{"title":"Short Stories","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-man-in-the-painting","title":"The Man in the Painting (Digital)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"47\"\u003eGabrielle has always believed she was ordinary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"49\" data-end=\"299\"\u003eAt twenty-seven, with long black hair and a life that feels comfortably predictable, she follows her longtime friend Ben to a grand old manor—never suspecting that one step through its doors will unravel everything she thought she knew about herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"301\" data-end=\"356\"\u003eInside, a portrait hangs in silent command of the room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"358\" data-end=\"549\"\u003eThe man in the painting is breathtaking. Late twenties, perhaps early thirties. Vivid blue eyes that blaze against pale skin and raven-black hair. Beautiful. Perfectly defined. Almost… alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"551\" data-end=\"587\"\u003eAnd then she learns the unthinkable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"589\" data-end=\"723\"\u003eThe man in the portrait is not merely art. He is ancient. Powerful. Spoken to as though he can hear. Feared as though he might answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"725\" data-end=\"745\"\u003eHis name is Necalli.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"747\" data-end=\"983\"\u003eWhen Gabrielle later encounters him in the flesh at an exclusive private cocktail club—regal in a navy pinstripe suit, his presence commanding the air itself—her world fractures completely. Necalli reveals a truth she cannot comprehend:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"985\" data-end=\"1002\"\u003eShe is not human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1004\" data-end=\"1019\"\u003eShe is pixowen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1021\" data-end=\"1219\"\u003eBefore she can even begin to understand what that means, chaos erupts. A cloaked demon named Zabataro storms the club, slaughtering a guest with a gold-bladed dagger and igniting terror in his wake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1221\" data-end=\"1241\"\u003eHe has come for her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1243\" data-end=\"1547\"\u003eNecalli whisks Gabrielle away to a hidden castle deep within the forested hills, where mist clings to ancient stone and the full moon crowns the turrets in silver light. There, beneath the weight of secrets centuries old, Gabrielle learns that she stands at the center of a war older than history itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1549\" data-end=\"1628\"\u003eHunted by demons. Protected by an immortal. Bound to a destiny she never chose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1630\" data-end=\"1643\"\u003eSafe—for now.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1645\" data-end=\"1771\"\u003eBut safety is fragile when millennia-old powers awaken… and when the man who saved you may be the most dangerous being of all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1773\" data-end=\"1917\"\u003e✨ \u003cstrong data-start=\"1775\" data-end=\"1917\"\u003eA dark, romantic fantasy of ancient magic, forbidden power, and a heroine who must discover what she truly is before the night claims her.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1919\" data-end=\"2053\"\u003eIf you love immortal antiheroes, secret societies, hidden castles, and slow-burning supernatural tension, this is your next obsession.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2055\" data-end=\"2117\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eEnter the manor.\u003cbr data-start=\"2071\" data-end=\"2074\"\u003eMeet the painting.\u003cbr data-start=\"2092\" data-end=\"2095\"\u003eDiscover what you are.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566206947561,"sku":null,"price":1.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/Photo6-06-23_13116PM.jpg?v=1772417271"},{"product_id":"revenge-so-sweet","title":"Revenge So Sweet (Digital)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"25\" data-end=\"69\"\u003eNo coffee this morning. She doesn’t need it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"71\" data-end=\"279\"\u003eIris hasn’t slept properly since the murder of her husband, Lucas. Grief hollowed her out. Rage rebuilt her. When the life insurance cheque cleared, she quit her hospital job and devoted herself to one thing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"281\" data-end=\"289\"\u003eRevenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"291\" data-end=\"376\"\u003eSeven gang members.\u003cbr data-start=\"310\" data-end=\"313\"\u003eSeven starting locations.\u003cbr data-start=\"338\" data-end=\"341\"\u003eSeven clues.\u003cbr data-start=\"353\" data-end=\"356\"\u003eOne million dollars.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"378\" data-end=\"719\"\u003eFrom her home office, Iris watches seven live camera feeds flicker across large monitors. Every angle covered. Every movement tracked. Months of meticulous planning have led to this single day. The rules are simple: find the clues, reach the second location by 6:00 p.m., and deliver one man alive — the Skyline Blood known as Mickey Dreads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"721\" data-end=\"742\"\u003eWhat they don’t know?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"783\"\u003eThere are only six clues for seven men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"785\" data-end=\"822\"\u003eAnd no one survives the second round.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"824\" data-end=\"1124\"\u003eThe abandoned maximum-security prison waiting twenty minutes outside the city is more than atmospheric staging. It is a sealed tomb. Manual timers will lock the doors. Hydrogen sulphide gas will flood the building. Whether they hand over Mickey Dreads or turn on one another, the outcome is the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1126\" data-end=\"1135\"\u003eDead men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1137\" data-end=\"1360\"\u003eAs the race begins, chaos erupts across Iris’s screens. Shouting. Gravel crunching. Guns flashing at belts. Among them stands DeShawn — the elusive leader of the Eight Trey Gangster Crips, a ghost in San Diego’s underworld.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1362\" data-end=\"1400\"\u003eBut DeShawn isn’t just another player.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1402\" data-end=\"1424\"\u003eHe’s part of the plan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1426\" data-end=\"1671\"\u003eDark, razor-sharp, and psychologically chilling, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1475\" data-end=\"1495\"\u003eRevenge So Sweet\u003c\/strong\u003e is a short thriller about grief turned surgical, vengeance executed with clinical precision, and the terrifying calm of a woman who has already decided who lives and who dies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1673\" data-end=\"1711\"\u003eBecause sometimes justice isn’t blind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1713\" data-end=\"1764\"\u003eSometimes it watches from seven screens… and waits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1766\" data-end=\"1944\"\u003eIf you love morally complex antiheroines, twisted game scenarios, and high-stakes psychological suspense, this short story delivers a cold, calculated punch you won’t see coming.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1946\" data-end=\"1974\"\u003eRevenge is best served cold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1976\" data-end=\"2003\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eAnd Iris has set the timer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566217105641,"sku":null,"price":0.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/Untitleddesign_1.jpg?v=1772418325"},{"product_id":"greedy-hands","title":"Greedy Hands (Digital)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"21\" data-end=\"27\"\u003eHands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"29\" data-end=\"59\"\u003eThey’re greedy little suckers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"61\" data-end=\"98\"\u003eAt least, that’s what Boris believes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"100\" data-end=\"271\"\u003eEvery morning at exactly the same time, he walks three blocks to Rosa’s coffee shop, dressed immaculately, rehearsed to perfection, and ready to admire the woman he loves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"273\" data-end=\"289\"\u003eFrancis Goodwin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"291\" data-end=\"299\"\u003eFrankie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"301\" data-end=\"324\"\u003eOnly he calls her that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"326\" data-end=\"615\"\u003eFrom his carefully chosen table — the third from the door — Boris watches her move through the café with honeyed curls, red lipstick, and soft, subtle dances to the same quarter-past-eight song. To him, every glance is a signal. Every hesitation is desire. Every protest is playful denial.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"617\" data-end=\"663\"\u003eBecause in Boris’s mind, they belong together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"665\" data-end=\"676\"\u003eCompletely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"678\" data-end=\"836\"\u003eWhen other men speak to her, laugh with her, lean too close to the counter — their hands become the enemy. Greedy. Filthy. Reaching for something that is his.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"838\" data-end=\"863\"\u003eAnd Boris does not share.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"1094\"\u003eAs the days pass, his devotion deepens into something far more suffocating. He memorizes her schedule. Watches her window at night. Plants olive trees beneath her apartment as symbols of a future she doesn’t know she’s agreed to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1134\"\u003eBut roots grow best in disturbed soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1136\" data-end=\"1321\"\u003eDarkly intimate and chillingly unreliable, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1179\" data-end=\"1195\"\u003eGreedy Hands\u003c\/strong\u003e is a psychological short story told from inside the mind of a man who mistakes obsession for love and possession for destiny.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1323\" data-end=\"1402\"\u003eSeductive in tone. Disturbing in execution. Unsettling in its quiet escalation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1404\" data-end=\"1481\"\u003eBecause sometimes the most dangerous villains aren’t monsters in the shadows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1483\" data-end=\"1537\"\u003eThey’re the ones smiling across the coffee shop table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1539\" data-end=\"1571\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eAnd their hands are never still.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566227525865,"sku":null,"price":1.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/Tenseebookcoverwithhandsagainstglasssurface.jpg?v=1772419689"},{"product_id":"cigarette-legs","title":"Cigarette Legs (Digital)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"23\" data-end=\"54\"\u003eThey call him \u003cem data-start=\"37\" data-end=\"53\"\u003ecigarette legs\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"56\" data-end=\"313\"\u003eThe local school kids whisper it as he passes by each morning in his grey shorts and bright tangerine socks, a freshly picked daisy clutched gently in his hand. His legs are pale and thin now, speckled with age, but there’s still a quiet rhythm in his step.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"315\" data-end=\"354\"\u003eArtie Williams is ninety-six years old.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"356\" data-end=\"394\"\u003eAnd he is still in love with his wife.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"396\" data-end=\"766\"\u003eEvery day, he walks through Taupō to the cemetery, stopping by the Waikato River where memories rise as clear as yesterday. He remembers the first time he saw Daisy Munroe. The way she made daisy-chain crowns on the riverbank. The summer of 1942, when war stole his brother — and nearly stole him too. He remembers kneeling before he left for battle, asking her to wait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"781\"\u003eShe said yes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"783\" data-end=\"1091\"\u003eHe came home changed by war but certain of one thing: Daisy was his peace. They were married in the Taupō Anglican Church on 12 February 1946 — she weak with lupus, he steady at her side. The church overflowed with soldiers, nurses, townsfolk. She could barely make it down the aisle, but she made it to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1093\" data-end=\"1124\"\u003eSix months later, she was gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1126\" data-end=\"1163\"\u003eBut love like theirs does not vanish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1165\" data-end=\"1418\"\u003eSeventy-four years have passed since that wedding day, and Artie still wears his ring. He still visits her grave. He still remembers every detail — her red cheeks, her breathless smile, the way she laughed at the sight of his ridiculous tangerine socks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1420\" data-end=\"1491\"\u003eTo the town, he’s a frail old man with funny legs and outdated clothes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1527\"\u003eTo himself, he is still a husband.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1529\" data-end=\"1707\"\u003eTender, nostalgic, and quietly powerful, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1588\"\u003eCigarette Legs\u003c\/strong\u003e is a sweeping short story about enduring love, wartime sacrifice, grief, and the kind of devotion that outlives death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1709\" data-end=\"1759\"\u003eIt is a story of first love. Last love. Only love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1761\" data-end=\"1827\"\u003eBecause some vows don’t end with “as long as you both shall live.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1829\" data-end=\"1859\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eSome vows echo for a lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566230245609,"sku":null,"price":1.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/WatercolorPortraitofanElderlyMan.jpg?v=1772420224"},{"product_id":"under-the-spider-tree","title":"Under the Spider Tree (Digital)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\"\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:ee02b96d-8fa6-4121-ba47-325765b92d6a-17\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-10\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"dce4e6c4-0cd1-44a1-a9b7-9831b651ba0e\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-2\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"30\" data-end=\"55\"\u003eA crack splits the night.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"57\" data-end=\"198\"\u003eGunfire flashes in the darkness. Rain pours over mud-soaked uniforms. Tin cans strung along hidden barbed wire rattle their warning too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"200\" data-end=\"226\"\u003eThey were already waiting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"228\" data-end=\"529\"\u003eOn a remote tropical island of blue lagoons and lush rainforest, Captain John O’Driscoll and his men walk straight into an ambush. What should have been another routine recon mission becomes a night of chaos — bullets whining past ears, machine guns roaring, and friends falling one by one in the mud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"531\" data-end=\"547\"\u003eMadman is first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"549\" data-end=\"562\"\u003eThen Bulldog.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"564\" data-end=\"574\"\u003eThen Aces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"576\" data-end=\"618\"\u003eChopper doesn’t make it through the night.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"620\" data-end=\"890\"\u003eWith reinforcements too far away and radios too dangerous to use, John is left with one surviving soldier, Montgomery, and the unbearable weight of command. Beneath relentless rain and intermittent gunfire, they fight until silence finally descends with the coming dawn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"892\" data-end=\"1014\"\u003eUnder a crooked tree tangled in glistening webs and red-striped black spiders, they bury their friends in unmarked graves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1016\" data-end=\"1046\"\u003eAnd John carries the dog tags.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1048\" data-end=\"1101\"\u003eSixty years later, the war still hasn’t released him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1103\" data-end=\"1366\"\u003eHis leg never healed properly. His heart never healed at all. Returning to the battlefield with Montgomery, he stands once more beneath the spider tree — where memory, guilt, loyalty, and love for fallen comrades remain suspended like fragile threads in the rain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1368\" data-end=\"1559\"\u003eHaunting, visceral, and deeply human, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1406\" data-end=\"1431\"\u003eUnder the Spider Tree\u003c\/strong\u003e is a powerful short story about brotherhood in war, the burden of survival, and the kind of homecoming that comes far too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1561\" data-end=\"1612\"\u003eBecause sometimes the battlefield never leaves you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1614\" data-end=\"1676\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eAnd sometimes the only way home…\u003cbr data-start=\"1646\" data-end=\"1649\"\u003eis back to where they fell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mt-3 w-full empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-center\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/article\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Nikki Lockwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50566233358569,"sku":null,"price":1.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0797\/3496\/4457\/files\/UndertheSpiderTree-StarkWarScene.jpg?v=1772421079"}],"url":"https:\/\/nikkilockwood.com\/collections\/short-stories.oembed","provider":"Nikki Lockwood","version":"1.0","type":"link"}