Stories
Fiction & Micro-FictionSmoke
He licks his lips in anticipation, ignoring the searing pain of his torn tongue and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. Carefully he reaches forward with both hands and takes hold of the box, gripping the top four corners between his thumbs and forefingers. He...
Blood and Runes
He wastes no time. Already the moonlight has crept across the box, and if he misses this opportunity, it will be weeks before another presents itself. He slips his tongue between his teeth -- and bites down, hard, severing the flesh. He takes the torn tip of his...
Moonlight
It is night now, and moonlight pours through the one open window in the room. The moon outside is full, the light it casts bright and rich. Almost the moonbeam reaches the table. Almost it reaches the box. The moment he has been waiting for has very nearly arrived. He...
The Red Box
The box rests on a small, round table, perfectly centered on its rough surface. The man who purchased it stands across the room, leaning with one shoulder against the wall, staring at the box without really seeing it, lost in contemplation. Before him lies the prize...
Smoke Merchants
He winds his way through the chaos, trying to avoid bumping into anyone. Such a thing is nigh impossible here. But it hardly bothers him. Here, anonymity is paramount. Finally, he reaches a dark corner where two grey men sit. He sits across from them, aware of the...
Bearers
Olivia hits the ground with a sickening crunch, but she barely feels it. Her vision is swimming, her ears ringing, and it takes her a moment to realize she's landed left hip on the pavement, her arms supporting her upper torso. Her jaw throbs with a dull ache, the...
Weeping in the Willows
The child sits at the base of the tree, silently weeping. Her arms are crossed over her upraised knees, her face buried in her arms. Tears fall from her cheeks, staining her pants and the soil on which she sits. A few even land on the tree roots. A gentle touch on her...
My Defiance
It soared out of midnight, all gas envelope and aerosolized Nightmare, propelled by only God knows what. It carried a tiny bomber bay, loaded with a lethality that would have made any nation quake to its roots, if any knew it existed. The airship was black as night...
A Warm Glow
Orthael watched the child raise her weapon to point at him, felt the Judgement shiver slightly in recognition. Through it, the All-Consumer whispered of times long past, when demigods and archangels had come to the lands of men to fight darkness. The triple-flamed...