I heard him thank me, but I had already escaped into the crowd.
When the clock struck three, we settled in for our meal. We needed three long tables in the ballroom to accommodate all of my guests. Hendricks convinced me to invite Molly Hyde’s younger sister Leenie. I couldn’t refuse the boy, not after all that happened and all that she’d seen. She sat next to Hendricks, who fiddled with his collar and blushed at every word she said.
It was a fantastic meal, with pumpkin soup and rich venison stew, puddings of all flavors, turkey, ham, and greens. Wine and spirits flowed, and the people laughed as they ate.
Halfway through the dinner, I stood and tapped my fork against my empty wineglass. The note sang through the hall and quieted my guests.
“I am pleased that you joined us to give thanks for all that we have. Our city lives and thrives, no small part to our Dweller society. Thank you. I hope to have many more Thanksgivings with you at my table.”
Some affirmed my words loudly, some less so, but not one refrained from drinking. I hoped that someone would stand and raise a toast to me, but no one did. I suppose that it was too much to ask for.
Authority will never be adored, so I must draw my comfort from their joy. As well as this Madeira, as fine a vintage as I’ve ever tasted.
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
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigASanders
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casandersauthor
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Epilogue
About the Author
The Watchmage of Old New York (The Watchmage Chronicles Book 1) Page 23
