Tag: Seed and Trellis

Chapter Three

I didn’t have to ask where Maddie meant to get coffee. It was a given. There was only one place she could plausibly be thinking of.

In any city worth the name, there will be a place that acts as a social venue for the local supernatural community. In most cities of any real size, there will be several, catering to slightly different crowds. The exact form varies widely, but they all have a few qualities in common. They’re usually neutral ground, not particularly affiliated with any major group or faction. They generally have measures in place to enforce that neutrality and prevent fights. They are usually businesses of some kind that allows for easy socialization. Some actually prevent normal people from going there, but even if they don’t, ordinary humans rarely come in and rarely linger when they do. I wasn’t sure if this was because of some subconscious awareness of the magic in the place, or just a more ordinary feeling of wrongness, of a subculture that does not welcome them.…

Chapter Two

Audgrim didn’t say anything until we were back on the road. He was driving slower now, on quieter streets, not so much trying to get somewhere as just driving for something to do while we talked. The equivalent of walking while you’re on the phone. “So,” he said eventually. “Interpretation?”…

Chapter One

I really hate being woken up by phone calls. Not a huge fan of phone calls in general, but I don’t sleep well, and having it interrupted when I did manage to sleep was particularly obnoxious. The fact that this call had woken me out of a fairly nasty nightmare made me resent it less, but did not make me sound any happier when I answered.…