By C. L. Baptiste Hafdìs waited. The house was dark except for a bed of coals, which sat half-buried in the fire pit that Lars had built two summers ago. Hafdìs blew on them, and a tender flame sprouted. The snow outside had stopped, leaving everything still and clear. She heard distant church bells tolling…
Read morePrison of the Abyss
By Nicholas Woods Home. I just have to make it home. His pilot was late. He quietly urged himself to be calm, to not let his anxious heart worry as he scanned around the empty tarmac. Quiet breaths, quiet beats. Didn’t want the heart to pace too loudly. No. It could hear it, that thing…
Read morePilgrim of the Witch
By L.L. Ford May I tell you a story? Here was paradise. An unforgettable land. Until all who refused to forget passed on from this world. Today, my people blame the witch of the marsh. She made paradise fall away and turn to ruin. She arrived in the drylands, bringing the marsh and consuming the…
Read moreGoodnight Ruby
By G. W. McClary No mother should have to bury her child, but it will be fine, I tell myself. I made arrangements. I’ve had her cremated, and right now I’m pouring her ashes into a plot of soil. They pepper the dark dirt with flecks of grey, falling into a recession I’d made sometime…
Read moreErrant Delivery
By Marco Etheridge Trigger Warning: Suicide is discussed. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, help is out there. You can call, chat, or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S and its territories, but there are many suicide and crisis prevention hotlines…
Read moreFool’s Gold
By Richie Billing “How much gold did you say they had, Bert?” Brains whispered. The guttural sounds of goblins echoed up from the valley below. Berty gazed down at the glowing campfires, sucking in air through the gap in his front teeth. “Enough to gorge yourself to death with pies, but only if you stop…
Read moreThe Faerie Queen of Dublin
By M. Brandon Robbins I had lived in Dublin for about a month when I met the Faerie Queen. On an especially sunny Saturday, I decided to go for a walk through St. Patrick’s Park, which was near my flat. I had been walking around for about an hour when I saw her. She was…
Read moreThe Bandits of White Bend
By J.G. Proctor Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash The tavern door slammed open, letting a gale of boisterous voices blow over the tavern’s patrons. “Break open your finest reserves, my good man, my brothers and I have a thirst,” a young man called out, carrying the rich vowels and self-serious tones of an…
Read moreThe Rhythm of Enchantment
By Blessing Gibson Sylva sensed the stranger entering the wood long before he arrived. With dirty, travel-worn clothes and wind-tossed, tangled hair, he reached the cottage at last. With relief and surprise written equally on his face, he took in the smoke rising from the cob chimney and the chickens clucking in the yard. He…
Read moreCallous Wage
By Stephen Shewmake I watched a yellowish light cast ever-changing shadows across the deck from a single lantern swinging at the ship’s bow in a lazy rhythm to the sea’s motion. Silhouetted against the light sat a lone sailor on the railing, his legs dangling over the water. He had one arm looped through the…
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