"It has come time for you to choose a weapon, and to forge it." Baba spoke across our small, rough table, her sightless eyes staring off into the shadows cast by the flickering hearth. I finished chewing the piece of bread in my mouth and swallowed slowly, my mind already working to consider. "Choose well, for a man's weapon is his worth in this strange worl...
Grace Newell tugged at the strap of her black singlet and let out a sigh. She couldn't believe she was actually going through with this. She rapped her knuckles against the door and took a step back. Her heart thudded so loud the beats pounded in her ears. She smoothed her hands over her denim skirt and turned to gaze at the quiet street. Sunlight bounced...
This is the twelfth installment of Mrs. Hart's Ache Chapter III, Interlude IX, Natasha ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author's note: see the Index of Terms for the definition of any word with which you are not familiar. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a simple tale of retribution, wherein the young hero teaches the mother of his newest girlfr...
She was looking into his eyes -- and he could see fear lurking in the shadows of her mind, then he watched as the medic came up from behind and slipped the syringe into her deltoid muscle. Her eyes fluttered moments later and she fell into his lap; by then Tate and Woodward were back in the room, looking at her, then at the ninja's on the floor -- there rema...
Chapter 6 - Meeting The Parents Amber stood next to the limousine with her suitcase and the chauffeur as the large private jet taxied to a stop and the engines spooled down. The door opened and the young first officer of the plane came down and walked over to the gate. "You must be Miss Amber Taylor? Mr. Winslow sent us to fetch you back to Boston for the...
Some days, what a Terran Angel had to go through to seal treaties was more trouble than the treaty was worth, I thought mutinously. I had been voted by the Council of Balance as the angel "most likely to survive without debilitating mental trauma" and assigned the "prestigious" role of sealing a treaty with the Asmodeus Demon Clan. Normally, the sealing of a...
Grant removed a fabric-covered bundle from the small wooden box. Unfolding the soft cloth, he revealed a palm-sized device which looked like an earlier incarnation of a communication pad, a data chip and a pair of small objects I didn't recognize. He picked up the chip and inserted it into a slot on the side of the pad. "Are the images you talked about, of...
"Jackson, why'd you bring us to Pivot? What about Orbital Academy?" Preston reached across Missy and flicked the cruiser's autopilot off, beginning to manually pilot their cruiser in line with the other squadmates. "Rookie Preston, please cut the comm chatter, we wouldn't want to crowd Orbital Pivot's comm channels," Jackson's voice crackled into the small...
Sir Daniel rode his thundering steed hard through the meadow, skirting the thick line of trees of the forest. After a half hour of a full gallop he slowed the mighty horse down to a slow walk. He wanted to conserve its energy for the remaining two hours of the trip back to the Castle. It was his last crusade, and he wanted to take his time to revel in the v...
"What do you think happens to us when we die, Bonnie?" It was a silly question, asked by a silly girl, and I probably shouldn't have answered it. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic. Maybe the baking heat of summer was getting to me - or maybe I just wanted to stir up the pot a little. "I like to think that if you're good, you get to go to Vernon. You swim in...