The fire from the night before had collapsed into a ring of muted coals, their last warmth leaking into the cold ground. Mist clung to the low scrub, blurring the line between land and sky. Somewhere beyond the silence, a hawk sliced the air. They moved without wasted words. Bedrolls bound tight, tents dismantled and…
Author: phaedrasfables
The COMC Files Book V chapter 31
Embers, Rumours, and Rescue Plans The fire pops, laughter fills the air, and Asdar leans in, finally ready to stitch together the threads — Romani hospitality, protection, their centuries-old role as keepers of stories and music, and the deal he cut to trade stigma for safe passage. For once, I’m content to listen — blond…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 30
“ENOUGH!”* My breath stops. That grunt—familiar. The blindfold is torn off in one motion. Light stabs my eyes. I blink, heart hammering, searching the crowd for the shape behind the voice. For a beat, no one moves—Romani faces flickering between suspicion and relief, Azerbaijani bystanders holding back. Somewhere in the tangle, I know the wolf…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 29
Time blurs in streaks of light and motion. I scratch out a few more lines in my notebook before the train shifts pitch, slowing under us. The announcement in curt Turkish says enough. Van. I lean into the glass, stomach tightening. The platform crawls with uniforms—dark jackets, rifles slung with easy authority, eyes scanning every…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 28
Crimson Traces The station air hums with departures. Brakes exhale, announcements crackle overhead, and somewhere behind me a child cries once before being shushed into silence. The high-speed train to Ankara waits with its nose angled east, silver and intent. Inside, the sound changes—padded by upholstery, softened by recycled warmth. Our bags thud into overhead…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 27
Inside, the hiss of brakes and the chime of departure boards blend into one constant undertone. The high‑speed train to Ankara waits, silver and intent, its nose angled toward the tracks stretching east. Tickets pass through the gate with soft clicks. We find our seats, stowing bags overhead. Outside, the last few passengers hurry along…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 26
Istanbul Dawn The city stirs, a thousand lives resuming. Cracked windows carry metal shutters clattering two streets over, bus brakes hissing, the simit-seller’s rising cry. Horns thick with impatience, heat building. The warehouse holds night’s breath. Mitra—cardigan-armour—coaxes the camping stove to a blue flame. Coffee bitters the cold air. She moves with dawn-departure muscle: crisp,…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 25
Uruk – A Life Before Time Stone steps led up to a towering ziggurat, bricks still warm from the sun. The plain shimmered below, canals and fields, the lifeblood of a people who bent rivers to their will. The air was heavy with incense and myrrh; doves wheeled above in sunlit spirals. He was broader,…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 24
Back in the Desert The shaman’s chant slowed. The taste of haoma lingered—bitter, sweet, then gone. Tarmo sat under the Iranian sky, tears drying on his cheek; he could not remember shedding them. He understood: the hunger in the warehouse, the ache in the shower, the urgency of seeking Elena was not merely his own,…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 23
Elena lay there, wrapped in a blanket on a makeshift bed in the far corner of a warehouse. Her hair spilt messily over the pillow, her lips parted in the vulnerable slackness of sleep. The only light came from a single streetlamp, its beam cutting through the fractured glass high on the wall. He stepped…
The C.O.M.C. Files 