I stared at the blinking cursor on my screen. Like a tapping fingernail upon a counter top I felt it impatiently waiting for me to use it.

"I can't take this silence. You wanna listen to some music?" Daniel reached for his phone, eager to oblige my whims…

"My tongue may be twisted but I'll tell you no lies

Surely that's plain from the look in my eyes?

You're not making a deal with the Devil himself

Take a look around, inspect every shelf!

There must be something that catches your fancy

Go on, don…

"Orthael!" she spat. "Protector of life, servant of the All-Consumer." Her voice dripped disdain. "Summoned by a local parish, no doubt." Orthael nodded. "To protect us." He nodded again.

"Well, holy man, where were you when my village was destroyed …

"I ask you again," Malika said. "Who be you, and how be it you come to be here, just at this very moment? Be you a final test, holy man or not, to confirm my resolve, to baptize me in the fire of purification against the forces of Ashmar?" She could feel …

Malika brought Morduth up so it pointed at the newcomer. Blue flame flared up bright and tall along the blade's length, spilling over the hilt and onto her hand and wrist. She didn't notice. All her attention was on this man of the cloth standing before h…

The old men say that singing the fidjeri makes one go blind, but what can I do? I am al naham on a pearl ship and it is my job to sing while stronger men risk their lives diving beneath the surface of the coastal waters. The hours are long and the days …

When my eyes grew too heavy, I listened.

My contact with the stone made a tiny scraping sound whenever I shifted weight. Small brush and greenery rustled beyond the confines of the climbing road. Above my head what once felt like a claustrophobic cloud b…

At the broken rail, I stopped.

My head spun, it was difficult to focus. I could not stand. My tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth. Thirst was a constant fire in my chest.

I sat, took off my sandals, crossed my legs, and waited.

From the start, I had…

By the third day, or at least after my third extended rest, I knew something was wrong.

I woke as usual to the appearance of lighter fog, but discarded the idea as wishful thinking. The light never changed here. Slinging my bag, I set my foot upon the ne…

Without confidence, I judged that it was my second day on the stair, and I was running low on food and water. Many of my supplies were sinking somewhere down in the valley mires. I shuddered at the memory of my escape.

When the twilit grey dulled, I rest…

After the Shadowed Valley, at the foothills of Mount Piru, I first saw the Ten Thousand Stares.

That is the literal translation. It is in fact a staircase, older than memory. Starkly simple yet curiously elegant grey slabs of stone, with matching baniste…

Squeak, squeak. The porch swing sways gently back and forth as my legs dangle to and fro. The evening breeze is cool as the sun sets on the ridge above the pasture.

The horses graze peacefully, stopping occasionally to look up in my direction, as if to s…

Malika wiped away the tears from her eyes with the palm of one hand and gracefully rose to her feet, turning to face the newcomer.

"Be you friend or foe?" she asked. "Morduth insists you be friend, but I be not so willing to trust in his judgment just ye…

Grims pulled the corpse of the kid from the post, allowing it to flop to the ground. There was no dignity in death, not that the Korpskys had any dignity in life, either. Once again he heaved the body over his shoulder and made his way among the weeds and…

Sir Alfred Worthington III coughed as he tightened the final screw of his new automaton. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, catching the flecks of blood that came with each rattling bark.

The machine stood approximately 183 centimeters tall and r…

Jimmy set his lunch down on the break table and plopped down in a chair, heaving a huge sigh.

"Man, what a day," he said, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite.

"Uh..." Frank said, looking at Jimmy then glancing quickly away to catch Seth's eye, sha…

But I've no strength, no courage! If I must

Continue living, tread the steeper way,

Climb crises--impulse might o'erride dread; just

An instant could decide things either way.

.

Story is marked as mature

"There is blood in the rain," stated the Deep One, matter-of-factly. He stood at the deck railing, staring out over the city spread out below.

"What do you mean, sire?" Kolster asked, looking up at the imposing figure looming over him.

"There is blood i…

Story is marked as mature

After lasagna and a nice night with my boyfriend, I had a chat with my best friend. He spared me the details of his recent weekend getaway. All of his sentences began with 'I' instead of 'we'. I found that interesting. He'd mention her name, but it was in…

The thing that spoke to me had the face of a dead god but used the voice of my father. I had known to expect this. It was a by-product of the bonding ritual that gave a semblance of life back to this former deity. Not that any of the gods ever truly died,…

The house was silent and dark. It was the dead of night after all. Something woke me, but I knew it wasn't a sound, nor a smell. Something deep inside me told me it was time. Time to arise.

I felt it in my bones just as clearly as I felt the soft carpet…

With diligence and a growling stomach, you returned to where you were, and how you were. I managed to reform what had been misused.

And how I loved you!

You, whom I loved and felt for when you were nothing but a smashed galaxy of unfortunate crinkles, br…

There in my hands is the same material as before...as one piece. A minor miracle of restoration has happened, and I cannot say why. Perhaps there is power, a power of empathy, that has worked its will through me.

Could this happen again?

It happened agai…