There was only a modest breeze in the salty air, the Arrow of St. Karesh swaying gently in its moorings as Vennari stood alone on its deck, sullenly watching the night knit the sea to the sky until the two were seamless. There would be no moon tonight, nor stars to judge her deeds. Only a… Continue reading One Way or Another
Category: Fantasy
Long Enough
He had a long dagger for a forearm. You don't need to reread that. I'll repeat it so you know there was no mistake. He had a long dagger for a forearm. These were the kind of folks I was dealing with. I couldn't tell at first, because he wore a leather coat with long… Continue reading Long Enough
No Safe Haven
"What was that thing?" Becca asked, her breathlessness preventing the sobs she knew were coming. "Who cares? We need to get out of here, now." Grant pulled at her elbow and before she knew it her legs were flying beneath her as she swatted away brambles and damp leafy branches in the sickly light of… Continue reading No Safe Haven
Phantasma Non Grata
He introduced himself as Dade, but Margaret didn't really believe that was his name. She couldn't put her finger on what it was—he was polite, soft-spoken, and handsome in a boyish way—but she didn't trust him in the least, and now she rather wanted to return to the picnic. She never should have wondered off.… Continue reading Phantasma Non Grata
Mapmaker
Tenley looked through her spyglass at the edge of the world. The ocean spilled over in a waterfall that stretched from north to south as far as her strained eyes could see. The sails were already down, but pretty soon they'd have to paddle their great ship against the current to keep from going over… Continue reading Mapmaker
Silent Night
She was mute. Her vocal chords didn't develop right. If she'd been born 1,000 years earlier or 1,000 years later it would have been better, but she had no choice in the matter. Her parents thought she was a witch, or cursed by a witch—they were inconsistent on this point—and they left her at the… Continue reading Silent Night
Allegiance to the Bedlam
Baroness Vilaya emerged from the night like a horrible memory, her cape rising like the cursed wings of a moth in the electric rain. A butterfly mad with bloodlust. Front lit by the Fire Moon as she was, she looked aflame, as if she'd wrapped herself in a cloak of embers. I was drawn to… Continue reading Allegiance to the Bedlam
Darkly Comes the Terminus
He was still out there—the Waiting Man—with his heavy stare; as heavy as a burden; as heavy as the hole where his soul should be, and all the quiet pretty things he's tried to fill it with. He's waiting, as he does so well. Waiting for me. But I won't open the door. Between the… Continue reading Darkly Comes the Terminus
The Crimson Man
The Crimson Man lives in a cave in the birchwood grove where the sun is always setting and the season is always autumn. He has crimson eyes that can see for miles and a crimson cloak that warms him as well as any fire. When hunger pulls at his stomach with its long-boned fingers he… Continue reading The Crimson Man
In Sight of the Spirits
Mukaru reached Spirit Palace late, just as the sky went golden at the hour of sundown. He hopped silently from his uleox—one of the few animals native to this planet, something akin to a camel-elephant hybrid—and let it wander down to a nearby spring to rehydrate while he got his bearings. The spirits would soon… Continue reading In Sight of the Spirits
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