Death did not come as a surprise to me. What surprised me was my appearance in death. Gone were my wings and beloved serpents. Instead, my soul had a maiden form with useless, limp, unthinking hair. Hermes appeared to escort me to the Underworld. He was achingly beautiful with the confidence of one who knew…
The fly rolls back off the tip of the rod, wisping overhead. I pull the cast forward, and the line shoots above the water. My technique is unpracticed, my hand heavy, and the recoil tangles the line. I glance toward my father standing on the bank, hoping he hasn’t noticed my building frustration. I strip…
Baleful red light crackled across the sky, outlining a mushroom cap atop tentacles, stretching down into the clouds. Conditions were perfect for the abominably misnamed “sprite” to discharge the shards that powered the airship Jubilee on long-range journeys. “You saw where it struck?” Tali asked. Her pilot, Rowan, rolled their eyes. “Yes, Captain.” Tali nodded….
You are the king’s champion, and have been for years. Everybody knows of your skill, your seeming ability to read your opponents’ movements before even they know what they’ll do. What nobody knows, however, is that in that open space of anticipation between exhalation and inhalation, in that space between breaths, people’s minds are completely…
