“What is the meaning of this?” He picked up a long trail of fishy-smelling kelp. It dangled in his fingers, dripping saltwater on his boots. The sea lay miles from here. A low moan drew his attention. Ares whirled around, scanning the city square. W...
“Get away! Scram!” The date was going so well, and he didn’t want a few giant goldfish to get in the way. Why nature had such a draw to gods and goddesses, he had no idea. But the fauna’s fawning had always been an annoyance, even in the woods at Mount Olympus. Who wants hummingbirds nesting in y...
He pulled the hood over his face, his breath steaming on the plastic visor. The synthetic fabric felt too thin to protect him, but thick enough to suffocate him. Repressing his nerves, he moved in between the portals separating the fusion core from the rest of the ship. Warnings beeped at him. A ...
The Sparkies perked up their heads and their tails, turning in our direction. They lit up in the headlights like demon ghosts on the road.I clutched the armrest. “If you’re gonna go, you’d better go now.”Gale hit the gas, and we sprang forward. “Hold on.”We accelerated, and the force pushed me ba...
Her fingers twitched with the urge to touch the keys of her Steinway, still back on the abandoned flight ship, drifting to nowhere fast in space. Now she felt the melody flow through her as more than a series of codes and craved its swell and its release. Maybe the music could help her understand...
She’d kicked a man so hard yesterday, the three-inch heel had ripped off the leather. After running a finger along the rim to spread the sticky ooze, she put her foot high against the chrome wall and pushed. She’d have to hold the position until the glue dried, but waterproof boots were necessary...
The quarter moon provided limited light as the boy disappeared down an alley by the butcher’s shop and the candlestick maker. When Nathaniel reached the alley, it was empty. He ran alongside the stone buildings, adrenaline pumping in his veins. Did he truly wish to find th...
She’s still alive. She’s safe. She escaped. And she’s with Weaver. The last part caused a current of unease to sting his gut, but she seemed to be in Weaver’s company by choice, so maybe they’d worked something out. Maybe Weaver had changed his mind and saved her? Who knew the depths of his broth...
They sang their foul song throughout the night and Danika tossed and turned in the spare bed in the captain’s chambers, wishing she could clog her ears with seaweed. She’d left all of her elegant nightgowns on Valorian’s ship, and she sweated in her undergarments, kicking the thick sheets to her ...
After an initial wave of destruction, a foot-crew yanked up the turf, disentangling the roots of a massive network of vines, revealing black crystal underneath. They stripped the land until it looked bare and naked, like a giant had chomped down and bit off a colossal chunk. Once the bio team cle...
As she entered the large domed hall, it seemed as if every duty guard stared at her. Zetta hovered at the edge of the grid, most likely processing the new set of letters. She probably hadn’t even dispatched the healer yet. Star took a seat on the first available bench by t...
She’d never worn something so frivolous, but today she’d abandoned her scavenging rags for something they’d found in the station’s antique museum. Gazing up at the twinkling backdrop of deep space, she wondered how, in all the universe, she came from the dingy, rat-infested alleys to this bubble ...
"Late summer, just about now, the young trout have grown to a substantial size. They frequent the shallow waters where the oxygen concentration is the highest to pick insects off the surface." "And whit of them?" Blarney sipped a mug of tea made with leaves and herbs he'd collected form the fores...
You’re going with me to school.” I opened my eyes and Pell jumped up and down beside my bed, pigtails flying like pinwheels. How did I even get to the bed? Valex or Len must have come in, shut off the DVD, and carried me. Usually I hated it when someone entered my room, but the thought of them lo...