The same fury welled up and drove her from her position in a savage punch of force. She flipped neatly in the air and came back down, blade ready, looking up.

She saw him charging, fire in his eyes. She saw the blue scythe materialise in his hands. And …

The night was not kind. While I did not generally consider myself prone to excessive introspection, the thought of the mysterious Miss Fiamma brought back a number of vivid memories and sharp regrets.

It had been a clash of interest, with the small amoun…

He shifted under her, but he was firmly immobilised, and quickly gave up.

"How -"

She smiled widely, savouring the power she had over him. "Surely you should know never to ask a magician her tricks."

"Very droll. However your situation is unchanged -"

…

It is indeed a special, ineffable moment when a movie director falls hopelessly in love, but when I found her, my own scene clicked into place and its unearthly beauty seized me. Such is the power that an extra can play in just that kind of crowd scene. A…

To me, she wasn't just from this place, she was the place. I met her gaze when we stood face to face, her peering up at my ball cap and sunglasses, squinting in the sun, and she smiled. Her various teeth shone in the shadow of my body, and I knew that w…

And then I saw her, the face I'd been hoping to find ever since arriving in the country. I had arrived at the airport and, walking down those stairs, I caught a scent in the air, and I knew she would be here, somewhere, probably in a crowd of people. The …

"And how will you do that?"

"It is a particular truth about secrets, Astarlane -"

"Please stop calling me that."

"- Astarlane, is that when you stop and look in just the right place, they betray themselves."

He stopped, and looked around. Just like th…

Sylvester was learning to drive his brand new Model T Ford. His brother in law Harwell was in the passenger's seat, playing tutor, as he had already had his T for months and knew how to work it.

"This pedal, here, Sylvie," Harwell pointed, "is called the…

Rebecca, distressed, started ripping up the seams she had just completed, her mouth pursed and disapproving. "No, that'll never do," she fussed. "The edges aren't matching up and it just looks so sloppy. I'll just have to redo that whole stretch. Hand me …

One dazzling evening, Mr. Dover Beach was lunching with me and tossing his curls. One of the curls fell down to the ground and Lee Flit swiftly stooped down and rescued it from a passing crayfish, which frazzledly crayed away for easier prey.

Oliver Sutt…

‘Good-bye, dear Prince!’ he murmured, ‘will you let me kiss your hand? I am going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?’

And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his feet.

‘Bring me the two most precious…

What Lord Shillingsly didn't realize was the magnitude of the gift he was to give to her in exchange for her silence. Arnold was a sure thing; no doubt of that. But when Lady Enid showed her the photorealistic scans of his date with the flower girl as an …

"Yes, sir," he said, and closed the door with a slight bang. Odd, thought Howard as he lit a new and slightly bedraggled cigarette: Temple's out of sorts. What's got up his jumper today? Arnold raced for the door and--

.

The Turlock continued to stalk u…

No one intends to get addicted. At least that's what they say. The manufacturer says that it is an unintended consequence over which they have no control. They encourage prospective gamers to “play the game responsibly”. They even include the phone nu…

"... happy hunting, boys!"

I looked down in time to see the LAUNCHCON light flick from red to green. Lifting the safety cap off the switch below the tiny glow, I waited my customary three heartbeats and flipped it upwards.

The locking arms released us …

Captain Iremond paced the length of the bridge. He knew it wasn’t good for the crew’s morale but he couldn’t stop himself. Today he was in charge for the first time. He’d be a fool if he wasn’t nervous. Even if everything went to plan, men were going to d…

Each morning, the master wakes us before dawn. We are given a bowl of cold gruel to eat before being herded into the Great Hall. That is when our work begins.

All day long we sit folding paper cranes. Our fingers move with the precision and control of…

Story is marked as mature

Astarlane emerged into her safeguarded mental space instantly, watching in third person as Tenever caught her body in physical space and lowered her to the floor with what she thought was unnecessary gentleness.

She barely avoided jumping when there was …

Every night is the same.

The sun descends below the horizon, leaving the sky a desolate black. From within the village, the cries of the frightened form a chorus that pleads for light. They are waiting for the gondolier.

He is not as swift as he was …

I made no reply, although I allowed a vague smile to suffuse my features. A few images made their way through my thoughts in stutters of memory.

A fellow Four Peaks recruit, her golden hair flowing over an immaculate dress uniform - our courtship ended …

Story is marked as mature

Porcelina stood on the shore, her bare feet covered in sea foam. A soft breeze rolled across the ocean, carrying a whisper over the waves.

"It's time to come home." The voice said.

"But I'm not ready." Porcelina said, "There's still so much to see."

F…

The bearded man stood on the marble stairs of the park’s stage and raised his Big Gulp cup over his head. “Drink deeply and live!”

Five onlookers watched him with faint curiosity. This was new.

He paused to wipe rub his face on a worn and well-stained s…

Mary had a little lamb

Its heart was black as coal.

And everywhere that Mary went,

It swallowed children's souls.

It followed her to school one day,

At which it ate its fill.

The teacher cried as children died.

It savoured every kill.