There is nothing more tedious than a Chalean war party. Their banter is unintelligent, their manners are lackluster, and don’t even get me started on the leftover jerky I’ve been forced to eat for nine days in a row now.
Maybe—maybe—if they had let me ride on a horse that didn’t sneeze
“You are aware there will be side effects.”
I nodded but didn’t meet the study coordinator’s eye. I kept my gaze locked on my hands: the warped fingers, fused thumbs, and lines of surgical scars.
Lupus has side effects, too.
“You understand we cannot tell you exactly what those side effects will be.
It was a particularly slow Saturday at March Funeral Home.
Orla had let her eyes drift away from her work to watch the snow falling in thick flakes outside the window. Located on a reclaimed cemetery, the mid-tier establishment had a generous forest plot that allowed for outdoor services—and a picturesque office view.
Andromeda twisted her frizzy hair into a tight bun as her ship, the Ray, whirred beneath her, clicking and buzzing.
“I know.” Andromeda laughed at her ship, her best friend in the whole galaxy. It had taken three years for her to code him with a sentient personality that fit him. “That Nyxellan
“You want me to make you a unicorn.” I tugged at my tie, which was suddenly feeling much too tight.
“Wrong, twice over, Dr. Delany,” said the Premier. “Didn’t you read my message? Earth’s Council doesn’t want a unicorn, the Craldirish do. And they don’t want one; they want a breeding pair
The knock at her workshop door startled the vaether out of Eulalia Clune. She flailed, her arms nearly sending the nebulum condensers on her crafting table crashing into the plasma generator.
If she had her way, whoever invented knocking would be vaporized in the galaxy’s largest imperial starsteam engine and served with starberry tea
Am I content to float alone?
In this vast universe, I’ve only known one other of my kind—my mother—and I only knew her for mere minutes before she vanished without a trace. I searched the entire perimeter of this water-based planet for her to no avail. Did she leave because her
I landed face down in the dirt. Again. I spat dirt and scowled. “Would you stop that?”
Raddick shook his silvery mane. “To ride in the Sky War, young Myron, you must learn to ride.”
I wiped blood from my palm. “But you’re trying to throw me.”
“In a barrage of blaster fire,
It’s not easy being an intergalactic babysitter. While their parents might be working out an intergalactic peace treaty, the kids don’t have the same amity.
I grip Xuj’s shoulder with one hand and Tyler’s shoulder with the other, keeping them from clawing each other’s eyes out. If that were to happen, Xuj would win
“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
“Licenses, please.”
“Sure thing, Warden.” The hunter brushed back her curly red hair and leaned her rifle against a nearby pine. She patted the front of her camouflage vest, searching, turned out her empty pockets, and glanced at her burly partner.
The male hunter stuck up a finger. “Hey, maybe they never gave
The Veil between worlds smells like overripe fruit, a deep purple scent. Cloying. Decaying. Bruised.
The sanitized atmospheres of living worlds lack the depth and complexity of abandoned realms. They never smell like the Veil, suffused with the scintillating aroma of death.
I breathe it deeply.
Invigorating.
Its heavens, ever-clouded. Its ground
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