Hundreds of intermeshed triangles emanated from Veyja’s hands, then locked with those of her fellow shieldmages to form a glowing wall. The first wave of scalewolves crashed into the barrier. Blood and spittle sprayed into the air. Veyja winced at the impact, but the wall held firm.
Read it now
Fading sunlight tinged the clouds vivid orange and pink as I settled down upon the rock.
To wait.
However long it took.
The blue moon had come again, and I was determined. This time, I would find her. This time, I wouldn’t let her slip away without me.
“Francis, I’m trying to work. Can’t this whole groom thing wait until I’ve finished this project?” Doctor Stein rubbed his forehead, then looked up at Francis, who still stood in front of him, her hands clenched together.
“Oh, please!” Francis raised her lopsided eyebrows and drooped her lower lip.
I bury my fingers in the crumbling dirt. The world around me is a dry, desolate place with the broken earth burning into my bare legs where my pleated skirt does not reach. The sun beats down upon my breastplate. Even my own tears have dried out.
The only liquid in sight is Jayson’s blood.
The squat, knobby she-troll brandished a teapot in one hand and motioned for Idra to sit with the other. “Something bracing, yes?” she rasped.
Idra nodded as she settled onto the spongy toadstool opposite her hostess. With a tip of her gnarled hand, the she-troll filled a china cup with strong, black tea, then offered it up.
The bartender offered a glass of whiskey, but Kronzar turned it down. He didn’t have the coin to pay for a drink, even if he could look at the stuff without memories of flames searing his mind. Flames, and the screams of one he was supposed to protect.
“So… if you don’t drink, what’re you doing in a bar?”
I clenched the fistful of grass while trying to ignore how my hands now appeared. My feet ached as I trudged up the desolate path, but a worse anguish lodged in my heart, threatening to overflow.
A few places in the kingdom might offer me refuge, yet here I was, heading to the one place I’d never be welcome.
Michelle sighed as she strolled down the hall for her meeting with her boss, Enoch. Transferring had become too easy. Humanity had lost its will to fight, making her job a cakewalk.
Arriving at Enoch’s office, she was surprised to see the supervisor from the Persistence department…
I peer through the scope of my crossbow. From my vantage point in the rafters, I’m as good as invisible to the royal family below. As if being a male peasant doesn’t make me invisible enough already. But all that is about to change.
Read it now
“Ice cream, seriously?”
Andrew exhaled slowly as Lauren started again.
“You’re an adult now. All you do is want to play your guitar or complain about your job or do stupid things like eat ice cream.”
On their way to shop some more, they stood on the street corner, and waited for the light to turn. Traffic was up from usual on a Saturday and the crowd already had his wife on edge.
When the stranger reached fifteen paces, Xildar called, “Friend or foe?”
“Neither.” The voice peaked like an unripened boy. A fabric hat framed most of his face—a face about eighteen years in the making. His teeth were exceptionally white. His leather and linen clothing might’ve been made by the seamstress who’d fashioned Xildar’s attire.
“It’ll be worth it. You’ll see.”
My brother, the perpetual optimist. “You’re not the one puking over the side. Thanks to me, even the dragon probably wants this flight to be over.”
Tad’s chuckle was soft, but I could still hear it over the constant rush of air and the beat of the massive wings.
Recent Comments