Whispers in the Night Read online

  He also noticed that the hole was no longer empty. It had been filled, a gravestone embedded at the head, and a wreath of bright flowers placed atop it.

  Well, it was about time someone was buried there. He could’ve broken his neck when he’d fallen into it on that first night.

  Out of curiosity, he flicked on his flashlight. He focused the beam on the headstone.

  Reading it, he was seized by such shock that he dropped the flashlight.

  “No,” he said, in a choked voice. He bent to retrieve the flashlight—and crashed to his knees.

  “No, no, no, no, no.” Like a blind man, he crawled across the grass, fumbling for the light. He grabbed it, shone it on the inscription.

  Alexandria Bentley

  Beloved Daughter. Gifted Writer.

  January 18, 1976–March 5, 2006

  Hot tears scalded his skin. Had to think. This would’ve been the sixth night he had spent with Alexandria. They had first met around midnight of March 7 . . . two days after she had died....

  “Impossible,” he said. He fought to stand. Staggering, he went to the black granite monument on which they had spent so many hours. He peered over the top of it.

  The surface was bare. There was no blanket, no wine, no cigarette ash.

  He had touched her, kissed her, loved her. Here. Right. Here.

  “Impossible!” he shouted.

  He ran out of the cemetery.

  Danita was knocking at the door of his condo when he ran out of the forest.

  “Where are you coming from?” she yelled. “Jesus, Drew, I’ve been worried sick about you. You haven’t returned my calls, you’ve been acting distant, I haven’t seen you in days. What’s going on?”

  He didn’t answer, just unlocked the door and brushed past her.

  Danita slammed the door. “Damn it, Drew, talk to . . . what have you been doing in here?” She gasped, looking around the living room.

  Blinking, he scratched his head—and saw what had been invisible to him for days. Wineglasses and bottles of Merlot littering the coffee table. Empty packs of Newport cigarettes scattered everywhere. Saucers, bowls, and cups brimming with ashes and cigarette butts.

  “I don’t . . . know.” He was groggy and disoriented, as if he had awakened only minutes ago from a deep slumber. “I’ve been writing a novel. Done with it now.” He grabbed the spiral notebook off the dinette table and handed it to her.

  Confused and anxious, Danita opened the notebook.

  “What is this?” she asked, flipping through the pages. “What the hell is this?” She turned back to the first page, smacked it, and shoved it toward him.

  He looked at it.

  A Midnight Haunting

  A Novel by Alexandria Bentley

  “Oh, Jesus,” he said, and fell onto the sofa.

  Alexandria’s words, spoken during their fateful first meeting, came to him:

  I think of hiring a ghostwriter to complete it for me . . . A ghostwriter would have to be completely filled with my spirit to do any justice to the story . . . My only wish is to complete the novel before I die—and if I die before I’m done, then I’d want to have my ghostwriter finish the tale....

  “Drew?” Danita said. She stepped toward him hesitantly.

  He stared at the title page. Then he lowered his face to the pages and wept, his tears mingling with the ink . . . running in black streams down the paper.

  ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

  Tananarive Due is the national best-selling author of Joplin’s Ghost, The Good House, and many other acclaimed novels. She lives in Southern California.

  Wrath James White is a former world-class heavyweight kickboxer, a professional kickboxing and mixed martial arts trainer, bodybuilder, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print.

  He is the author of Succulent Prey, a novel of extreme erotic horror, the acclaimed short story collection The Book of a Thousand Sins, and the novella His Pain, published in 2006 by Delirium Books. Wrath is also the coauthor of Teratologist, cowritten with the king of extreme horror, Edward Lee, and Poisoning Eros, cowritten with Monica J. O’Rourke.

  Anthony Beal is a thirty-one-year-old lunatic whose passions include aged tequila, Cajun food done right, and writing erotic horror fiction and poetry. A passionate fan of Poe, Brite, and Lovecraft, Anthony enjoys pressing his sweaty body against liquor lounge wallflowers and is believed to exist in more than one universe. It is said that he possesses the uncanny ability to distinguish between people closest to him sheerly by the taste of their sweat. When he isn’t baptizing nude nuns with flavored oils, Anthony enjoys collecting skulls, maintaining his Web presence, www.anthonybeal.net, and achieving states of spiritual transcendence through inebriation.

  Lexi Davis’s imagination runs wild . . . sort of like a starving cat at a sushi bar. But this is a good thing when she channels it into writing fresh, fun paranormal stories.

  A UCLA English graduate and native Californian, Lexi is fascinated by the supernatural realm. First she wrote horror but quit after scaring herself and running out of the room. She abandoned hard-edged horror and opted to write wickedly entertaining stories showcasing her humorous voice and witty dialogue. This landed her a multibook deal with Pocket Books. Her debut novel, Pretty Evil, was nominated for Best First Novel by The Romantic Times.

  Randy Walker is a former lawyer turned writer. “To Get Bread and Butter” is his first major publication. He resides in Mississippi, where he is at work on several novels and short stories.

  Dameon Edwards is a native of Gastonia, North Carolina. He currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina. “Dream Girl” is his first professional writing credit. He is currently working on his first horror novel.

  He is a graduate of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and obtained a master’s degree in public administration. He is also an alum of HBCU’s Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, with a B.S. in political science and Mary Holmes College in West Point, Missouri, with an A.S. in social science.

  His literary influences are James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Lloyd Alexander, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Steven Barnes, Octavia Butler, John Ridley, Omar Tyree, Noire, Peter David, Richard Laymon, Frank Miller, Mark Waid, and Keith R.A. DeCandido.

  Chesya Burke has been writing professionally for several years. Her work has appeared in The African American National Biography, published by Harvard University and Oxford University Press, and in a variety of distinguished magazines and anthologies, such as Dark Dreams I and II, Would That It Were, and many more. Chesya received the 2003 Twilight Tales Award for fiction and an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction: 18th Annual Edition.

  She lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, with her husband, four daughters, three dogs, two cats, and a fish called Michael.

  Robert Fleming, a former award-winning reporter at the New York Daily News, is the author of The Wisdom of the Elders, The African American Writer’s Handbook, Havoc After Dark, Fever in the Blood, and the editor of the collections After Hours and Intimacy. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in numerous periodicals and books, such as Brotherman, Up-South, Gumbo, Sacred Fire, Gumbo, Brown Sugar, Dark Matter, Proverbs for the People, and Dark Dreams. He lives in New York City.

  Born in Port Chester, New York, Rickey Windell George recalls having written horror since the tender age of five. Now internationally published, he is best known for his unique blending of no-holds-barred carnage and over-the-top sexuality.

  George’s work has been seen in a host of publications, including Dark Dreams I and II, Fantasies, Blasphemy, Chimera World #1, Scared Naked Magazine, and Peepshow Magazine. He is also the author of the 2005 collection Sex & Slaughter & Self-Discovery.

  Lawana James-Holland, in her words: For York, member of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery, 1803–1806.

  “History is about more than dates and places. It is a
bout interaction, choices, and life.” This is her third appearance in the Dark Dreams anthology series. Lawana lives with her husband in the Washington, D.C., area. Please visit her Web site at www.ellenkay.com/lawana.html for more info.

  Michael Boatman’s stories have appeared in Red Scream and Horror Garage magazines, and in the anthologies Sages and Swords; Revenant: A Horror Anthology; Badass Horror; Daikaiju II! Return of the Giant Monster Tales!, and Voices from the Other Side: Dark Dreams II. As an actor, he’s best known for his role as Carter on ABC’s Spin City, and for the HBO comedy ARLI$$, in which he played Stanley Babson. He is at work on his third novel, and developing a horror /comedy feature film at Stan Winston Studios in Hollywood. He lives in New York with his wife and four children.

  Maurice Broaddus is a lay leader at the Dwelling Place Church, a scientist, and a writer. He’s been published in dozens of markets, including Weird Tales Magazine and Dark Dreams II and DeathGrip: Exit Laughing anthologies.

  His sole goal is to be a big enough name to be able to snub people at conventions. In preparation for this, he often practices speaking of himself in the third person.

  Terence Taylor is an award-winning children’s television writer who lives in Brooklyn, where he now writes speculative fiction for adults. His previous stories appeared in Dark Dreams I and II, and he recently completed his first novel, Bite Marks, which he hopes will see publication soon. For more about Terence and his work, visit his Web site at www.terencetaylor.com.

  Tenea Johnson was blessed to be born a Johnson, “the latest survivors in a long line of the constantly strong.” She has learned to coax the stories from congas, djembes, and jazz guitars. Together, they created fusions: storytelling to music. So far the Knitting Factory, Dixon Place, the Public Theater, and others have opened their doors to the form. Recently, she started an independent label, Counterpoise Records, to amp her signal. Her fiction, fusions, poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in African Voices, Arise, Humanities in the South, Infinite Matrix, Contemporary American Women Poets, and Necrologue. You can reach her at [email protected].

  Christopher Chambers is the author of three Angela Bivens mysteries, Sympathy for the Devil, A Prayer for Deliverance, and Official Mischief, the last of which has been optioned to USA Networks. His historical novel, Yella Patsy’s Boys, noted in the Federal Register by the U.S. Senate, comes in 2008. He has written short stories featured in major literary magazines. He is also coauthor of two graphic-adventure collections: The Darker Mask and The Green Hornet & Kato Return. He is a veteran of the Dark Dreams series. Mr. Chambers resides in Washington, D.C.

  B. Gordon Doyle, in his own words:

  Born and raised in the Empire State,

  The son of the son of a preacher.

  A dark horse, a falling star.

  The last of the Dunbar Apache.

  Knave of ravens, reluctant magician.

  Out of the blue and bold as love,

  I go walking after midnight along

  The moonlight mile.

  L.R. Giles is a Virginia native whose work has appeared in Dark Dreams I and II. His serial novella “Necromance” was featured at www.awarenessmagazine.net and his full-length novels The Darkness Kept and See/Saw are currently seeking homes. Check out more of his work at www.lrgiles.com.

  Tish Jackson has been writing since elementary school, usually creating stories of suspense or horror to terrify her family and friends. She is also an avid poet and was a regular on the poetry circuit in the Bay Area and Las Vegas. She has written for several Web sites as an editorial columnist, and currently runs a Web log, “Really Smart Talk,” where she participates in the monthly “Radical Women of Color Carnival.” However, Ms. Jackson has decided to focus more on the creepy aspects of literature, as those seem to be the most satisfying. This will be her first published horror story.

  Brandon Massey was born June 9, 1973, and grew up in Zion, Illinois. He is the author of the supernatural thriller novels The Other Brother, Within the Shadows, Dark Corner, and Thunderland; a collection of short fiction, Twisted Tales; and editor of Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers and Voices from the Other Side: Dark Dreams II.

  Mr. Massey currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and their two dogs. Visit his Web site at www.brandonmassey.com for the latest news on his forthcoming books.

  DAFINA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Compilation, Introduction, “Ghostwriter” copyright © 2007 by Brandon Massey; “Summer” copyright © 2007 by Tananarive Due; “Scab” copyright © 2007 by Wrath James White; “And Death Rode with Him” copyright © 2007 by Anthony Beal; “Are You My Daddy?” copyright © 2007 by Lexi Davis; “To Get Bread and Butter” copyright © 2007 by Randy Walker; “Dream Girl” copyright © 2007 Dameon Edwards; “My Sister’s Keeper” copyright © 2007 by Chesya Burke; “The Wasp” copyright © 2007 by Robert Fleming; “Hell Is for Children” copyright © 2007 by Rickey Windell George; “Flight” copyright © 2007 by Lawana James-Holland; “Hadley Shimmerhorn: American Icon” copyright © 2007 by Michael Boatman; “Nurse’s Requiem” by Maurice Broaddus; “WET PAIN” copyright © 2007 by Terence Taylor; “The Taken” copyright © 2007 by Tenea Johnson; “Mr. Bones” copyright © 2007 by Christopher Chambers; “Rip Crew” copyright © 2007 by B. Gordon Doyle; “Power and Purpose” copyright © 2007 by L.R. Giles; “The Love of a Vampire Is Everlasting” copyright © 2007 by Tish Jackson.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Dafina Books and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-0-7582-1742-4

  First Dafina Trade Paperback Edition: July 2007

  First Dafina Mass Market Edition: September 2014

  eISBN-13: 978-1-61773-609-4

  eISBN-10: 1-61773-609-0

  Kensington Electronic Edition: September 2014