as I dwelled on it, eventually some ideas started coming to me. And I decided this would be a great opportunity to expand the Dark Crossroads universe beyond just the Heaven and Hell concepts.
I’m excited about the possibility for expanding the universe and I hope you are, too.
Thank you so much for your support. And if you’re one of the readers who voted for Cain, I hope you’re pleased with the result!
Percival Constantine
Kagoshima, Japan
May, 2023
About the Author
Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.
Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. He currently resides in southern Japan, where he teaches literature and film while continuing to write.
percivalconstantine.com
pc@percivalconstantine.com
Also by Percival Constantine
LUTHER CROSS
This dangerously handsome, effortlessly stylish half-demon is Chicago’s foremost paranormal investigator. With magical aptitude and specialized weapons, Luther Cross will handle your supernatural problems…for the right price.
THE MYTH HUNTER
All the legends of the world have some element of truth to them. And to track down those legends, there are the myth hunters. Some, like Elisa Hill, are explorers, trying to learn more about the world. And some are soldiers of fortune, whose only goal is profit and exploitation, no matter the risk.
INFERNUM
A shadowy, globe-spanning network of operatives run by the mysterious power broker known as Dante. They hold allegiance to no one, existing as rogues on the fringes of society. No matter the job, Infernum has an operative to execute it—provided you have the means to pay for it!
NAKAMURA DETECTIVE AGENCY
Osaka is one of Japan’s greatest cities, but it also has a dark side. Whenever a person falls prey to Osaka’s seedy underbelly and the system fails to help, there’s only person they can turn to—private investigator Kyoko Nakamura. Discover a more sinister aspect of Japanese society in this noir series!
VANGUARD
The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!
Visit PercivalConstantine.com for an up-to-date list of titles!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Percival Constantine
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by Pulp Corner Press
http://www.percivalconstantine.com
Percival Constantine, Killer's Quest: A Dark Crossroads Urban Fantasy
