Havok Publishing

Fantasy

Blackbeard’s Wizard

“He serves the devil, you know.”
Clay, the child they had captured three days prior, shifted on the bench as Captain Thomas Kalapser stared him down. “I know.” A slight breeze entered the open window of the cabin, catching the corners of the maps strewn upon the table behind him.
“Then why?”

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Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, and Steve

Steve leaned against the wall of the elevator and checked his watch. Just a few minutes after 2 a.m. A weird time to be alone with Genghis Khan and Cleopatra, but as a late-night standup comic, he’d seen stranger things. Maybe the situation would provide good material for his next bit. Sure sounded like

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Nessie Sings the Song

Inverness, Scotland 21st April, 2023
My grandfather told me stories of the Loch Ness Monster. Or Nessie as he lovingly called her. How she surfaces in the spring when life is new and the waters are warm. He saw her once, when night’s cloak had descended. Head thrown toward the moon, she gave…

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Dragon, Knight, Princess

Everyone knows the tale of the dragon, knight, and princess.
An evil dragon kidnaps a princess and whisks her away to his lair. A brave knight in shining armor is tasked with saving her from her infernal fate. After an epic battle, the knight slays the dragon and rescues the princess, before riding off

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Dear Kenny, Please Help Me

Dear Kenny,
I know I said I wouldn’t go back, but I had to, all right? I’m alive, obviously, and I know why you told me to stay away. But I couldn’t—so let’s leave it at that and move on.
I think things were a little different for me. When we were…

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A Fistful of Socks

His meticulously planned caper at Footsie Rolls Novelty Sock Emporium was off to a poor start. Crouched behind a sneaker deodorant display, Achilles and two other sock gremlins stared down the aisle to where a pair of guards waved flashlights back and forth.
Achilles smacked Shin-Splint across the back of his head.

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The Defect

“I need to return my golem.”
Uri flicked his gaze over the man glowering at him from the doorway. Beside him stood an umber golem with glowing amber eyes. It waved its fingers.
Recognizing the golem, Uri pursed his lips. The clay figure had been purchased barely a month ago. It had also…

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Operation Cub

The chain link fence surrounding rows of storage units came into view, and my skin crawled. “Everyone in position?”
“We’re ready, Peter.” Agent Natalia’s voice came through my earpiece.
“Good. Let’s finish this,” I growled. With a nod at my partner, Cassandra Chantos, I crossed the remaining distance, walking up to a man

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A Dying Phoenix

Lyric’s quill scratched across his parchment faster than the other mages-in-training, but he was still too slow to keep up with their bestiary professor.
The old man’s robes dragged through phoenix droppings inside the hatchery. He smiled as they reached the nesting trees in the heart of the habitat, where at least a hundred

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Taming the Dragon

I scrambled up the jagged mountainside, the indifferent wind numbing my face. Why don’t dragons prefer tropical islands?
The thought of my bedridden mother and hungry siblings spurred me onward. Just a few gold coins from the dragon’s treasure. Easy in, easy out.
I glanced down at the valley. Our dwindling flock of sheep…

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Pepie

Gently floating to the surface, Pepie’s gaze darted around the crowded shore. It was that time of year again. He smiled as he took in the boisterous throngs decked out in bright t-shirts sporting a cartoon version of his face. A large banner read “Happy Pepie Day!” beneath the picture of a long-necked creature…

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The Mender of Broken Things

Bramble Dinkenspry was very good at fixing things. In fact, her entire family was good at it. But when you’re a brownie, you expect nothing less.
“Bram! It’s time!”
Bramble nearly dropped the stopwatch in her nimble fingers. She’d been listening to the gears as they whispered secrets of the device’s inner workings.

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