Title: Through Smoke and Shadows
Series: Beyond a Shadow, Book One
Author: L. Alyse Amidon
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 04/08/2025
Heat Level: 1 – No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 79400
Genre: Para, paranormal, lit/genre fiction, gay, trans, crime/mystery, action/adventure, dark, immortal, law enforcement, magic/magic users, slow burn/UST, mental illness, revenge, monsters, violence, guns and knives
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Description
A long-hidden force stirs in the heart of the Utah desert, and a killer sets out on a path to power and vengeance, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.
Gene Bradshaw and Jack Cartwright, newly partnered detectives, are called to a gruesome murder scene, and neither knows what to make of it. The mutilated body is so unidentifiable it’d be easy to call it an animal attack, but neither detective buys such a simple explanation. While Gene relies on his gut that something more sinister is afoot, Jack knows the killer isn’t an animal, and it’s certainly not a human.
To catch the murderer, Jack and Gene must set their differences aside and learn to work together. But the closer they become, the more the lines blur between personal and professional. When the case takes an unexpected turn, Gene learns there’s more to his partner’s world than he ever imagined, and he has to dive headfirst into it, whether he’s ready or not.
Set against the deep, desolate canyons and the endless landscape of Southern Utah, Through Smoke and Shadows weaves a twisting tale of the evil that lurks down dark alleys, in our closets, and even in plain sight.
Through Smoke and Shadows
L. Alyse Amidon © 2025
All Rights Reserved
Jack stared up at the star-studded sky and wished he wasn’t at a crime scene. The techs’ bright floodlights polluted the darkness, and despite the fact that he was a good two hundred feet away from the body, they were still overpowering. This time of night—or rather, morning—was the best time to stargaze, and he could barely see them.
“So,” Gene said, stepping up beside him, “you planning to come look at the body sometime soon, or do you study stars now?”
Jack’s focus didn’t stray. “I’m not studying the stars. I’m looking at the planets.” He pointed. “Jupiter and Saturn.”
After a long pause, Jack shifted his gaze to his partner. “Oh, come on, Gene. Give it a try. Look up. What do you see?”
Gene glanced up, made a small hmm, then returned his deeply unamused attention to Jack. “A bunch of stars, lightyears away. Breathtaking. Now, would you please come over and do your job?”
“Fine.”
Jack followed Gene to the taped-off area up the hill. The scene wasn’t all that dissimilar to where they had found the other body. As with the other, the remains, horrendously shredded and torn up, had been found in the middle of the Moab desert, miles off the beaten path. They appeared fairly fresh, with little decay. Unlike last time, though, only the ankles and feet remained intact. The hands were nowhere to be seen.
Jack squatted next to the body and took a deep inhale. “Lavender again.”
“Yeah, I smelled it too. Also, no signs of a struggle. No blood around the body, same as before. The scene is almost identical, save for the location.”
Jack stood and circled the body. “No animal activity?”
“Not as far as we can tell.”
Odd. Jack halted, his eyes catching something. “Hey, look at this.” He beckoned to Gene and pointed at the ground. “Those are probably coyote or fox tracks, right?”
“Presumably.”
“Okay. And they seem fresh too. Wind speeds were reported up to sixty miles an hour the past couple days, so they would have blown away. But look.” Jack pointed again. “They walk up toward the body, stop, then turn and descend the hill.” He checked the other side of the body. “No tracks over here… Why didn’t it stop? Why didn’t it feed on the body?”
Gene stayed quiet while Jack worked through what it could mean.
Finally, Jack muttered, “Something’s repelling them.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Jack said, lost in thought. He shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
Gene continued scribbling in his notebook, then put it in his breast pocket. “Well, I think we’re done here.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jack asked, surprised.
“It’s too dark to do a grid search right now. The forensics guys are handling everything, so, yeah, our job is done for now.”
Jack tried to hide how excited that made him. As he and Gene made their way to the car, he checked his watch, and his excitement grew.
“Perfect,” he said. “If we leave now, we’ll make it to Salt Lake by seven-thirty, eight o’clock. You know what that means? Pancakes! On me.” He reconsidered. “Well, wait—we’ll split it. I got ahead of myself there. But still. Pancakes!”
Gene paused, making Jack turn toward him.
“What?”
“We’re not going back to the city tonight.”
“You said we were done—”
“I know, but they’re taking the body to the regional hospital before transporting it up to Salt Lake tomorrow. We have to stay so we can sign all the paperwork.”
“Dammit,” Jack groaned. “Why can’t anything ever be easy?”
Gene hummed in agreement as another thought dawned on Jack.
“Wait. Where the hell are we supposed to find a room? It’s the middle of the night.”
Gene smirked and patted his shoulder as he passed. “Don’t worry. There’s a place up the road.”
“Bet they don’t have pancakes,” Jack muttered grumpily as he turned and followed his partner to the car.
*****
The motel was dingy, but it would do. And it was the only one close by that didn’t have an illuminated “NO” on their vacancy sign. Jack’s main concern was a place to sleep…and pancakes. Damn, now that he couldn’t have them, he couldn’t stop thinking about them. But it was pretty clear that wasn’t going to happen, at least, not until they were in Salt Lake again.
A bell above the door chimed when they entered, but there was no one behind the counter. They waited for someone to come greet them. When no one did, Gene rang the counter bell, its metallic tone much louder than Jack expected in the silent room.
Sounds of shuffling came from the back office, and a middle-aged woman emerged. “Oh, hello. How can I help you two gentlemen?”
“Do you happen to take late check-ins? We need a place to stay the night.”
“Well, sure. Let me see what we have available…” She checked her computer. “You’re in luck. We have one room left.”
“Great.” Gene gave Jack a satisfied look that seemed to say, See? Told you we’d find a room.
Jack had the feeling Gene would be gloating about this for a while.
“I need a credit card and form of ID, please.” As she began to put their information in, she asked, “Would you like a cot for the room?”
“A cot?”
“Yes, well, there’s only one bed. Pardon the assumption, but you two probably don’t want to share.”
Gene’s eyes darted to Jack’s and held for a beat too long, a low-simmering heat flaring between them.
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L. Alyse likes stories that push against and break genre norms. She likes to crack genres open and write about what’s most interesting. She’s fascinated by characters who are different, unapologetically themselves, and morally complex. Her stories are filled with dark, twisty plots that let the characters breathe.
When she’s not working or writing, L. loves to crochet, watch TV, cuddle her dog, and spend as much time outside as she can.
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