Havok Publishing

Tag - mythical creatures

Worthy of Honor

Save my son.
The plea echoed in Marek’s head, as dark and haunting as the forest through which he stumbled. His breathing labored—as did that of the unconscious child cradled in his arms.
“Come on, David, stay with me,” he begged.
Something rustled in the bushes ahead. Marek halted and squinted into

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Ghost of the Badlands

Theodore Roosevelt clicked the hammers back on his double-barreled shotgun. The mustache atop his upper lip crinkled in a defiant sneer. “Steady, Bill. The hunt’s underway, and we’re the hunted.”
A low moan echoed amongst the ominous hilltops, climbing into an ear-wrenching wail that rattled my bones. I lifted my rifle and

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The Mystery of the Sphinx

Jane poked at the arrangement of boulders that formed an archway in the middle of the room.
“This is the portal?” She lifted her glasses and peered at one of the boulders. “It doesn’t seem like it should stay upright, and yet it appears solid.”
“Don’t try to understand Xaether magic,”

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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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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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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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The Great Canadian House Hippo Conspiracy

I never cared much for Bigfoot as a kid, even though I live in his backyard. Have you seen the crazies who hunt him? No thanks.
But I was concerned with the Canadian legend of a three-inch-tall gray creature that built nests out of dryer lint. Something people like to think doesn’t exist in

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Unwanted Blessings

Outside the glass walls of my office, people bustled purposefully about the main floor of the Magical Persons Agency. I, however, sat behind my desk ready to hit my head against one of said walls.
Someone knocked on my door, then rattled the handle. I looked up just as Agent Natalia phased through the

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The Dream Eater

“Baku-san, come eat my dreams.” Woozy with exhaustion, I laid my head back on the clean white pillow to wait. But not to sleep. I could never sleep until the mission was over.
Outside the window of the tiny hotel room, a neon sign flickered in the endless city lights of Tokyo.

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Return the Human

“Another human got in.”
Clio yawned and preened one long coppery feather. Annoying humans. “Another? Which portal this time?”
“That’s the problem.” The minotaur shifted his hooves in the sand of the desert zone. “We don’t know how she got in.”
“You’re too soft, Terminus. You should block every portal. How are

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The Unfulfilled Quest

Katrina stood poised at the edge of the cave, her breath held behind clenched teeth. Her sword was raised as she waited for the sandworm to smell its prey. Breathe in… Quietness burned in her ears. Breathe out… Nothing stirred from the depths. Katrina couldn’t move. Her eyes vibrated from staring into

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