This mysterious gem possesses a deadly and addictive power. To the untrained eye the gem looks much like a gaudy piece of costume jewelry. However, when exposed to blood, the gem glows with a pulsating red light and the terrible power within it is activated.
A human skull covered in rust, the Ruddy Skull continually sheds flakes but never seems to lose any of its mass. The metallic ball in the eye socket appears to be silver and is unaffected by the corrosion. All attempts to remove the silver ball have failed. Those who have held the skull claim to see visions of the past, of distant locations and people, and sometimes of the future.
Meet Agent Boehler of the Department of Extranormal Phenomena. He hasn't appeared in any of the Devil's Square fiction I've presented to date, but he will eventually cross paths and possibly swords with the Square. 
Here we have a loose portrait of Scratch chained in his cage. Here he's looking kind of sad and more fearful than his usual malicious, but that chain is on him for a reason.
I'm going to take a break from posting fiction for awhile. My batteries are running very low and I need to refill. In the meantime here is the beginning of a set of portraits of The Devil's Square. I haven't posted much about them in awhile, but I have been working on them in the background. 
"The Waverly house has been abandoned for well over ten years. Every spring, the property used to be covered with brightly colored flowers, but after the Waverly family disappeared, it grew thick with wild grass and tall weeds. Over the years several real estate companies have tried to sell the property, but as soon as any of them toured the house they changed their minds mighty quick. Eventually, the Waverly house was condemned by the city.
"In the cities, the effects of the plague were much worse. Within the massive populations of larger cities, the infection spread almost overnight. The newly dead, enclosed within the complex networks of city infrastructures, were restricted to close quarters and did not disburse into smaller groups as in rural areas.
"We entered the graveyard in the hour after midnight and it was not long before we saw the thing. We noticed a figure moving oddly in the shadow of a tall tree. As we walked closer, the horror that had been a man emerged into the full light of the moon.
Reunion at the Alan fought to open his eyes. He was warm and comfortable and sedated within ease. He felt as though his brain were wrapped tight in a thick comforter. There was a warm and gentle pressure against his palm. He woke to someone holding his hand. When he finally got his eyes to open he struggled to focus on the figure at his side. It was Deidre. He squinted into wakefulness and offered a weak smile. Deidre smiled back.
