Preview – SJ Shoemaker

Detective walking away from frame down an empty street

Short Story January 22, 2024 0

Lying Low (Working Title) – Chapter 1

Word of advice: If the gods ever decide to knock on your door, make sure you’re not home.

I dragged myself back into the cramped office after the worst case in recent memory. File folders and books were strewn wherever they had been the night before. No time to tidy after a three-day research session into ancient magic and enchanted artifacts. I was paid to bring a woman home and that’s exactly what I did. As consequence, pain in every movement and no empty chairs to throw myself into.

Inner Monologue (Unfinished)

I open my eyes. That’s the first thing I remember. Questions of who and what and where I am take turns filling my mind… but the answers don’t come. What was I before? Before the moment I opened my eyes? I must have been something, been someone. I must have existed before this… I must have… because I understand! I understand enough to know what these questions mean… enough to know I was not just asleep…

Prologue – Long Live the Kings (Working Title)

Sunrays struggled ineffectually to journey over the horizon and through prevailing grey clouds. It had been a dark night and promised to be an even darker day. Gerlach shifted in his saddle. His joints were made stiff by the long journey. As much as he hated to admit the reality, his age was beginning to make itself known in more visible ways each day. Retirement would approach one day, sooner than later. Gerlach rolled his shoulders, one after the other. For this battle, he would be spry and quick to react. For this battle, he would be in his prime once more. If everything went well, this could be the last battle Rheicona would ever see.