I saw the fat man with a beard again today. He had been a stranger kind enough to lend me half of his table at Starbucks. People are never that nice and honestly I thought it was a ploy to talk to me. Nope. He didn't interrupt me once while I was studying…

Gone was the demure scion of the Burns house that I had known. In her place stood a crazed woman, nattering at nothing I could see though I could sense cold, electrical malignance blanketing the air above us. The motions of her body and limbs were stiff a…

My left leg's been through surgery--ah! Twice.

I'm walking nearly normally by now,

But that was taxing. Very. I'll allow,

My limp's a minor thing, one grain of rice

Within a heaping bowl.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Oh, I would splice

Tho…

There was no immediate response; the others looked at each other warily. Mornington spoke first, shaking his head.

"There was some kind of Roman ritual. A massacre in Caledonia... a senatorial edict. What does this have to do with the patient?"

Osterley…

Osterley spoke first - words tumbling out in a rush.

"Something's happened at base. Or the spell was interfered with -"

Silvertown's voice rode over her, tone steely and gaze hard.

"There's nowhere we can go, and we don't have time to carry the wizard …

The swinging gate transformed. First, two broad arms uncurled from within the wooden slats. They stretched past us and scooped Riddy and me into a crushing bear hug. Then, when I was still seeing stars from our heads knocking together the wood grain took …

The evening was clear and cool, a magnificent end to a warm autumn day. We leaned against white-painted porch rails to watch the sunset. Ma joined us for one, grimaced good-naturedly at the burn, and told us not to stay out too late before disappearing ba…

There was blood everywhere. The wizard's shirt and jacket were soaked through and one blood-red stain was spreading across his coat. Beckton was covered in it, as was the floor, but he drew a pocket knife and started cutting at fabric. It wasn't hard to f…

The room erupted into chaos. On his back with Newkirk's weight atop him and a terrible wet feeling spreading across his chest, Beckton steadied the Browning Automatic Rifle as best he could with one arm and promptly emptied the entire magazine of Magic Mi…

He liked the knife; it was his favourite. A Wusthof chef's knife, he'd bought it online and it hadn't been cheap. He liked it's shape, the fit of the handle, the grind on the long cutting edge.

He liked the way the knife cut.

He liked the way the knife pe…

"I guess your bounty wouldn't be so high if you were easy to catch." A fiery arrow erupted from her hand to catch the girl.

"Like you even have a chance!" She daintly jumped up, dodging the arrow. "Ha! Lets see how much you like my wand!" She hurriedly s…

"This is truce by ultimatum," the god sneered.

"It is," I agreed. "But it is a truce, nonetheless. You and your kind leave this world alone forevermore, and I and my descendants will cease our war upon yours. That I must force this is irrelevant, but pea…

Rain fell hard, threatening to drown the city but never quite committing to finishing the job. Tonight there was no wind and people felt safe using their umbrellas. All of them moving slow under black domes gave the streets the air of a funeral procession…

I unlocked my deadbolt and pushed the oak door open. I walked through the kitchen, grabbing a soda, and moved beyond it, massaging my temple. Then I stood stock still. The motorbike was there, parked on my dining room table. That, of all the things th…

You can hear it in the still of the night if you're quiet and calm. Wait until the crickets and owls are silent. Wait until the wind dies and the willow leaves are motionless. Wait until the clouds obscure the moonlight and leave the world under a veil of…

Without altering his course, the man brushed by the human obstruction and with a negligible hand gesture sent him spiraling to the ground.

More hands reached out for him trying to take hold of anything they could. When they found something to hang on to…

The sergeant's eyes flew open. He tried to sit up, but Osterley pressed him down with a firm hand.

"Sergeant? I'm Agent Osterley."

The wounded man did a strange thing then. He looked into her eyes with a disconcertingly intense stare and huffed a pained…

Osterley felt Newkirk lean in close, speaking into her ear rather than raising his voice.

"It's unlikely that both Moritz and Yorck are here. We should eliminate the one and find the other."

"But how?"

"Go with Beckton. Provoke them into firing at you.…

In the darkness when man does sleep

and a pallid moon is the only company he keeps

the waves are calm, the silence deep,

but in his dreaming heart is only greed.

Our candles burn low crying tears of soft wax

but we rejoice for it is our time at last.

Tim…

You stop in your tracks and stare into Ms. Brett's eyes.

"You didn't... start this fire on purpose, did you?" you demand, aghast.

Ms. Brett raises her eyes to yours for a moment, and then they slide guiltily away from your gaze. It's as much as an admissi…

By the time Kharon showed up, there was virtually no sign of the camp at all. We didn't try to hide the fact that a number of people had been there, but there were no signs of the tents or the campfire. Everything had been packed up and stowed away. Nothi…

I returned to the camp and let them know the good news. “Kharon agreed to help. He hates what the new governor has done as much as we do and will be here momentarily to guide us through a secret way under the walls and back into the palace.”

Civitas stoo…

"Ah that's a real nice boon there, a standout miracle of blessings that any priest-liar's tongue would envy. Many thanks for this warmth, my fiend, that you've bestowed upon me in drink-form. She is a real beauty that touches me loving-like, a whisper tha…

Dreaming heart breaks

there's no escape

when you're with him

I drown within

your sweet memory

. . .

You're breaking free

aching tears sliding

now they fall free

sobs spaced between

and then you leave

a sweet memory

. . .

It's all nothing

'ship corrup…

Suddenly her simply standing there watching me made her suspect. Why was this girl trying to help me? Sure it had been her dog that had woke me up but there had been no reason to stick around after her apology. She had made sure I was okay. By all account…