by Nina Post
She ordered pizza delivery from the Cockatrice Catering Company. They had the advantage of a delivery agent who could just fly up to the back window and bypass the fire escape.
Tubiel, Zack, and Firiel climbed onto the sofa next to her. Her phone beeped with an incoming text, from Stringfellow’s number.
I’m about to come in through Mr. Black’s office. Don’t flip out.
She pocketed the phone and approached the northwest corner of the floor without a weapon, not even a What’s On Your Mind, With Roger Balbi beach towel. The text didn’t sound like Stringfellow, and he rarely capitalized anything.
She took a chair from one of the general office desks and held it by the back. When the figure appeared, she raised the chair, legs out, and it took her a second to register it was Af, in his human form.
“You’re not a ferret,” she said.
“An astute observation, though I did borrow a ferret’s phone.”
He gave her a warm smile, and she thought of the first time she saw him, when she sat suspended from the roof in a homemade bosun chair outside his window and watched him set up an elaborate background for photographing a roll of paper towels―which in turn made her think of zooming past the same window in a free fall. She definitely preferred the former.
Af stood a few feet from her, wearing dark blue jeans and a navy crewneck shirt, despite the frigid, sleety weather outside.
“How did you come in without using the fire escape? And wait―how did you leave Amenity Tower?”
He came closer. “I had a few of the monsters in the building finish an abandoned tunnel from Pothole City’s prohibition days. It goes right from Amenity Tower to this building. They’ve been working on it for months.”
She took a step toward him, and didn’t care that she wore a gray SSI athletic shirt with the name “Mr. Yellow” written on it in cursive.
“This means you can come here as yourself, without paying a Ferryman or borrowing someone else’s vessel?”
“Exactly,” Af said. He took another step toward her, then another.
“You returned the other vessel?”
“I returned the other vessel.” He grinned. “With a late fee.”
She heard Jay Vanner’s voice in her head: Kelly, you’ve got to be present and open your heart, just like I did when coaching the team to victory in our first NFC Championship.
She reached out to him, unafraid, and kissed him, deeply relieved Gaap caught her before it was too late.
The SPs peeked out from the surrounding offices and waved orienteering flags.
Nina Post is the author of seven novels, including Danger Returns in Pairs, Danger in Cat World, Extra Credit Epidemic, The Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse, The Last Donut Shop of the Apocalypse, One Ghost Per Serving, and The Zaanics Deceit. She lives in Seattle. To stay up-to-date on new releases and get exclusive subscriber-only bonuses, sign up for Nina’s newsletter at http://www.ninapost.com/newsletter/
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Homunculus and the Cat, by Nathan Croft
(https://curiosityquills.com/kindle/homunculus/)
In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial humans) back. Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat. The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened. Also with giant armored battle squids.
Death by Cliché, by Bob Defendi
(https://curiosityquills.com/kindle/cliche/)
To Sartre, Hell was other people. To the game designer, Hell is the game.
When Damico is shot in the head by a loony fan he wakes up in the worst game of all time. Set on their quest in a scene that would make Ed Wood blush, Damico discovers that he is a creative force in this broken place. First a peasant, then a barmaid, then his character’s own father... all come alive. But the central question remains. Can Damico escape, or is he trapped in this nightmare? Forever. It’s a comedy. We swear. Based on a true story.
Rasputin's Supernatural Dating Service, by David D. Hammons
(https://curiosityquills.com/kindle/rasputin/)
Monsters, ghosts, dead, undead, and Frankensteins still unsure if they’re depressed because they’re abominations against existence or if it’s just been forever since they’ve been laid, all can find love with Rasputin’s Supernatural Dating Service! Eli Kowalski has seen his share of freaks as a Certifier for Rasputin’s Supernatural Dating Service. It’s his job to weed out the real monsters from the weirdos with too much black lipstick. While on a routine certification, he comes across the Tablet of Nicaea. A powerful witch and self-proclaimed “Men’s Rights Activist” wants to steal the tablet and use it to kill all supernatural creatures so that “nice guys” like him can have a better chance with women. Eli must unite with the supernatural policing agency, the witch’s ex-girlfriend, and the constantly-naked Rasputin to save supernatural creatures in the name of love. He’ll probably excuse himself from Rasputin’s victory orgy, though.
Book Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
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