“You should have come, it was a lot of fun.” Vahn regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth. His friend’s expression didn’t change, though. He just stayed with his back against the floor, twisting and turning the bottle he held overhead, watching the tiny… Read the rest...

The winter air bit deep, no matter how many layers he wore. Everyone said he’d grow used to it, but as he adjusted the thick scarf wrapped so it just brushed his chin, Rune thought again of how he didn’t want to. Snow was as marvelous as ever; he couldn’t… Read the rest...

I was the first. A miracle and a monster, a mistake that should have been learned from. By all accounts, I should have been the last. Magic is a river. I was a child the first time I heard her say it, still learning to read, more interested in toys… Read the rest...

Thaddeus grunted as the light came on, pulling his jacket back up his to his shoulders before he’d even taken it all the way off. He’d expected he would have time to sort the work he’d accomplished this week, finally sending the pile of folders off to be filed. Instead,… Read the rest...

There had to be a key, she simply hadn’t found it yet. Twisting a curl of her black hair, the mage girl mumbled to herself as she paged back through her book. That was the way with everything; no matter how complicated a knot, as long as you kept picking… Read the rest...

Demons. It was a foolish name for them, though he understood why humans called them that. He didn’t doubt that the sirens singing their lonely songs among the rocks earned themselves the same label. Humans didn’t always understand things that were different, and they couldn’t relate to his people. Not… Read the rest...

Sometimes, no matter how many precautions she took, things went wrong. They were not the explosive accidents of her novice days, but they were mistakes, nonetheless. Improper measurements happened, sometimes from a fuzzy head after a late night. Delicate mixtures bubbled over when her back was turned for only a… Read the rest...