Release date: June 8, 2018
Subgenre: Supernatural crime fiction, Urban fantasy
About The Luck Thieves:
Someone stole Aurelian's luck - and is coming for his life.
Excerpt:
The bullet was gone from Aurelian’s back, but its ghost remained as
pain. He leaned back in the small room’s sole piece of furniture, a
couch that probably dated back to Khrushchev. The movement made him
wince.
The veterinarian they’d bribed into removing the bullet said
Aurelian he was lucky - the low caliber slug had hit muscle instead
of bone, head or heart. Aurelian had to laugh at calling this luck.
It stung more than his usual rolls of the dice. Life as a thief in
post-Soviet St. Petersburg had been hard enough. Then he became
ensnared into violent dances with things that should not be.
Still he could not deny his good fortune in being alive. Even more,
along the way he had met Lyita. In underground lairs lost since
Stalin they had saved the entire city.
Then they had returned to the surface, to find the world very much
the same. He had looked high and low for any of the spoils from the
Hermitage museum theft that had led to the bullet in his back, to
no avail. He remained as poor as ever, and still on the run from
the law.
At least Lyita’s friends gave them a place to stay while
he healed. This cramped room and couch weren’t much, but they were
far warmer than the streets.
Lyita had returned to work herself, and left Aurelian to heal. That
was a week ago. She had been as good and patient with him as any
woman could be under the circumstances. Aurelian would have to find
work too, and soon. It might even have to be hon.
His Lyita…he did like the sound of that.
She was lovely, and
often moody, and smart - maybe smarter than him, although of course
it never did a man good to admit something like that. Yet she
stayed with him. Maybe she wasn’t that smart after all. Not that he
was so bad himself. Sure, he was average height. But he was also
pretty fit, from years of getting in and out of buildings and
situations. Whatever her reasons for liking him, he was glad
of them. It was time to not make her think too hard about the
reasons.
He moved on the couch, wincing more as a result, and
snatched the newspaper he had left on the couch’s armrest. He
looked through the work advertisements again. Maybe there was
something he had missed.
Suddenly there was.
Seeking light construction workers. Skilled or unskilled, pay cash
at end of day. Meet at the docks at 3pm today.
An address
followed, near the Port of St. Petersburg.
The position was perfect for him. How had he missed it?
A chill ran across his back, as if a wind blew across the room. He
looked around nervously. The last time he’d felt something similar,
he’d ended up shot. This lousy little apartment still shouldn’t
have a sudden draft like that.
He wished Lyita were here, so at least he could ask her if spirits
were involved. Those strange skills of hers helped save them both
before.
Aurelian shook his head. Dark magic and a job ad? He did not want
to face his woman with fears that sounded like excuses not to work.
He locked his foreboding away.
Light construction was something he could do. It might require some
sort of kickback to local mafia, but that shouldn’t be too bad for
a man who knew how to handle himself.
Amazon
About James Beach:
James Beach is a writer, photographer and recovering musician. He
was born and raised in New Jersey, and was once told he was a bad
Photoshop superimposition on the East Coast. He successfully
escaped and now lives in San Francisco, a perfect locale for
exploring his emerging super powers.
