SFFS with a difference - Impcatcher covers

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the information here.

Today's snippet is from Impcatcher, which I am aiming to publish in roughly a month's time. Tal, the eponymous impcatcher, is in a cellar, endeavouring to capture an imp which is throwing bottles of vintage wine at him.




 

My current prey chortled again, sounding like a drunken rat with a sore throat, and I heard it scramble up higher. I had a relatively good idea approximately where it was. I hadn’t even managed to get a look at it before the lamp went out. From the sounds it made, I was dealing with a big specimen. Smart, too, but then most imps are. It had flung the first bottle when I was framed in the doorway, with nowhere to dodge. I slid my hand into the left pocket in the tough leather of my breeches. I had a few tricks up my sleeve (metaphorically). The pebble was cool, comforting, an old friend. I flung it across the chamber, pretty much at random to my right, and the tiny missile clattered noisily against glass and stone. Above me, to my left, I heard an intake of breath. I murmured a word so quietly that even I couldn’t hear it... and the pebble burst into vivid, actinic blue flame.

You will have noticed three different versions of the cover on this page. I'd be very grateful for your respective views as to which of the three looks best. Yes, the red cover has the imp in a slightly different pose, just to complicate matters.

Thoughts, views, suggestions and comments are welcome!