Hearts of stone, p.1
Hearts of Stone, page 1
Table of Contents
Title Page
About Hearts of Stone
Praise for The Stonebrood Saga
CARSON'S NIGHT
Title Page
About Carson’s Night
Praise for Carson’s Night
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
BEAUTY'S BEASTS
Title Page
About Beauty’s Beasts
Praise for Beauty’s Beasts
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
HARVEST OF HOLIDAYS
Title Page
About Harvest of Holidays
Fourth of July
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Year’s Eve
UNBEARABLE
Title Page
About Unbearable
Praise for Unbearable
January 2, Present Day
January, 1983
February, 1983
April, 1983
May, 1983
December, 1983
January 1, 1984
January 2, 1984
January 3, 1984
January 4, 1984
January 5, 1984
January 6, 1984
January 20, 1984
SABRINA’S CLAN
Title Page
About Sabrina’s Clan
Praise for Sabrina’s Clan
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
PAY THE FERRYMAN
Title Page
About Pay The Ferryman
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
More paranormal romance by Tracy Cooper-Posey
About the Author
Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey
Copyright Information
About Hearts of Stone
The entire Stonebrood Saga in one special volume, including the bonus novelette, Pay the Ferryman!.
1.0: Carson’s Night
2.0: Beauty’s Beasts
2.1: Harvest of Holidays*
2.2: Unbearable*
3.0: Sabrina’s Clan
3.1: Pay the Ferryman*
3.5: Hearts of Stone
*A Stony Stories tale: Short stories featuring the characters and situations from the Stonebrood Saga
Warning: These stories feature multiple super hot alpha vampire heroes, plus sex scenes that include anal sex, MM sexual play and MMF sex. Do not read this series if frank sexual language and sex scenes offend you.
No vampires or demon hunters came to harm in the making of this series. Gargoyles have been added to the official hunt list, however…
Vampire gargoyle urban fantasy romance stories.
Praise for The Stonebrood Saga
A new world full of action, mysterious sexy men and stubborn heroines that will sure have readers desiring more and more of. Book Lovers Inc.
Delightfully wicked and erotic. I loved every minute of it. Don’t miss out on this was a wonderful read. Night Owl Reviews
Vividly captivating paranormal thriller that is infused with edgy suspense, dark passion and an extreme emotional depth that immediately grabs the reader and never lets go! The Romance Studio
A paranormal lover’s wicked delight. Literary Nymphs
CARSON’S NIGHT
The Blood, Sweat and Gritty-Eyed Truth Behind Carson’s Night.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I finished Carson’s Night in a monster weekend marathon writing session. Less well known is that I wrote the whole story in that one weekend stint.
That’s because I was very stupid.
I originally started writing what has now become the sequel, Beauty’s Beasts, (which I later sold to Ellora’s Cave) as I wanted to submit it to meet a particular Ellora’s Cave (EC) deadline, which had a 30,000 word maximum limit.
I was barely 12,000 words into Beauty when I knew I’d shot myself in the foot. The story was far too ambitious and the characters way too complex to fit into the 30K limit. I kept writing it and worrying in the back of my mind over what I was going to do about these fascinating characters and their rich, convoluted histories. The two heroes in the story were simply delicious—a pair of vampires who shared nearly four thousand years of history between them, both of them carrying horrible scars from a love barely thirty years in the past that neither of them had been aware of…and that love just happened to be the heroine’s mother.
Then my own life blew up in my face, and a few personal crises later, I was staring EC’s deadline in the eye, holding this ambitious and elephant-sized story that wouldn’t go away. I didn’t want to cut it down or dismantle it. It was simply too good to break up. It had too much potential.
On the Friday before the Sunday midnight deadline, I made the decision to put Beauty aside. There was a shorter, ready-made story just crying out to be told right there inside Beauty—the heroine’s parents and their romance, which has such a profound impact on Beauty’s (so to speak) life, and the two vampires. It sets up the Beauty story perfectly.
So I cleared the decks with my family, stocked up on coffee and on Friday at four p.m., started writing. I already had a good idea of the plot. The characters were ready-made because of the world-building I’d already done for Beauty. I kept writing for as long as my family and the world left me alone, and I stopped writing at 3.03 a.m. on the Monday morning, only slightly more than three hours over the deadline, but as I’d already got the extension, I was safe.
I hope I never have to do something so idiotic again. By two in the morning, that Monday morning, I was nodding off between sentences. The title I put on the book was so stupid I didn’t breathe it aloud to anyone until EC bought the book and I could officially change the title to something more considered and less sleep-deprived. The editing session for Carson’s Night was the most gruelling and exhausting in my life and I deserve every extra hour I spent on it.
I honestly don’t know how I pulled that marathon session off. I am a fast writer, but I don’t know if that is a feat I could do every weekend, or even every once in a while. I can only assume that after so many years of professional writing there are some instincts that are ingrained and simply don’t quit even when my brain has switched over to nominal functional status.
I’m damn proud of Carson’s Night. It’s a good story. My instincts were on the money.
Don’t you get the same hunches over something you’ve been doing for a long, long time? You can’t point to anything that anyone else would call proof, but you just know. And when you go with your guts and it works out after all you get that little rush?
About Carson’s Night
What happened to Carson during the night Tally’s father died?
It’s August 1977 and weird sculptor Moss Alex Meinhardt lies dead at the foot of an ugly gargoyle he’s half-completed. Natalia Grey’s demon hunter father is also dead and his new partner, the astonishingly sexy Carson Connors, can’t remember how it happened. Carson isn’t sure what role he has played in Natalia’s father’s death, but after one look at Natalia, he does know that guilty or not, he’s doomed.
The gargoyles Meinhardt carved have been brought to a life they should not have without the help of dark forces she and Carson must defeat — once the gargoyles have risen. The night is hours away yet, giving time for Tally and Carson to explore their explosive feelings for each other.
What happened to Carson during the night Tally’s father died and what will happen tonight?
Praise for Carson’s Night
Amazon #1 Bestseller, Demon Romances
Amazon Bestseller, Short Stories
A new world full of action, mysterious sexy men and stubborn heroines that will sure have readers desiring more and more of. Book Lovers Inc.
The chemistry and smoking hot rating of this story is right up there with the best of them. Carson’s Night is great for fans of erotica who want a little paranormal added to the lover’s tale. Night Owl Reviews
If you are a huge fan of erotica romance with a little twist of paranormal creatures, then this novella is the right choice for you. You won’t be disappointed. Vampire Romance Books
Chapter One
August 1977, New York City
Tally moved from a sleep to awake in one breath. With the next, she eased her hand under her pillow and gripped the handle of her knife as she pretended to sigh and roll onto her side in her sleep.
Iron fingers clamped onto her wrist. “It’s me, Tally. Nick.”
She opened her eyes. The dark shape in the room looked like him. “Turn on the light,” she said.
He reached for the light without hesitation, proving he knew his way around her bedroom. She stared at the person who eased himself down onto the chair beside her bed. He looked haggard and ill-used and that frightened her enough to sit up in her bed despite wearing only her Pink Floyd tee-shirt and panties. She brought the knife with her. It was an automatic move, a trained move, triggered by the alarmed created by Nick’s appearance.
Nicholas Sherwood should not look tired. He was a vampire and did not need sleep or rest. Yet he blinked at her now like a man who had seen too much of the night.
She glanced at her bedside clock. The hands hovered over the two and the three. It would be dawn soon. “Nick?” she coaxed, her heart hammering.
“I need you to get dressed and come with me, Natalia,” he said softly. He reached down beside him and picked up something. He raised it and placed it vertically between his knees and rested both hands around the long hilt.
It was her father’s Japanese sword. His katana.
Nicholas looked at her over the top of hilt. “I’m sorry, Tally. Your father died tonight. You must take his place now.”
* * * * *
Tally was too numb to cry, which was just as well, for the cab driver was normal human and they had to guard their tongues. Nick paid off the driver. In the pre-dawn hush the vampire looked up at the flat face of the old dockside warehouse, his expression grim. “Ready?” he asked, settling the light coat around his shoulders better. He was very tall, about six foot two, and the sword made the coat hang awkwardly.
She shook her head.
He gripped her shoulder. “Neither am I,” he confessed. “But we must do this now.” He led her with gentle firmness over to a dark doorway. It stood open, a black maw she was wildly reluctant to step through. Inside was misery and death.
“Where was my father’s partner? The new one?” she asked. “Why wasn’t he watching out for him? Why didn’t he stop this?”
“Inside,” Nick told her in a murmur.
“Why were you here, anyway, Nick? You don’t usually work with my father.”
“Just wait until we get inside.”
“Why? What’s in there?” She tried to turn to look at him, but Nick’s grip on her arm was too firm. He was a vampire, after all. He could rip her apart like humans can shred paper. She knew that but still, she tried to resist.
Nick didn’t use his strength against her. He let her halt and face him.
“What’s inside?” she asked.
“It’s easier if you just go in and see for yourself.” He tried to smile. “It’s nothing dangerous, for now. I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Too late, Nick.”
He made a helpless gesture. “I wasn’t here when it happened. I don’t know how he died. I need you to help me figure it out.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re your father’s daughter, and because I trained you. I know what you can do.”
She sniffed, trying hard to halt the tears rolling down her cheeks. “What does that mean?”
Nick swore softly, then reached over and wiped her cheeks. “Damn, I wish you wouldn’t do that. It’s a completely unfair tactic, especially when you look the way you do, with those big green eyes of yours.”
“I thought I was just a lousy human female,” she reminded him.
“You’re a pathetic human female,” he corrected her. “But that doesn’t mean I’m completely invulnerable to your charms.” He gave her a smile that was full of effort. “I know exactly what you are, Natalie Grey. You are one of the most powerful demon hunters of this age. You just haven’t realized it yet. I want you to see what is inside that warehouse. I think you just might be able to help me.”
“But you’re not going to tell me anything that will bias my thinking, right?”
This time his smile was unforced. “Right.”
She found she was able to approach the warehouse with less reluctance and step inside without hesitation.
It was dark inside except for the glow of a pressure lantern at the far end. Nick slid the sword out from under his coat and handed it to her. It felt too long and heavy but she hefted it and let the blade settle on her shoulder, which was a good ready position as she had no scabbard for it. She headed in the direction of the glow of the lantern, the flares of her jeans swishing softly in the silent cavern of the warehouse. It was empty and chilly.
“Tally,” came a soft murmur as she drew closer. “You grow more beautiful with each passing day.”
Damian. Nicholas’s lover. She felt the vampire’s hand on her shoulder. His lips on her temple. She looked up into Damian’s black eyes, illuminated in the soft glow of the lantern. His high cheekbones and olive skin and strong jaw line were unchanging, but they were touched with sadness now.
His long fingers stroked her cheek. “We’ll mourn him, Tally.”
She could feel more tears building. Vampires mourning the death of a human was a rare acknowledgment. “Not until I find the one who did this,” she ground out, struggling to keep her voice even. “Where is he?”
Damian nodded. “I’ll turn the light up. Brace yourself, Tally.” He walked over to the lamp, bent over and turned up the gas feed on it. The light spread and brightened, and more of the warehouse appeared.
She saw her father’s body. Tally moved over to where Peter James Gray lay in a contorted, undignified and bloodied huddle, his guts ripped out, his fingers curled in pain. Tally swallowed back her revulsion and studied the remains as clinically as she could, aware in a distant way that she was shaking violently. She used the sword to prop herself up.
“G…gargoyle,” she pronounced, wiping at her eyes.
“Yes,” Nick agreed coolly, next to her. “Your father was hunting one tonight.”
“How do you know that?”
“His partner told us.”
“Where is the toad? I want to talk to him.”
“In a minute. There’s something else you should see.” Nick nodded at Damian, who picked up the lantern. Both of them stepped to either side of her. Their movement filled her with warm regard. Despite the subterranean keening for the loss of her father, that she had locked away deep inside, she knew she would never truly be alone while Nick and Damian trod the earth.
They led her through the darkness, past huge wooden packing crates, into another cavernous, seemingly empty room with a concrete floor. This one was just as cool as the last. They stopped at a huge block of raw stone, something that looked like it had been blasted out of the side of a mountain and dumped on the floor, after having the bottom of it shaved smooth and flat.
At the foot of the rock lay another body. Tally crouched down next to the man. This time the cause of death was a bit harder to establish. When she found it, she grew uneasy. She stood up. “My father must have killed him. With this.” She dropped the sword so the point rested on the concrete. “But why? Who is he?”
“You don’t recognize him at all?” Nick asked.
“You don’t know him?” Tally asked. “He looks vaguely familiar to me, but…” She frowned. “Is there an office around here somewhere? Something with paperwork in it? Does he have a wallet on him? A driver’s license?” She squatted again, and patted the man’s pockets and found a wallet in his hip pocket. “Can one of you roll him so I can get the wallet out?”
Damian lifted the body for her and that was when they found the top of the pentacle painted on the floor beneath it.
* * * * *
Damian and Nicholas between them were able to move the stone. Once they had shifted it a few meters away, they discovered the pentacle ran beneath the stone in all directions. Twenty minutes’ search discovered other painted pentacles of the same size on the floor of the warehouse. Six in all, with powerful beckoning symbols in the center of each.
The wallet told them the name of the man at the foot of the stone was Moss Alex Meinhardt, which meant nothing to either Nick or Damian. Tally knew the name, but could not explain why she knew it.
