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…

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…

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…

"Chick Fight" was the name of the organization (and that term is used very loosely) that Jovie had found to make a few quick bucks so she could continue to do things like eating and sleeping in a place with a roof and such. She wasn't crazy about the name…

The process had begun.

She knew better than to play in the Rhoka woods. There were evil things there. Magic of the worst kind.

It'd been many years since the town rose up against the evil Lord Bahlo but while he was gone, his curse remained in Rhoka.

S…

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 …

Hard Drive's sobs racked his body as he buried his head in his arms beside the still, milky white form of Fetus on the table.

I fumbled with the small cylinders I'd removed from her body without even pausing to consider how they were a part of her. I kne…

Barris, commander of the Republic troops strode forward. No armour, no weapons.

Acheson turned to his troops. "No one fires a shot until I say." He stepped out from behind his barricade, meeting Barris half way.

"Colonel." Barris said. "I've been waitin…

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…

The transition from mundane to extraordinary was mind-numbingly quick, that day. I was storing a recoilless hammer back in an equipment box and when Fuel Tank 3 exploded in a blinding flash.

Before my conscious brain could process what this meant, my mam…

A barista pulled levers on a machine that belched steam, grinded a few gears, and jiggled menacingly. If it wasn't bolted to the floor, the ancient contraption would surely take off through the roof.

"Caramel Frappé with a side of coconut oil!" barked th…

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…

Astarlane was strangely calm. Yes, single combat almost never lasted more than a handful of seconds; yes, any mistake that she made now would almost certainly cost her life. And yet, as she pressed her attack, she allowed herself a grim smile. This one wa…

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…

The key was engraved with MEMENTO.

"Undelete. What could he mean by that?" I asked the room in general. Hard Drive, looking depressed, did not answer. He was waiting for confirmation that Scroll and Locke were in fact compromised in our last mission. He'd…

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…

--

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…

Yellow: the safety, a thing I can touch

White: it will burn, but not yet, as such

Orange: and glowing, inhale and beware

Grey: the remainder, exhaled into air

This i slovely

I was so hungry

I want more, but that was really nice to eat

Fresh bread would be even better though.

Thanks Ramon!

We moved lightly through the corridor, which eventually opened up in a larger space, pocked with deep pools of the evil liquid. We paused, scanning the room, then looked to each other. Without a word, we clasped hands.

We moved quickly but carefully acro…

Last Friday, I went to see my grandmother. Growing up I didn't find it funny that our name for her, Popo, was pronounced how some people say dad or grandfather.

Even though her hair was wispy and mostly gone and her speech was much more slurred, she stil…

She'd never seen Elora that upset before. Never worn one of the necklaces? She wasn't really much of a jewelry person. Elora knew that. This one was special.

She waited a few minutes before pulling out her phone.

"El, please, don't be like this. You can…

Beckton leaned out sideways and pulled the gun into his shoulder in one movement. He placed a little nugget of his attention right between the two burning coals that seemed to serve as the creature's eyes and pulled the trigger. The gun shivered a little …

Story is marked as mature

"What a pain." She pulled the scythe back out. Not a drop of blood on it, and not a mark left on his body. Not by her scythe, anyway.

Eris walked off. She'd become numb to death by now. Being there and collecting the soul was just part of the job.

A cou…