The Collection by Myna Chang
A shudder rakes me; it rises up from my soul, shaking this borrowed body like a fever dream. I press ahead, despite my fear. The Collector is coming for me. The throng roils on the platform below, hellbent on the open train doors. A giant digital clock in the center…
Kicking Up A Stink by Aviva Treger
It began with a fire. ‘Paranormal activity’, he said. ‘That’s what started it – ghosts, demons’.The phone line crackled and I held my breath. I heard him tut, and sigh, then say,‘Or maybe you think he died of Spontaneous Human Combustion?’. There was a pause. ‘I’m not trying to scare you’, he…
To Waste a Whole Heart in One Kiss by Carys Crossen
She waited for him. After the dust had drifted down to lie undisturbed, after Arthur had been borne to Avalon and Excalibur flung into the Lake, when Camelot’s glory had begun to fade and the city diminished into a Saxon vassal state, Guinevere waited for Lancelot. He would return for…
Mineral Bouquet by Lindz McLeod
All hail the true one, as the true one hails us. May the society be pleased to receive the enclosed selection of notes from one Dr Smiley, ‘ae Greate Lovere Of Winnes’, as presented from her diaries. As we all know, diary-keeping was, in the early years of the Ascendance.…
Low Hanging Fruit by Aviva Treger
Long ago, in the woods by the glen, a dead body was found. In a yew tree hollow, a girl was unearthed; had kids not glimpsed her hair whilst goblin hunting, she might have sunk, embedded in deadwood. She wore a crown of nightshade flowers and in her hands dark…
The Wedding March by Elizabeth Chatsworth
Albion Star System: CE 3048The Planet Britannia Cathedral Zee’s silver ankle bells jingled with every step, light and lively after her prison chains. She kicked out her toes, talons retracted, careful not to shred her snowy bridal robe. Her merry tune played off-beat to the guards’ slow, booted march. Thud,…
One Hundred Years of Dreaming by Chris Collins
The Old Woman’s Advice Calpurnia woke up screaming. Breathless, she gasped into consciousness, her panicked bosom heaving until the Oneiroi demon dislodged and shuffled off with a sneer. Clutching her husband’s arm as he rose, she told him of her dream and begged him – do not leave. And, laughing,…
C-A-G-E-D by Nancy Brewka-Clark
Mark crouched down in his usual spot behind the big rock and uncoiled the microphone cord. The battery-operated tape recorder was a big clumsy box of a thing, an ancient reel-to-reel that had belonged to his grandfather. But he could manipulate the knobs with his damaged hands. That was the…
Time After Time by Kenneth L. A. Lineberger
Clara looked around the corner when she heard the mail slot clink. She gasped when she saw the brilliant white envelope, practically glowing against the backdrop of aging wood and faded drapes. Impossible. She hurried forward and picked up the letter, hands shaking. The paper was elegant, slightly off white, thickly pressed, with gold trim…
In Spirit by Nick Perilli
Claudia sat back in the wicker chair beside her bed and spoke into the phone. She gathered in a helping of air before she did. A half-moon hung golden outside the bedroom window. “Goodnight, Claudia,” she heard from the receiver, a breath or two before. “I know these trips are…
Take Us On A Journey To Somewhen
