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....
Going Concerns (Chapter 8)
"I hate funeral homes." Annie trudged behind Gibson up the walk to Barash and Sons Mortuary. In the way of all its kind, the building imposed serenity through artifice. The tastefully understated one-story brick structure _almost_ looked like it could...
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...
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,"...
Kismet (Chapter 1)
The call that shatters Gail's life comes disguised as a gift from her past. It starts the way all of them have for the last fourteen years: a _beedle boop_ and her ship's voice, a pleasant female contralto, sounding directly in her left ear. "You have...
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_ *...
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...
Fixer (Excerpt)
So I'd been thinking of leaving the business. It wasn't that work had dropped off, or gotten much more dangerous. It wasn't that I disliked the area. I was a North Florida native, and I loved all of this crazy state, but the Gulf Coast was my...
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...
Christmas at Joe's
The bell on the diner's door jangled, stilled, jangled again spasmodically as a blast of cool air came in from the mostly-empty city street outside. "Hi, Frank," Jean said. She hadn't looked up from the counter, cleaning rag still in hand; she just...
Going Concerns (Chapter 7)
"So you're saying _you're_ our original informant." They guided him inside, Annie only letting go of his arm once he'd been guided to the couch and forcibly sat down between them. The Rilima nodded, readjusting his shirt collar and glaring at Annie....
Shattered Stone (Part 2)
She woke up to the sound of a soft tapping at her door. She blinked sleep out of her eyes, and looked at the clock; the hour suggested it should be twilight. Sitting up in bed, she arranged the sheet around herself and unlatched the door from across...