Friend of the Damned

Haunted by the events at the Glint Hall Hotel, Owen writes a letter to the one person he knows will understand…

Owen Rosedown is a Runner - a detective for hire - and no stranger to crime and death. Spirits, however, are not something he's so used to. When his cousin, Loretta, asks him to investigate a mourning medium, Owen doesn't hesitate to agree. Certainly, it's an unusual case, but she's family. But when Loretta leaves, and Owen follows the sound of breaking glass to its source, he finds himself trapped in a room with four others - and none of them have his best interests in mind. But it's Miss Theodora Dartmere, the medium herself, who has the most to lose. And when the lights go out, the Damned will claim their feast.

A short story set in the queer gothic fantasy world of Runner Owen, a world of eternal night, with evil vampires, desperate ghosts, wicked nobles and two rivals who would do anything to claim Owen for themselves. This story features a transgender hero, racially diverse characters, multiple queer relationships living and dead, and creeping dread leading to a startling ending. It also involves elements of mild transphobia, body horror, and Victorian-inspired classism.

• Gothic horror in a fantasy Victorian world!
• Trans man protagonist!
• Queer accepting society!
• Diverse characters!
• Written as a letter!
• Ghosts!
• Homoerotic tension! 
• Women's wrongs!
• Dogs...?
• First in the Runner Owen series

30 page file, 6.6k words