58 - Early Frost
“I guess I always wanted to be a farmer.” I expected laughter, but instead the silence plunged deeper. “No,” said the farmer. “You don’t. The vermin, the too-small harvest, the too-big loneliness, up ...
2 Mar 202034min
57 - Horses
“Sorry, Hannah,” he said. “I forgot you liked horses so much, and didn’t want to hear about them getting lit on fire until their bones showed through. Just be careful, you know? And watch out down by ...
17 Feb 202035min
56 - Achille Belanger And the Case of the Open Secret
They arrived at the crime scene, a gorgeous space: plasterwork ceilings illuminated by broad sash windows. A floor of unsurpassed versailles parquetry was disfigured only by the pool of dried blood. “...
3 Feb 202030min
55 - A Tale of Andalusia
A pair of guards bowed low on the other side, and though their weapons were sheathed, he felt a spike of alarm, and nearly struck them with his sword, for both men were deformed, and hideous in his si...
20 Jan 202029min
54 - The Badalisc
The Badalisc is an Epiphany-time tradition, a creature that visits towns and gives a comedic speech where it talks about the town gossip and reveals people’s secrets. There’s singing, dancing, eating,...
6 Jan 202028min
53 - Auld Tup
“That… play,” I said. “What did it represent?” He frowned at me and tilted his head. I repeated the question, but it seemed he’d understood my words, but not their meaning. “Represent?” he said. “Nay....
23 Des 201920min
52 - Roses
At four in the morning, I awoke writhing in pain. It was a hunger like nothing I’d felt up to that point. Like a force of nature. A vacuum needing to be filled. I tried in vain to sleep, to turn my th...
9 Des 201936min
51 - The Initiation
“Your son must be initiated,” said the shaman, Shiao-Duun. “For his sake and yours. You are all too young to remember the hard times, the cold times. But Shiao-Duun is not too young. And I tell you, s...
25 Nov 201930min
