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Excerpt from "Lily's Pocket"

...an urban fantasy novel in progress.

The evening was cold and the small draft from my window was uninvited. I could smell Lily’s scent but I did not see her. I was worried that she disappeared again until I saw a small cloud of cigarette smoke drift past my window. I walked toward it and opened the cracked window wider. Lily was sitting on my porch, smoking her Black Stones cigarette. I decided to join her, even though the cold made the tips of my toes tingle. She barely turned her head to look at me, but she smiled and that was all the assurance that I needed. She changed her clothes. She was no longer wearing the purple and gold dress. Instead, a ripped pair of jeans hugged her slim legs and a black tunic barely stayed up on her shoulders. Her skin glistened in the moonlight. I was entranced again and before I could catch myself staring at her, she returned my gaze. She blew the rest of her cigarette smoke out from the side of her mouth and licked her lips slowly. I could not sit still. I was about to stand, but she held my hand to the floor of the patio and kept me grounded. She was ready to tell me everything I needed to know.