Freeing the Shadows

The dead don’t rest, and neither can she.

After the world burned, spirits rose from the ashes—restless, ravenous, and everywhere. Jane is a mystic, one of the rare few who can banish the dead before they consume the living. But her gift comes with a price: fear, isolation, and contracts that blur the line between survival and servitude.

When a ruthless warlord forces Jane into service, her only companion is Keith—a silent, towering bodyguard with secrets of his own. Their journey through haunted lands reveals more than just ghosts. From crumbling towns to buried trauma, Jane must confront both the horrors of the dead and the cruelty of the living.

As she battles entities beyond understanding and reckons with the weight of her own past, Jane edges closer to a choice that will decide the future of the living—and the dead.

Freeing the Shadows is a post-apocalyptic thriller about survival, grief, and the ghosts that follow us all.

Start reading now and uncover what’s waiting in the ruins.

Excerpt from the book

A harsh green light filled the darkness as the silent alarm went off on her wrist. It was 3 a.m., and it was time to get to work. The light retreated into the watch as quickly as it had advanced, but not before Jane was able to find her candles and flint. A few quick strikes lit the first candle, which she used to light the other four in her hand, breathing slowly all the while. As she placed each candle in its place, the light revealed the bright white chalk, which night had previously hidden. The stagnant summer air was replaced with a winter breeze crawling down her spine as she looked up from lighting the fifth candle. There was a shadow behind the dancing flame. It was not hers.

Luckily, this one was still. A sigh of relief escaped her lungs. Just a blast shadow. It was the kind of detail she would have noticed had she been able to do her initial investigation during the day, but her client insisted it be done without delay. A stomach empty for two days made for unwise counsel. With any luck, it would be a smarter stomach soon.

With her last piece of chalk, she finished the circle around her. Black candles stood sentry at each of the points of the pentagram, their sulfurous scent drowning out the dust which had been there before. Jane kneeled in the center and bowed her head, issuing a silent prayer. Lord, protect me as I seek an audience with one of your lost children. Let me guide them into your arms, that your flock might one day be whole again. She straightened her back and held out her hands, twisting her palms towards the ceiling.

“Tonight, I come to aid you in your final task. I welcome you to the border I have raised. Make yourself known to me, that I may free you from your worldly prison!”

From the silence, a deep voice emerged, barely audible. “Why have you brought me here? Have I not suffered enough?” A crimson aura in the shape of a man became clear to Jane. It was hunched over, though it did not seem as if it was from age. The accusatory finger it pointed reminded her of one of her father’s many scolding “lessons.” For a moment, she felt as small as a child again, though she refused to show it.

“I’m here to help you,” Jane said. “Don’t you want to leave this place? Don’t you want to be free?”

The aura stood up straight. “Of course.”

“Then tell me what binds you here. What was the last thing you were doing before you died?” The aura turned into an orb, then. The dim light around it was enough to light up its immediate surroundings, but nothing more. Jane did not follow as it left the room. “You can tell me just as easily as show me,” she asserted.

The orb returned much more quickly than it had left. “Fine. I was washing the dishes in the sink when it happened.”