Read The Watchmage of Old New York (The Watchmage Chronicles Book 1) Online
Authors: C.A. Sanders
The Watchmage of Old New York (The Watchmage Chronicles Book 1) (26 page)
The Fiddler
This city is too cold, too smoky, and far too loud. I do not like it, but I shall not suffer it for long. My road is nearly at its end and retribution shall come soon.
I stepped off of the ship and followed the filthy crowd. I hoped to lose myself in the throng, but it was a fool’s errand. Wherever I go, the people whisper and give me berth. Somehow they know.
I found a dilapidated inn overlooking this…Castle Garden…that they made me pass through. From here, I will begin my charity. Fever, fire, and fear, these are the gifts I bring.
Stepping inside the inn, I saw the drawn, inebriated faces of sailors and those that serve them. The old keeper sat behind the bar under his thick, white mustache and fading mortality.
“Whad ya want?” The dying man said, for they were all dying.
“A room in your charming establishment, that I might while away the days until my ship arrives.”
He looked at me, and took a step back. “Ya sure yer not wantin’ a nicer place? Astor House’s a fine place to lay yer head. Mebbe you can git somethin’ more suited to you.”
“No.”
He swallowed hard. “I see. What’s yer name, sir?”
I told him.
“That’s a qu—no disrespect, sir. I’ll show ya to yer room.”
“No need. I already know the way.”
The dying man began to protest, but I stole the thought from his mind and swallowed it. It tasted like whisky, sweat, and despair.
My new room was small, but that would matter little. I looked out the window at the new steamships. They glided up the wide river like wooden sharks. The view was perfect, exactly what I wanted.
Now I must wait, but waiting is something that I do very well.
C.A. Sanders is an author, editor, journalist, and teacher. His debut novel,
Song of Simon
, was released in 2013 by Damnation Books.
The Watchmage of Old New York
is his second novel, and the first in an open-ended series. He has had several short stories and hundreds of articles published in both print and internet magazines.
C.A has a BA in Creative Writing from SUNY New Paltz and an MA from The City College of New York. After graduating in '00, C.A. took on a variety of unique, interesting, and occasionally terrible jobs, in order to gain experience for his writing. C.A. has worked as a tarot reader, a writer/actor in a dinner theater, an ambush salesman, a non-profit solicitor, a Human Resources pencil pusher, a guitar instructor, a limo driver, and a Special Education teacher, to name a few.
A lifelong New Yorker, C.A. lives in the suburbs of NYC with a turtle, a life-long friend that he has had since he was six years old. He is patiently waiting for MetroNorth service in his area.
C.A. is convinced that this is the year that the Jets win the Super Bowl...he says this every year.
You can follow C.A. online:
His website (with additional
Watchmage
and
Song of Simon
material)
www.casanders.net