I awoke suddenly and groaned as my head throbbed, my ribs were stinging and breathing was painful, my insides felt raw like they were coated in sandpaper that was being rubbed up and down in aggressive constant motion. I slowly opened my eyes and investigated my surroundings. I was lying on a stone slab my wrists and ankles were tied down by leather straps,...
The silence stretched for miles around in the open country. In the Dead of night, the sky was pitch black and starless. The night air chilled Maharani's bare throat and collar bone, her dainty ankles also chilled quite thoroughly. The crimson red evening dress she wore was splayed deliberately around her full, round hips. The folds of Chinese silk were neatl...
In my profession, your code name is your life. It defines you, shapes you, and teaches you. I was given my code name at the tender age of 16, and until I die, I will have this name. My government sanctioned name on my birth certificate is merely an alias now. My profession, escort. Code name: Relentless. Partners: Wildman and Ravenous. These are the other t...
1. Meeting Mary told herself that she should look at this as an adventure. She had lived with her Aunt Patrice since she was born, and since Aunt Patrice was a religious homebody, Mary had been too. When Patrice died unexpectedly she felt completely lost and confused. She had no friends to comfort her, her aunt believed friends were nothing but a bad infl...
Siberia The solar facility consists of a large building with a tower and sun tracking solar panels encircling it. They are divided into four sections with an expansive strip of empty land running up to the facility in between them. Stone and Dupree take the southern route leaving the large crater sitting off to their right. The large feedhorn is still hot...
Among The Gods 01: Cardinal Sins It was a beautiful morning in the sprawling nation of Irnu. This was not a surprise: every day of every season was a beautiful one. Spring days were bright and bracing, the sun rising into a cloudless sky over dew-bedecked fields. Summer days dawned bright and hot, the heat of the day warming and tanning bare skin, warm bree...
Hannah Simmons woke with the worst of skull-splitting headaches she had ever had. She kept her eyes closed for a moment, willing down the searing pain behind her eyes. Then, she opened her eyes. And closed them again right away. Fuck. She remembered now where the headache was coming from in the first place, that bastard, Cian, had struck her with her own w...
Three days had passed since Bell had been rescued by Ragon. She had lived mostly in silence and darkness since that time as her rescuer now captor had not spoken to her since. Religiously meals had been brought to her, three times a day, although she had not seen them arrive and was only made aware of them by the delicious smell that they would create waftin...
The princess wound downwards around the curving stair, deep and deeper below the castle. The air grew dense and heavy and old as she descended. Down and down she climbed, until at last her feet stuck the flat stone floor of a tunnel leading off into the darkness. Though the floor was smooth stones laid in a geometric pattern, the walls and ceiling were rough...
The evening is dark but for the moon and stars. The air feels moist and full of summer. Crickets sound in the evening's song, and an owl hoots three times and stops. Occasionally dogs bark in the distance. At the bottom of a low hill, our horses drink from the stream at midnight. In the stark light of the full moon, I can see three earth mounds in the vall...