Back on the SS Survivor, I listen to the chorus of voices echo through Common B. “Good God! You took on a Rabid?” Helen’s tone rises an octave as she stares at Asher. “All by yourselves?” “We were lucky it was only the one.” Asher frowns, glancing at his dad. Warren’s face showed complete impassivity. ...

“Ridiculous! Sawyer wouldn’t steal!” Martha Benson declared. She slammed down a spoonful of mashed potatoes she was serving onto Jeremy’s plate. “We said the same, but this Pickiner guy won’t listen.” Jeremy wiped a glob of potato off his shirt. “Why go through that for a fancy rock? He thinks that wedding rings are an ...

Sur Nam Khaar was a place that changed only with the shifting seasons. Beyond that, male existence resembled that of an old tree–peaceful. We had our duties. Sewing, practicing arts, and cooking, but we also learned about humankind’s history and the Mother’s compassion. Our elders taught us about the Great Cataclysm and the Years of ...

“No one told me Persephone was so hot,” Warin remarked, as he slid  his sword into the stomach of another demon. Even in the midst of battle, he took nothing seriously. “You’re hopeless,” Helen sighed, used to his mischief. Unbothered, by the pile of dead demons at her feet. “And disgusting. You know the rumors about her.”  “And you’ve heard stories about me.” He ripped his blade out, and wiped ichor on the demon’s ...

An hour later, all five people were at the police station, talking over one another. “He is a thief!” the thin man exclaimed. “I swear on my life, I’m not!” Sawyer yelled. “Sawyer’s an honest guy; he’d never steal!” Jeremy said. “The evidence says otherwise,” the tall person said. “A gemstone falling out of a ...

They stared at the heavy wooden door as it slammed shut. One moment, Hades was there. The next, he was gone. A presence lingered in the air, hitting Persephone’s senses like a lightning bolt.  “Don’t,” Hypnos whispered, voice trembling. Unsteady fingers wrapped around her wrist, begging her to stay put.   “There’s someone out there.”  “I know,” he croaked. ...

The gray morning sky clouds hovered over Nantucket. Howard Benson, a local fishmonger, drove down the street to his family’s shop, Howard and Son. Jeremy was already waiting for him. He and his father caught local fish for the store with help from Sawyer, a family friend who owned a boat. On Tuesdays, it was ...

“Stop!” All the tranquility of our grotto snaps in an instant. The grass physically recoils in fear, like a hundred frightened children, and the greenery dulls. Pollen grows stale on my tongue, and he wind grows still. I’m on my feet in a second. Quince stands just beyond the birch tree line, eyes stormy. Hawthorn ...

When I was fifteen, the harvest that year was richer than in previous years. Old Shu even seemed to grow younger with so much joy, and realized we needed a bigger barn. He and Jacob asked for the Mage’s aid. Two days later, they roamed the village.  I was summoned to be the cook’s helper ...

Elizabeth called her Uber and drove back to International Village. Exhaustion swept over her as she sat in the car thinking about dinner. Mr. O’Donnell reminded her a lot of her grandfather on her dad’s side, who had died some years earlier. They used the same mannerisms, the same old adages and archaic phrases. It ...