Arcane Firelights Masks Novels & Stories

I had just returned from a business trip. The moment I stepped through the door, I scooped my wife into my arms and rushed her straight to the bathroom for a steamy shower together. We were kissing passionately when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something: the toilet seat was flipped up. I froze. Seven years ago, my wife had read a post online claiming that when men pee standing up, bacteria splash onto the seat. She begged me to sit down to pee for the sake of her health. I have kept that promise. For seven years of marriage, that seat has never been up. A knot formed in my stomach, but the bathroom was spotless, so clean it looked staged, not a single stray hair anywhere. Then I noticed the shower temperature. It was set five degrees lower than her usual 43°C. Men like cooler showers. Women like them hotter… At that moment, I knew, Ruby Lynch had cheated on me.

Just another day at the office, or so Reyna believed until she logged into the game she was assigned to. Reyna worked as a game tester at Wolf Tech, one of the largest game developers in the country. The company just released a brand new full-dive Virtual Reality game, the day before the CEO of the company went missing. When she came across the CEO in the game, she learns that he is trapped inside. Not only that but if he dies in the game, he will die in real life. Since the game is a fantasy RPG, there are many dangers for Luka to face. To get out of the game, he must beat it. Because he can't do it alone, he must rely on Reyna to help him. He will also need her help outside of the game. As Reyna goes between the game and reality, she learns that her heart is left inside the game with Luka. It doesn't take long to also realize that not only is Luka a werewolf in the game, but he is also one in real life. To save him, she will need to face two worlds. One as an in-game fairy and the other as a human against the supernatural. Will Luka manage to beat the game, with her help, so he can escape in time to protect her?

In a world of runways and ruthless deals, nothing is as it seems. On the verge of global domination, THEO, one of the most popular investors, offers OLIVIA a rising fashion star, a deal she can’t reject. Popularity and a massive investment for 70% of her brand. What begins as a partnership, ignites into obsession, and an intimacy they never imagined was possible. But when buried truths come to light about her past, her mother and lies that shaped her. Olivia begins to question everything, including Theo's sudden interest in her and her company. Because the closer they get, the harder it is to tell who's playing who.

My in-laws got lost in the miasma-filled forests deep within Mounscour Hill while on a trip. As a top-tier explorer, I was the only one who could rescue them within the golden rescue window. But just before I set off, my wife’s assistant swapped out my specially made gas mask for a sunscreen mask. “Mr. Haden, you’re always running around all over the place without any sun protection. Your face is so dark now. Even Ms. Laf doesn’t like you anymore.” I sternly told him I was about to head to Mounscour Hill to rescue people and demanded he hand over the gas mask. Upon hearing this, my wife suddenly flew into a rage and smashed my gas mask to pieces. “Who are you trying to fool? Who in their right mind would go in there? You don’t even think before you lie! “Besides, what’s wrong with the mask? You’re just trying to embarrass Astel on purpose!” My wife’s assistant glared at me defiantly. “Ms. Laf, look how anxious Mr. Haden is to leave. He’s probably running off to see another woman.” I laughed through gritted teeth. My wife had no idea that the gas mask she had smashed in her rage was the very thing that would save her parents’ lives.

Wake up, be fed poison, go to school and put on a show. Come home, have head knocked into the hardest thing available. Go to sleep and repeat. It's a day in the life for Kai Deneiro. Her solace is the many faces she hides behind and the performances she puts on for the world. When she's someone else, she is most loved. But, Kai has long since given up on any real notion of love. In her mind, it simply doesn't exist--not from her psychotic mother, not from her dead-beat, estranged father, and certainly not from the pretty boys with their flowery words. When she transfers to a new school, she runs into the most charmingly arrogant boy she has ever met, and things take a strange turn. When he runs into her wall of faces, he's determined to break it down and uncover the true her.

Two lives. One obsession.By day, she's a street thief with killer curves and a hidden hunger. By night, she sells her body to the highest bidder.By day, he's a billionaire CEO closing deals. By night, he's the masked mafia king who rules the shadows.She stole his black card. He stole her freedom.But years ago, behind masks in a dark room, their bodies already knew each other scent, scar, birthmark. Now the chase is on. And when the masks fall... neither will escape.

BLURB Aira accepted one night for money. Four men. One room. Masks on. No names. It was meant to end when the door opened. The next morning, she discovers the men she shared that room with now share her home with two stepbrothers, her stepfather, and a man who knows them all too well. None of them know they touched the same woman. Yet. As memories resurface through scent, proximity, and fractured restraint, Aira is forced to live inside a secret that grows more dangerous by the day. Because the masks are gone. And the truth is getting closer.

Pledged by birth to ancient obligations he barely understands, the unnamed heir grapples with a destiny that demands secrecy and sacrifice. Cloaked in shadows within his ancestral keep, he learns to read arcane symbols whispered through generations. When political machinations from the gilded twilight city threaten to expose his lineage—and his potential—he must navigate deception and hidden loyalties to claim what is rightfully his. Guided by a devoted guardian, and haunted by the weight of prophecy, he must choose whether to embrace the power he fears or shatter the silence that has long protected him.

A Cinderella story with a difference. Wearing a mask allowed Ella to be herself for a change, attending the annual Blackwater Manor Masquerade Ball she meets a handsome masked man and like Cinderella, Ella runs before Masks are taken off at midnight. Little does she know the man she had just seduced was Prince Nickolas hiding away in this country estate. Nick is looking for his Cinderella.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing