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.