♠ Hurt ♠

Noddy went straight to the bar when he came back inside. Morag had a row of shooters lined up in front of her. He took one. Then he took another one.

“We need.” Morag tossed one back herself. “To get.” She chased that one with another. “Away.”

Noddy signaled for Sylvana to bring him a beer. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Morag froze. The vodka half-way to her crimson lips shimmered in the recessed light from behind the bar. Noddy could see tiny unrelated crimson dots running up her forearm. He looked away.

Morag’s head turned slowly, eyes sliding sideways to complete the movement. “I just saved your life.”

Noddy shook his head. “It was over. He wasn’t going to shoot. Not in here. Not in front of witnesses.”

Morag’s vodka completed its interrupted journey. “Oh, I’m sorry. But from where I stood, you had a fucking cannon pointed at your face and a pissed-off drug dealer about to blow your head all over the drum kit. A little gratitude would go a long way right about now.”

Noddy rubbed his eyes. It didn’t help with the pain that was starting to build behind them. “When’s Mick coming back? How much time do we have?”

“Supposed to be Thursday, last I heard. But who knows, with him?”

“You go. Get out of town. Even if it’s just for a few days, till this blows over.”

Morag turned to look straight at him. “Come with me. You can’t stay here. You know what he’s like.”

“I can’t go without Janine. And she won’t leave yet. She’s waiting for her bonus.”

“We’ll get money. Somewhere. Like we used to.”

“Bitch!”

The slap took Morag by surprise. It was delivered from the side, an awkward angle, and was more principle than effect. But a slap in the face is a slap in the face.

⛥⛥

Read Dancing in Valhalla in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole book – 13 decadent twisted tales of mystery, music, magick & mayhem.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud. Including the new Burning Books sampler booklet (also available on Kindle Unlimited).

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥⛥

Catch the Smashwords year-end sale, from the 18th of December till the 1st of January. Some of my books will be half-price. The rest will be free. Enjoy.

⛥⛥

Cheers.

♠ If you want blood ♠

Dirk was careful to take the pool cue from Morag’s trembling hands before turning his back on her. Even then, he first took a few steps around the circle of music-lovers who were gradually losing interest in anything except the band.

Dirk had known Morag a long time.

Noddy knelt beside the unconscious body in the bright yellow shirt, now shifting through orange to scarlet.

“Jesus. Is he still alive?”

Noddy looked up. “He’s still breathing.”

“And bleeding all over my dancefloor. Come on, give me a hand.”

Noddy screwed up his face.

“Yes, you. I need to get him to a hospital, for fuck’s sake. I never liked the dude, but I can’t let him die in the club, can I?”

“You know him?”

Morag’s voice behind him made Dirk jump. But just a little.

“Of course I know him. It’s Mario. He’s been running drugs for Mick while he was away.”

Noddy and Morag shared a look.

“What, here in the club?”

Dirk looked up at Morag, one eyebrow raised. “No, not here in the club. Mick has people for that. He’s been operating out of Mick’s flat, staying there too so he could look after the place. Now would you stop talking and help me get him to the car?”

⛥⛥

Read Dancing in Valhalla in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole book – 13 decadent twisted tales of mystery, music, magick & mayhem.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud. Including the new Burning Books sampler booklet (also available on Kindle Unlimited).

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥⛥

Catch the Smashwords year-end sale, from the 18th of December till the 1st of January. Some of my books will be half-price. The rest will be free. Enjoy.

⛥⛥

Cheers.

♠ Screaming for vengeance ♠

Dirk walked into Valhalla to see a pool cue swung high above the crowd in the middle of the dancefloor. He heard the sickening thwack of impact above a momentary lull in the music. Then the band played on.

“Fuck!”

He launched himself into the crowd, pushing his way through the dancing horde until he reached the spot where he had seen the pool cue. Where were the bouncers? Why had nobody stepped in?

The answer came in a circle of screaming denim and leather, straight from a B-grade horror movie. Except Morag was no vulnerable scream queen, knocking the monster down and running away. She swung the pool cue repeatedly, laying into the body that wasn’t even curled in a defensive foetal position. People nearby screamed encouragement or discouragement, according to their individual stress levels.

Dirk grabbed her from behind, tattooed arms wrapping around her chest, dragging her backwards. “That’s enough. Stop it. Stop!”

She fought with berserker fury, feet kicking as he lifted her off the ground and turned her to face the other way. Then she screamed, her entire body stiffened, shuddered, and all the fight went out of her.

⛥⛥

Read Dancing in Valhalla in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole book – 13 decadent twisted tales of mystery, music, magick & mayhem.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud. Including the new Burning Books sampler booklet (also available on Kindle Unlimited).

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥⛥

Catch the Smashwords year-end sale, from the 18th of December till the 1st of January. Some of my books will be free. The rest will be half-price. Enjoy.

⛥⛥

Cheers.

♠ Out of hand ♠

Noddy looked into bloodshot eyes sparking with recognition. The band had moved on, Sex and Religion’s pounding drum intro ensuring that nobody noticed the drama unfolding on the dancefloor.

Noddy smiled. For no real reason. The man in the Hawaiian shirt smiled too. Then there was a gun in his hand, and Noddy’s smile froze.

Being well-versed in the multitudinous varieties and technicalities of arms and ammunition, Noddy recognized it instantly as a Big Gun. The kind that makes things explode, as opposed to the kind that just drills a neat hole through them. Chrome-plated. Red grip on the handle. And this identification wasn’t at all easy to make, as the thing was shaking up and down, back and forth, and quite obviously wasn’t at all happy to be there.

The band played on, the crowd caught up in the surge of Bex’s bass, Greg’s contrasting guitar chords. Lighters came out, held high in hands swaying to the haunting refrain of lost love.

The gun still shook inches away from Noddy’s face. Noddy still smiled, but only in the absence of another expression to replace the one frozen there.

The Hawaiian’s face was a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions. Noddy watched them come and go with a detached amusement that had little to do with his current situation. Determination fought with doubt. Was replaced by anger. Then resignation. Noddy felt his own eyes grow tired from shifting back and forth between the Hawaiian’s face and the barrel of the gun that moved in and out of focus between them.

Then the gunman made a decision. A switch flipped in his head. His finger eased away from the trigger.

And he dropped like a sack of exploding pineapples.

⛥⛥

Read Dancing in Valhalla in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole book – 13 decadent twisted tales of mystery, music, magick & mayhem.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud. Including the new Burning Books sampler booklet (also available on Kindle Unlimited).

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

⛥⛥

Join me at the East Rand Christmas Market on Saturday the 12th of December, to stock up on literary pressies. Full details can be found at www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events

⛥⛥

Cheers.

♠ Cats, dogs & rock n roll ♠

Join me in Edenvale from 10am on Saturday at the annual Our Place SPCA Fundraiser.

Potjie competition. Plates of potjie going for R60.00/plate with all proceeds to Edenvale SPCA.

Entrance fee on the day is pet food/blankets/toys.

Awards for best potjie and cutest pooch.

Raffles and loads of random prizes.

My books will be on sale. A percentage of the profits goes to the SPCA.

And, of course, there will be beer.

Event details – www.facebook.com/BurningRosesNovel/events

Cheers.