Passion in the Desert
In an age when flight was still a dream of men, Ajani's forefathers had served Pharoh by searching the stars for the future. Ajani gazed out of the small oval window in an unconscious mimicry of his ancestors. He could see nothing but blackness at...
Chance of Showers
This wasn't like one of those cheep porn movies where the people are strangers. I knew exactly who he was. Top of the class in the sports and health department. Bentham College's national champion swimmer. It was hard to believe a husky with that much...
The Mark
I make no excuses for what I am. Excuses are for weaklings who justify their actions to those above them. But I am not weak. And no one is above me. Do you find me arrogant? How else should I be, when killing one of you is so laughably easy? Yes,...
Wage Slave
Prologue I'm tied to my back to my boss's desk. My arms and legs lie flush to the stained tropical wood, stretched to their limits in a wide 'X'. My naked body lies displayed under the soft glow of the downtown Seattle lights that shine through the...
Crete: Part One
The birds wheeled overhead, a great flock of them, filling the air with a high piping. Paulo watched them from the deck of the ship. All were silent now. No more tears for home or wails in the night, clutching each other's shackled arms. Now was...
Feeding Time
"You're off your meds, Prince." The zebra ignored him. He cupped his palm around the tiny flame until he felt the satisfying burn of thick, spicy tobacco singe his throat. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and snorted smoke. Ed stopped...
King of the Orcs, Part 6
Zor did not look pleased. He flung his drinking horn to the ground at his feet, where it shattered. The hall quieted. "So Grothor taught you to fight," Zor conceded. "Well, a war-wolf can be taught to fight just as fiercely." Stedon laughed. "You...
King of the Orcs, Part 4
Train they did. It took a few days for the orcs to really grasp Stedon's method, but once they did, a new light shone from their eyes. "Grunt, come here," Grothor growled after he dropped his last boulder. Stedon approached. "Feel the pump in this...
Rikky's Crush
_For Ralph_ Arena México was a maw. A roaring, black maw with teeth of padded orange seats that breathed in screams. It inhaled the air with sixteen thousand throats and exhaled in tumbling oceans of sound that careened from one side of the stadium to...
King of the Orcs, Part 2
Stedon opened his eyes slowly. They widened when he saw the snarling visage of a bald, yellow-eyed orc standing over him. It wasn’t Grothor. This brute had a scar across one eye and a pierced nose. Wider cheekbones than Grothor had. All in all, a less...
The Stranger
I wake nervous. The television still flickers, the sound low. I shift my position on the couch and my empty TV dinner tray falls to the carpet. My whiskers quiver. A roof beam cracks as it settles. A soft, extended sigh wafts up from the baseboards as...
After Hours
Closing time. Issa set the gym lights to half strength. He ushered the last sweaty members toward the locker rooms, gave the equipment a thorough wipe down, re-racked weights onto their proper pegs, and counted down the till. Half an hour past...