Killian's Dead

Killian's Dead is a short story set in the Silverse. It is a prequel story featuring Jack Valentine, the protagonist of the upcoming Seekers series. It shows how Jack became involved in the world of the Silver, and how she herself became Silver.

Blurb
Love is for losers...

Jack doesn't care about anything except music. All she wants to do is find a decent gig, stand by the speakers and let the bass roll through her. It's the only reason she gets out of bed.

Until she meets Winta.

In the space of a second, everything is different. Winta is exciting. She knows what she wants and for one night, what she wants is Jack.

It feels like the start of forever.

Then Winta disappears and Jack faces a choice: should she go back to her life, or track down the only girl who can change it beyond recognition?

One thing's certain: Jack has no idea what she's getting herself into.

Events (Spoilers)
This section will contain detailed spoilers. Many characters in this series also appear in other Silverse books, so clicking any links may lead to spoilers not only for this book but also for other series - use caution!

It is 1999 and Jack is 17 years old. She is house-sitting for her brother in Oxford before she leaves for university in the autumn. A music lover, she hangs out with a boy named Craig in order to blag her way into a club for a gig. While at the club, she meets a young woman named Winta, whose beauty and confidence make Jack completely infatuated with her. They go to a pub where they spend hours talking, and eventually Winta kisses Jack. They spend the night together, and make plans to meet again the next night.

The next night, they go to a bar, but they are interrupted by a man who whispers something to Winta. They have a hushed but frantic conversation, and the only thing Jack hears is the name "Killian". Winta leaves the bar with the man, seemingly annoyed, and does not return. Jack sinks into a depressive mood, feeling insecure about her budding relationship with Winta, and three days later she goes to Winta's flat. She discovers that the flat is covered in blood, and phones the police, but leaves the scene in a panicked state. The police announce that Winta is missing.

Jack becomes obsessed with finding Winta after the case loses prominence and it seems like the police have given up. She defers her degree, paralysed by the loss of Winta, whom she refers to as "the potential love of my life". Eventually she returns to the bar where Winta disappeared, but they won't let her in, despite other patrons being able to enter. She looks up the owner of the bar in the Land Registry - Drake Property Management LTD - and discovers they have another property in Oxford. She breaks into the other property, where she overhears a conversation between two people that seems to indicate Winta is in the basement. This conversation also hints that the speakers are Silver, though Jack does not know about the Silver at this point.

Jack finds Winta in the basement, bloodied and subdued, but before she can speak to her, she is discovered. She is brought to Killian, who attempts to pay her to drop her investigations. Jack refuses, but realises that Killian has done some research on her when he uses her surname, which she hadn't told him or Winta. Killian warns her not to get involved, and she is evicted from the property by a bouncer. Jack immediately phones the police, but despite her graphic description of Winta's state, the response is not what she expects; two non-uniformed police officers knock, are greeted warmly, and leave shortly afterwards, smiling.

Frustrated, Jack breaks in again, and this time is able to speak to Winta, but Winta is not pleased to see her - rather, she is shocked and angry that Jack has gotten involved on the back of a 24 hour fling. She tells Jack that the blood in her flat was not hers, and that Jack wouldn't understand what is going on. Winta reveals that she is part of an exclusive set of people who have their own laws (ie, the Silver), though Jack does not really understand. Winta kisses Jack and then bites her, turning her Silver.

When Jack wakes up, she is alone in the cell. Winta has escaped, and Killian is standing outside. He makes Jack an offer, to help him and an organisation called 'the Seekers' find Winta. She accepts.