2020 - Fall - Shadows

Jeremiah is picked up by the police after being caught digging up a body in a cornfield in the middle of the night. His explanation leaves investigators with more questions than answers.

The war with the demons in the Underrealm can exhaust even the strongest soldier. As the war drags on, how can one commander face his duty when each and every battle threatens his heart and soul?

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy.

Five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.

I am sure many of you, like me, learned this children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies seen predicts whether you will have good or bad luck. Something I came across subsequently, was the existence of many variations on this rhyme, some more sinister than the children’s version.

One of those is incorporated into this short story about boyhood abuse.

Jason Whitlock has a job to do. He needs to serve some papers, so he's traveling to a small island on Lake Superior to accomplish this task. Things pop up that make him start thinking about his life, who he really is, and what it means.