Orthael breathed out evenly, nodding. He had known, rationally, the moment that Varreniel's Candle had snuffed out. But it was another thing entirely to hear that it confirmed, that all the wards and defenses of a cathedral of the Flame had failed against…

A spark of green faelight flitted through the nursery window as the last rays of day faded from the sky. At its a center a faerie, no bigger than a single mote of dust. It flew around the room once, twice, three times, before finally settling on the edge …

Apparently, the principal had told Lumen to find Toria, she learned later. Lumen was more than happy to eagerly sign all sorts of things at Toria. It was strange.

Toria mostly just listened as Lumen talked about some of the places she'd been, and things s…

The air was crisp and the dew barely settled on the grass when Orthael left the house. He closed the door behind him with just the clink of his chain shirt and took the stairs up onto the wall two at a time - relishing the lightness of foot and freedom of…

Malika slept restlessly that night. Her sleep was plagued by dreams of shadows and flames, the yellow infernos of building burning. Creatures moved among those flames, casting long silhouettes across the carcasses of homes that had fallen into embers. Of …

Malika was suddenly overwhelmed by the cleansing intent and purity of Flame. It flowed through and over her like an all-consuming heat -- and as it did, it drew much of the pain and fury from her slight frame. She shuddered and screamed, both in relief an…

I could hear her calling me back, using her alluring tone. When I didn't follow, she began calling me names. Every man in the entire place suddenly felt compelled to shout and call me names. Through the phone, Sasha could hear the deep rumbles of the men.…

Orthael felt the glow of satisfaction from Judgement, who had spent lifetimes as a wrath-filled harbinger of death. It had dreamed of doing more, indeed feared that it was no longer capable of anything but destruction. The Flame had swept such darkness as…

The girl was flipping through her notes on her phone one day when she found the words she'd jotted down months earlier. She remembered that little story she'd wanted to write. The details weren't all there, but some of them were.

She got up and went to si…

The elevator stopped. Between floors. The doors remained firmly shut. Gregor groaned. He pushed the help button, but nothing happened.

"Are you here for the convention?" asked a smiling man in a lime green chef's uniform.

"No," growled Gregor.

"Seems w…

Smoky morning eyes made the light blur,

but I knew where I was.

I was home.

I woke just before she left,

just before she came to gently shake me

to tell me goodbye and

that she loved me

and that she'd be back in the evening.

The holes in my socks and ne…

"Your Majesty, let me help you out of this predicament!" I begged the Queen, who just a few months ago had been sitting on a throne of gold and ink. To see her now, scarred and gasping for air, lying in a heap on the prison floor was almost too much for m…

--

Greetings. It is the thirtieth day. Food remains in good supply, but our morale has taken a beating. Captain Marseilles announced to us that he has received a message on the Return Ticket. As we had been told, that system was primed to engage around Da…

Glowing green magic flowed out of the green-haired girl and into the rocks, lighting up the etched runes.

Pain shot through her body, and she let out a high-pitched scream. It hurt more than losing the limbs in the first place. She grabbed the bed sheet w…

The small creature jumped up on her shoulder, faintly glowing, perfectly poised with its chest slightly puffed out.

Oh, that was actually a neat idea! The girl picked up her phone and typed a few notes, before setting it down and returning to homework.

Sh…

She took to the baby. Held it, rocked it, cooed at it. I gave her the supplies I had, but they would only last a week. I told her that the baby had to go to the hospital inside the caldera. I told her it was temporary, but I knew she'd make it permanent.

…

Story is marked as mature

In the middle of the night the world ended. It was actually quite mediocre. Unfortunately I was too drugged up to notice much, except one second I was lying on my hospital bed and the next I was under the wreckage of the hospital.

"Can we leave?"

"Not until after"

.................................................

Provoking dreams, you’re welcome at my door

To enter, and to make yourself at home

The myriad uses of this ballroom floor

Can serve each purpose, rather like a tome

Of tales and poems, redolent of dreams.

Oh, we can dance there, never doubt it’s true!

Bu…

I bury him in a shoebox at 4:15. I scrape at the ground in the shadow of the fire escape with the spoon I'd saved for this purpose. I excavate, chunks of dirt piling. I crush each between my thumb and forefinger in a burst of dust. At this hour, this st…

Cicadas sang in the heat of the day. Mostly. But it was well past sundown and the night was far from silent. It overflowed with strange sounds, as if the darkened woods themselves were awake and agitated. It wasn't just the pulsing buzz of the cicadas e…

Five men stood around the pool of greasy black tar that used to be Zach Cho. Everything had happened so fast. Even with their suspicion, no one could have foreseen human flesh blackening and sagging like hot taffy. There weren't any bones or organs. All t…

I stare at the picture a few seconds longer. Anyone else would just think it's another ghetto teen couple in cheap Hawaiin garb in the middle of a dirty city.

A grin spreads across my face. She's hideous in her coconut bra and grass skirt.

He's lost all…

Despite the term safety, safety glass still stings when shards of it hit you. I wished I had my duster to protect me, but it was in a crate labeled with my name and new inmate number. Before the last bits had rained down on the floor, a familiar voice boo…