The Ink-Stained Specter
Lacey Ellisonne
Publisher: Publishdrive
Summary
Edo, 1788. A city of fleeting pleasures and shadowy secrets. Beneath the geishas’ painted smiles, a chilling dread hangs heavy in the air. Unexplained deaths ripple through the elite, each victim marked with spectral calligraphy – shimmering verses in a forgotten tongue, whispers from a world beyond our own.Masato, a ronin haunted by a past he cannot escape, trades his katana for a keen mind, dissecting Edo's secrets one whispered rumor at a time. The death of a young artist, adorned with the spectral script, plunges him into a world far stranger than Edo’s shadowed alleys.His investigation leads him to Bethany Vargas, a reclusive calligrapher whose brushstrokes eerily mirror the spectral messages. And to Jonathan Wilkins, a volatile scholar consumed by forbidden texts that echo the otherworldly script. Bethany and Wilkins, bound by a shared past, hold the key to a terrifying mystery—a mystery woven into the very fabric of Edo itself.Masato uncovers the Kage Bunshin, a clandestine society of artists who made a pact with malevolent entities centuries ago, their quest for artistic immortality demanding a blood price now extracted from Edo's unsuspecting citizens. The spectral calligraphy is not just a mark of death; it’s a desperate plea from the trapped spirits fueling the Kage Bunshin’s twisted art, an art that claimed the life of Masato's lost love, Kiyomi.As the Blood Moon Eclipse approaches – a celestial event prophesied to unleash the full power of the Kage Bunshin’s pact – Masato must decipher the coded messages, unravel their secrets, and confront their insatiable hunger before Edo is plunged into eternal darkness. He must confront Bethany's shadowed heritage and Wilkins's descent into madness, their intertwined destinies converging in a desperate race against time. With the help of a geisha navigating the city's undercurrents and a kabuki actor wielding the power of illusion, Masato orchestrates a daring plan.Under the crimson glow of the eclipse, within a hidden temple adorned with grotesque masterpieces, Masato faces the Kage Bunshin. The spectral calligraphy swirls, threatening to consume him as it did Kiyomi. He must use his wit, his knowledge of the spirits' language, and the power of forbidden texts to break their hold on Edo, to sever the connection between the living and the dead, and to finally lay his past to rest. The fate of Edo, and the memory of his lost love, hang in the balance.
Available since: 11/12/2024.
Print length: 103 pages.
