I had folded the last messed up t-shirt in the souvenir shop. No one had come in for at least 30 minutes. It was probably safe to take a lunch break. Since this was my cousin's shop, and he was out doing whatever, there was no other person to relieve me. …

It was hard to swallow her pride and her real feelings. Seeing that huge smile and those two brown eyes so crinkly with joy warmed her heart. She loved Mr. Brown Eyes. Seeing the two blue eyes above two rosy cheeks and a line of baby teeth was supposed to…

Celesta let out a breath and tossed the shovel aside. The hole was deep enough now.

She walked back to the wooden cart, and lifted a large crystal out of it. "Here we go."

She gently placed it in the hole, then pressed on it a little more firmly, making …

I don't know why I bother

I struggle thrash and flounder

I pitch my tent at Deva Station

They're streaming me the information,

And on the darker side of the stream

I glimpse the ones who made the team

The roots of lilies clutch my feet

My kind of girl has…

Jim reached up, fingers searching for the next handhold in the sheer face of the cliff. Large patches of sweat clung to him, gleaming like armor. By his reckoning, it was the last obstacle of this night's Hypnagogia.

Little by little, he ascended.

By …

"The limes? I thought we were going to try this batch with oranges."

"Oh... right. Sorry."

"Focus, Mitt! We can't afford to make mistakes."

He couldn't help but flick a glance up at her, just as she did the same. A silent exchange, completely deniable …

When we find each component,

We become So that not water, no flame or air or quake could not break us down.

This is how you make sure you love who you are and you stand within your power.

When you know you are:

Powerful

Solemn

Courageous

Determined

Stand …

Malika pushed forward into the village, her blade a blur of blue, flaming fury. It took several moments for the Lesser Dead to notice her, but as she cut them down, they flocked to her in greater numbers.

They never had a chance.

Each and every deathles…

A face cruel and beautiful appeared above us in the bright afternoon sky interrupting our picnic. James and I hadn't had a moment to ourselves for months thanks to a sleep stealing tax audit and the one day when we are nestled against each other like two …

I'm in a fun house. I've always like how the good ones play with perception. It reminds me of the Get Smart opening: expectation and subversion in a fun way. And they're so enthusiastic. Not the operators necessarily, who've seen this millions of times, b…

Lurking in the corner of Michelle's basement, the partygoers gathered in groups all around me. My eyes followed him as he mingled.

"I love that dress!" he said to Sara.

"Hey, the pass you made was awesome, bro!" he called to the quarterback.

He chugge…

Everyone told us that tectonic instability had created the Furrows. Volcanic activity eventually emptied the magma chambers under the crust, sealing the earth and leaving deposits of obsidian everywhere. We could recite those facts like multiplication tab…

Running. For years now, it has seemed that all I have been doing is running. Running from my life, my friends, my family, my job. Finally, a time has come when a break seems almost feasible. Slower and slower I ease up on my pace, until I am all but left …

Orthael rocked backwards, groping blindly for the presence of the All-Consumer, but he found naught but dreadful nothingness. He was alone, he could not live with his mere humanity, and the night seemed dark and deep and filled with terrors he could not f…

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…

Her laughter broke the silence. Nervously she looked around, probably hoping no one had heard. She shouldn't have worried, it was, after all, the middle of the night, and normally no one would be out at anyway.

Unfortunately I had also decided to take …

Bliss.

Lovely summer day, I could finally read undisturbed on my favorite bench in the park. Until suddenly...

„Here, this is for you.”

I looked up from my book, startled. A large, round plate appeared in front of me, with a huge chocolate cake on it.

„Uh…

"Everett!" He was going to be the death of me, but not before he was the death of himself. "Everett, where did you go?"

"Sasha, chill, I'm over here! Come check it out!"

"Keep talking! I can't tell where you are!" I was looking at a wall of boulders, po…

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.

Realistically it wasn't going to happen. The lighter dark of the road seemed to go on forever, winding through the greater outer dark of the forest around us. More than anything we were hungry, so hungry it made us weak. Hungry, filthy, and unprotected--t…

This was the moment. Orthael reached out and connected with Varenniel's presence as if clasping the forearm of an old friend before drawing them into an embrace. The High Angel's power was a steady and comforting warmth, assuring him that the Flame had al…

Astarlane stood lazily, as if the sudden appearance of an elf from the aristocratic line of the Firsts was of little consequence.

"Why is he here?"

Sadie fixed her with a stare.

"Desperate times, desperate measures. We can't get through fast enough or …

"Do you know War of the Worlds?"

I pulled my eyes off the screen parading footage of the rolling convoy and its cargo of spacecraft. Harlan sipped his coffee. Thunder rumbled in the dark beyond the windows, making the fluorescent lights flicker.

"With the…

I lay in the bed craving sleep. Even though I’d gone to bed at midnight, I’d woken up dozens of times, turning over and over, back and forth, continually searching for comfort that teased me. I felt groggy and gross. My body felt heavy as stone. I wanted …

"Fine." I said, throwing a hand up. "But I hope you know you're late for work now."

I blinked from physical to energy vision. Her body dissociated into colorful veins, except for the block which was a searing white. Everything looked proper, but the glar…