Patience of the Thief
The most important skill for any thief, moreso than lockpicking or blending into the shadows or sleight of hand, is always patience. If you are patient enough, then no matter how well guarded an object is, there will come a time when you can just walk...
[Patreon] Taming the Hellhound
Demonology, for all the knowledge contained in libraries worth of ancient tomes, can be reduced to two simple lessons. First, a demon needs a source of power. Second, he who controls the source of power controls the demon. All the rest is...
The Bark-tenders
They came out only at night. As the first stars came out to prick holes in Mother Night's cloak and let her watch the slumbering world below, the bark-tenders stirred, staggered to their feet, and began their journey. Out they stepped from their tents...
The Sound of Neon
To hear humans talk about it, there's nothing like the colors of neon. Red, purple, orange, yellow, green, blue--every damn color of the rainbow in a tube blazing out a light that can be seen on the darkest, rainiest, foggiest nights the city can...
Turning Japanese
"Ichi, ni, shi, go," Theresa annunciated carefully. The snow leopard's brow was furrowed and her eyes clenched shut in concentration. Her bushy tail thrashed behind her as she tried to remember what came next. After a minute of intense focus, she let...
Corporate Drone
A burst of laughter from outside his cubicle shook James from his hyperfocus on coding. The donkey stuck his head around the cubicle wall and caught sight of a gaggle of newbies gathered by the water cooler. They were bright, young, and vivacious--men...
The Poet Monk
"The umber gush of flame, the silent roar of its passing. I feel no heat. I hear no sound. But I know that death is here, beckoning me closer." "Shut up! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup, you fucker! I am trying to save your fucking life here." Viola...
Black Dogs review
Ursula Vernon's _Black Dogs_ are the sort of books that get written after an author read too many hackneyed _Lord of the Rings_knock-offs and vowed to do something constructive rather than beat the cliché-loving writers to death with their own...
Toy for the Night
Lance felt the phone in his pocket go off right as the best action scene in the movie was starting. The slightly chubby aardwolf grumbled as he reached into his pocket, disturbing his boyfriend who had been pushing his head into Lance's paunch. Lance...
The Aviatrix
"We got her cornered this time. Faster, men," belted a boorish looking old bulldog. Far up above, a trio of police dirigibles converged onto the museum, shining bright searchlights all over it. The roads were swarming with constables, running with one...
Training Methods
Friday 10:00 PM Eustace glanced down at his phone with a grimace on his big horse muzzle. "Got a surprise for you when you get home. Kisses and hugs and gropes. XOPXOPXOP," it read. Davey, his sweet little Davey, all excited about a surprise, and...
Those Magnificent Women in Their Flying Machines (Heat 14 preview)
The tarmac crew scrambled as the plane came to a lurching stop off the runway. They were bouncing with energy and excitement: a new squad on a new post on their first assignment, and they were working on a brand-new model, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster,...