The air that rushed in to meet his face was sharp and icy, and Laurent knew they had gone through the wrong gate even before the world on the other side revealed itself. The tips of his nose and ears began to freeze, and his first inhale was such a change that his lungs shrunkContinue reading “The Grace”
Category Archives: Original
Pancakes
As the wine had finally pushed Ramona off to uneasy sleep that night, her last rational thought before dream logic took hold had been, I can’t wait for those few seconds in the morning when I forget all about this.
Moment’s Peace
A proper green mage would balk at the idea of going into the desert to ply their trade, and in fact they had. Ana was not, and would never be, a proper green mage. She’d started with a mage of the highest regard in New York, one carefully chosen and courted by her parents. SixContinue reading “Moment’s Peace”
The New World
The year is 1721, it is a bone-frigid winter night, and a boat from Europe has just docked in Boston Harbor. This, of course, is nothing so strange. Every winter night in Boston is the coldest a person has ever been, and the coldest they will ever be. Until the next night. And boats nowContinue reading “The New World”
Swans
When they tell you swans mate for life, what they forget to tell you is that this isn’t always a good thing. Greta and Pistachio were walking on the grass next to the lake, both of them deliberately, angrily silent. The only sounds were the soft rushing of the fountain and the padding of theirContinue reading “Swans”
Dawn in the Night
It was a little past one, middle of the night, the time Dawn liked best. Daytime, in her experience, had too much. Was too much. Too bright. Too noisy. Too filled with people, and those people too filled with emotions. Furious screaming and laying on car horns and middle finger salutes. Or worse, laughter. Big,Continue reading “Dawn in the Night”
Beach
They didn’t know what else to do. So they went to the beach. It wasn’t far but it was a slow walk. Lynnette’s ankle was twisted badly if not completely broken, and Ronny was just tired. Tired. It seemed like the right word and the wrong one at the same time. It wasn’t strong enough,Continue reading “Beach”
Garage
The elevator chimed and the doors slid smoothly open, things Missy barely registered. If it wasn’t contained within the bright glowing world of her phone (blue light filters, Missy believed, were for the weak) it had to be put on the backburner. The act of physically leaving work didn’t mean she was actually leaving workContinue reading “Garage”
In Which Mrs. Loretta McEnnis, Recently Widowed, Discovers Reality Has Folded in on Itself
Loretta retraced her steps of the night. She had supped alone – after Miss Reynolds had deftly turned away dreadful Mrs. Johnson, who seemed to call not to check on Loretta’s welfare but discover if she was ready to admit her husband was dead and have her meet her youngest son, Carroll, and Loretta would reward Miss Reynolds in her weekly pay – and then she had sent Miss Reynolds home for the night. She had tried to sleep, spent some hours tossing and turning, and then had given up entirely. If sleep were to abandon her again, she would rather spend her night staring at the ocean than staring at the top of her bed frame.
Widow’s Walk
It was approaching one in the morning, and like most nights, lately, Ramona was on the rooftop patio of her two-hundred year old coastal Victorian home, sitting in the oversized Adirondack chair her kids had painted, and drinking white wine from the box sitting on the table next to her. Above her were a smattering of stars between oil stain clouds, and a hangnail moon. In front of her was about half a mile of this nothing Maine town and then the never-ending Atlantic, dark and choppy.
High Urban Fantasy Jazz 