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    We Stand at the Gate
    We Stand at the Gate
    We Stand at the Gate
    Ebook18 pages15 minutes

    We Stand at the Gate

    By James Pratt

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    About this ebook

    Beyond a mythical kingdom's southermost borders sits the supernatural wasteland known as the Blight. Two soldiers, members of a garrison charged with protecting the kingdom's borders against the horrors of the Blight, are on sentry duty one dark night when one regales the other with a very strange tale. His tale hints at what lurks at the very heart of the Blight.

    This short story is set in the same fantasy world as the novel I've been (sort of) working on and hope to finish someday. Enjoy.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames Pratt
    Release dateMar 24, 2012
    ISBN9781476285481
    We Stand at the Gate
    Author

    James Pratt

    James Pratt likes to create realistically flawed but basically decent characters and have them cross paths with serial killer angels, redneck vampires, slithering horrors from other dimensions, and the end of the world. He also likes to write stories that demonstrate how the ever-present darkness threatening to wash over the world like a wave of endless night can be held back with a little courage and a big shotgun (assuming one hasn't already used both barrels, of course). Some take place in the distant past, others in the far future, and still others somewhere between eight minutes ago and twelve minutes from now. Whether sci-fi, adventure, or straight-out horror, the running theme is that the universe is very, very big and we are very, very small.

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      Book preview

      We Stand at the Gate - James Pratt

      WE STAND AT THE GATE

      A Short Story by James D. Pratt

      Copyright 2012 James D. Pratt

      Smashwords Edition

      Cover image © HeroMachine.com

      /**********************************************/

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If this is not a free book and you would like to share it with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If this is a free book and you would like to share it with another person, please direct the recipient to the book’s page on Smashwords.com so they can download their own copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      /**********************************************/

      Heinrich hated sentry duty. A grizzled veteran at forty, he damn well should have merited exemption from such menial tasks. That’s what new recruits are for, and there were always plenty of new recruits. The mortality rate was high out on the edge of the

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