Inky clouds turned the afternoon into an early midnight as an ebony vessel coasted into Port Victoria. Doomsday itself fell over the pirate town, and for once, everything stood silent.  From the deck, an armored figure watched the citizens with a crimson-flecked stare that promised bloodshed.  “Sir, we await your orders.” His spindly personal attendant hovered somewhere behind him.  “Prepare to dock and ...

Cassian’s boots echoed on the wooden planks as he moved towards the busy town of Port Victoria. His rigid posture struck a stark contrast with his pained expression. He struggled to keep his gaze pointed straight ahead.  By gods, she looks ridiculous! Laughter escaped before he could stop it, and a hand reached out to smack his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, love. But you look like an overstuffed sausage.” He put his hands up to soothe his wife.  ...

Red washed over the world. Rivulets of blood gushed from shining, black, plated scales, and the great wings’ labored flapping shredded the lakeside calm. To avoid the beast’s counterattack, Lysander snatched his sword and stumbled backward. His first instinct was to puke, but out of the chaos, his brother’s panic-stricken “run!” fought the fog in his ears. He fled for the forest’s protection, his legs carrying him as fast as they could through the tall grass and into the dense underbrush. Thorns raked deep gouges in his skin, and branches slapped ...

Cassian gripped Marina’s hand, desperate to give her some kind of reassurance. He could tell from the way her eyes slowly dilated and her palm felt clammy, she was worried.  She’s trying to hide, but she’s failing so badly it’s almost funny.  Lanterns and candles cast dim flickers around the captain’s cabin. Deep greens and blues colored the walls in sea story tapestries. ...

The line for the Shake Shack spilled out the door onto Newbury Street. Elizabeth begged Jules to grab something elsewhere. But Jules craved a burger, and Elizabeth couldn’t refuse her, so they waited fifteen minutes. After standing there with the smell of greasy meat for so long, Elizabeth wanted one too. Jules looked great today. ...

A hundred more feet, Vesta thought to herself, hidden among the shadows. Her hood covered her face as she dodged the moonlight. Her chest heaved with worry, and her muscles tensed to focus on every step. Carefully, she avoided the squeaks of scattering rats, interrupted in their search for scraps. She could teleport with magic, ...

Xi-3’s twelve moons flung strings of effervescent light into the basalt canyons below. The largest, lost in a perpetual eclipse, dominated the northern sky as a black void surrounded by red flame. The other eleven orbited in their own unique ways. Zhim and Graff-12 vanished for days at a time. The ‘Eight Sisters’ inched across ...

Almost a week after it happened, Elizabeth told Jules she had gone to see Mr. O’Donnell. They were both folding laundry in the room. The topic came up because Mr. O’Donnell had called that morning, asking Elizabeth to run some errands. She’d agreed, but knew that Jules would eventually demand an explanation. She wasn’t good ...

Footsteps echoed in the darkened temple as golden sunlight broke through slits in the vast curtains covering the wide windows. Crown Princess Rhiannon knelt in the quiet with her fiery copper braid sweeping the ground. She looked up towards the limestone altar where the statue of the Spring Goddess Evanthia waited. Gold-brushed bronze glinted in ...

A troop of children marched through the fields that encircled the town. Their voices echoed as they quarreled, and their little heads burned from the heat of argument. “Listen here!” Tomlin, a twelve-year-old, pinched off a head of renegade wheat. “The function of the state is to mitigate the unruly nature of man. Free will ...