Cover of King Sorrow

King Sorrow

by Joe Hill


Genre
Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, Thriller
Year
2025
Pages
535
Contents

Dragonedy o’clock

Overview

As the 747 diverts to Narsarsuaq, Horation returns wounded and armed, taking Allie hostage. King Sorrow reappears and destroys the F-16 escorts, throwing the cabin into chaos. A struggle causes a window blowout that sucks Horation into the porthole. Allie invokes her serpent mark to sic Sorrow on him as the jet lands.

Summary

Allie stumbles back into economy through the curtain, past Albert Shook, to Van and Robin as the captain announces an emergency diversion to Narsarsuaq with F-16 escorts. Passengers tense while Van and Allie argue about her risky absence. Raymond and Gregg Pinet ask where the country-sounding man went.

Horation, bleeding from neck and face wounds, returns with a pistol and forces himself into Allie’s row. He sneers at Robin, threatens Van, and presses the gun to Allie’s head to make Van yield the seat. Outside, the escorts pace the 747 as lights from Greenland flicker below.

Horation boasts he will keep Allie and force the jet elsewhere, then demands more about the dragon. Mid-taunt, King Sorrow scythes up from the dark and obliterates one F-16, then flips and destroys the second. The blasts and violent maneuvers throw the cabin into panic; oxygen masks drop after Horation’s first wild shot into the overhead.

Seizing a moment, Raymond Pinet grabs Horation’s gun wrist. Robin repeatedly swings a wine bottle, accidentally clipping Raymond, then thudding Horation’s shoulder, before falling. Van lunges and crashes in the aisle. As the aircraft lines up over a runway, Allie jerks aside; Horation’s second shot shatters her window, causing explosive decompression that rips the pistol and bottle into the night.

Unbelted, Horation is yanked into the porthole and wedged, bones snapping as he’s crushed. Clawing at Allie, he tears open her blouse. Allie presses her serpent tattoo and calls King Sorrow to “eat” him. Something slams the fuselage; metal screams; Horation spasms, then sags across Allie, his upper body grotesquely plugged in the window as the 747 touches down.

Who Appears

  • Allie
    Protagonist targeted by Horation; keeps cool under threat; triggers King Sorrow via serpent tattoo during decompression.
  • Horation
    Wounded antagonist with a pistol; holds Allie hostage; is sucked into a blown window and killed after Allie invokes Sorrow.
  • Van (Donovan McBride)
    Allie’s ally; defies Horation to protect her; attempts to rush him during the cabin chaos.
  • King Sorrow
    Dragon adversary; destroys both F-16 escorts; seemingly answers Allie’s summons to finish Horation.
  • Robin
    Allie’s companion; swings a wine bottle at Horation, accidentally hits Raymond, helps create an opening.
  • Raymond Pinet
    Old soldier; bravely seizes Horation’s gun wrist, enabling the struggle that leads to the window blowout.
  • Captain Vanhoenacker
    Pilot; calmly announces diversion to Narsarsuaq and the F-16 escort during the crisis.
  • Albert Shook
    Passenger Allie bumps into returning to economy; urges her to sit amid the chaos.
  • Gregg Pinet
    Raymond’s son; reacts in alarm as events escalate around their seats.
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