• The Feather on My Scale: Chapter 1

    The air lay hot and sticky at the tip of my tongue. High summer in the capital had finally made itself known. Nile bay was steaming under the dome panels. Our vents and fans had been malfunctioning for some time now, ever since my late father, the last Pharoah, had commanded troops in his youth.…

    Read more →

  • The Fire in My Blood: Chapter 2

    The Chambers always made my skin crawl.  It was a converted cathedral.  The ceilings soared above me, and the main room that used to be the chapel echoed ominously.  The stone brickwork was the washed-out ashen colour of corpses.  The stained glass had been smashed out so long ago no one remembered.  The glittering jagged…

    Read more →

  • Skull Dansuer: Chapter 2

    Skull Dansuer: Chapter 2

    “You’re not joking. You’re seriously going to just leave me here?” I hissed between my teeth. Rowan and I stood in front of a pair of imposing doors. Laughter and the timbre of feet and music scratched along my nerve endings.

    Read more →

  • Life of a Librarian: Chapter 3

    “You read ahead before you read aloud; that is my understanding, yes?” the main judge asked.  I gulped.  How is one supposed to concentrate on a conversation with a sword trained on their heart? “You might want to answer the question,” the man named Simil smiled down at me, all the while pressing the tip…

    Read more →

  • Firefly Fish: Chapter 7

    Firefly Fish: Chapter 7

    Saeesar was going to be pissed. That’s if Taigre ever saw him again. Or his father. Or the nesting ground. Mostly though, he was concerned with the part that his father’s top gladiator was going to be pissed.

    Read more →

  • Pinyon Smoke: Chapter 2

    Pinyon Smoke: Chapter 2

    “You kidnapped a Live out of Sante Fe forest and you want me to hide him for you?” An older woman’s voice woke me from a gloriously empty sleep. I found I was sleeping on a three person couch that smelled faintly of rose and thrift shop.

    Read more →

  • Firefly Fish: Chapter 6

    Firefly Fish: Chapter 6

    “Marin?” Jarl popped in, scaring the hell out of me and making the creature in the tub hiss. “Oh, it can make noise, neat. Are you having coffee or am I drinking your share?”     “I’m sort of stuck in your bathtub with a mermaid, Jarl. And it has hold of my shoulder. It could…

    Read more →

  • Firefly Fish: Chapter 5

    Firefly Fish: Chapter 5

    Coming to was like that morning after I was welcomed on board ship by Captain and the crew. Homegrown hooch with anchovies. Unstable, my stomach wanted to live outside of my body and my brain was wrapped around an anchor. The storm threw buckets at the windows of Jarl’s apartment. He had rolled towels and…

    Read more →

  • Firefly Fish: Chapter 4

    Firefly Fish: Chapter 4

    “Jarl, I need a room!” I demanded as the door pulled open beneath my fist. “Marin, what is with banging on my door in the middle of-” my brother’s eyes settled on what was draped on my back.

    Read more →

  • Firefly Fish: Chapter 3

    Firefly Fish: Chapter 3

    It wasn’t for a lack of trying. I pushed. I fought. I wrote letters. I showed up. I begged. I did what I could. Yet, my desire for a fine arts degree fell apart. I worked for the pharmacist during the days when I wasn’t working over dad’s farm to save up for the impossible.…

    Read more →