Stories

Days after an attempt to unleash demons upon the world has failed, three young men find themselves in the midst of new challenges. One must determine what it means to lead. One must face his past. One must discover who he really is. But there are forces still at play in the world which could undermine everything they hope to build and discover. Is the demon threat truly over?

This is Book 3 of The Trial. You can find book 1 "Shadow Honor" here:

Zak is a shy quiet 15 year old whose mother gets him a summer job at a local ranch. Zak's sure it's going to be the summer from Hell until he meets 16 year-old ranch hand, Dusty.

Zak, Dusty, Mattie and Spin are back and making new friends, catching up with family and learning new lessons.

"Tragic Genius" is the fourth and penultimate book in "The Trial", a series beginning with "Shadow Honor". In this book, we follow the early days of the Demon War, and focus on the stories of Neredos and Veil predominantly, but with many other familiar faces as well. What does it take to make a leader, and how do the horrors of war twist a person's mind? How do we fight for good, life, and peace in a world full of evil, death, and pain? This is the heart of what The Trial means.

In the depths beneath the Everbright City lies a vast complex of caves known as The Shade. The Underking of the Shade, Salidar thulu'Khant, seeks to free the demons imprisoned in the city above and use them to unseat King Neredos, the immortal ruler of humanity. The future of the world rests in the unwilling hands of young thief and Shade native, Styx, who is thrust into the middle of a conflict which has perpetuated for centuries.

The sleepy village of Crumbington is about to get a wake-up call.

When the new chairperson of the Summer Fête Committee pushes to create a naked calendar of the Crumbington football team, mouths drop open. Her further pronouncement at having snagged a celebrity host for the fête—rising television and movie star Clifton O’Keefe, and ex-resident of Crumbington—is met with indifference.

Not by Nathan Fresher, though, local baker and captain of the football team. He had been Clifton’s boyfriend in high school, until Clifton and his family disappeared into the night over ten years ago.

There is personal, and then, there’s stuff that’s not personal. Boundaries are good to have, and Mason Knight believes he knows the difference well, as he has known for a long time. That, until one weird day, he finds himself moved by music, jumped by a man who could make the heavens sigh with his looks, and … what else? Ah, a ghost suddenly wants to keep him company. Mason doesn’t believe in ghosts, except this guy, well, he seems pretty much real.

A mother sends her rebellious teen son to live with his father who abandoned him years earlier.

Young singers Ash and Samson are already established in the music business. Ash is still in the closet, caught between his label’s demands and the desire to be with his lover Marcus. Meanwhile, Samson is a proudly out gay singer who strives to be taken more seriously.

When Tyler, a rising star with a powerful voice, breaks out onto the scene, the competition becomes fiercer than ever. Even though he becomes an overnight success, he quickly learns the fame has its price.

How will the three guys balance their personal lives with their music aspirations and growing demands from their record labels?

Short stories are definitely not my strong suit, and this attempt soon became a continuous story inspired by the challenge of First Line prompts.
Constructive criticism and kind encouragement are more than welcome.