My heart sinks when I hear the front door lock, followed by the beast’s sinister laugh. I didn’t think beyond grabbing mom before she ran up the stairs, nor did I realize how powerful her emotions were to wake the monster. With my arm still around her waist, I pull her back down the stairs ...

Seeing my unaged brother at Mr. Keith’s house sends me into denial. I know it’s impossible, but my eyes tell me otherwise. My brother stands in the window, staring at me, or is he? I don’t know, but somehow the house is involved. I’m sure of that, and, starting today, I’ll ferret out every secret ...

Read Part 1 “One, two, three, four.” After counting to seven, Talbort stopped. “Gotta do something,” he uttered in a raspy tone. Evan cringed at the sound of his voice, watching him storm down to the basement. He heard the woman wailing for help as Talbort drug her to the top of the stairs. As ...

Wham! The sudden loud noise woke me. I had fallen asleep. I parked on a street near an alley. Inside the alley, a large burly bald man had thrown something into the dumpster in the alley, further back behind a restaurant. I didn’t care. At 2:07 am, most businesses had closed, but not the bus ...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 The training to learn spirit magic hadn’t gone as well as Annabelle had hoped. In fact, whenever she tried to summon the spirits from the river, the trees, the grass beneath her feet, nothing answered. The only thing she could feel were the words ...

Part 1 | Part 2 Annabelle never thought she would hold a sword in her life. The wooden practice sword weighed heavily in her hand as she held it, and her arm wobbled. Sean had, once again, surprised her. This time with a swordsman that would train them in the art of sword fighting. After ...

Beth, Lori, and I watched the flames consume the lilies. I heard Beth say something under her breath that sounded like, “Finally.” But before I could ask her to repeat it, a shout of alarm came from across the lawn. “No! What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” Madam Cromwell was running towards ...

1 Morning came swiftly. Annabelle and Sean had managed to get out of slavery after Sean had, somehow, paid off a merchant caravan to take them under their wings. To the king they served, they claimed they would learn about the ways of the merchant trade and perhaps come back to the village to open ...

Blood and bone. Blood and bone. The lilies’ commingled voices echoed in Emma’s head as she stood there immobile. Several moments passed before she shook free from her daze. “Well, you will be disappointed at this harvest party. My friend and I ensured the workers have family or friends who will miss them. There are no ...

The forest wept silent tears of nothing as the miasma flowed between its tall cedarwood trees. The animals were silent; those that remained, anyway. The ones that sensed danger had all left before. The miasma seemed to come from nowhere, from nothing. It swept its way through the forest, once magical and alive, and turned ...