Prickles passed the last ingredient — pickled newt eyes — to Mistress Moonshine. She plucked it off his spiny arm and dropped it into the bubbling cauldron. Both watched intently as the green solution frothed and turned pink. A smoky, pink heart puffed from the top of the cauldron. “It worked,” Mistress Moonshine cheered, throwing … More FFM16-2 In the Name of a Hug
Don’t much remember the warm these days. Warm went way-away, with the birds, the cars, and the man who sold papers on the corner. Used to buy papers. Now I sleep in ‘em. Mags sleeps in ‘em too. She’s a good girl. Went looking for food again today. Walked the big road, ash-snow falling down. … More The Winter Queen
The thing about bridges was they had an over and an under. What people tended to forget was there was also an in between. But the go-overs never looked down, and the go-unders never looked up. Worked just fine for me. Meant it usually took them longer to find the bodies. Crows knew about the … More Bridges
The Spray Brigade marched across the benchtop. Toaster shrunk from their glares. Waffleiron skittered behind him. Only Espresso refused to move out of their way. “Back in line,” Surfacespray ordered. Espresso stood firm on the bench and glared back at the Brigade leader. “You don’t own us,” he said. Lieutenant Mop lunged forward and bashed … More Game of Homes
“How about this cafe, mother?” Zeus paused outside the Cafe Delos. It was light inside, but not too bright so as to be glaring. It had enough spare tables that they could sit away from the other customers, but wasn’t so empty that it would be awkward, and the music playing was the soft jazz … More Just Syrup For the Dragon
“Run!” I shouted, grabbing Mortimer’s hand and tearing down the street. The flutter of faery wings grew louder. The bastards were coming down hard, and no wonder, what with the payload I was carrying. I tossed the muffin box over my shoulder. “No!” Mortimer cried, digging his heels in and pulling back. “Just leave it.” … More Mortimer the Reanimator
You have items with missing data. Please update missing fields. “Oh no.” Zeus bit down on his lip and squinted at the message on the screen. The little box was blocking his page. He wanted it gone. He nudged the small rodent until the arrowhead rested on the OK button. He pressed down on the … More Rodent on a String
Gravedigger Pete was not a superstitious man. He’d been working in the graveyard for over forty years now, and not once had he succumbed to the childish ninnying of his fellow workers. The other caretakers always left before nightfall, and sometimes even on cloudy days. But not Pete. He could cross the graveyard at midnight … More Midnight Stroll
Traffic Warden Trev did not enjoy his job. It was difficult to feel needed in one’s career, when one could easily be replaced by a stick with three lights on it. Even so, he returned to the intersection each day. Blow whistle, left palm up, wave traffic through. Blow whistle, right palm up, wave traffic … More The Accurate Tales of Sergeant Scrum
Julius stepped out of the capsule and observed the city before him, sprawled over a number of hills. The locals called it the known world. Julius smiled, as of now, it was his world. “Good morning, sir,” a man said, pausing before Julius. “Your palace awaits you.” Julius grinned. Palace? Yes, investing in an ancient … More Dawn of a New Age
C. A. Harland 