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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Teaser Tuesday - Mystic Taxi

Good news! Mystic Taxi made it to the fourth round of Karin Tabke's First Line Contest. Woo hoo!

Now for another teaser from Mystic Taxi, my steampunk urban fantasy in progress.


Henry knocked and the flashing stopped. Well, that was a good sign. He waited a full minute before turning the knob and pushing his way slowly inside. He'd barely stepped across the threshold when a fireball erupted from across the room and hurled straight for him.

It exploded in a wall of flame that covered Henry from head to toe. The heat felt good after the frigid conditions outside. Hellspawn were impervious to fire.

"Hey, that was nice. Can I have another?"

The oven sat in silent darkness, pouting.

"Look, buster, you gotta get a grip. I understand, okay? You need a new master, someone to tell you what to do. And I'll find you one."

Wanda cleared her throat.

"Or maybe it would be better if you return home for a while. See the old neighborhood in Hell. Catch up with the family?"

The oven shook and began to glow. Henry took that as a no.

"You want to go free, right?" he asked the demon.

The oven's door flapped open and shut. Henry took that as a yes. From its behavior, he could tell this demon was a Snit, which is slightly more aggressive and not as playful as an Imp.

"I have something to help calm your nerves." He stalked up to the oven, removed the cork tops on both vials, and dribbled their contents over the oven.

It began to glow again, and not in a happy way. Smoke puffed out of its burner plates.

5 comments:

Creative A said...

Lol! Loved this excerpt. I remember that you mentioned the stove in a previous excerpt, so it's fun seeing it in action.

Great writing, as always.
-CA

Suzanne McLeod said...

Fourth Round! Whoo Hoo! Fingers crossed :)

Loved the excerpt :)

Karen Duvall said...

Thanks so much, ladies!

Barbara Martin said...

This is getting a little more interesting. Good stuff!

Sara Raasch said...

A possessed oven? Lol, sweet!