Static Bride

Book 1 in the planned trilogy The Girl Who Sang to the Engine. In a parallel reality where humanity thrives on Ether-a mysterious energy derived from the alien element Anonium-progress comes at a hidden cost. Unbeknownst to society, their reliance on Ether accelerates the awakening of an ancient, dormant Eldritch machine. Tasked with containing the chaos, the Paranatural Intelligence Agency (PIA) navigates a world unraveling at the edges, where anomalies defy logic and shadowy entities called Hollows-static-twisted husks born from the illicit drug Gloom-stalk the fringes of civilization.

Amid this turmoil, two high school girls emerge: Rachel, bound to a cryptic destiny with the Engine, and Emily, who foresees her own gruesome or unlucky deaths across realities. A P.I.A. Agent Elijah, a haunted tracker, sees the invisible scars of Ether manipulation, guiding the PIA toward breaches in reality. Meanwhile, drug lord Dezerea Hernandez floods the streets with Gloom, unaware her trade fuels a transformation far more monstrous than addiction.