The walls were indeed manned. As they made their approach, someone disappeared from view and a few more torches were lit along the wall. Moments later, a handful of men with bows spread themselves out on the wall walkway. One of them called out in challen…

Malika carried herself through the gateway to Triennell, as the holy man called it. To her it was simply Trien, the next town down from her now desolate village. If only there had been walls... no, she wouldn't think about that. It was too painful, too fr…

So it's all about the first line here, as in many other forms of writing. Use it, in a narrative-type scene, to either set the scene or establish reader interest. A good trick is to start with dialogue, as it immediately and naturally brings questions - t…

The echo of my boots attracted the silent judgment of every deluded man in the Hall. Under their disapproving gaze, I was glad to be wearing armor. Well judgment could go both ways and while the Order held temporal power, I was now a peer to a different k…

"Kalovay, Kalovay..." Brad muttered to himself over and over as if it was an activity that would help the process of decoding the language.

He had mastered many dead languages in graduate school. It was something of a specialty of his, but he was never t…

Soŝégŝinun sat alone in the forest. His breath floated before his mouth in the cold.

He sat alone. He couldn't remember how long he had say there, but he knew that he wasn't leaving until something happened, though he didn't know exactly what that someth…

My snow is grey and never white

It glows and slowly drifts from sight

I watch it fall and breathe the scent

And never wondered where it went

My fog is thin and never fills

It floats and swirls where e'er it wills

I watch the clouds and trace the streams

…

Lenn hated the way her spasms, electrified her face in pain. “Oh my God, Liv.”

“It sounds worse than it is.” Liv said with a wan smile. Lovingly she scritched his thigh.

“I hope so.” Lenn unzipped the mouth of his backpack and fished out one of the ther…

My dreams trace your laugh-lines

and sparkles part grey clouds between light lashes

Fingertips brush tensed lips to release breath

held within a chest hungry for my hands

...

My muscles clench at the rustle of my lonely sheets

Sticky with desire I cage b…

I tapped the mute key on my terminal.

"Boris! Where's the QS-19 document safe?"

The sleepy NCO looked up from his morning tea. All our shifts had been rearranged by the crisis.

"Nineteen? Sub-basement. In the vault."

"Seriously? Okay…" I unmuted the m…

Together they walked into the softly lit apartment. A half of dozen candles offered warm light and Lenn could feel some heaviness lift off his shoulders. After a moment the front door closed behind them and Ruger's footsteps followed them.

“You'll have t…

9:30PM

The house is silent and dark except for the light above the couch. I sit with a book, trying to disappear into its world so my dreams will be more full of fantasy and less full of reality.

10:30PM

I yawn. My arms and legs weigh a million tons, my …

“Come on, man. Just move. I'm not leaving the cat out here in the storm.” Lenn said. “There's no food, it's wet, and it has nowhere else to go.”

Ruger hunched down. “I told you, I'm not letting you bring your damned cat inside.”

Lenn didn't move any clo…

Damion stands at the edge of the woods, just inside the treeline. His attention is focused on the house 35 yards away, the house that is surrounded by a teeming mass of the living dead. He hears screams from inside, cries for help from the poor souls trap…

Of all the hazards Astarlane had dealt with in the past, psychotropics were by far the worst. Raiders, toxics, traps - those, she felt, were honest dangers.

But the psychotropics weren't like that. They used you - used your inner demons against you. It …

They open the steel-walled box which contains the data. It's a red plastic object the rough size of a brick and shape of a Lego, with grey cable ports on the underside. One of them flips the drive upside-down in a single, fluid, motion that takes a fracti…

"But they don't have heads!"

"As I understand it, that's voluntary."

"That's ridiculous."

"I'm telling you, 'Haunted City' is a democracy. Its real name is 'Crossroads Hill', and it's perfectly safe to visit."

"But there's a necromancer overlord, and…

I don't know why this time things are different. Maybe it's because I finally stopped hoping for my fantasies to become reality. I gave in. I gave up.

It doesn't sting anymore, doesn't hurt. There is only a hole. I'm halfway in the hole and halfway out. …

Dear Diary,

I killed a man today. At least, I think I did. I was alone in the room one minute, and the next there was a man in front of me. I'm not sure who was more surprised -- him or me. I know I was pretty shocked, but by his expression, so was h…

Osterley and Beckton exchanged a practical, functional look. She took a step back, while Beckton made ready his weapon. There were no theatrics, no heartfelt exchanges. Those prone to those gestures were no longer around.

Newkirk nodded, muttering the la…

Judgement shifted in his slackening grip, causing Orthael to clench his fist with a hundred battles' worth of instinct and experience. The point dipped, causing golden droplets of fire to drip down to briefly illuminate the forest floor before disappearin…

Osterley took a much more compact weapon of French design for herself, slipped it into a leather shoulder bag and then they moved straight to the teleport circle for transport. The watch had changed by now, and a fresh-faced youth who looked like he was b…

The elf shifted to draw their attention.

"We must leave. As the ground warms this area will become extremely dangerous."

Sadie looked at the other two expectantly, donned her mask and followed them back out into the haze.

Higher up, where the mist fade…

"Illy, at the airship docks there is a clipper by the name of Silver Skies. Captain Jerem is taking a package to some friends of mine in the Raventops, and leaves very soon."

I nodded, frowning. The only friend she had out there would have to be the de…

The glass door of the lab slid open, and Tom walked in.

The room was quiet.

He swallowed the pill the Doctor gave him, and sat on the edge of the bed. He waited patiently as the nurse applied electrodes on his chest, his forhead and his temples.

It was…