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    Witch's Kiss: A Hell's Butcher Short Story
    Witch's Kiss: A Hell's Butcher Short Story
    Witch's Kiss: A Hell's Butcher Short Story
    Ebook30 pages23 minutes

    Witch's Kiss: A Hell's Butcher Short Story

    By Chris Barili

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    About this ebook

    Hell's Coachman, Stanley Dobbs, faces an impossible decision. Does he betray Hell's Marshal and save his mother, or remain loyal and watch her die? With long-dead John Wesley Hardin looking to end Hell's Marshal's term, time is running out. Stan must do something or risk losing them both. This short story takes place in the Hell's Butcher universe.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStealth Publications
    Release dateOct 30, 2017
    ISBN9781370949991
    Witch's Kiss: A Hell's Butcher Short Story
    Author

    Chris Barili

    I started writing stories in my early teens, after being inspired by J.R.R Tolkien’s works and thinking how amazing it would be to create something that touched people that way. Influenced by David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Terry Goodkind, J.V. Jones, Robert Jordan, and others, I hand-wrote (yes, with a pen and lined notebook paper) my first novel in 1981, and transcribed it using an IBM Selectric II typewriter the next year. That book went on to occupy a box in a dark, inaccessible corner of my home office where no one will ever see it as long as I live. I worked as Co-Editor of The Tempest, the first-ever literary magazine of Lake George Central High School in upstate New York, and won Literary Student of the Year for my graduating class.When not oppressed by my day job, I write all kinds of stories, and have published fantasy, science fiction, horror, western, and paranormal romance. I am excited to start work on Book Three of the Hell’s Butcher Series this spring! So far. Guilty (Prequel), Hell’s Marshal, and Hell’s Butcher are out, with Hell’s Marshal twice ranking in the top five of western horror on Amazon. I did make a brief foray into the world of nonfiction–editing a couple of websites and doing some freelancing–but writing stories is my true passion.I believe that while storytelling is a talent, the tools and craft of writing well can be taught, making education crucial. Thus, I hold a BGS in English from University of Nebraska at Omaha, and an MFA in Creative Writing, Popular Genre Fiction, from Western State Colorado University. I’m lucky enough to live in the gorgeous state of Colorado with my family, so I get plenty of inspiration from the Rocky Mountains.Working at a desk, then coming home and writing at another desk, isn’t great for the body. We’re not meant to be sedentary, so I also enjoy mountain biking and Shotokan Karate, both of which keep me active and sometimes find their way into my writing.

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      Book preview

      Witch's Kiss - Chris Barili

      Witch's Kiss

      A Hell's Butcher Story

      Chris Barili

      Witch’s Kiss

      Copyright © 2017 by Chris Barili

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permission requests, please contact the publisher.

      Formatting by Rik - Wild Seas Formatting

      Cover art by Michelle Johnson of Blue Sky Design

      Edited by Jennifer Severino

      Witch’s Kiss

      Stan closed the door to Lucifer's stall, keeping an eye on the midnight-black steed as he did. The long-dead horse had a habit of biting, so Stan rarely turned his back on the foul-tempered creature. Beside Lucifer, Beast stomped and snorted in her stall, wanting her own taste of flesh.

      He kept only these two horses in the small barn, having moved his living steeds to a larger barn after one too many incidents. Living animals feared the dead to the point of hysteria, so stabling them together didn't work.

      This barn didn't hold the sweet scents of oats and leather nor the thick smell of manure, but rather the stenches of death, rot, and hatred. Though the stink was barely noticeable in the open, when the east-Texas sun turned the little barn into a stew pot, Stan could barely manage to be within twenty yards of the place.

      Something brushed softly across the dark corner of his mind, a spider's filament of a touch. Most people would have ignored it, but Stan was not most people.

      He held his breath and listened. He closed his eyes and extended his senses outward, probing the exterior with his consciousness for any signs of life

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