Ethan’s grip on Lillian tightened.
He could hear her breathing, ragged, quick, unaware.
She had no idea.
Not yet.
Her trust in him was absolute. Her body fit against his as if she belonged nowhere else, her warmth seeping into his skin, her fingers still curled lightly in his coat.
But trust was a fragile thing.
And love ,true, unyielding love, was meant to last forever.
His heart hammered against his ribs. This was the only way.
Before they took her. Before time ruined her.
Before she was lost to him again.
Ethan’s fingers brushed over the cold hilt of the dagger hidden beneath his coat.
He had never hesitated before.
Not when he worked in the mortuary, preserving beauty in stillness. Not when he ran his hands over the cold, unmoving skin of those who had crossed the threshold between life and eternity.
Death made them perfect.
Unchanging. Untouched by time’s cruelty.
That’s what he wanted for her.
That’s what he needed.
His hand trembled slightly.
This was different.
She was still warm. Still breathing.
Her pulse fluttered beneath his fingertips, a fragile thing, so easily stopped.
Could he do this?
His stomach twisted.
He had to.
Lillian was never meant for life.
She was meant for him.
And she would understand.
Wouldn’t she?
The Knife in the Dark
Lillian exhaled softly, her breath brushing over his skin.
Her lips were still red from their kiss, her golden-brown eyes glowing beneath the Blood Moon.
Ethan’s fingers wrapped around the dagger’s hilt.
His heartbeat slowed.
The world narrowed to just her.
Her voice was a breathless whisper. “Ethan…”
He pressed his lips to her forehead.
And stabbed her.
The dagger sank deep, hot, fast, final.
The sound it made was wet, sickening.
Lillian froze.
Her entire body jerked violently in his arms, her back arching, her breath catching in a sharp,
strangled gasp.
For a second, her brain refused to understand.
Then, the pain hit.
A scream ripped from her throat, raw and broken, echoing into the empty night.
Ethan flinched, his own breath coming out in short, uneven bursts. His fingers were slick now, coated in the warmth of her blood as it seeped between them, staining their moment in deep crimson.
Lillian’s hands clawed at his chest. Not in embrace. Not in want.
In horror.
Her breath was ragged, choked, her mouth opening, but the words wouldn’t come.
The betrayal in her eyes was worse than the sound of her pain.
She hadn’t suspected. Not for a moment.
Her fingers, weak but desperate, fisted into his coat.
“Why?” she gasped, her voice barely a whisper.
Ethan’s throat clenched.
He pressed his forehead against hers, his lips barely grazing her trembling mouth.
“So you’ll never leave me,” he whispered.
Lillian’s body shook violently.
Her legs buckled, but he held her.
He would always hold her.
She tried to speak again, but blood bubbled over her lips, staining them a darker red.
The light in her eyes,the beautiful, golden flicker, dimmed.
She was fading.
Ethan exhaled.
He had done it.
She was his now.
Forever.
The Cult That Waited
The cult had not moved.
They had not spoken.
They had only watched.
Because they had always known.
Ethan turned, his arms still locked around Lillian’s trembling body.
He lifted his chin, staring at the robed figures standing at the lake’s edge.
They weren’t mourning her.
They weren’t grieving.
They were waiting.
The leader stepped forward, their presence bending the very air.
"You do not understand," they murmured.
Ethan gritted his teeth.
“I saved her,” he spat. “I saved her from you.”
The cult leader tilted their head slightly, a slow, eerie movement.
"You misunderstand."
The ground shuddered.
Not violently. Not like before.
A slow, steady pulse.
Like a heartbeat.
And then, Lillian’s fingers moved.
The Ritual Has Failed
Ethan felt it instantly.
Her body wasn’t cooling.
Her heartbeat wasn’t stopping.
The blood that had spilled onto his hands, warm, wet,began to darken, thickening unnaturally.
Her wound, deep and fatal, was closing.
His breath hitched.
“No,” he whispered. His grip on her body tightened, pressing her against him as if he could hold
onto this moment, stop it from slipping through his fingers.
She was supposed to stay this way.
Preserved. Perfect. His.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Clouded. Unfocused. Distant.
And then, she breathed.
A sharp inhale, too loud in the silence.
She shouldn’t have been able to.
Ethan’s stomach twisted. He had done everything right.
Everything.
So why was she still here?
The cult leader’s voice came again.
"You cannot kill what has already been claimed."
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out the sound of the wind.
Lillian’s fingers clenched weakly at his coat.
And then, her lips moved.
Two words.
Soft.
Weak.
"Help me."
Ethan’s world shattered.
Something Else Is Watching
The ground pulsed beneath them.
Not an earthquake.
Not the tremors of shifting stone.
Something deeper.
Something alive.
Ethan lifted his gaze toward the lake.
And froze.
The water had begun to ripple outward from the center,slow at first, then faster, as though something beneath its surface had finally stirred.
Then,a voice.
"She does not belong to you."
It didn’t come from the cult.
It didn’t come from the trees.
It came from the lake.
Ethan’s arms tightened around Lillian.
“No,” he snarled, his pulse hammering against his ribs, his breath coming sharp, rage rising in his
throat like bile. “She was always mine.”
The lake disagreed.
The rippling turned violent.
The cult began whispering again, a slow, rhythmic chant.
Ethan barely heard them.
Lillian shuddered in his arms, her breath uneven. Her body was both alive and not.
And Ethan realized,
She was between worlds.
Not dead.
Not alive.
Suspended.
Something had answered when he took her life, but it was not the silence of death.
It was something that wanted her for itself.
And Ethan, Ethan was going to burn the world before he let it take her.
The shadows in the lake surged.
Something was coming.
And Ethan was ready to tear it apart.
Famous U.S. Law Authors, Their Landmark Books, and How to Get Free Law Books from International Law Libraries
This guide profiles key U.S. law authors, links to their most influential books, explains where those books are taught (typical law courses), and gives a practical, legal, step-by-step workflow to access free copies of law books and scholarship from international digital libraries, institutional repositories and open platforms.
Why these authors matter
Legal scholarship shapes doctrine, judges’ reasoning, classroom teaching and public debate. Below we summarise six influential U.S. law authors whose books appear in law school syllabi, treatises and public discussion. For each author we give a short profile, key books, course relevance and links to author pages and book entries so you can read or cite them.
Where these books are taught (typical courses)
- Jurisprudence / Legal Philosophy — Dworkin, Nussbaum, sometimes Posner’s Law & Literature pieces.
- Constitutional Law — Tribe’s treatise, Dworkin’s constitutional theory texts; casebooks often cite them.
- Administrative & Regulatory Law — Sunstein’s regulatory work and Nudge for policy classes.
- Law & Economics — Posner’s Economic Analysis and law & economics casebooks.
- Human Rights / International Law — Nussbaum’s capability approach texts in human rights curricula.
Author profiles & where to follow their work
Official university faculty pages and publisher pages are the best single nodes to follow. Examples:
- Cass Sunstein — Harvard Kennedy School / Harvard Law School profile. 11
- Richard Posner — University of Chicago Law School profile and publications list. 12
- Laurence Tribe — Harvard Law School faculty page. 13
- Martha Nussbaum — Harvard University Press pages and University profiles for her books. 14
How to find (and legally access) free law books and scholarship online
Law books and scholarship are increasingly available through institutional repositories, open archives and library networks. Below is a legal, step-by-step workflow you can follow to find free or library-accessible copies.
Step 1 — Check Open Access Repositories & Preprint Servers
- SSRNSSRN
Step 2 — Use Collaborative Digital Library Hubs
- HathiTrustHathiTrust
Step 3 — Use Free Legal Reference Sites
- Legal Information Institute (LII) — Cornell
Step 4 — Search WorldCat & Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
- Search WorldCat to find physical copies in nearby libraries. If you’re affiliated with a university, request the book through interlibrary loan — most academic libraries participate.
- Public law libraries and national libraries often allow walk-in access or limited borrowing for residents or visitors; check local rules.
Step 5 — Use Publisher & Author Open Chapters
- Publishers sometimes release sample chapters or older editions as open PDF. Use publisher pages (Harvard University Press, Oxford, Cambridge) and author pages. Example: Harvard University Press pages for Martha Nussbaum’s book. 19
- Email the author or their assistant politely requesting a preprint for research — many scholars share chapters for academic use.
Practical tips, legality and caveats
- Always check copyright status before downloading. HathiTrust and Internet Archive show rights statements per item. 20
- Internet Archive’s lending model has faced legal challenges; some content is limited or removed following court rulings. Use official repositories first. 21
- SSRN, institutional repositories and publisher open chapters are the safest routes for current scholarship and working papers. 22
- Interlibrary loan is free for most students and researchers; it is often the best route to access a paywalled or physical book legally. Contact your library’s ILL office for instructions.
Quick checklist: six places to check for a free or library-accessible copy
- SSRN (for working papers and chapters) — ssrn.com. 23
- HathiTrust (digitized books and public domain items) — hathitrust.org. 24
- Internet Archive (scanned books; check copyright warnings) — archive.org. 25
- Cornell LII for statutes & opinions — law.cornell.edu. 26
- WorldCat & Interlibrary Loan via your library — worldcat.org.
- Author/university repository pages — search faculty pages (Harvard, UChicago, Yale etc.) for downloadable PDFs. 27
Final thoughts and good research practice
Start with open, legal resources (SSRN, institutional repositories, publisher open chapters), then use library services (WorldCat / ILL) for hard-to-find titles. When relying on scanned archives, confirm the rights statement and be mindful of recent legal developments that affect digital lending. If you need help locating a particular chapter or textbook, tell me the exact title and edition and I’ll search the best open repositories and library catalogues for you.
Selected sources used in this post: Cass Sunstein faculty page (Harvard) and HLS profile. 28; Richard Posner profile and book references (UChicago). 29; Laurence Tribe (Harvard). 30; Ronald Dworkin PDFs of classic texts. 31; HathiTrust; Internet Archive; SSRN and Legal Information Institute for open access and statutes. 32