This devilish collection is written by one of the best masters of macabre; his dreadful words are like having sandpaper scraped across your tender flesh. This fiendish author knows his demons and speaks in a dark voice as he reveals them to his loyal fans and dear readers. He envelopes his readers in a tone so sinister, malevolent, you feel your own heart quake inside its cavity. You've not been in the bowels of Hell, until... you have been bathed with the eternal brimstone and fire by L.J. Blount. He swathes you with the sinful warmth of hellfire through these 12 hellish amusements from the baneful one; one that spins myths and terrorizes the soul.

Are you frightened or do you dare journey on with me as I lead you through these twelve disgusting sins from this demonic scribe? Fear not, I will only lead you where you can find your own answers of eternity and wonders: through the unspeakable sinful, fleshly desires of Julie, through the cursed days of Enziel, and the demons that try to become angels, perhaps angels of death.

Come now, be brave and let me introduce you to each of these dying sinful souls that meet their final end with a little taste of blood by the swipe of their tongue and dripping from their razor-sharp claws.

The journey through Hell begins now, L.J. Blount refuses to let you off this ride until the final tale has been told, till the final truth of Hell has engulfed you in its inferno. Light a candle, say a prayer, and join me in this Dark Vigil.

Enziel: Of Fallen Devils

The author asks, "If Angels who have fallen from the grace of God become devils, do devils who have fallen from the spite of Satan become angels?" In his first tale of the collection:

Enziel's upbringing leaves a lot to be desired. Hell, he might as well of been raised by vultures and ravenous wolves or even raised by Satan himself. His Father murders Enziel's mother, leaves the poor child there for days with the rotting corpse of his beloved mother, the only thing he felt God had ever given to him. And this was only the beginning of his father's parental perverted pleasures. Enziel was forced to taste blood through his own childish hands, forced to murder, and then was branded. Enziel learns to fend for himself and searches for "parents" in other places while damning God for his pain and suffering.

What must Enziel do to see his dearly loved Mother again? Had God forsaken him to the Devil and his minions? Enziel faces the Dark One. He is enters a place where only you find in your worst nightmares; loneliness shrouded in utter darkness. Not belonging is hard enough, but what if you didn't belong to Heaven nor Hell? Beizel, one of the Dark One's most entrusted slaves, is quite worried for Enziel. He questions the Dark Lord's decision concerning Enziel..

This poses a very interesting question, why would a merciful and forgiving God send a child to learn Divinity in Hell? The age old question: If God loves us so much, why does he allow us to suffer?

What price would Beziel have to pay for voicing his concerns for the young child? What is the Soul Chamber? Perhaps it is a worse Eternal Hell than you've ever read about? Will God finally show his grace upon Enziel? By the ending of the story, have the Kleenex handy, you will need it. L.J. Blount wraps this up with a heart-tugging goodbye. Where will Enziel go and with who by his side?

Touched

Julie (Jules) Niles, a sexy sixteen year old girl who happens to be a whore who must have another night with the creature. How she craved a man, a real man. However, she was with the 'incubus' again tonight. She was to provide four souls for the demon. She was rather baffled he called himself a demon being he wasn't "vicious" or "mean", but she had to admit, he manipulated her into doing his bidding for him.

The seductress comes on to the demon. Her life has been nothing but hellish delights of abuse for men, including her own father and Grandfather. She only knows how to be a fleshly toy for men. She finds a solace, a warmth and even love in the creature that no human, no man, ever offered her.

The creature offered her a better Hell than her Hell on Earth.

The author provides much eroticism and touching heartfelt empathy for Julie in this bizarre 'love story' of sorts. His writing is probably at his best in this story, he doesn't miss a detail and keeps the emotion running strong. You are tugged into Jules dementia and even understanding her final request.

Seppuku

Taylor was a Christian woman, living a life of honesty and devotion. She is raped, and becomes pregnant --how she opts to deal with this pregnancy is quite brutal but not in comparison of what she feels for her Father, her Lord. Her feeling of his betrayal is strong. The scene of what she has done to herself is described in most gruesome detail without giving nothing but subtle hints on what is taking place. You only find out, once you read the "Dear God" letter.

Concede: The First Circle of Hell

Two demons: Mia, a succubus and Lorna, a minor-league demon meet up with a man, until he pleads for mercy! Lorna has a lot to learn from her mentor, Mia. She sees that God has forsaken the sinners, and her compassion for them leaves Mia quite exasperated.

Blount is always in the mind of his characters, and I could see the scene so vividly --Mia, demanding Lorna to kill the man, to do Satan's bidding and coercing her to do the job.

Penance: A User's Guide

Authoress of "Penance: A User's Guide" The Harvester of Souls pseudonym for Andi Maxwell; writer with the old demon, 'writer's block', a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, a greater Devil than Satan himself. She shuddered at the hideous sight of the demon's teeth, and at being called: The Harvester of Souls. She hadn't written anything in almost three years and now her psuedo was haunting her, taking her to the bowels of Hell by the hand of a demon.

She had been summoned and is the fourth of mortals ever given audience. Andi was included with Attila the Hun, Ghengis Kahn, and Adoph Hitler, and not only that, but she was the first woman given this grand honor. The demon introduced the man, the very well-chiseled and attractive man, as Lucifer. All the tales she wrote surrounding Lucifer had been false; his amassive physique was mouth-watering, not disgusting.

Lucifer needed "The Harvester of Souls" concepts. He is stuck with the retched sinful humans while God made him powerless to make them pay for their sins. Therefore, he needs her creative muse, to torment their minds. Her words have become legendary even in Hell.

Are her stories, just words, just fiction? What is the book: Penance: A Users Guide?

This is probably the best constructed "writer's" story about a "writer" I have ever read! His horrific dementia is enough to almost crack and peel the skin from your bones.

Are you feeling the fiery blazes upon your skin? Never fear, sinner! The torture has only just begun. Now on to Replicate!

Replicate

Sydney had compassion and empathy for the sinners, she feared their pain but Branson was apathetic. She feared this was her atonement for her own sins, watching others suffer, feeling them writhed in pain as they were punished.

She pleaded for the sinners, and for God to have some compassion and forgiveness. But Branson swooped down and he was mighty disappointed in her concern for the lowlife sinners. The flames of purification engulfed her as she looked up through the flames and asked Branson if he could feel compassion for her.

Does Branson feel and at what cost will it take him to learn compassion?

Liquid Echo

Wishing only to die, a figure of a woman comes to him. She never speaks; she only floats above him and then pours a liquid from a bowl upon his flesh. The unyielding pain is beyond what Jesus Christ had to endure. She dumps the liquid upon him, she tortures him continuously. He has tried every death conceivable and she arrives to save him and bring on a new pain.

His fantasies are not only to die, but to make love to his angel of Hell while she inflicts the pain upon him.

He finally gets the answer of who this angel is, why she inflicts this pain, what the liquid is, and why he can't die. All his curiosities are answered though the liquid echoes of his eternal hell.

The Cleansing of Vildar

Vildar had been invited by the Oracle Kring (the curator of souls) to come to the Alcherealm to be cleansed. Vildar had done some mass killings, and due to his loyalty to the Oracle Kring, he was allowed to choose his destiny from an orb. He thought back to a love of yesterdays gone by. How she yearned to leave from the god forsaken hellhole of Trinianu and find comfort and serenity in Ryk. But his loyalty resided with the Lord of Divisions, as an assassin. His loyalty to this regime was strong enough to slit her throat for being a traitor. With this cleansing, through an orb, he is given a second chance to be with is precious Alyssa. But will he want the circumstances that comes with it?

Unspeakable

Arianna has gift, her own life can't offer. She has a little sacrifice to make rather she understands it or not. This sacrificial rite will leave you in harrowing sadness and feeling the offering with each hammering of the gavel. The scene upon the bloodied cross is so vivid, so surreal, it is ...unspeakable.

Flames of Tartarus

Dakota finds himself in a surreal world, nightmarish. He loves horror and feeds off terror but this clawing, gnawing panic-stricken darkness breeds a fear inside Dakota that even he hadn't felt before.

He'd often envisioned, dreamed of ripping off his girlfriends head after beating her, and then her arriving back home with head in her hands. Sounds more like Dakota had gotten into some bad acid or something.

However, he is on his road to Tartarus to be cleansed and pay penance. Journey with him through his darkness and fears through this surreal nightmare. Is it a dream? The ending will consume you.

Expiation

Writer's are often interviewed, even if they don't make much money -if any money- from their works. Zines are still interested in what makes a writer write. Teri is no different. She agrees to an interview (usually they are held over the internet) but she agreed to meet in the park for this one.....

She knew the typical questions: Where do you get your ideas? How long have you been writing? Who's your favorite author? Yadda yadda... but after about twenty minutes into this wordless interview, Teri gets antsy and "Benny" appears to be not so interested in her writing skills.

The real revelation is right after an abysmal experience Benny reveals his real identity to Teri. But where is she really? Could she be answering those typical form questions from the computer? The deathly and gory conclusion is a shocker!

Baneful Dead

Bane Baxley has got to be one hell of a character to write about. His hilarious, "don't mess with me" attitude, is probably one of the best of his kind. Almost making Dirty Harry look like a wuss. Bane, the Oakley wearing, gun toting, rebel has a satiable appetite for tasty little whores and seems to be a naughty Peeping Tom. His morals are rather shady, and lives by the night. This is one character that should never end up in a pine box or in prison! I would love to meet Bane! He has my interest, what a cool dude.

You won't believe the gory scene with "Benny" (no spoilers here) and you won't believe how realistically grotesque L.J. Blount spins this horror into a beastly demonic bloodbath.

This story is filled with wild scenes, a colossal amount of action, and characters that make you tremble, snicker, and emotions will run high toward the end! Who will ever forget Bane after reading this story? I know I won't.

A rather lengthy piece of work by L.J. Blount. However, Baneful Dead is definitely worth every word he used. Each word was strategically placed and supplied some serious punches. Probably one of the best stories in this dark collection.

The Brutal Dreamer Summary of Dark Vigil

Not one of the tales in the collection lulled. I had my interest gripped throughout each mind-tingling tale. The author didn't miss a cue and knows how to keep his fans drenched with sweat and fear. Dark Vigil is just as the title states!

For L.J. Blount (Myth Spinner) fans, you will not be disappointed in this outstanding collection of devilish desires and sinister screams!

Synopsis
Dark Vigil is a collection of 11 short stories and one novella. The collection is comprised of 12 unique tales of horror that explore the realm of religion. From the realization of wanting in Replicate, to the yearning to leave God's grace for the damnation of hell in Touched, to the release of hope in Conceded - The First Circle of Hell, makes Dark Vigil an eerie and twisted book sure to please any fan of religious horror.