Excerpt: Valentine Town

Aida was looking at up one balcony with a birdcage on it, not paying attention to the loose cobblestones by the alleyway. Her boot hit one of the raised cobblestones, and she stumbled forward. She managed to throw out a hand and catch herself on the wall, but her basket lurched forward and threw her books out.
One landed a few feet away, but the other skidded into the deep shadows of the alley. She righted herself and picked up the book closest to her, glad that the bread hadn’t fallen out. She then peered into the shadows, trying to locate the outline of her other book. Aida didn’t want to just go in and risk tripping again. Maybe if she just felt around with her foot…
But before she could take another step forward, her book emerged from the shadows, gripped by thin, dirty hands that were supported by even thinner wrists. Aida took a step back, her breath catching in her chest.
Those hands… They looked like bones.