Going Concerns (Chapter 5)
"They did a good job cleaning up." Scava had dropped into a crouch to examine the floor right after entering Annie's apartment, just three steps ahead of her. She managed not to trip over him, but made a point of walking around him with exaggerated...
Going Concerns (Chapter 4)
Annie couldn't remember when she'd managed to get to sleep. It was before sunrise, at least. Betteridge and Ayalin hadn't asked too many questions of her, and had asked even fewer questions that hadn't already been asked--and answered--with their...
Going Concerns (Chapter 10)
As the three walked in--Annie and Rowell both soaked, the fox bound and bedraggled--Captain Snow dropped the clipboard she held with a clatter. Annie felt a momentary burst of smugness at making the human genuinely surprised, even though she knew it...
Going Concerns (Chapter 9)
Sinvy had reached the hotel room before they did; as they walked down the hallway toward him, he had his own pocketwatch out. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "You're five minutes late!" "That's it?" Gibson sounded surprised. "We made better time than I...
A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood (3)
Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely fans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. _from "Ash Wednesday,"...
A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood (2)
What might have been and what has been Point to one end, which is always present. Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Toward the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. _from "Burnt Norton," T.S. Eliot_ *...
A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood (1)
Twelve o'clock. Along the reaches of the street Held in a lunar synthesis, Whispering lunar incantations Dissolve the floors of memory And all its clear relations, Its divisions and precisions. _from "Rhapsody on a Windy Night," T.S....
Indigo Rain (Part 2)
Reaching the White Orchid Inn required walking all the way back to the business district, then three more blocks north into one of the oldest sections of Norinton. Professional offices, high-priced restaurants and beautiful old hotels and inns lined...
Indigo Rain (Part 1)
Bells on ankles, wrists, and tail jangled a wild rhythm as Roulette spun on one leg, the other bent at the knee, lifted high. Each ring and clap was as precise as each flare of her skirt. With no musical partner, it fell on her shoulders alone to hold...
Dreams Are For Vixens
Erica was chubby. Not fat--more stocky, you might say, a hundred seventy pounds, not bad for a five-foot-six, nineteen-year-old raccoon. But surrounded like she was by svelte felines, those preciously cute otters that always seemed to have half the...
Shattered Stone (Part 1)
As the last bits of sunlight faded, Vanya drew back the hood of the cloak she wore, letting long black hair fall over her shoulders, and glanced around the marketplace. She'd awoken at dusk, as usual; tonight was her first night in Groveport in...
A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood (4)
Memory! You have the key. The little lamp spreads a ring on the stair. Mount. Put your shoes at the door, sleep, prepare for life. _from "Rhapsody on a Windy Night," T.S. Eliot_ * * * Her voice was quiet, the glow in her eyes less fierce than...