"Rain hammers the street so hard it blurs the neon sign above The Raven's Nest—green, flickering, a raven with a cracked beak."
1
"Quinn has been watching for the past hour—staked out in a car around the corner, rain soaking her coat, her bladder screaming."
2
"Their boss, Silas, is a ghost with a voice like gravel; the Clique moves like smoke, but Jax?"
3
"The bar’s walls are crammed with old maps—some with pins in red, *too* specific—and black-and-white photos: a young woman in a corset, a dockworker with a missing finger, a shadowy figure in a gasmask."
4
"She blinks. The memory burns, but Jax is moving now—sliding off his stool, paying the bartender with a crumpled bill, and heading for the door."
5
"Quinn moves before she thinks. She pushes off the wall, rain slapping her face, and bursts into the bar. The music (a scratchy blues record) cuts. Jax’s hand hovers over the doorknob. She can smell his cologne—sandalwood and iron—before he turns. Their eyes lock. For a second, he’s *smiling*. Then he’s gone, the door slamming behind him, and the bar goes still."
6
"The alley is a tunnel of shadows, rain pouring off fire escapes. Jax is ten steps ahead, his boots splashing through a puddle. He’s faster than he looks—bending low, ducking under a chain-link fence, cutting through a service door that sticks. Quinn lunges for it, her shoulder slamming into the wood until it creaks open."
7
"She chases through a loading dock, past crates labeled *FRESH SEAFOOD* (stinking of rot), into a dark parking lot. The streets here are narrower, lined with brick townhouses, their windows shuttered against the rain. Jax turns onto a side street, and Quinn sprints, her coat flapping, her breath ragged. The city is asleep—only a drunkard by a lamppost, snoring, and a stray cat, darting across the road."
8
"“C’mon, you son of a bitch!” Quinn growls. Morris would be laughing at her—*“Harlow, you’re gonna mess up your hair,”* he’d say, but he’d be right behind her, shotgun in hand."
9
"They hit Camden High Street, the rain thinning for a second, then thickening again. Jax stops short outside a rusted iron gate—*“Underground Car Park, No Trespassing”—*and pulls a bone from his pocket. It’s white, porous, carved with spirals, and when he presses it to the gate, a section of iron *melts*, dripping like wax, revealing a black hole—staircase, leading down."
10
"Quinn skids to a stop, skidding on a wet patch of asphalt. Her chest heaves. The gate is gone. Below, she can hear voices—high, warbling, *not* human."
11
"“Veil Market,” she mutters. She’d researched it, of course—black market for the supernatural, hidden in abandoned Tube stations, moves every full moon. The Clique must be trading with the fae, with ghosts, with whatever the hell Morris ran into that night."
12
"Quinn freezes. The noise comes again, a low *groan*, like metal being bent. The brick walls of the alley creak. A window shatters two doors down. She looks up—gray sky, no lightning. Then Jax is gone."
13
"“Shit,” she says. She sprints to the gate, her hand on the iron. It’s *warm*, like it’s been sitting in the sun. The spiral carvings glow faintly, pulsing. She remembers the bone token—how they’re made from the remains of supernatural beings, porous enough to let magic through, but solid enough to hold. Jax used one to open the gate."
14
"Can she make one? She checks her pockets—keys, a pen, a crumpled warrant. No bone."
15
"She turns. A man stands at the end of the alley, rain soaking his dark curls, a medical bag slung over his shoulder. It’s Tomás Herrera. She’s met him once, six months ago, when he’d been brought in for questioning—treated a Clique member’s bullet wound in the back room of the Nest, then vanished before the DCI could ask questions. His olive skin glows in the streetlight, his left forearm scar (a sharp, white line) visible through his wet flannel."
16
"Another shake—this time, the gate *explodes*, shattering into sparks. Jax’s voice echoes from below, a high, panicked shriek."
17
"The vendors, the guards—they see you as meat if you’re not marked.”"
18
"“Wait.” Tomás steps forward, his hand brushing hers. His skin is cool, damp. “Take this.” He pulls a small bone from his medical bag—thinner than Jax’s, but still smooth, carved with a simple cross. “Saint Christopher."
19
"The ground splits wider. A gust of wind, cold as a grave, blows through the alley, carrying the sound of laughter—*not* human."
20
"Below, the air is thick with the smell of jasmine and smoke—something sweet, something toxic. The walls of the Tube station are covered in moss, in ivy, in *scrawls*—ink that glows red, writing in a language Quinn doesn’t recognize. There are no lights, but the ceiling is dotted with *stars*—pale, fake, rotating slowly."
21
"People move around them: a woman with scale-covered arms, buying a vial of glowing liquid; a man with a goat’s head, herding a cage of black birds; a group of cloaked figures, their faces hidden, chanting in a low, guttural tone. Tomás takes her arm, steering her into a side alley, away from the crowd."
22
"The north one’s the food market—steer clear of the pork vendors."
23
"The east is the spirit exchange—you don’t want to trade with ghosts."
24
"She follows Tomás into the east tunnel. The walls drip with a clear, sticky fluid—*fey sap*, she thinks, from Tomás’s earlier warning. The chanting grows louder, and then she sees him: Jax, tied to a stake, his coat bloodied, a fae creature with a serpent’s body and a bird’s head standing over him, its talons dripping."
25
"The creature turns. Its eyes are black, without pupils. It hisses, and the air *cracks*—in front of Quinn, a fissure opens, revealing darkness beyond."
26
"Quinn draws her gun—she’d stashed it in her coat, under her uniform—and fires. The bullet hits its chest, but it doesn’t flinch. It hisses again, faster, and the fissure grows."
27
"Silas made a deal—he gave them the *key*—the token from your partner’s case—”"
28
"A blade slices through the air, missing Tomás by inches. He swerves, and they duck into a side room—small, with a door that leads to a staircase."
29
"Quinn doesn’t wait. She runs up the stairs, Tomás right behind her. The room at the top is a vault, made of steel, with a door that matches the bone tokens—spirals, glowing faintly. She pulls the bone from her pocket, presses it to the door. It fits perfectly, and the door *swallows* it, crumbling into ash."
30
"Inside, the vault is lined with shelves, each holding a token—some carved, some simple, some shaped like eyes, like hearts, like teeth. Quinn spots Morris’s token immediately: a small, white bone, etched with the initials *D.S.M*."
31
"Take the token—destroy it—”"
32
"Light spills into the vault—pale, blue, *cold*. The creature freezes, its head tilting. It opens its mouth, and something *sings*—a sound that vibrates in Quinn’s bones, in her brain, in her *soul*."
33
"They emerge onto the street, the rain pouring down again, drenching them. The sky is lightening—dawn is coming."
34
"Quinn nods. She looks at the bone in her hand—Morris’s token, now black, cracked. She drops it, and it shatters, turning to dust."
35
"She stands, her hand on her gun, and starts walking. The world is still. But she knows—*knows*—that the Clique is still out there, the Veil is still thin, and the dark is always watching."
Target: ≤6% sentences with technical-jargon patterns
analyzedSentences
52
technicalSentenceCount
13
matches
0
"She blinks. The memory burns, but Jax is moving now—sliding off his stool, paying the bartender with a crumpled bill, and heading for the door."
1
"The alley is a tunnel of shadows, rain pouring off fire escapes. Jax is ten steps ahead, his boots splashing through a puddle. He’s faster than he looks—bending…"
2
"She chases through a loading dock, past crates labeled *FRESH SEAFOOD* (stinking of rot), into a dark parking lot. The streets here are narrower, lined with bri…"
3
"And the gate is *alive*. The melted section is thickening, oozing, as if the ground itself is closing the hole."
4
"The ground shakes again, harder. A crack splits the pavement, snaking toward her feet. She steps back, then forward, testing the crack. It’s only a hairwidth, b…"
5
"Below, the air is thick with the smell of jasmine and smoke—something sweet, something toxic. The walls of the Tube station are covered in moss, in ivy, in *scr…"
6
"People move around them: a woman with scale-covered arms, buying a vial of glowing liquid; a man with a goat’s head, herding a cage of black birds; a group of c…"
7
"She follows Tomás into the east tunnel. The walls drip with a clear, sticky fluid—*fey sap*, she thinks, from Tomás’s earlier warning. The chanting grows louder…"
8
"The creature roars, and the ground *explodes*. Tomás grabs Quinn’s arm, dragging her toward the west tunnel. The crowd scatters, screams mixing with the hissing…"
9
"Quinn doesn’t wait. She runs up the stairs, Tomás right behind her. The room at the top is a vault, made of steel, with a door that matches the bone tokens—spir…"
10
"The creature strikes, its talons slashing Jax’s throat. He crumples, blood bubbling from his mouth."
11
"The creature’s talons pierce her shoulder. She screams, but the pain is distant. She looks down at Morris’s token, now lying in her hand, glowing brighter than …"
12
"Light spills into the vault—pale, blue, *cold*. The creature freezes, its head tilting. It opens its mouth, and something *sings*—a sound that vibrates in Quinn…"