The rumbling eased and the cascade of rocks settled, dust hovering in the air above. Grey called from the far side of the fall. “Captain?” His voice was shrill, terror coating the single world. Justin kept hold of Marie but shifted to call back. “We’re alright. You?” Grey’s voice dropped an octave. “Sara’s hurt her …
The cart clattered through the east gate and onto the Tradeway. Her companion had been right, there were people coming and going on the road even at this time, many with lanterns. It was more than bright enough to see, and busy enough to keep any but the most mischief-bound kelpies away. She pulled at …
That evening, she arrived at the restaurant to find Becky waiting for her. They both pretended Eva’s eyes weren’t swollen from crying as they hugged and settled in to a comfortable table with a good view of the room. She brought her friend up to speed on her whirlwind twenty-four hours and ended with. “So …
She stood back. “Very well. Am I allowed to change? It would be a little inconsiderate to hand a man a wife and have her perish of the cold in the same night.” Her mother choked on a sob behind her. “Nora, darling.” She held her father’s gaze. He jerked a nod. “Be quick. I’m …
Let me tell you what I did. I took it, didn’t I? I took that damn stone and ran. Took the divine stone of the Kingslander kings straight out of the middle of their treasure vault and legged it. Should have known something was up when I managed to get out of the castle without …
An exercise to come up with three ways of looking at a wooden egg. One Sam unlocked the door to her apartment and slipped inside. Safe. She’d made it through another encounter with her family with nothing more than the usual emotional guilt-trips and had managed to not ‘accidentally’ bump into Wayne on the second …
Juliana hurried through the entrance to the station, weaving through the crowds with practiced ease. She kept her pace to a purposeful walk. It took effort, a lot of effort, but anything faster would have made her stand out, made people take notice and would make weaving more difficult. Her advantage right now was in …
When they reached home, Master Gent and Sebastian followed them inside instead of going on to their inn. Or had they been invited to stay here? Eleanor resisted the urge to stamp a foot and pout. She wanted some proper food, her book, her bed. She allowed her father to herd her into the front …
It was her stomach that woke her, many hours later, reminding her she’d eaten nothing since the hurried slice of toast for breakfast. The chips and chocolate in the mini bar weren’t going to cut it, so Eva ordered room service, and ate at a table overlooking the lights of Hong Kong. She checked her …
I woke to unexpected cold, not cold by some people’s standards I’m sure, but cold enough for here that I lit the fire early and added a couple of extra layers to the day’s clothing. It’s strange to walk out and find the air in a swamp fresh and nippy but it did make my …
The DNA of Stories 