Quizzed By an Aspiring Succubus -- A Scourge Standalone
Sepulcher of Midnight, like each of the Emerald Cities, had a school dedicated to training mages. The Asher Institute of Magic was one of the older schools, modest in size and founded by a dragon and the Asher family's financial backing. Mages far and...
Programmed to Please
Ralsei wanted to sleep in his own bed, but with the elevator still under repairs and Queen and Lancer blocking the stairs up to his room, Ralsei settled on just sleeping in Kris's. Of course, he might have politely asked Queen and Lancer to move, but...
A Shark's Lover
Elly heard Marshall's door open. She called from their shared kitchen, "I'm making breakfast!" The smell of already brewed coffee called to her, but she managed to keep her attention on the pancake she just flipped on the griddle. Already strips of...
I'll Be Your Everything
That same dream again. He spiraled in a dark space, unable to hold onto anything. An owl, massive and feral, would creep on its legs to him. He held out his paws. The owl spat something gangrenous and awful out into his padded palms. It was his. Of his...
Litter's Quickening -- an IAL Aside
Litter approached the front counter of the bathhouse, which even for the tall gryphon came up to his beak, making him barely able to see over it. To his right, the scent of the pipe smoke and musk wafted from an open hallway leading inside. Behind the...
Becoming What You Wanted Pt. 2
Lilly not Lyle. Stargazer lilies blossomed in voluptuous red and pink blooms. Their luscious petals caught the eye from across the room. That's what Lilly wanted with her transition. To be seen, a vibrant pop of radiance furling outwards. She wanted...
Metal Made Malleable
"Wake up, meat." Ridley's skull pounded; pain lanced down his brow to the end of his sharp beak. His bright yellow eyes flashed open. He sat, hind legs splayed, inside some kind of containment field. Some sort of force field wrapped in shimmering blue...
A Special Kind of Tonic
Waxy blue porch lights illuminated the pair as they stumbled, laughing, from a dinged up pickup truck. Neither wore much despite the chilly temperature, having come from the heated basement of a hardcore show. Samael's ears still hurt from the shred of...
Becoming a Dancer
He turned his head and offered a shy smile, his long, forked tongue flicking out like a flirtatious wink. He probably tasted your need. The dim torchlight played off his soft green scales. Pale colors in the daylight darkening in the twist and turns of...
THE BODY AS ITS OWN HOSTAGE
My nerves the orchestra none hear. Freeways of fire make me try to gnaw hands to paste. The kitchen burn that melts and cooks my skin till juice beads along my arm is nothing. Skin sizzles, I don't feel it. I feel only talons that rake my ribs,...
Family Secrets
White cedar trees in every direction, that's how Leanna knew she was home. The tall, spindly things always made her imagine Earth as a porcupine--the trees its needles. But it was the smell of cedar, mixed with the scent of dirt, that really got to...
In Another Life Pt. 6
Something solid nudged her back, getting Liolyn to stir. She lifted her wings, which had been coiled around her in her sleep, to see Sirtas' head hovering over her. "Lily?" he whispered, "What's wrong?" Catch released, Liolyn sprung up and hugged him...