Tales of Crow- The Complete series Box Set Read online

  Tales of Crow

  The Complete Series

  Chris Ward

  About the Author

  A proud and noble Cornishman (and to a lesser extent British), Chris Ward ran off to live and work in Japan back in 2004. There he got married, got a decent job, and got a cat. He remains pure to his Cornish/British roots while enjoying the inspiration of living in a foreign country.

  He is the author of the The Tube Riders series, the Tales of Crow series, and the upcoming Endinfinium YA fantasy series, as well as numerous other well-received stand alone novels.

  Chris would love to hear from you:

  www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net

  By Chris Ward

  Novels

  Head of Words

  The Man Who Built the World

  Endinfinium (YA Fantasy)

  Benjamin Forrest and the School at the End of the World

  Benjamin Forrest and the Pay of Paper Dragons

  Benjamin Forrest and the Lost City of the Ghouls

  The Fire Planets Saga (space opera)

  Fire Fight

  Fire Storm

  Fire Rage

  The Tube Riders series (dystopian)

  Underground

  Exile

  Revenge

  In the Shadow of London

  The Tales of Crow series (SF horror)

  The Eyes in the Dark

  The Castle of Nightmares

  The Puppeteer King

  The Circus of Machinations

  The Dark Master of Dogs

  The Tokyo Lost Series (mystery)

  Broken

  Stolen

  Frozen

  “The Eyes in the Dark”, “The Castle of Nightmares”, “The Puppeteer King”, “The Circus of Machinations”, “The Dark Master of Dogs”

  Copyright © Chris Ward 2014-2019

  The right of Chris Ward to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Author.

  These stories are works of fiction and are a product of the Author’s imagination. All resemblances to actual locations or to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  The Eyes in the Dark

  The Eyes in the Dark

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  I. Clouds Roll In

  1. The students arrive at British Heights

  2. The band takes a wrong turn

  3. Karin remembers her past

  4. Jun dreams of Akane

  5. O-Remo finds the lookout

  6. Preparations for dinner

  7. Dinner is served

  8. O-Remo meets a stranger

  9. Bad turkey and a monster in the woods

  10. Bad things begin to happen

  11. Bee freaks out

  12. Creaks and groans on the mountain road

  13. Jun finds Akane

  14. The boy who built robots

  15. Jun talks to Akane

  16. The cold sets in

  17. Hell breaks out

  II. Snowbound

  18. Professor Crow surveys the damage

  19. Morning has broken … everything

  20. A meeting upstairs

  21. Trouble for the band

  22. Secret negotiations

  23. Jun and Akane reconcile

  24. Trouble for Forbes

  25. Escape from the snooker room

  26. Games in the snow

  27. Confrontations and rescue plans

  28. Fun and games in the forest

  29. As darkness falls

  III. Hunted

  30. Discoveries and plans

  31. Professor Crow makes arrangements

  32. The helicopter arrives

  33. Wires and revelations

  34. Jun gets chased

  35. The Professor plans an escape

  36. O-Remo remembers the best show

  37. Underground lairs

  38. The king of all beasts

  39. A battle underground

  40. Swords and snowplows

  41. Dying sonatas

  42. The final concerto

  43. Exit strategies

  44. Last stand in the snow

  Epilogue

  The Castle of Nightmares

  The Castle of Nightmares

  Prologue

  I. The Forest of Bad Things

  1. The band on tour in Romania

  2. A visit to Dracula’s Cave

  3. Jun makes plans

  4. Hotels are for heroes

  5. The body in the woods

  6. Jun arrives in Heigel

  7. The man in the tower

  8. The bus meets a roadblock

  9. Something in the woods

  10. Words over dinner

  11. Jennie finds a way out

  12. Crina and Grigore reunited

  13. Jennie gets lost

  14. A devil comes to Heigel

  15. Ken meets the police

  16. A fire in the fields

  17. Meetings among strangers

  18. Lovers in trouble

  19. Puppetry in motion

  20. Information and passengers

  21. Hunting for monsters

  22. A fine morning for a stroll

  23. Jun and Jennie return to the hotel

  II. The Castle of Nightmares

  24. The forest tour

  25. The hotel gets a visitor

  26. Guests in the castle

  27. A protected species

  28. Collection at the airport

  29. Naotoshi goes to war

  30. An ordeal in the woods

  31. An uninvited entrance

  32. Dancing in the air

  33. The fall and rise of Naotoshi Waribe

  34. Hope and hopelessness

  35. Kurou makes a public announcement

  36. Jun and Jennie join the audience

  37. The birdcage

  38. Weapons from the wreckage

  39. The assembled receive a warning

  40. Attempts at rescue

  41. A battle in the tower

  42. The final confrontation

  Epilogue

  The Puppeteer King

  The Puppeteer King

  Prologue

  I. Shadows on the Streets of Barcelona

  1. Jun returns to the world

  2. Peter investigates an intruder

  3. Jun visits Ken

  4. Jun meets an old friend

  5. Park leaves the labour camp

  6. The little girl with the bad memories

  7. A greeting for the tourists

  8. Teething problems

  9. Trouble on Las Ramblas

  10. The making of dark plans

  11. Depressions in the bedclothes

  12. Dave Balls meets some non-friends

  13. Nozomi makes a friend and loses a friend

  14. Intruder in the darkness

  15. Peter calls a council

  II. The Battle for Las Ramblas

  16. A secret liaison of lost love

  17. Kurou takes notes

  18. Jennie makes a new friend

  19. Peter faces an inquisition

  20. Nozomi considers her future

  21. Jennie takes a day off

  22. Battle on the rooftop

  23. Bad days brewing

  24. The secret room

  25. Spiders and crows

  26. Scr
eams and whispers in the dark

  27. Lost boys and scuttling things

  28. In the shadow of the tower

  29. Riots and black magic

  30. Horses and spider webs

  III. Thy Maiden Shall Fall Beneath The Seas

  31. Professor Crow spins his webs

  32. Scuttling things in the darkness

  33. Nozomi in trouble

  34. A meeting with old acquaintances

  35. The cast of characters

  36. The circus of machinations

  37. Enter stage left

  38. The puppeteer king

  39. The circus leaves town

  40. The loveless young man and the river god

  41. Water levels rising

  42. A lake of fire

  43. Battle on the balcony

  44. Survivors

  Epilogue

  The Circus of Machinations

  The Circus of Machinations

  Prologue

  I. The Cold Little Town in the Middle of Siberia

  1. The man who consumes other men

  2. The woman with the wild hair

  3. Secrets and Messages

  4. Knives, blood, and wolves

  5. Stolen drugs and bad brothers

  6. Decisions and discoveries

  7. Reluctance, relief, and anticipation

  8. A war of information

  9. Plans to escape

  10. Secret Weapons

  11. Going Underground

  12. The Entrance into Hell

  13. The end of everything

  II. The Secrets of the Secret Place

  14. Interview with the Devil

  15. Nine floors under

  16. Trapped underground

  17. The climb in the darkness

  18. The Machinations of War

  19. Victor’s Circus

  20. The end of everything

  21. The tightening noose

  22. The closing of traps

  23. Treasure and knowledge

  24. Lies and black stains

  25. The last train out of hell

  26. Disaster in the snow

  27. A game of cat and crow

  28. Remains in the snow

  29. Bargains and Bribes

  30. Politics and machinations

  31. The council of war

  32. Isabella finds a throne

  33. Victor imprisoned

  34. Kurou plays war games

  III. The Battle for Brevik

  35. Kurou leads a war council

  36. Kurou raises an army

  37. The tale of a horse and its rider

  38. Secrets and revelations

  39. Kurou meets the lost princess

  40. Isabella’s situation worsens

  41. Victor heads into battle

  42. A lost treasure in the snow

  43. A duel of kings

  44. Hellos and Goodbyes

  Epilogue

  The Dark Master of Dogs

  The Dark Master of Dogs

  Prologue - The Offer

  I. The Dark Master of Dogs

  1. Patrick

  2. Suzanne

  3. Tommy

  4. Kurou

  5. Patrick

  6. Patrick

  7. Urla

  8. Tommy

  9. Suzanne

  10. Tommy

  11. Urla

  12. Patrick

  13. Suzanne

  14. Urla

  15. Kurou

  16. Urla

  17. Tommy

  18. Patrick

  19. Kurou

  20. Suzanne

  21. Patrick

  22. Urla

  23. Patrick

  24. Saj

  25. Tommy

  26. Suzanne

  27. Patrick

  28. Urla

  29. Kurou

  30. Patrick

  31. Suzanne

  32. Tommy

  33. Suzanne

  34. Patrick

  35. Urla

  36. Kurou

  37. Suzanne

  38. Kurou

  39. Patrick

  40. Urla

  41. Kurou

  42. Maxim Cale

  43. Patrick

  44. Kurou

  Epilogue - Suzanne

  Epilogue - Maxim Cale

  Contact

  The Eyes in the Dark

  The Eyes in the Dark

  (Tales of Crow #1)

  For Jun Matsumoto, a school trip to the remote study camp of British Heights is hardly his idea of a good time. Akane, the love of his life, hates him, and he’s rooming with Ogiwara, the school bully.

  Things get even worse when a dose of bad Christmas turkey makes most of the students sick, and suddenly Jun and a handful of others are left cut off from civilization as the snow closes in. Soon the power has gone off, and a strange, birdlike creature begins terrorising the guests.

  If Jun thought the school trip could get no worse, he’d be wrong. As the students group together with the other remaining guests, suddenly their understanding of danger turns on its head.

  There are creatures out in the woods, and they’re hungry for human flesh…

  Author’s Note

  The Eyes in the Dark is a horror-thriller set in Japan. It’s laced with a tracing of dark humour, and a little suspension of belief will help with its enjoyment. In terms of context, assume the characters are speaking in Japanese unless otherwise noted, even though the dialogue intentionally uses a lot of British and American slang. This was inspired by the wonderfully colourful English subtitles you get for some Japanese teen movies, but just assume the characters are using their native language equivalent.

  In addition, any Japanese words or terminology are noted in italics. Prices are usually noted in yen, and in general a good conversion is 100yen = $1.

  While the book is the first of an ongoing series, it is very much a standalone story and can be read as one.

  I hope you will enjoy my little book about crazy happenings up in the Japanese mountains. Now, if you’re ready, strap yourselves in for the ride…

  Prologue

  Wooden Knees takes a walk

  The clacking branches of the leafless trees beat out the kind of tune that the old man the local kids called Wooden Knees might have made if, before he followed his father inevitably into rice farming, he had decided to take up tap-dancing instead. As it was, Masanori Kojima paused, put his hands on the accursed parts of his body, and looked up at the grey sky with something like trepidation.