“What are we doing here again?” I glanced back at the twenty-foot wall topped with razor wire that surrounded the mansion. “His name is Argo Milliner. You just have to say hello and thank you for the scholarship, and we leave. It’s just polite.” My mother nudged me toward the door. It was heavy wood,…
The Shadow of Antia
“Ok. We are all here. Now, will you talk?” The queen of Antia said, stepping up to the bars. Behind her, the king and the two princes stood in amused irritation. They had emptied this wing of the prison of other people, hoping to keep the newly caught prisoner’s identity secret, at least for a…
The Revengening
“It is I, Maxmillian Atarax. I have returned from my banishment more powerful than you could ever imagine, and I will have my vengeance!” Maxmillian waves a knobbled staff before him, the power of the arcane sizzling in the air. His robe is majestically tattered and patched and tattered again. A man beams back at…
Epic
“Hallion!” The call echoes through the halls of the palace. “Lord Hallion!” It’s a tall woman in a smart tunic named Yora hurrying through the halls. She has gold hair and green eyes, and her footsteps clop clop against the marble floor. Hallion is sitting at his desk, a great thing of oak and gold….
Kiss of the Dragon
The doors swept open in time with the trumpet fanfare. The gathered nobles bowed in unison as the King swept into the room, his fur-trimmed white robe trailing a full ten feet behind him. “Caravax, Third of his Name, King of Elora, Lord of the Seventeen Seals, Champion of the Tower and the Holy Avatar…
The Blessing of Pain
“Don’t do this.” That’s my teacher. Shellan. She taught me everything I know about magic. She taught me to channel my life energy to work wonders. And she was always there to comfort me afterward when I would writhe and scream in agony. “I’m not afraid!” I hiss back at her. “I know! But you…
The Last Rebel
“Listen,” he says. His name is Roth. He’s the leader of a group of rebels that have been plaguing the kingdom for three years. I’ve spent half that time tracking him down, infiltrating his followers, his inner circle, and then befriending the man himself. He’s just returned from a temple raid with an arrow in…
Songs of the Soulless
“Sir. The third is in position. The second ready to reinforce, though the nons show no sign of resistance, so I don’t think it will be necessary.” The messenger is a squat fellow that looks more machine than human in his metal armor. Across the field he’d chosen for the battle, the sun is peeking…
It Spoke in Colors
It spoke in colors, and I couldn’t understand. I wouldn’t understand. That was the first command they beat into us when we took our oaths and donned our robes. We would not see colors, we would not know them, we would not name them, we would not claim them, but all the same, it spoke…
A Letter, from Rogan to Cora
My Dearest Cora, The strangest thing has happened. First, I am well. I am fed and warm and safe. Well, safe as anyone can be when they are marching to war. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I was so consumed with the unfairness of my exile. After everything I had sacrificed – I had…