Harbinger (The Bleeding Worlds) by Justus R. Stone Page A

meager contents of his stomach met the ground with a splash. Pridament patted him on the back.
    “Thanks for waiting until you got out of the car, kid.”
    “Piss off.”
    Pridament laughed and walked toward the house. Yellow police tape now decorated the perimeter of the property. Despite the place’s infamous reputation that brought thrill seekers, the tape appeared undisturbed. Ironic that after all these years, something had finally happened to validate the house’s reputation, and now people stayed away.
    Pridament pointed toward the boarded up front window. “That how you went in the first time?”
    Gwynn nodded.
    “The door wouldn’t open?”
    “That’s right.”
    Pridament walked up to the front of the house and threw open the front door with a flourish. “Appears we get to do things the easy way today.”
    Gwynn stumbled up the walk. “Show off.”
    The two stepped over the threshold.
    The world lurched to Gwynn’s right and then left. His stomach knotted, but refused to let go of anything. He fell. Pridament grabbed him by the arm. “Gwynn, are you all right?”
    Gwynn did his best to nod.
    “Take it easy kid. Something happened when we entered the house. I felt it too.”
    Gwynn took a moment to survey the house. “This isn’t right.”
    The house had changed. In areas where years of decay and neglect had been obvious, the walls stood with fresh paint. The stairs gleamed in a dark cherry hardwood. A sound from upstairs grabbed Gwynn’s attention. He braced himself for a Taint. Instead, a man who walked across the upstairs landing. Tall, well dressed and groomed, he lacked certain solidity. Gwynn opened his mouth to speak, but Pridament clamped his hand over it. The ghostly figure descended the stairs and walked into one of the adjoining rooms.
    Pridament held a finger to his mouth. He released it and spoke—his voice barely a whisper. “This is very bad. Another world is bleeding through.”
    “That’s what I’ve been seeing the past few days.”
    Pridament shook his head. “That’s because you’re still wired into the Veil. I shouldn’t be seeing anything out of the ordinary. If I’m seeing it, it means the worlds are starting to bleed together.”
    “What?”
    “I’ll explain it later. We need to get that tear sealed, quick. But be quiet.”
    “Why?”
    Pridament sighed. “Right now, the bleed is still early. The man in the other world is ignoring us. If we draw his attention, he’ll come through the tear into this world. Remember how energy from the Veil changes people?”
    Gwynn nodded.
    “Imagine what happens to someone who gets dragged through it. That person becomes a Full Incursive, a Curse. Taints are bad, but they retain some humanity. A Curse, they’re nothing but horror.”
    Even in a hushed whisper, the fear and pity were obvious in Pridament’s voice. Gwynn thought of the feline eyes and deformed fangs of the squatter he had faced in the attic. That man had just been in the same house. What sort of changes would happen to a person dragged through the Veil’s energies? He didn’t want to find out.
    “Right.” Gwynn said. “We need to go upstairs.”
    Gwynn led the way. He inched up the stairs. His head felt light and his body slow to respond. Halfway up, he took a step and misjudged. His toe slid back from the slick, polished surface sending his knee hammering down with the sound of a gunshot on the step. Shockwaves of pain radiated up through his hips and into his already jarred stomach.
    Heavy footsteps approached from below.
    “Damn.” Pridament didn’t bother to whisper.
    The phantom male appeared from the door he had gone through earlier. What could they tell him? That they weren’t there and he should just ignore them? To think of it like a bad radio station where multiple channels bled into each other.
    The phantom locked angry eyes on them. Words would be useless.
    The man began to solidify, but as he did so, his body distorted. His limbs elongated in