Artur sat on the steps outside his shop, idly flicking stones down the empty street. Behind him, the windows of his shop were filled with unsold goods. Shirts, hats, cloaks and clothing of all sorts gathered dust. Around him, the… Continue Reading
The garden was devastated. Two tall, young faeries had been bickering, and it had turned physical: not pushes and punches, but flames and funnel clouds. Only the castle wall had withstood the elemental forces. “This is YOUR fault,” the blue-eyed… Continue Reading
Of the thousands rushing down Riwdin’s streets, I was the only one headed for the city center. I pressed close to shuddering walls and waited for lulls to ease forward. Necessity propelled me; I clung to patience. Dust from shattered… Continue Reading
For Mom and Dad. Thank you for reading to me. A Hundred Easy Lessons, and these have shaped me most. On my fifth birthday, Mom gave me an imagination. It was made up of dusty pages from old books, broadsword… Continue Reading
Cortrea circled the planet in her workshop, comparing the results to the blueprint. A piping voice interrupted her. “Mommy, look what I did!” “Not now, Rhei.” Cortrea frowned, deepening the east sea with a touch of her hand. She shooed… Continue Reading
They moved methodically, sorting, stacking and wrapping the coins into neat little towers guarded by paper. They were a testimony to how diverging paths converged, to how differing means all led to the same end. They were murderers, janitors, store… Continue Reading
One-Eye Jack clutches a dagger; the white highlight at its tip forms a menacing star in the night sky. His fedora has breached the top of his panel, and his solitary irisless eye gazes upward at Darla. Her monotone yellow… Continue Reading
Even though it’s been a long time and I live in California now, I still see him on the news. My kids don’t know that it’s grandpa up there who’s a famous superhero, and I pray to God every day… Continue Reading
My fellow employees kept telling me, “Oh, she’s a real dragon.” I thought that meant bad, like a temper, or nasty. I pictured some hag with pointy spectacles and avoided going up to Accounts Payable so as not to get… Continue Reading
When the tower collapsed beneath me, I crawled from the rubble. Weak, in body and magic. Defeated. Faced with a choice: wallow in regret for letting such a band of misfits defeat me, or strike out toward a new goal.… Continue Reading