The day rushed into Fredrick's still-sleepy mind with his wife's scream. He ran to her side, almost crushing into Doctor Finch. Julie's belly moved as the infant's tiny hands and feet pushed. God performed a miracle. The child was alive and moving. Julie was giving birth. She cried and held her pregnant belly. Fredrick was eager to see his son, his blessing, his reward for all the hard work he had done for his Lord.
The reward didn't keep him waiting.
Julie screamed as her stomach bulged and ripped. A hand extended to greet the world, then disappeared again. A bald, slimy head covered in blood appeared next, crawling out of its dead mother's womb like a maggot. A creature of hell opened its tiny mouth and revealed its long, predatory fangs. The head lowered back and the jaws got to work, slowly devouring its first prey, slowly, methodically ripping chunks of flesh from Julie.

This collection contains three short stories and novelettes about the beginning of The Kairan Curse. As an added bonus, you'll also find a novelette that has never been published before, a story that takes place before Curse Me and deals with how Victoria and Mathew first met, as well as Gilbert's Escape from Greenville.