The street climbed at a steep angle, soaring up into the sky. At the top of the hill, a small park’s parking lot provided the setting for an impromptu Rainer Drift tailgate and pregame party. Cars decked out in Rainer Drift gear filled the lot, while fans stood around, chatting, eating fresh ho...
2024-02-08 00:19:32 +0000 UTC View PostIce Queen sighed, shooting a glance over her shoulder at the body behind her. “Yeah, I know, I know. I said I’d stop killing petty criminals. But what was I supposed to do, ignore him? If he actually kicked off a rampage, do you know how late I’d be to dinner? I can’t waste those...
2024-02-08 00:14:17 +0000 UTC View PostCrack.
The man’s helmet went flying. It bounced along the ground, ringing out with each strike. Under the helmet, the man didn’t look much like Alpha. His strong jaw gave way to soft cheeks, aging eyes, graying hair. He stumbled back a few steps, lifting a hand to his bruised c...
2024-02-08 00:13:35 +0000 UTC View PostLevi took a deep breath and sighed. “Sunlight! Fresh air! Fucking hell, it feels so good!”
Fira glanced at him, awkward. “So, uh…”
“Your brother! Right! Let us go! Haha, lettuce.”
Fira cut a look at him. “Are you okay?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, fair.”...
2024-02-08 00:12:56 +0000 UTC View PostThe buzz of a phone startled Levi awake. He snatched it up, lifting it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Levi, was that you?”
“Was what me?” he asked, suppressing a yawn.
Kella sighed. “The five hundred dollars or so cash that showed up on Mom’s doorstep. That was you, wasn...
2024-02-08 00:11:29 +0000 UTC View PostFira sat curled up in the corner of Maury’s bed when they returned, arms wrapped around her legs, her head resting on her knees, eyes shut, quietly snoring. Levi glanced at her, then shook his head and let the plastic sheeting quietly fall closed.
“Sleeping?” Maury asked.
Levi n...
2024-02-08 00:10:37 +0000 UTC View PostLevi climbed back down the stairs with three plates of steaming hot scrambled eggs and toast. “You’re outta bacon, old lady!”
“I gotta watch my fat intake in my old age!” she hollered back.
“Smh, just build yourself a mechanical heart,” Levi grumbled, kicking the door op...
2024-02-08 00:08:58 +0000 UTC View PostCrossing the forest, Levi came out in a quiet part of town. Faded old townhomes lined the streets. Here, only stumps showed where the overgrown trees from the forest had infiltrated the space, and the streets, though worn, remained patched. The houses bore scars of battle, both from age and the e...
2024-02-08 00:08:05 +0000 UTC View PostAs they walked, the streets got scragglier, the lights fewer and further between. Electric lines drooped between buildings, strung with tied-together sneakers. Women in tight dresses leaned against the walls of alleys, smoking cigarettes. They cast a look at Levi and Fira, but didn’t bother cal...
2024-02-08 00:06:43 +0000 UTC View PostLevi hurried into Jet Engine’s bedroom. Ignoring the ruffled bedsheets, he went straight to the closet. He threw open the doors and perused Jet Engine’s clothes, picking out a few nondescript t-shirts and jeans. A backpack sat in the bottom of the closet. He upended it, tipping old notebooks ...
2024-02-08 00:03:57 +0000 UTC View PostThere’s this thing. You know. This small thing. Really pisses me off.
Needless death.
Yeah. Big surprise, right? I’m really making a statement here. Needless death, whew. What next, am I going to suggest feeding starving orphans?
I get it. But seriously. I hate it.
All...
2024-02-08 00:03:12 +0000 UTC View PostIn Central City, there’s only one hard rule: everyone dies.
Everything else? Soft, soft rules. Suggestions, really. Flying? Sure, why not. We’ve got fliers left, right, and center. Build a jetpack if you can’t fly on your own powers. Go nuts. Invulnerability? What kind? You...
2024-02-07 23:54:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Yeah. What is that?” Oz murmured, half to himself.
Loup wiped her face, inadvertently smudging mud from her dirty hands across her face. Her nose twisted, and she shook her head. “Bad.”
A simple earthen jar sat in the ground. Its lid pointed up out of the earth, stil...
2024-02-07 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostLoup wound through the forest, taking a circuitous path along deer tracks and rocky passes. Even using Fflyn’s foot technique and his own light body technique, Oz struggled to keep up as Loup bounded along unfriendly terrain, using all four limbs to leap from rock, to stump, to patch of grass. ...
2024-02-06 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOz picked the way across the meadow, sliding into the forest with careful footsteps. Fflyn’s instincts guided his feet, picking the spots between fallen sticks and on the firmest ground, avoiding the slick piles of leaf mould and slippery, loose rocks. Oz paid attention, noting down Fflyn’s s...
2024-02-05 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostOz looked up at the gate. Shoulder-height was definitely an estimate based on my adult height. It’s well over Fflyn’s head. He lifted his hand and knocked. “Hello? Is anyone inside?”
The gate creaked, swinging with the wind. It whistled through the gaps in the planks, rattl...
2024-02-04 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe two of them walked down the road, Oz with three fresh, if false, manuals in his bag. He hummed to himself, enjoying the crisp early morning air and the moisture of dew still thick in the air.
Why’d you buy them? If you knew they were fake.
I bought them because they...
2024-02-03 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAt the edge of town, Aisling stopped. She gestured ahead of her, where a ramshackle old stable stood outside a small farmhouse. “They agreed to let us sleep in our stable.”
“Good, good,” Oz murmured. He lifted his head, gauging the area around them. Yes… this should do. 2024-02-02 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
As the man sorted through his books, Oz tipped forward, watching the colorful titles flash by. “Mister, you’re a traveling merchant? We’re traveling bards, me and my sister.”
“Oh, you are? How delightful! Can you tell me a tale?” the man asked, distracted.
Oz shook his hea...
2024-02-01 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAll the villagers stared at them, stock-still, unblinking eyes gazing to their cores. Oz forced a smile and gave a little wave, distinctly uncomfortable.
One by one, the eyes shifted away. The villagers went back about their tasks, ignoring him and Aisling once more.
“Well, that was...
2024-01-31 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s…” Oz froze, the words dead on his lips. Do I admit it or not? After all, dark mages are worse than assassins in this world, and possession isn’t an entirely upright technique, even if Fflyn agreed to it.
He coughed. “Oz sent me out to investigate on his behalf.”...
2024-01-30 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe night passed. Oz dozed off against the wall in the tavern, and woke up in the library. Jumping to his feet, he took a moment to drink water, take an antidote, and swallow a fasting pill, then curled up in one of the nooks and cast the possession spell again. Let’s find out if I can stil...
2024-01-29 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIn the next moment, Oz leaped to life. As the bartender’s arm fell, Oz threw the ruby under his hand. The bartender’s hand smashed down, and the ruby shattered. Black and red light wisped out, swirling around his hand for a moment, then dissipated.
Maisel screamed. “What did you do? W...
2024-01-28 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostFflyn jolted awake, startling Oz awake as he did so. They’re making a move!
“Huh? Oh… oh right,” Oz muttered quietly. He wiped his eyes and stood, brushing the straw off his clothes.
Outside their room, the wood floor creaked as something heavy moved quietly down the ...
2024-01-27 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostIt took Oz until the sun dipped toward the horizon to put the Mages’ Quarter behind him. At the city’s gate, he gazed down a long, long path down the small mountain to the valley below. From this high up, the mortal villages and cities sprawled out before him like playsets, picturesque farms ...
2024-01-26 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostOz sat down just outside the World Door, gesturing for Fflyn to do the same. Fflyn obeyed, sitting down and immediately entering meditation again.
“I half expected you to run for it,” Oz commented, sitting beside him.
Fflyn shook his head. “If you can buy me out from the Black B...
2024-01-25 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostTaking the last bite of his roasted chicken, Oz tossed away the stick he’d cooked it on and stood. “Now that we’re rested and ready to go, let’s give that possession spell a try!”
Linnea fixed him with a look. “You’ve replenished your qi?”
Oz grinned. “I have a few t...
2024-01-24 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe tempestuous power of the last of the qi storm, condensed into two powerful bolts, drilled toward the stone and the pearl. Wreathed in fog, lightning crackling around them, they flew forth like bullets, locked on to the mediums.
Oz tensed, holding on with all his might. His tired, numb a...
2024-01-23 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHe lifted the stone and put his hand over it, ready to make the first mark, then set the stone aside. Rifling through the grass, he picked up a normal pebble instead. Let’s test engraving things with qi. That’s the absolute last step that I need to practice, and then we should be good to ...
2024-01-22 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostOz tossed the pearl in his hand as he walked, humming under his breath. Even after all this time in his pocket, it still exuded a faint coolness, as if it sat under a cold vent. He rolled it around on his palm, then slid it back into his pocket. Out the door and into the grassy realm, pausing a m...
2024-01-21 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post