“Jaq, honey, slow the car down.” Minuete, my wife, grabbed my arm and squeezed. I peered through the rain, and far ahead there was light. Another car sat, stopped, pulled over. It rested alongside the road near the forest, underneath a canopy of trees. It was a road in the middle of nowhere. The only ...

Ding. Ding. The bell chimed. Magma woke up shaking off the rest of her tattered and disappearing dreams. She shook her head and climbed out of bed, putting on a soft pink velour robe and matching slippers. The bell rang again—this time, more persistent. “I’m coming.” Milli, the Magna, opened her door to find Neferita ...

Dista stood at the rear of the amphitheater wearing one of her skintight leather outfits, a blouse, and capris. Today the outfit shined white; the blouse owned a deep v-cut. She enjoyed being the center of attention. Inside were Twenty-one Rakshasan, led by her son Rashala and fifty-eight wolf spirit walkers led by her other ...

Darkness and pain. That was all he knew. Was it an hour or a century? The pain subsided, and Jacard awoke from the dream. The first thing he noticed was the metallic coppery taste in his mouth. He attempted to open his eyes. They felt heavy and stung. He forced them open. Mili sat across ...

A few months had passed since the pack took in Fixier or Frakin as they knew him. They had found him broken and bleeding, laying against a broken tree. It was apparent that whoever had injured him had also thrown him hard. The other pack members had carried him back to their village. Fixier had ...

Jacard sat alone in a humongous cavern located deep in the mountain underground. The cave was the shape and size of a football field and very warm, borderline hot. It was next to other caves, with pools of bubbling sulfur and oils. Further down were rooms where streams of lava flowed, magma rivers of intense ...

The sun’s first morning rays dappled the forest floor, creating a mosaic pattern. The air was brisk. Sounds and movements brought life to the woods as small woodland creatures awoke and started their daily activities. A bunny getting an early start, already chewed on a leafy morsel; making tiny crunching sounds. Tweeting of birds echoed ...

Beep, Beep, said the alarm in a low tone. Jacard woke. He sat up and glanced at the alarm clock. The clock read 4:00 AM. He reached over and silenced it. “Alara, Alara.” He brushed her luminous black hair away from her face. “Alara, you need to wake. We fell asleep together again.” It’s ridiculous. ...

Present day. Fixier made his way home through the catacombs under Paris. The tunnels were dark and damp. A trickle of dripping water in the distance annoyed him. Drip, drip, drip. He hated that insistent droning sound over and over. Sometimes he thought Dista assigned his quarters near it to irritate him. Mission accomplished. Lucky ...

Fixier walked to the mountaintop, high above the cavern they made their home in for the past several years. The wind blew and made a soft whoosh, carrying with it the dampness and scent of early morning dew. Below, Vocair exited the cave and stretched and yawned, making enough noise that even a human could ...