Cynus

You must be careful when conversing with a demon. You may think them trapped by their evil, but they're always trapping you. Your description of the games is exactly what I was going for, so I'm glad you gained that impression. Thank you for the review!

Thank you for the review, Valkyrie. I enjoyed your as well.

Thank you, Dughlas. I think Klovax would do incredibly well at improv. Maybe he can be a comedian in his next life? I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Thank you for the review!

Thanks, Cole. Klovax (the imp) has a lot of me in him. I've always found him easy to write. (This is not the first story with him in it, but it is the first story I've released with him) I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Thank you for the review!

Thank you for reading, Aditus. I'm glad you had fun.

Thanks for the review, Emi. I've written some humor before, but it's normally not the kind of story which calls to me. My muse is generally rather dark, and I'm often drawn toward much more serious story lines. All the same, I'm glad you enjoyed this one.

Imps can be a real pain, can't they? Thank you for the review!

Klovax with a TV show, now THERE'S an idea. In a fantasy world, anyone can do anything, right? Maybe I'll have to think about that... I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for the review!

Druella was actually supposed to be a place-holder name, and then it simply stuck by the end. Maybe it was a subconscious connection to Cruella? I'm not sure. I actually have a story I started writing with Klovax(the imp) as the main character, but I never finished it. I'd have to restart it if I were ever to do it again. The demon never learned Druella's name, so it called her Ms. P because that was the last thing it ever did call her. Although, your suggestion isn't a bad idea . . . Thank you for the review!

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing it. I spent a couple weeks trying to write a completely different story for the anthology, then realized it would be too long, then wrote this in a couple of hours. Apparently I should just relax more often. Thank you for the review!

I think you'll like the next one. "Fearless" begins on Wednesday, June 23rd. The character was born from my inner child, who is a fifteen-year-old with a smart mouth. Thank you for the review!

I absolute loved this! You actually had me guessing right up to the end. When Oscar asked for the horse to be turned around, I thought he was going to give himself up as a sacrifice for the boy he loved. How marvelous that you took a different route I didn't see coming! Thanks for the read!

Welcome, Alec!

Wonderful imagery in this. Thanks for sharing. I love your command over descriptive language.

Since I already know what'll happen in the next book, I'm just as excited as you are for it to be released. I can't wait to see your reaction to the first chapter alone, not to mention the rest of the story! I'm glad you're speculating, and it won't be too long of a wait I hope. September is the goal, and I think it'll happen without too much difficulty. Thank you for all the reviews. You really helped smooth out this entire process.

Thank you for reading it, and the reviews you've left in the process. A major focus of this story was family, and more specifically the family you choose to make family. There's plenty wrong with the world of organized crime, obviously, but that loyalty which comes from the family aspect of it is romantic in a way, and intoxicating. Like a bottle of well-made sake.

Oh yes, and you'll find out relatively soon. I'm aiming for September, and so far we're on track. Thank you for your reviews throughout your time reading the story. I've appreciated all of your comments and I'm grateful for your support. I'm glad you liked the story. Peace.

The conjurer Druella lit the final black candle and set it on the edge of the circle. She inspected the runes, scribed in white chalk, one final time before turning to the ancient tome in her hands. The leather-bound book held many dark secrets which had aided her quest for power over life and death, though lately a thorn had pierced her side and nearly driven her mad. Several miles away lived a powerful witch, Priscilla the Wise. They had met in battle several times, and though Druel

A young, brash, power hungry witch summons a demon to destroy her greatest rival. The demon engages her in crafty wordplay, and the witch gets more or less what she bargained for.

He does seem to be racking up the bad karma, doesn't he? I'd be a terrible Buddhist if I didn't say we all get what we deserve in the end. Of course, I'm a Taoist, so take that with a grain of salt. Thank you for the review!

Thanks, Richard. It was easy to include Baba Yaga, as she's stuck out from my childhood as well. I don't remember where I first learned about her, but I always found the concept of a with that chases you by a walking house to be a frightening thing. It's a good thing Viktor's chemistry teacher really isn't a witch! I look forward to your thoughts as you get futher into the story. Thank you for the review!

I have three best friends in the world. We've been through hell together. We've had great times as well, and have supported each other more times than I can count. I've known them all for a decade and a half and one of them for two decades. Through all of that, we've become like brothers. But we still appreciate the formalities. We love our little rituals, and they've brought us closer together. I think our four protagonists feel the same way, and they wanted to ensure Vladimir felt like part of the group. I love that comment about the dual nakedness. I honestly hadn't thought of the physical vulnerability in that scene, only the emotional side. To me, a bathhouse is just a bathhouse, but now that you point out the comparison . . . I love it! Viktor is a closet exhibitionist. His initial reluctance was born predominantly from his wariness over loving a boy in the first place. Now that he's over that, you'll see him going down the exhibitionist route a little more often. Thank you for the review, and thank you for all your participation on the forums as well. I appreciate everything you do.

It is just book 1 in a series. I have several planned, though I've only begun working on the second. You'll see it around September, more likely than not. I'm grateful for your response, and that the story was able to evoke all of those emotions within you. I hope you'll enjoy my next story, "Fearless", as well. Thank you for reading, and thank you for the review! If you have a moment, stop by the forum topic for favorite characters from the story and vote. D

There is a reason, and it's already being addressed. The sequel will be out around September unless some unforeseen circumstances interfere. I have two chapters of it written already, and I'm well into chapter 3. Until then, I'll have a new story posting in two weeks titled "Fearless". I hope you'll check it out. Thank you for reading, and thank you for the review! If you have a moment, stop by the forum topic for favorite characters from the story and vote.

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the ending. At this point in the story, I considered Dante the hero (with Nobuyuki still being a bit of an antihero) and I wanted him to confess his feelings to everyone. This scene was born from that, and I loved every second of writing it. I think it's probably the section which flowed the easiest throughout the entire process. Thank you for reading, and thank you for the review! If you have a moment, stop by the forum topic for favorite characters from the story and vote.