Stepping into Stories, One Word at a Time
"It was cold, as Rowan had warned her. Even in her thickest jumper and duffle coat, she shivered as the currach pulled away from the cove where it was docked. But she barely noticed. Mist was coming off the sea; the sunrise colored it faint gold and orange, as though they were swimming through fiery... Continue Reading →
"The Gibber stretched to the horizon in all directions, a flat tableland, with small stones strewn across a shiny, crusted surface of gleaming deep mauve. Here and there a few tiny plants survived on moisture that condensed from the air at night. There wasn't much: saltbush, spiny beggarchild and gummy plant. None grew more than... Continue Reading →
"The battered fleet returned to Molossia System without fanfare or announcement. Military personnel striding across the main concourse of Naval Command Orbital Station Yanshi slowed their steps as they looked up. One by one ships slid into view across the threshold of a beacon's aura. The beacon itself was so distant it was no more... Continue Reading →
"Tattooed protection sigils were the priciest, and best, magical protection around. An adversary couldn’t yank one off your body the way they could an amulet or a charm. Of all the tales of tattoo magic, one set of needles came up over and over, in stories and in history."Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds I... Continue Reading →
"There is such a thing as evil in this world,” Elias told her quietly. “It does not help to look away from it. It does not even help, necessarily, to look at it.” His fingers brushed through her hair, and she shivered. “But sometimes, when you cannot force the world to come to its senses,... Continue Reading →
"People tell many strange lies about the horses of Iceland. How they are made of fire that has leached into their bones from the fiery earth, or sky that they have sucked into their lungs from the tops of mountains. So there are sorrel horses, and horses with blue eyes. How a great stallion was... Continue Reading →
Of Worlds Forgotten 