Dead Of Winter (The Beautiful Dead Book 2)
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Authors: Daryl Banner
Dead Of Winter
(The Beautiful Dead #2)
by Daryl Banner
Books By Daryl Banner
The Beautiful Dead Trilo
gy
:
The Beautiful Dead
(Book 1)
Dead Of Winter
(Book 2)
Almost Alive
(Book 3)
The
OUTLIER
Series:
Outlier: Rebellion
(Book 1)
Outlier: Legacy
(Book 2)
Outlier: Reign Of Madness
(Book 3)
Outlier: Beyond Oblivion
(Book 4)
Outlier: Five Kings
(Book 5)
The Brazen Boys:
A series of standalone M/M romance novellas.
Dorm Game
(Book 1)
On The Edge
(Book 2)
Owned By The Freshman
(Book 3)
Dog Tags
(Book 4)
Other Books by Daryl Banner:
super psycho future killers
Psychology Of Want
Love And Other Bad Ideas
(a collection of seven short plays)
Acknowledgements
Madeline Sheehan, Chelsea Camaron & Claire Riley
Without the three of you cheering me on and encouraging me in the way of dead things, sexiness, and a general sense of “your-life-is-in-danger-if-you-don’t-finish-that-Beautiful-Dead-sequel-soon” this book would not be what it is. My sisters in madness, I’m lucky to know you!
And for those few of you who have
not
yet been introduced to these three geniuses,
check out excerpts from their work included at the
end of the Kindle version of this novel.
Chris Rivera
Sometimes my brain feels like a hundred brains
and you have a very clever way of bringing me back to earth. Whenever I doubt myself, you set me on fire.
Y’know, in the good way. Keep doing that!
Jan Behrens
My friend from across the world! You have a keen eye
for photography, both in the nature and urban senses. I’m so proud to have your work on my covers. Thank you.
Mom
The world needs to know I have an awesome mom.
There’s no other way to say it. Be way jealous. She is as awesome as you think she is. I love that you embrace the crazy and the freaky and the weird that is me.
You
And thank
you
, the amazing, brave person
who is about to read this book. Thank you for taking a chance on me. If this is our first time together, I hope
you know what you’re getting yourself into.
Copyright © 2014 by Daryl Banner
Published by Frozenfyre Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the
written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, groups, businesses, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual places or persons,
Living, dead, or Undead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Daryl Banner
Nature Photography by Jan Behrens
ISBN-13: 978-1503035898
ISBN-10: 1503035891
T H E B E A U T I F U L W I N T E R
S O M E O N E E L S E ’ S H O M E
“Life is more resilient than we think.
It just doesn’t always look the way we expect it to.
Even burned grass
is still very much alive
beneath the surface
where new seeds are waiting to sprout.”
- Chris Rivera
P R O L O G U E
The world is a lot quieter than it used to be.
But there is a sound in the desolate dark tonight; it is the sound of fire burning. The tongue of this great fire stretches up high to lick the silver sky, and its fingers, red with greed, are as long as a lifetime.
The fire is as ugly and as beautiful as an ex-lover.
What it feeds on isn’t the wood of the forest. They’re all dead anyway; the trees. This is a fussy fire that only feeds on things you cannot see. It feeds on
happiness
. With its little yellow teeth, it eats
hope
for a midnight snack. It eats dreams and laughter and anything little or pretty.
Especially tulips.
If you squint, you realize it is not just a fire, but rather an army. Each flame is made of a person, and you realize it is
their
hope that burns … it is
their
happiness,
their
passion and despair and greed, burning, burning, burning.