I breathed her in.

A storm of quicksilver lightning, and winds so cold they burned hot, rushed into me, consuming me. Trapped with pulsing, unchecked energy, I was helpless as a terrible violence expanded in my chest, rising to my head. This was her whir…

“Your hair looks nice.”

It slipped out of his mouth into real space. What had he done? Stupid, stupid, stupid! He tried to throw his headphones back on and lower his eyes before she felt the need to respond. One of the fat black ear cushions fell off an…

The last of the movers maneuvers the hand truck with the last of the boxes through the front door. I close the door behind him. Through the living room window, I watch as the movers finish loading their truck and drive off. For the first time in a long wh…

"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…

The man was young; curly blonde hair like a grown-up cherub and a lean, powerful body. He exuded confidence smeared with the oiliness of a sexual predator. He was dangerous. His smile was dark, never meeting his eyes. The fact that I saw his eyes frighten…

I stood on the bank and cast my line. A shining green and gold bass took my bait and flashed its scales just below the surface as I reeled him in.

Excited, I pulled him up to examine my catch. Each scale iridescent in the sun, it flapped its tail with po…

Zane Peters watched the news with growing anxiety. The Beast below was getting agitated again. That had been happening more and more.

There was a sense of pressure like that of an oncoming headache. He could feel that thick writhing coldness pushing, alm…

I'm on the outside looking in. I see you inside, laughing, joy written on your face. The door is locked, but sometimes I can hear what you say inside.

This time, I'm not distraught. I'm not frantically beating on the walls to be let in. I'm not crying oc…

I start thinking. Video game names are cliche, for the most part, appropriate though it may be. And, as much as it may fit the situation, sci-fi and fantasy names are also out. It just bugs me when people name their kids after movie characters.

We sit in…

You know what? Don't speak to me. I'll only manipulate you and poison you with my words. My hurts fester and are infectious. They spew from me in fits of rage.

I can't let you in. What's lurking inside of me is the ugliest monster you've ever seen. It's …

I watched as you moved into a shotgun house with one bedroom and a yard only big enough for a shed. You were too busy to find a place on your own, anyway.

But I saw the truth.

In a tiny house, no one can stay the night. No one can stay unannounced. N…

The stairs lead upstairs and down, but if you want to get out of here, down would probably be a better idea.

BEGIN MESSAGE STOP

"DRAGON'S TEETH" PIRATE CUTTER ENCOUNTERED 3103 4103 STOP

SHIP SUSTAINED HEAVY CASUALTIES FROM MARKSMAN ON BOARD UNNAMED CLIPPER AT RANGE STOP

DESCRIPTION MATCHES PACKAGE STOP

"FORGOTTEN SHORES" MARTIS LIGHT CRUISER IN PURSUIT 2810 5101…

As the music changed to The Bobs' "Zombie Jamboree," so too did the mood of the two ex-lovers change from one of tentative friendliness to one of more serious feeling. It was time for the vocalizations of turkeys; the time of refreshment was over.

"One mo…

It's the question I didn't want to ask, and she didn't want to hear. "I'm... I mean, I know what I was, and I think I know what I will be. Right now, I don't..." I see tears welling up in those brilliant blue eyes.

I put my hand on top of hers. "Let's st…

Keshintai's correspondence trailed off over the last couple of months of the year, until eventually, all of Taka's letters went without reply. Concern filled Taka's mind, and she began to worry that something might have happened to her friend. The only co…

Not daring to head down any of the halls, you feel safer in the dead center of the square. There's no ceiling here, so there's nothing that is likely to fall down upon you, and the water might provide some protection, as well. You take a seat on one of th…

Apart from Ryle, the other thing that the captain (and, of course, he would not be the first to do so) would ask about was the shooting. And, since there was nothing but my own supposition, I was more than happy to tell him about marksmanship.

There are …

Hi there, I think, I THINK, that I've got all the bits of "Burning Question" in place now. If you find any places where there seems to be an option but there's no sequel or link showing, please let me know at that page's comments, or here. Thank you!

I fo…

As was his custom, Orthael watched the life of Trien go about before him while he thought about Malika's questions. The baker haggled with a farmer for a box of vegetables, a thatcher pushed a cart of straw and ladders past them, and at the edge of his vi…

After the service was over, Orthael sat next to the swordmaiden on the grass and looked out into an overcast morn. He waited a while in silence, but in the end he broke it with a sigh.

"Varenniel's Candle should be lit, swordmaiden, but it sputtered when…

Orthael was pleased by the turnout. A few parishioners had come to introduce themselves and give their requests before the start, which he had made careful note of. Herrin had done well with the reading, and then he asked the collected faithful to bow the…

Merall smiled briefly, letting Deravell's stories of bloodlust and corruption of the spirit slip back into the lower reaches of his memory. She need not know, and at any rate they were only stories. Only the librarians in the Lower Archives and the other …

Before she could challenge him, he spoke. Quietly, but firmly.

"Take care with your weapon, swordmaiden. It is more than you know, and less. Much has been forgotten about those that drew it and its kin from the forges, but what survives is enough to trou…

The satellites.

They should have known when they launched them, battalions at a time. Everything was mathematically planned. No collisions, no crossing paths or degrading orbits. Full coverage. But the little mirrors grew so numerous as to first double t…