Title: Through Smoke and Shadows
Series: Beyond a Shadow, Book One
Author: L. Alyse Amidon
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 04/08/2025
Heat Level: 1 - No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 79400
Genre: Para, paranormal, lit/genre fiction, gay, trans, crime/mystery, action/adventure, dark, immortal, law enforcement, magic/magic users, slow burn/UST, mental illness, revenge, monsters, violence, guns and knives
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Description
A long-hidden force stirs in the heart of the Utah desert, and a killer sets out on a path to power and vengeance, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.
Gene Bradshaw and Jack Cartwright, newly partnered detectives, are called to a gruesome murder scene, and neither knows what to make of it. The mutilated body is so unidentifiable it’d be easy to call it an animal attack, but neither detective buys such a simple explanation. While Gene relies on his gut that something more sinister is afoot, Jack knows the killer isn’t an animal, and it’s certainly not a human.
To catch the murderer, Jack and Gene must set their differences aside and learn to work together. But the closer they become, the more the lines blur between personal and professional. When the case takes an unexpected turn, Gene learns there’s more to his partner’s world than he ever imagined, and he has to dive headfirst into it, whether he’s ready or not.
Set against the deep, desolate canyons and the endless landscape of Southern Utah, Through Smoke and Shadows weaves a twisting tale of the evil that lurks down dark alleys, in our closets, and even in plain sight.
Excerpt
Through Smoke and Shadows
L. Alyse Amidon © 2025
All Rights Reserved
Little Cottonwood Canyon
About six miles west of Solitude Mountain Resort
You got demons inside you, girl.” His sweet, sickly Southern drawl made my skin itch.
Real original, I thought, turning my head to spit blood on the floor.
“Someone ought to help you with that.”
The man was older than others I’d met, maybe forty-five and tall, with a somewhat portly build to him. It was embarrassing to admit, but I’d dismissed him earlier, thought him harmless. Now, chained to a chair, beaten and torn, I was paying for that mistake. But I wasn’t too worried.
He walked over to the far corner of the…barn? Was that where we were? It had to be something akin to a barn, with its high ceilings, unfinished floors, and walls made of wood. It didn’t smell like animals, though, so perhaps it was an outbuilding.
“Been tracking you for a while,” he said as he pulled out a knife, the blade catching the small bit of moonlight seeping in through the cracks in the roof. “Never thought I’d catch you.”
“First mistake was underestimating yourself.”
The man’s eyes narrowed as he approached. “More like I was overestimating you.”
He smiled a cruel smile before sticking the blade into my stomach. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t that bad. I’d probably had worse menstrual pains if I were being honest.
The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth yet again, and I returned his smile with my own. I squirmed forward as best I could, considering my bindings, and pulled the blade further into my gut.
“You really think I got demons inside me?” I asked. “You think a knife’s gonna do anything?” I laughed.
The man’s face turned from haughty to frustrated in an instant, and he twisted the knife, causing blood to rise in my throat. I didn’t stop laughing, though, and it sounded as if I was gurgling mouthwash. Blood dribbled down my chin.
With a huff, the man pulled the blade out abruptly and stalked over to his corner, where he rifled through his bag of toys. I went limp and opened my mouth, letting gravity pull the blood from it, watching as it ebbed out of me ever so slowly. I wasn’t sure how long the man stayed in his corner, but sooner than I would have liked, his shoes came into view before the pool of blood.
The hilt of a different knife, a larger one, pushed my chin up so that I was forced to meet his gaze, and I noticed he was older than I thought. His eyes…they held so much more light than I realized.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? You think you can go around doing whatever you want, huh? You can’t.”
The edge of my mouth quirked up on instinct. “I beg to differ.”
A hint of challenge gleamed in his eyes.
In the next instant, his free hand gripped my hair in a tight hold while the other flipped the knife around and used it to slice my throat from end to end.
Now, that one? That one hurt. A lot. And a considerable amount of blood was added to the little pool I had going.
For a beat, neither of us breathed.
When he released his hold, I let my head and body fall limp. He stumbled back, his breathing labored—the sounds of a man who had completed some long-awaited task. I gave him time to get a hold of himself. When he started cleaning up his mess, I made my move. He came over to unchain my body, and I snapped the chains around my wrists, lifting my gaze to meet his.
Fear filled his eyes as I took hold of his lapels. I pulled him in close.
“I told you the knife wasn’t going to work.”
I shoved him to the ground, and he grunted on impact, rolling over to his front and then trying to push himself up.
I stood, and the rest of the chains slid down my body. I picked up a broken piece, wrapped it around his neck, and pulled him upright. His hands shot to his throat, desperately clawing at it to pull the chain away from his skin.
“What? You thought that’s all it would take?” I tsked. “You should have known better.”
He elbowed me in the ribs, but I just tightened my grip. His mouth agape, he tried to suck air into his lungs, though his efforts were futile. As his face drained of color and his eyes rolled up into his head, I released him, shoving him away.
He gasped for breath on all fours. I kicked him over onto his back, and he stared up at me in fear. I stood over him and imagined how I must appear to him. A tall, pale woman with bruises he’d inflicted littering her skin, fresh knife wounds on her neck and stomach. Blood draining out of her. I gave him a wicked smile.
“For the record, there are no demons inside me.”
His eyes grew wide as I lunged for his throat.
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Meet the Author
L. Alyse likes stories that push against and break genre norms. She likes to crack genres open and write about what’s most interesting. She’s fascinated by characters who are different, unapologetically themselves, and morally complex. Her stories are filled with dark, twisty plots that let the characters breathe.When she’s not working or writing, L. loves to crochet, watch TV, cuddle her dog, and spend as much time outside as she can.
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Giveaway
One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code!
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