Brian Keene - The Conqueror Worms

It just now flew away. Its black wings sliced through the rain and a long worm dangled from its beak.

The rain didn’t slow it down.

The Ancient Mariner saw an albatross and Noah saw a dove. Those were their signs. They were good signs. They brought luck and fortune—and dry land.

Me? I saw a crow eating a worm.

I wonder if that’s a sign, and if so, what kind?

I need a dip. Some nicotine would make this easier…

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Cassandra and Sam for weathering the storms and bringing sunshine on a cloudy day; Shane Ryan Staley and Don D’Auria for giving me shelter from the rain; the Cabal for up-to-the-minute weather reports; Tim Lebbon for backyard bourbon under the stars on a clear, cloudless night; Tracy, Mom, and Dad for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner during dinner; Mark Lancaster, Matt Warner, John Urbancik, and Tod Clark for providing rain gear; and to you, my readers, for waiting at the end of the rainbow.

High Praise for Brian Keene!

CITY OF THE DEAD

“In the carnival funhouse of horror fiction, Brian Keene runs the rollercoaster! The novel is a neverending chase down a long funneling tunnel…stretching the reader’s nerves banjo tight and then gleefully plucking each nerve with an offkey razorblade…There aren’t stars enough in the rating system to hang over this one-two punch.”

— Cemetery Dance

“Breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking. Keene manages to build characters that jump off the page and bite into you.”

—Horror Web

“[ City of the Dead ] will force even the most sluggish readers to become speed demons in the quest to reach the resolution. The pacing is relentless, the action fast and furious.”

—Horror Reader

“Keene reminds us that horror fiction can deal with fear, not just indulge it.”

—Ramsey Campbell

“Keene has revitalized the horror genre.”

— The Suffolk Journal

“A headlong, unflinching rush.”

—F. Paul Wilson, Author of The Keep

More Praise for Brian Keene!

THE RISING

“[Brian Keene’s] first novel, The Rising , is a postapocalyptic narrative that revels in its blunt and visceral descriptions of the undead.”

— The New York Times Book Review

“[ The Rising is] the most brilliant and scariest book ever written. Brian Keene is the next Stephen King.”

— The Horror Review

“ The Rising is more terrifying than anything currently on the shelf or screen.”

— Rue Morgue

“ The Rising is chockfull of gore and violence…an apocalyptic epic.”

— Fangoria

“Hoping for a good night’s sleep? Stay away from The Rising. It’ll keep you awake, then fill your dreams with lurching, hungry corpses wanting to eat you.”

—Richard Laymon, author of After Midnight

“Quite simply, the first great horror novel of the new millennium!”

—Dark Fluidity

“With Keene at the wheel, horror will never be the same.”

—Hellnotes

“Stephen King meets Brian Lumley. Keene will keep you turning the pages to the very end.”

— Terror Tales

Other Books by Brian Keene:

CITY OF THE DEAD

THE RISING

Copyright © 2005 by Brian Keene