I wanted to jump, truly, I did. And if she’d been my only child I would have done just that. Gladly. But I had Bess to think of.

Ellie quickly passed into the inky shadows and was lost from sight.

“I can’t…” Hill began, then swallowed. “I can’t believe that’s the same girl I carried from the park back in December.”

“She is and she isn’t.”

I needed to get away from this place, needed to find Bess and cling to her and convince her to come home where, according to Ellie, we might have a chance.

…I won’t be there to help you in the nightworld that’s coming…

Part of me screamed to stay, but I knew if I listened I might lose it and jump in after her.

I thrust out my hand. “Mister Hill…thank you for your hospitality today.”

“Oh, that penthouse isn’t really my place. I’m just living there for the time being, but I think I’ll stay on awhile longer and keep an eye on things down here.” He didn’t release my hand right away. “I’m sorry about Ellie. I don’t know what—”

I pulled my hand free. “Neither do I. Good bye, Mister Hill.”

I was barely holding it together. Kind words of sympathy would reduce me to a blubbering puddle.

He nodded and we walked off in opposite directions, knowing we’d never see each other again, even if we both survived the coming Nightworld.

<the Secret History concludes in Nightworld>

The Secret History of the World

The preponderance of my work deals with a history of the world that remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unknown to most of humanity. Some of this secret history has been revealed in the Adversary Cycle, some in the Repairman Jack novels, and bits and pieces in other, seemingly unconnected works. Taken together, even these millions of words barely scratch the surface of what has been going on behind the scenes, hidden from the workaday world. I've listed them below in chronological order. (NB: “Year Zero” is the end of civilization as we know it; “Year Zero Minus One” is the year preceding it, etc.)

Scenes from the Secret History is FREE on Smashwords

The Past

“Demonsong” (prehistory)*

“The Compendium of Srem” (1498)

“Wardenclyffe” (1903-1906)

“Aryans and Absinthe”* (1923-1924)

Black Wind (1926-1945)

The Keep (1941)

Reborn (February-March 1968)

“Dat Tay Vao”* (March 1968)

Jack: Secret Histories (1983)

Jack: Secret Circles (1983)

Jack: Secret Vengeance (1983)

“Faces”* (1988)

Cold City (1990)

Dark City (1991)

Fear City (1993)

“Fix” (2004) with Joe Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson

Year Zero Minus Three

Sibs (February)

The Tomb (summer)

“The Barrens”* (ends in September)

“A Day in the Life”* (October)

“The Long Way Home”+

Legacies (December)

Year Zero Minus Two

“Interlude at Duane’s”+ (April)

Conspiracies (April) (includes “Home Repairs”+)

All the Rage (May) (includes “The Last Rakosh”+)

Hosts (June)

The Haunted Air (August)

Gateways (September)

Crisscross (November)

Infernal (December)

Year Zero Minus One

Harbingers (January)

“Infernal Night” (with Heather Graham)

Bloodline (April)

The Fifth Harmonic (April)