Descend to darkness, p.1
Descend to Darkness, page 1
part #142 of 1001 Dark Nights Series
Descend to Darkness
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
By Heather Graham
Descend to Darkness
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
Copyright 2022 Heather Graham Pozzessere
ISBN: 978-1-970077-93-3
Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose
Published by 1001 Dark Nights Press, an imprint of Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Book Description
Descend to Darkness
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
By Heather Graham
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham comes a new story in her Krewe of Hunters series…
Angela Hawkins Crow awakens to find herself in total darkness. Despite her years as a Krewe agent, she is first seized with panic, but her life and her training kick in. She knows that she must stay calm and go back in her mind to find out how she got where she is…and where she might be.
Meanwhile, an eerie phone call comes in at Krewe headquarters, warning them all that Angela has been kidnapped, describing her ordeal, and lamenting the fact that she can’t be saved.
But there is no such thing with the Krewe. In the dark and in the light, the fight is on.
Angela determines that she might know what has happened to her, and she is prepared when her kidnapper can’t resist the temptation to check in on her.
By following his wife’s expertise with research, Jackson discovers what just might be happening—and in the darkness of night and the silence of the graveyard, he’ll risk everything to find the woman he loves.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
About Heather Graham
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham, majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult and Christmas family fare.
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages. She has written over 200 novels and has 60 million books in print. She has been honored with awards from booksellers and writers’ organizations for excellence in her work, and she is also proud to be a recipient of the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers and was also awarded the prestigious Thriller Master in 2016. She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.
Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts a ball or dinner theater raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf Region. She is also the founder of “The Slush Pile Players,” presenting something that's “almost like entertainment” for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.
Also From Heather Graham
Krewe of Hunters series
Phantom Evil
Heart of Evil
Sacred Evil
The Evil Inside
The Unseen
The Unholy
The Unspoken
The Uninvited
The Night is Watching
The Night is Alive
The Night is Forever
The Cursed
The Hexed
The Betrayed
The Silenced
The Forgotten
The Hidden
Haunted Destiny
Deadly Fate
Darkest Journey
Dying Breath
Dark Rites
Wicked Deeds
Fade to Black
Pale As Death
Echoes of Evil
Christmas, the Krewe and a Large White Rabbit
The Summoning
The Seekers
The Stalking
Seeing the Darkness
Deadly Touch
Dreaming Death
Horror-Ween
The Best Christmas Ever
Sound of Darkness
Aura of Night
Voice of Fear
Other Books by Heather Graham
A Dangerous Game
A Perfect Obsession
Flawless
Waking the Dead
Let the Dead Sleep
Night of the Vampires
The Keepers
Ghost Moon
Ghost Night
Ghost Shadow
The Killing Edge
Night of the Wolves
Home in Time for Christmas
Unhallowed Ground
Dust to Dust
Nightwalker
Deadly Gift
Deadly Harvest
Deadly Night
The Death Dealer
The Last Noel
The Séance
Blood Red
The Dead Room
Kiss of Darkness
The Vision
The Island
Ghost Walk
Killing Kelly
The Presence
Dead on the Dance Floor
Picture Me Dead
Haunted
Hurricane Bay
A Season of Miracles
Night of the Blackbirds
Never Sleep with Strangers
Eyes of Fire
Slow Burn
Night Heat
Danger in Numbers
Crimson Summer
From 1001 Dark Nights
Blood Night
Hallow Be The Haunt
Crimson Twilight
When Irish Eyes Are Haunting
All Hallow's Eve
Blood on the Bayou
Haunted Be the Holidays
The Dead Heat of Summer
Haunted House
Blood Night
Hallow Be the Haunt
Acknowledgments from the Author
For Debbie Richardson, Teresa Davant, and Connie Perry, with tons of love and thanks.
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Lara Adrian
Dylan Allen
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Kristen Ashley
Tessa Bailey
Sawyer Bennett
Shayla Black
Lexi Blake
Lauren Blakely
K. Bromberg
Claire Contreras
Tina Folsom
Melissa Foster
Heather Graham
Donna Grant
Liliana Hart
Larissa Ione
Alexandra Ivy
Lorelei James
Darynda Jones
Lisa Renee Jones
Laura Kaye
J. Kenner
Corinne Michaels
Elisabeth Naughton
Laurelin Paige
Carly Phillips
Jennifer Probst
Kristen Proby
C.D. Reiss
Christopher Rice
Carrie Ann Ryan
Kendall Ryan
Kennedy Ryan
Kylie Scott
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Gena Showalter
Cherise Sinclair
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Tijan
Rachel Van Dyken
Skye Warren
Laura Wright
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Jennifer L. Armentrout
Kristen Ashley
Sawyer Bennett
Steve Berry
Lexi Blake
Robin Convington
Kaylea Cross
Jay Crownover
Avery Flynn
C. W. Gortner
KL Grayson
Cristin Harber
Lynn Raye Harris
Liliana Hart
Larissa Ione
Suzanne M. Johnson
Laura Kaye
J. Kenner
Kimberly Kincaid
Gennita Low
Randy Susan Meyers
Corinne Michaels
Monica Murphy
Carly P hillips
Kristen Proby
Christopher Rice
Lucinda Riley
M.J. Rose
Kennedy Ryan
Cherise Sinclair
Susan Stoker
Rachel Van Dyken
Samantha Young
Table of Contents
Book Description
About Heather Graham
Also from Heather Graham
Acknowledgments from the Author
Discover More 1001 Dark Nights Authors
Discover More Blue Box Press Authors
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Nine
Discover More Heather Graham
An excerpt from Haunted House by Heather Graham
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Prologue
The night before Halloween
Oddly, it was the silence that Angela Hawkins first noted as she slowly came to—having absolutely no idea where she was.
And worse.
She had no clue how she had gotten there.
There was always sound as she woke. The covers whispering if Jackson had risen before her. One of the kids shrieking or laughing from their room. A bird trilling from a tree, or even the rustling of the branches outside their window.
But this...
It was so silent, the lack of noise seemed louder than the most horrific scream.
When she opened her eyes, she saw what she expected...
Nothing. Nothing because of the complete and total darkness.
She lay still for a few seconds. Then she reached out. There was nothing beside her, nothing above her. And below her... stone. Icy-cold stone.
She fought the sense of panic rising within her. She had to think back. She needed to remember where she had been, what had been happening.
And how in God’s name she had come to be wherever she was.
Chapter 1
Three days before Halloween
The sun was already lowering, the dying shades of gold and mauve in the sky touching the Gordon Town Cemetery as if with great reverence, creating soft crimson blushes on tombstones and aging mausoleums. The breeze in the air warned that winter was coming and held just a touch of chill. In minutes, the sun would drop farther, and eerie shades of gray and shadow would creep over the place, enhancing all that was ancient and decaying. While still in use, the cemetery was indeed old—and, naturally, deemed haunted.
And while it might well be, Angela Hawkins Crow knew it was the living who were deadly.
It was the week of Halloween.
Once upon a time, it had been one of Angela’s favorite times of the year. Dress-up was fun. And with kids, trick-or-treating was great—even haunted houses could be entertaining.
And all that could still be true.
But, sadly, something about the holiday seemed to draw out the scaries—and not the fun kind. The lethal ones.
Such as here.
The cemetery wasn’t highly visited, though it was on the national register. Visitors to the DC and Virginia areas generally came to visit Arlington and pay their respects to those who had fought for the country. They even went to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, where many from the Civil War had been laid to rest.
Gordon Town Cemetery was comparatively small, and many stones and markers had been lost through the years. Old mausoleums decayed as the growth of tree roots, and the simple fact that nature had taken over, chipped and broke the stones.
But as the sun fell, the cemetery was one of the most atmospheric to be found. Its lichen and ivy-covered stones, moss-covered oaks, and beautiful statuary were enchanting. Here, stone angels knelt in prayer, cherubs wept over children’s graves, and intricately carved crosses rose here and there. Personal adornments marked other sites, such as the carved dogs who gave comparatively new reverence to a woman who had spent her life saving rescue animals. There were no old and new sections. Families in the area owned small mausoleums or tombs or spaces in family plots.
While it wasn’t as popular a destination as many other graveyards or cemeteries, it did become well visited during the holidays—especially Halloween.
At Thanksgiving, the living descendants of those buried at Gordon Town decorated with fall leaves, plush turkeys, and other such traditional items. At Easter, they used baskets of colored eggs and bunny rabbits. At Christmas, the place was beautiful. Those who remembered the dead brought all manner of ornaments and even Nativity scenes. Flowers showed up now and then, but in an article written about the cemetery that mentioned Benjamin Robertson, a descendant of the Revolutionary hero Ethan Robertson, it said the decorating done by many of those with loved ones or antecedents was because they preferred the concept of sharing holidays to the tradition of bringing flowers. Benjamin Robertson had recently lost his father, now interred in the family crypt, and his dad had loved everything spooky at Halloween. So...
People decorated the graveyard for the October holiday. No matter how bizarre it might seem, dangling skeletons and witches on broomsticks were scattered here and there throughout the burial ground.
Gordon Town was an active cemetery.
And so it was that the freshly dug land in the center of a society plot or an extra body in a mausoleum might go unnoticed. But a young woman had come to pay homage to her father that afternoon, bringing a Frankenstein’s monster doll and a stuffed ghost to set upon his grave, only to see a dark figure brandishing a knife—one she could have sworn was covered with blood. The local police had thought her hysterical or a victim of a Halloween prank since the cemetery had been done up to the nines for the holiday. But Cassandra Valois, one of the managers at the cemetery office, had heard about the so-called prank. And since her father was one of Adam Harrison’s closest friends, she’d called the Krewe’s assistant director. Adam had called Jackson, and...
