The Innkeeper and the Cannibal

Death comes for Auberdine. Vigilante justice is the new law. Bounty hunters roam the countryside. Mobs prepare for lynchings. The forest has begun its long reclamation. Vines have replaced curtains, streams have substituted streets, and the boughs of trees have become rooftops. Wolves howl in the night, but it is a man doing the prowling. Locking the door will do nothing. The shadow of Auberdine shares your bed and dines at your table. It shares your very mind. Three unfortunates will learn this truth. Together, the fates of a disabled woman, a disgruntled hermit, and a wanted murderer will determine the destiny of Auberdine. She managed the inn while the men were at war. A talented mathematician and loving mother, few men were her equal. Now, a life-saving surgery has taken away her mind and her memory. She is Hanna, the innkeeper's wife. At least-that is what they tell her. People tell her a lot these days. But it is hard to remember them all. It is best to stay in bed. It is dangerous outside. He is the product of an unspeakable act. Forced into exile for the crimes of an unknown father, his life has been a tragedy. Then, his friend's wife, Hanna, got sick. Now, his life has a purpose and he begins to feel like he belongs. That is, until rumors spread that he is doing more than Hanna Gardner. Rumors are a dangerous thing, nowadays. He found patricide easy to commit. The aftermath, however, was far more difficult than he could have imagined. It did not help that, just as he buried his father, the town accused him of another murder. Though innocent of that crime, nobody will be his advocate. He a nobody. With nothing to turn to but drugs and sex, he is soon running from two demons. One is the mob that wants his head, the other is the man he has become.