Category: Story

Catchall for all stories

Descendants L.A. #4 – Above the Line pt. 1

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This entry is part 4 of 13 in the series Descendants: LA Volume 1

Ray entered the main room with a loud, yawn and an expensive stretch. Showered, shaved, and fully refreshed, he was ready to face the day. Now, if only the apartment had windows… Maybe he could ask Felix to set them up with some high quality digital screens and external cameras to simulate it without giving away their presence at the Agency.

Just another thing to add to the to-do list. He wasn’t even used to having a to-do list yet. There were a lot of things he needed to get used to, like not being the only early-riser.

When he’d been living at home, mornings were his domain. Like a solitary big cat, he stalked about in the early morning hours, doing as he pleased and not having to consider anyone or anything else. Now, he was getting a taste of what he imagined it was like to be a devote of sleeping in like Felix.

Josh was sitting cross-legged on one section of the couch, watching an old sitcom with an interest equaled only by the most serious students. And in the kitchen, Icthiani was apparently having a staring contest with the cappuccino maker.

“Morning?” He asked, curious as … Continue reading

Malady Place – E101 “Meeting Miss Faust” Act 1

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This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Malady Place

1 Malady Place, since the original building was built by Abraham Ulysses Faust, and by the statutes of the trust he placed the property in when he died, was required to have a Suite Number 6 on the sixth floor.   After being renovated or completely rebuilt several times, Suite Number 6 remained, even while the rest of the building changed. Thus, Suite Number 6 was surrounded by 614 (Global Data Exchange Unlimited Call Center #318) and 616 (The Natalie Harmon Design Studio). The door out front still featured the frosted window bearing the words ‘Faust, Private Eye’. It was the same one that was installed in 1927 by Wilson Faust.   It was now 2068. The business was Faust Investigations and Inquisition, and the Faust was Renee, the apparent great-several-times niece of Abraham.   Behind the frosted window was a wood paneled reception room with a modern desk and hardwood floors. Two neat file cabinets flanked the door to the inner office, and a water cooler was placed beside the door to the restroom. There was also a leather couch and two heavy, high-backed chairs.   The place was almost sterile in appearance. The only thing out of place … Continue reading

Imago – S01E01 “Pilot Part 1” – Act I

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This entry is part 1 of 12 in the series Imago

Saadis Oasis on the System’s Edge. It was more than a mouthful for any thinking creature and it was branded everywhere he could see; the glasses, the napkins, the gambling machines; it was even printed on the left hand of the waitress who handed him his complementary drink.

An indentured servant, all the way out on the so called ‘free’ system edge. Adrian Gable managed to keep his face neutral as he thanked her and transferred two plour to her tip account using the touch pad on her serving tray.

Her expression was worth it. Even after the unfair charges for her room, board, meals and—likely given Saadis Mor’s reputation—oxygen intake, she would still make a fistful of plourets out of the deal, probably enough to shave a few months from her indenture.

It was a lot of money for a free tumbler of unidentifiable purple liquid and ice, but then again, it wasn’t his money. He gave the glass an experimental sniff, grimaced, and set it aside. Finally, he returned his attention to the kiosk in front of him.

It was a Linethian design; a game requiring both luck and skill to win. You put your money (minimum five … Continue reading

Ridsekes – Chapter 2

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This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Ridsekes

Dawn came to Bri-sean. Unfortunately, even the first rays of the sun can’t improve on the aesthetics of the place. I imagine that at one time, the stone tiers looked forbidding and imposing. Those days were long past.

The enterprising and the clever arrived in Bri-sean a few decades late and found that the landlords of even the deepest, most suffocating chambers of the vast hive-city charged exorbitant rents and expected to be paid in coin or work. As most people who come to Bri-sean have an allergy to halfway honest work and the nobility doesn’t take kindly to freelance crime, they built their own ramshackle homes and businesses from wood and stone that jutted out into space right off the side of the tiers. The looked like thorns festering in a limb.

Sunrise didn’t even make the city more safe. In fact, it was just the opposite. The light of day chased away the cowards who needed shadow and surprise to ply their villainous trade. And when the mongrels fled the field, the wolves arrived; those confident enough in their strength or skill that skulking was no longer necessary. The wise hid their wealth and tried not to draw … Continue reading

Ridsekes – Chapter 1

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This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Ridsekes

“Let me tell you a story.”

My signature line. Yes, I was being paid to tell stories. Yes, many of the guests at the party were there purely because they were promised that for that one night, the entertainment would be classic tales weaved with expert care by the Traceren Ridsekes. But none of that really mattered. It was all part of the atmosphere and illusion of the exotic to entreat the audience to hear my tale as if I were a stranger who had come to their fire in the night.

And I certainly wanted ot keep the entertained. Not just from a sense of professional pride, or because I felt I owed it to them because I had been paid. In normal circumstances, that was enough, but I was surrounded by the ‘nobility’ of Bri-sean.

Nobility was their word, not mine. There weren’t any bloodlines in the Rogue City, just blood spatters. I hesitate to use call them upper class either, because class varied from nation to nation, or in some cases, city to city.

In Harpsfell, where I live when not earning my coin, they would grudgingly be upper class, because Harpsfell will let you call yourself … Continue reading

Rune Breaker: Chapter 7 – Battlelines

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This entry is part 7 of 12 in the series A Girl and Her Monster (Rune Breaker, #1)

The superstitious, particularly those with no talent in magic of their own, often had dire warnings about its use. This as especially true for the abilities they coveted most. Chief among them was transmutation. Borrowing the shape of another, they hypothesized, always carried the threat of that shape dictating the shape of one’s mind. Above all, they feared the loss of self.

As far as Ru was aware, there never was a danger of that for even the most bumbling shapeshifter. In fact, crafting a spell to make it happen on purpose was almost more trouble than it was worth.

True, in taking on another form, it was a common shortcut to overlay the intended creature’s instincts. Plain and simple, it was easier to borrow the ability to run on four legs or breath fire than to learn how the natural way. But the shapeshifter’s mind was always in control as long as they were conscious.

Later, Ru would cite that last part and stupid cat instincts.

He woke up sprawled on his belly. Someone was scratching his head and blazes did it feel good. A purr rumbled out from him and he rolled his head beneath the stroking hand … Continue reading

Rune Breaker: Chapter 6 – Waste Not Want Not

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This entry is part 6 of 12 in the series A Girl and Her Monster (Rune Breaker, #1)

After that, the subject of Ru and by extension, Taylin, became closed. Kaiel went into his wagon to scrounge the evening’s repast while Taylin tried to make herself comfortable by the fire.

It was spring now, whereas it had been the height of summer when she entered the fated cave, and early enough in the season that when the sun was finally gone, a chill crept over the world. Taylin moved as close to the fire as she could without igniting her clothes. Burning herself wasn’t a concern; she had yet to meet a fire hot enough to do that.

After a time, Kaiel returned with a cast iron camp oven filled with water an iron pry bar, and a tin box of trail rations. His rifle was left behind inside. He sat down facing her with enough space to set the arm load of items between them.

“The good news,” He proclaimed as greeting, “Is that I thought to buy fresh rations when we were at the Dragonpier; dried fruits, some road-friendly vegetables, travel crackers, cured venison, and of course, potatoes.” He pointed to each item in turn. “The bad news is, I’m also got plenty of Allbuk’s.”

At … Continue reading

Rune Breaker: Chapter 5 – Spell-worked Water, Alchemical Food

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This entry is part 5 of 12 in the series A Girl and Her Monster (Rune Breaker, #1)

The sun had just started to set when they finally reached the village. Kaiel’s description had been, if anything, too generous.

Built on the banks of the river, the place was little more than a U shaped cluster of reed-roofed cottages, built from bricks of fired mud. The closed end of the ‘U’ faced away from the river and was made up of larger, better built structures; likely a communal barn and storehouse. In the very center of the wide arc of huts, was a large communal garden, only recently sown at that time of year.

There was no wall, or fence, as evidently the region was of little interest to even marauding monsters normally. But what the villagers lacked, the Clan of the Winter Willow had provided, after a fashion.

Wagons; more than two dozen, hard topped caravan wagons encircled the tiny town like wooden sentinels. As they drew closer, Taylin could see wolves dozing beneath a few, occasionally in full harness and attended by a sharp eyes halfling with a crossbow.

The nearest stood, alongside his wolf companion, to challenge them as they approached. Bromun calmed his wariness with a few words in their tongue. As they passed, … Continue reading

Rune Breaker: Chapter 4 – Clan of the Winter Willow

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This entry is part 4 of 12 in the series A Girl and Her Monster (Rune Breaker, #1)

For once, Taylin was in complete agreement with Ru. A beat behind him, she echoed his ‘What?’.

The stranger smirked; not a cruel sneer, but a playful ‘I know something you don’t know’ smirk, and dismounted, careful never to let them out of his sight. His soft boots did well on the sand and though he would have been a few inches shorter than Ru, if he ever stopped hovering, he didn’t seem to be looking up at either of them.

The rifle dangled down by his hip on a leather strap and one hand dipped down to hold it steady. The other reached up to tip the hat out of his eyes.

He was younger than Taylin first thought. Possibly, she was fooled by the rasp n his voice from travel dust, but now that she saw his face, he couldn’t have been that long out of his teens. Laughing blue eyes told of a soul that found joy and wonder easily. But he hollows and bags around them, couple with the wilted, uneven cut of his hair suggested he hadn’t done so recently.

Still, when he offered them a neighborly smile, it definitely touched those eyes. “The short … Continue reading

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