Novel 14th Street Novels & Stories

I Let’s now move to Suchow, the strong-city situated in the southeastern edge of the great plain of Garma. Beyond the Emperor's Gate, which leads into the quarter of the rich and aristocratic, the region of comfortable living and “red dust,” stretched the “Ten Mile Street.” In a narrow bottleneck of that street, close by an old temple familiarly known as the “Temple of the Gourd,” lived the respected citizen Shih Ying with his good and virtuous wife, nee Feng.

Together, we stepped onto the desolate streets, our footsteps swallowed by the decaying asphalt beneath us. Hell's Gaze, a name that sent shivers down the spines of average citizens, was an embodiment of destitution and despair. The houses stood like skeletal remains, their crumbling facades a reflection of the souls that inhabited them. Stray dogs scavenged for morsels among the debris that littered the streets, their eyes gleaming with a hunger that mirrored the desperation of the community.

To cool down my head, walking with no destination in mind, I ended up in Summer street, a popular area with new establishments built in the city. It’s just a ten minute walk from 14th Street. This is the first time I’ve been here for a walk and I am not familiar with this area. Maybe coming here to have a breather is a good change of pace.

But I didn’t build an empire by giving in to impulses. His file sat open on my desk, pulled from the dark corners of my network. Micah Reed, twenty-six, freelance hacker, no criminal record but a trail of debts. Unpaid hospital bills for his mother. A sister in college. He was good. Too good to be working for scum like Rico. And too reckless to realize he had stepped into my world. The shipping manifest he hacked was Sophia’s location. My blood. If the cartel had reached her first, I would have burned their world to ash.

PROLOGUE – EXTENDED Title: What the Fire Forgot Book Two: Throne of Fire & Favors: Loyalty Is a Loaded Gun Time: 4 Months After Naomi Raines' Death Location: Valeburn City, Southside Block, Navarro-District Border Weather: Overcast with the smell of distant smoke and oil; a light wind rustles charred flyers across blood-washed pavement Soundscape: Buzzing streetlamps, the soft clink of bottles, low whimpers from alley shadows, and sirens like lullabies for broken cities