Lord of Thundertown by O.F. Cieri

Author:O.F. Cieri [Cieri, O.F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBT, fantasy, monsters, magic, New York, contemporary, urban fantasy
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2019-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Sam split her day between looking for work and looking for leads and came out of a bar on Avenue A after looking and failing for some of both as three columns of smoke twisted up to the sky.

The cloud spread and collapsed above the rooftops, leaving a powdery smell in the air. Curious, she followed it, weaving through buildings, until she could taste the fine white ash on her tongue. The last rays of watery orange sunset reflected off the fog, twisting in the wind like a scarf. Coming up D on 9th, she saw red emergency lights flickering. The orange sunlight was gone, replaced by lamplight that stood out stark and distant. A crowd blocked the street, leaning over the police barricades to see better, selfie sticks jutted above. The cops leaned their hips on the joints of the barricades to watch the action.

Sam turned sideways and winnowed shoulder-first through the crowd to reach the front. The view from the barricade was guarded by dedicated onlookers, holding the barricade with both fists. Before them were three buildings with their facades torn off and spread on the sidewalk, exposing the apartments like a dollhouse. The ambulances were parked three-deep on the street, two wheels each on the sidewalk.

The Card House was down the street, and she cut around the block to check on it. The building looked undamaged from the outside, but she rung a few doorbells to be sure. No one answered their intercom, which didn’t worry her immediately since there was always something broken, but when ten minutes passed and no one poked their head out the window, she pounded on the door with the flat of her fist.

The door opened a crack and Bonnie stuck her nose out. Her expression changed from furious to surprised. “Sa-MAN-tha! What are you doing here?”

“I saw what happened,” she said. Through the door, she saw why no one answered their buzzer; everyone in the house was on the ground floor, some on chairs, others with their legs hung through the banisters, more pressed against the wall. “Came to make sure everyone was OK— what’s going on?”

“We’re having a meeting,” Bonnie said, bringing Sam inside. “We’re all fine— nobody died. Everybody’s been calling, but we’re all fine, it was all the way down there. The only thing we got to worry about is all this dust in the air.”

Sam gave a nod to Erica, Paul, and Tom, and the people in the house she hadn’t met. A few nodded back, but many held her stare.

A tall, skinny black kid dressed in clothes of clashing patterns spoke up. “We’re talking about what we’re going to do with the big hole in the basement.”

“The what?”

Bonnie nodded at the stairs. “Go look, if you want. We need to finish up.”

“We can’t keep arguing again and again when we all know the clear answer is to call the Bureau,” Erica said impatiently, gathering her skirt as she stood up.

“We are not calling the Bureau,” Bonnie said.

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