Uncle Shom Part 1 __top__ 90%

A washed-up, sarcastic former fixer is forced out of his messy retirement when a desperate young relative shows up with a package that everyone in the underworld wants.

On a low wooden table sat a clay bowl. Inside the bowl, something smoldered—not with fire, but with a cold, blue smoke that drifted upward in curls, defying gravity. The smoke formed shapes. Faces. Faces without bodies. Faces that opened mouths without sound. Uncle Shom Part 1

“Well, boy,” he said, kneeling to my eye level. “Do you believe in things that cannot be explained?” A washed-up, sarcastic former fixer is forced out

“What if he wakes up?” Aisha whispered, her voice trembling. The smoke formed shapes

Shom takes one sniff.

"What is it?" I asked, running my hand over the smooth, dark wood. It felt warm, vibrating slightly beneath my palm.