EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Victim Souls
by Andrew Terech
Victim Souls is currently on tour with Xpresso Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Sometimes, only bad guys can beat the Devil …
The plan is simple: get the money and deliver the car. What could possibly go wrong?
What can’t?
Things start to go south when Sam Drake realizes that his brother Johnny is hiding something, a secret about Sam’s troubled childhood that goes beyond his most feverish nightmares …
Then Johnny’s girlfriend, Ash, starts sending Sam the kind of mixed signals that can only lead to big trouble …
As the trio of small time crooks falls deeper into an abyss of betrayal and violence, they will discover that the greatest danger they face is not of this world.
With everything he believes about himself and the world around him shattered, Sam will become the unlikely champion in a battle with true evil, a fight
Excerpt
It stared at me, the flap of skin dangling from its chin.
“Not smiling and laughing anymore, are you?”
Ash reached her cigarette toward its mouth. “Want a drag?” The head turned toward her. She pulled back. “Psych.”
I rested the cigarette on my lip, finally satisfied that I may have discovered how to torture a monster. “So, you have two options—One, I can permanently tie your ass to that pipe. We’ll just walk on outta here. And you can have fun in that rotting corpse until the next tour of people come through this abandoned shithole.” I looked around. “That might take awhile.”
Ash laughed. “He’s starting to turn blue. And that exposed hole in his jaw is a perfect home for one of these big ass spiders.”
I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth. “Your other option is you answer our questions, and we consider cutting the cord before we leave your ass. You can try to drag what’s left of Milton outside and hope some stupid kids come along and get too close.” I blew smoke in its face. “Your choice.”
Ash walked to the corner of the room and grabbed the shovel.
The mouth sneered at me with what little skin was left. “I don’t make deals with your kind. Do you know how old I am? I’m immortal. Release me.”
“I get that, but you don’t have what my kind calls leverage. So, tell us where my brother is—”
Ash tapped the head of the shovel on the concrete. “Look what I found. Let’s give Milton a proper burial.”
Ash never disappointed. I turned back to Milton. “Better yet. We’re gonna go dig a very deep hole. Then, we’re gonna throw you into it. I wonder what it would be like to be buried alive. Oh, and you’re immortal, you say? So that would be like, what? Forever?” I smirked and leaned in close. “I wouldn’t count on payback. I’m thinkin’ I’ll be long dead before your immortal ass digs its way out.”
It had no response.
“I’m gonna start digging,” Ash said as she buttoned her coat and walked outside.
“Last chance.”
It spoke with a hint of urgency as she stepped toward the door. “You can’t do this to me.”
I snapped my fingers. “Hey! Over here. Answer my question.”
The eyes locked onto mine. “I don’t know where he is now.”
“Why are you following us?”
“Orders.”
“From who? Aleister?”
It scoffed at me. “Aleister? A human?” It laughed. “You couldn’t comprehend if I told you.”
“Save me the bullshit. What are we talkin’ about. Satan? Dracula? Bride of Frankenstein?”
“So full of hubris for an insect.”
“Oh, fuck you—”
“You think you can explain things with fairytales about a horned goat wielding a trident. What’s with you creatures always blaming the Devil and God? Do you really think that if there was a God he would expel an ounce of his power to affect the existence of some weak ignorant creature that does nothing more than consume, copulate and wallow in its own excrement?”
“You talk a lot of shit for something that got its ass kicked by a… what did you call me? An insect?”
“You want to know where my orders come from, go to Mayfield, Colorado. You’ll find your human there. I hear that he’s expecting you. Maybe he can tell you where your brother is. Maybe then, you’ll have your answers.”
I shrugged. If I knew a way to actually hurt the thing, I’d have done it. At least I got a lead on Aleister, which brought me one step closer to Johnny. I got up and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” It asked.
“I’m gonna go help dig that hole.”
“You would bury me after I did as you asked?”
“Yeah, that’s the other thing about my kind. We lie. Now, I’m gonna go take a shit in your grave, so you can wallow around in excrement and see why we like it so damn much.”
Praise for the Book
"I was really impressed that this story was led out by a couple of teens and a tween. Looking over the details of the book prior to reading, I didn't figure that children would be the highlighted stars of the book, but boy was I wrong. This is really what blew my top off, especially with Sam's age. But Terech weaved this story together and his writing it in this way was absolutely spectacular! I just love that it was totally believable too. The gory portions were very vivid in my imagination and struck a chord of fear while reading. I can definitely state that a scary book will always win me over versus a scary movie. This book definitely has the details to capture the attention of a gory fan too." ~ Esperanza
"I’m a fan of character driven novels so I knew I’d found a good one when I couldn’t find one thing redeemable about any of the characters, yet I still cared about them. [...] A darn good book for those looking for some thrills and some out of this world chills and don’t mind a little blood spilled on the ride." ~ laurathomas61
"A great read. The story grabs you quickly and doesn't let go; fast paced, unexpected turns. If you love horror, you will love this book... highly recommended!!!" ~ Tracy C.
"Loved it. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. Great imagination. Great story line. Great characters. All around an excellent book. A+++" ~ Edwin
"The characters are interesting, funny and engaging. The story sweeps along at breakneck pace. I couldn't put this book down. It's a thrilling romp, definitely worth the read (which I did in almost one sitting). Highly recommended." ~ Amazon Customer
About the Author
Andrew’s a horror fiction writer who is also a massive fan of the genre. He’s been writing short stories and working on his novel for over 5 years. He has several short stories published, as well as some editing credits. He moderates a writing workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, where he’s been exposed to many different forms of fiction, which have broadened his influences. He aims to write stories that creep out his readers, while offering well-developed, rich characters they can sink their teeth into. He’s also a fan of experimenting with form and structure to create something uniquely his own.
Andrew grew up on Long Island in New York, and has lived in Arizona for the past 7 years. His professional background is in psychology where he’s carved out a nice career for himself. However, writing has always been his passion.
Currently, he’s hard at work, developing additional content to publish. He hopes to find an audience that loves the genre, and is up for a good scare.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to one of five signed Special Edition copies of Victim Souls, including the short story that inspired the novel (open internationally).
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