Snippet from Student of Blood
Book Two of the Professor Howard Chronicles
Hello all.
Below is a snippet from the upcoming second book in the Professor Howard Chronicles, (currently) titled Student of Blood:
_______
While John launched into an extended discussion with Palmer about the best methods for hardening the campus against incursions by vampires, Spenser beckoned for me to come with him. “We’ll rejoin them in a minute to talk about the plan,” he said as he walked ahead of me down a short hallway. “There’s something we need to take care of first.” Spenser selected a key from an extensive collection that was attached to his belt, and opened the door at the end of the hallway. “We keep this area sealed in case any students who drop by take a wrong turn while looking for the bathroom.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, as the room behind the locked door looked an awful lot like a restroom to me. The floor and walls were tiled, and I could see pipes running along the ceiling.
Then I saw the bathtub. And what was in it.
The tub was in the center of the room, and about a dozen pipes radiated out from it to the walls and ceiling and floor. It was filled with a pulsing mass, gelatinous and opaque. Whatever it was, it was a pale red, slimy, with darker veins twisting around and through it.
I can only assume that there will come a time when I am sufficiently accustomed to strange and unnatural sights that I do not react by stumbling backwards and shouting “GAH!” But that time had not yet come.
“GAH!”
As I eloquently expressed the degree to which I found the sight of the thing unsettling, it got worse. A portion of the surface of the blob drew itself together into a thin tentacle. The tip of the appendage raised up and pointed toward me, and I watched in stunned nausea as a dripping eyeball formed. The eye inched closer, regarding me in a way that looked unpleasantly familiar.
_______
I hope you are enjoying these bits and bites from my work in progress. Be sure to subscribe for more snippets, book reviews, and updates.