Havok Publishing

Archive - October 2021

S6 Daily Genre Banner - FF

The Color of Grasshoppers

They’d placed me as a grasshopper.
I hadn’t expected anything grand like a butterfly or firefly, but a grasshopper? They couldn’t even fly straight.
Sounds of festivity faded behind me as I stomped through the encampment, blood boiling and wings buzzing. The sound of festivity faded behind me; the last thing I wanted to do was

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - TH

The Jester

No one on Main Street was laughing. Jester leaned against the fifth-story railing of an apartment building. He shook his head. There they were living perfectly normal, happy lives, and they still found things to scowl about. Well, if they wouldn’t smile on their own, he assumed it was his job to make them scream.

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - WW

Caught Pink Handed

Nibbs lifted his Medula Inc. mug to his thinning mustache and sighed as the tangy notes enveloped him.
Ivy stuck her head around the cubicle wall. “I wouldn’t drink that. Puck’s been messing with the sugar again.”
Nibbs pursed his lips. He’d had it with that imp.
“I just took Madam Medula her

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - TT

The Hardest Words

The clock struck nine and the dog winked out of existence.
George watched, openmouthed, from the breakfast table, the scent of bacon tickling his nostrils. Behind him, Mary hummed to herself over the crackle of the frying pan. He looked around slowly, measuring his movements.
“Mary?”
She turned. Her hazel eyes sparkled with life,

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - MM

A Death Day to Remember

Ever since his first death day—the day he’d seen his parents slaughtered—Vel had possessed a fascination with mortality. As a result of what he’d witnessed, he had two options: either go absolutely bonkers from the atrocities he’d seen that day or view each death as a celebration. Infuse some humor to the occasion,

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Balanced Steps

Avia stuck one end of her staff in the dirt as she pushed off with her feet and swung around. When she landed, she back flipped before cartwheeling to her staff and pulling it from the ground. After a few twirls, she dropped to one knee and spun her staff to land across her

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - FF

A Warrior’s Death

The creature snarled in the darkness, a thunderous sound in the humid, alien forest.
Kosuke pressed his back against the rough bark of the towering tree and drew a slow, deep breath, releasing it softly. The air smelled like wet dirt and pine, moist and dank, along with a vague coppery scent like blood.

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - TH

Cry Wolf

“Wish it was harder to believe you’re dirty, Ed,” the captain muttered, slapping handcuffs in place. “You made it easy for us.”
The case of laundered bills had given him away, but the insult still rankled.
Ed Johnson stewed on it the whole ride to the precinct, was still stewing as they led him

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - WW

Human’s Advocate

“You’ve dealt with tough cases before, Jinkens, but this Homo sapiens crew…” The Councilor rolls all four of his eyes.
“They’re a complicated group,” I admit, “but that’s expected with humans.” Actually, most of what I know about humans is only theoretical from my Universe-ity studies, but I intend to learn as much as

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - TT

More Than Dust

“We’re more than dust,” Auntie Nadya asserted.
Eight-year-old Pevka sniffled and swiped his fist under his nose.
Without dropping her shovel, Auntie pressed her handkerchief into his hand. Then she shoved her spade into the pile of silver stardust beside her, expertly hefting it to determine its weight before tossing the load into

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S6 Daily Genre Banner - MM

Behind the Glass

“Mirror, Mirror, in my hand—”
I cringe as the incantation rings throughout my prison.
“Who’s the fairest in the land?”
Against my will, I’m dragged through mists and shadows to the Glass. On the other side stands my captor, Queen Claudia of Grenvue.
I clench my incorporeal fists, and my stomach roils

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