Ander - Epilogue: Subchapter 2
2 This tiny little room at the back of the chapel had a massive full-length mirror running up the wall, and it was in front of this mirror that Kiana now stood, just as countless blushing brides before her had done, turning this way and that,...
Ander - Epilogue: Subchapter 1
Chapter 7 Epilogue 1 The sun beat down from a clear blue sky, glinting off the weatherworn gravestones as they stood in their neat little rows. Away in the distance, cicadas chirped their repetitive songs as though in complaint of the baking...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 187
187 Kiana didn't think she had ever been in a formation quite as lopsided as this. She had Hezzi's arm slung over her shoulder, and she, in turn, had her arm slung over Valery's shoulder, whose knees were just about shaking under all the weight. Hezzi...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 186
186 _Vallah! Get down from there before you break your neck!_ _But there's this huge bug up here, Father! You gotta see it! Its fangs are like, this big!_ She held her arms as far apart as they would go to indicate the sheer size of the mystery...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 185
185 A deep, low-pitched creaking noise filled the mill. It was the kind of sound you'd hear right before a tree finally fell to the axe. It was the unnerving groan of wood under strain. Mateo had been pushing his shoulder up against what felt like a...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 184
184 It was tough, climbing that dusty old ladder with only one good hand. He had to take it slow, despite the voices screaming at him to hurry the hell up, that nobody could keep Banno down for long. And not all those voices were in his head,...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 183
183 Luke had thought his nausea was under control, but seeing... seeing all this... it made him want to double over and wretch where he stood. There was blood everywhere; dripping down the stairs and splattered over the walls. There were even...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 182
182 "Do it for our baby!!" Kiana's voice echoed through the mill, hitting Ander like a slap in the face. Everything seemed to slow down with that echo, as if every reverberation took minutes instead of moments. The air was filled with motes of dust,...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 181
181 She knew this ache. She had felt it only once before, but not nearly as intense as this. It had come from the first Wolf she ever saw, the one with the scars running across his chest in jagged lines. _You_ bitch_! I tried to be_ nice_, and this...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 180
180 "No..." That was all Ander had time to say. Banno lunged forward, jaws working, teeth snapping. The tines of the pitchfork scraped along the stairs, scratching three thick furrows into the wood. Without stopping to think, Ander grabbed Hezzi and...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 179
179 "I'm sorry..." Hezzi whispered, staring down in horror at Banno's body. "I'm sorry... I- I'm sorry..." His eyes went glassy and unfocussed. He swayed in place and began to pitch backward. He raised his arm, but it was an unconscious response, as...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 178
178 Ander reached for the stairs, but even this small movement was torture. He slid down to the floor, gasping for air and leaving an arcing streak of blood against the wall, his fingertips barely brushing the first step. He felt heavy, as if someone...