The Crimson Pact: Volume Three

We set them free, now we have to take them down.

The Crimson Pact Volume 3 features fifteen action packed and frightening short stories, including, “That Which We Fear” by New York Times bestselling author Larry Correia, and Steven Diamond, which features Diego Santos, a bad ass marine who knows the exact time of his death, and Jarvis “Lazarus” Tombs, a federal agent who investigates the paranormal, and has the strange habit of coming come back from the dead.

“The Ronin’s Mark” by Donald Darling is a story from an arch demon’s point of view and provides a fascinating study of what happens when a demon becomes too close to the world he is trying to destroy. “Whispers in the Code” by Patrick M. Tracy uncovers the sinister truth about the secrets found inside the internet, and those trying to stop the end of days. “Stumble and Fall” by Isaac Bell tells a tale of his famous character, John Olshoe, who recalls a time when he failed to be the hero.

“Singe, Smolder, Torch, Whither” by Eric M. Bosarge is a creepy tale Stephen King could have written if he decided to write a story with a more literary style. “The Jar of Needs” by Patrick M. Tracy is about a depraved customer who will do anything for the sullen barrista he’s fallen in lust with. “Monsters on the Trail” by Patrick S. Tomlinson shows us what happens when investigators find out a demon may be involved with a political campaign.

“David in Disguise” by Kelly Swails takes us to a 1960’s Chicago protest march where a young woman, who wants to be a journalist, finds out she may have to join the family business after all . . . and hunt demons. “Fallout from My Former Life” by Valerie Dircks proves that a young woman can never escape her past, especially at her high school prom. “The Recruit” by Craig Nybo profiles the boxing champion, Micky Atlas, in what may be his last fight . . . on Earth.

EA Younker gives us a steampunk apocalypse story, “Fight” where the rebels steal an airship and take the battle to the demon-possessed bots who have destroyed their world. “The Third Eye” by Chanté McCoy tells the tragic story of a failed Greek Orthodox priest in the early 1900’s, who is unable to convince his countrymen that the demons are indeed coming. “A Contract Between Thieves” by Stephanie M. Lorée is one of the most entertaining stories in the anthology and is set in a “Italian Renaissance steampunk meets traditional sword & sorcery world” and features a rogue named Feni, and her lover, Raf, and their travails after Feni accepts the absolutely wrong job—that feels so right. “Shen Llamo’s Daughters,” takes us on a trip to Tibet in a time when the old customs of the mountain people, typified by pragmatic Yumi, battle with the new religion of Buddhism, and demonic spirits roam a haunted valley in the Himalayas. “The Scarlet Cloak” by Karen Bovenmyer, which book-ends this collection and will not soon be forgotten, is about a young woman who takes revenge on her enemies by using an artifact of terrible power that may consume her in the end, or perhaps it will set her true self free.