Arcane Sniper

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

There are a lot more truths in the books we read, than we’d like to admit. What if a book delves into the lives of the very town you live in? Reveals to you some personal stories of people you know? Or thought you knew. Bookstore owner Kevin Ellison faces this truth when a mysterious book shows up in Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia. Through a Mirror, Darkly is a Supernatural Thriller collection masked as a novel. With elements of mystery, suspense, and otherworldly horror, Through a Mirror, Darkly successfully delves into the worlds of Lovecraft, Grant, and the mysterious Carcosa. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Arcane Delights. Clifton Heights' premier rare and used bookstore. In it, new owner Kevin Ellison has inherited far more than a family legacy, for inside are tales that will amaze, astound, thrill...and terrify: An ancient evil thirsty for lost souls. A very different kind of taxi service with destinations not on any known map. Three coins that grant the bearer's fondest wish, and a father whose crippling grief gives birth to something dark and hungry.

"I will give you the most pleasurable pain you’ve ever had. You like pain, and lucky for you—" his smirk deepened, his gaze dark with promise, "I know how to give pain until you cry for me." ★★★ The villain wasn’t meant to be emperor, nor was he supposed to be handsome. Yet for reasons I can’t understand, he hates me. At the Academy of the Arcane, I became untouchable, unstoppable. My beauty was both a weapon and a curse, a cruel reminder of the life I lost. But none of it mattered to him. Tharros. The Emperor of Shadows. The unchallenged ruler of witches, vampires, werewolves, and fae. His gaze burned with something raw, something personal. "You made me this way." he growls. I stared at him, confused. "I don’t even know you." His laughter was slow, cruel. "Then I’ll make sure you never forget." Days later, I woke up as his bride. Bound to him by marriage, a punishment, a prison. Now, I must untangle the truth of his hatred, uncover the past he swears I buried, and face the dark memories that lie in wait. Because in this game of vengeance, I am both his prisoner and his beautiful prize—one he will break. He craves my pain, but I crave the way he gives it. Warning: Extremely Dark Romance | Rated 18+ This story contains themes of coercion, violence, obsession, and psychological manipulation. For mature audiences only. If you’re ready to explore a love story where darkness and passion collide, proceed.

All her life, Veronica Vane has always been an unstoppable force of nature, in battle, strength, arcane magic, and wits. That is until the tables have turned on one mission that completely changed her life: destroying Nuella Sangre, a union between Werewolves and Vampires. No matter how strong Veronica was, it backlashed against her when she found herself falling for one of the richest businessmen in the world, The Prince of Nuella Sangre, Giovanni Felix Thorn. As she was falling in love, she realized how wrong she was, and fought alongside Nuella Sangre when it was threatened by her own half-sister, Elspeth Vane. For failing her mission, the evil forces of Dexo Fernia have rallied to end the reign of their own Queen, Veronica Vane, for her vulnerability. Little did they know, they will enter the lion’s den, as Veronica unleash the oldest magic amongst them; Yxorix

“You know what is worse than fear?” He asked me, his eyes pinned on mine while I looked down at him in the wheelchair he sat in rather comfortably. I shook my head and he breathed out. “Me.” “I will help you ruin everyone who brought tears to your eyes. I will bring them to your feet. I will make them cry, and plead for your forgiveness.” “A… and… what do I do in return?” I sniffed back the tears that laced in my eyes. “Marry me.” === Just when I thought life could not get worse after my husband divorced me after I miscarried our child, a sniper was sent to unalive me and while I ran for my dear life that midnight, a car bumped into me. Leaving a marriage and getting into another one almost immediately was one I had never hoped for, not especially when I thought I would be free again. But still, I accepted his proposal. And I married this crippled billionaire, but on our wedding night, he stood up.