Crista nodded calmly but Red Day shrieked inside her, eager to enact its justice on this self-admitted killer. As Red Day’s anger exploded, the AI seized control of Crista’s right hand and grabbed one of her knives. With a shout of no, Crista ran up the stairs. After bolting the cellar door shut she stumbled to the porch and vomited.
Read MoreThe Ever-Dreaming Verdict of Plagues
Stars snap into place outside Lura’s cockpit. A red giant twenty degrees off her ship’s nose has visibly shifted position. The nebula above her has grown more diffuse. She exhales, clicks the button to log another successful breach, and lets herself blink while the flight computer calculates the next FTL jump.
Read MoreDiscontinuity
She drank the detoxifier the next morning, pouring it out into a spoon. At first, she thought: orange juice. Then: petrol. Then: sour milk. It fizzed as it hit her insides.
Read MoreNext to Cleanliness
Between death and birth lies a deep night. In it, the soul stretches out, comes apart at the seams, and disperses, to eventually recreate itself anew.
Read MoreDeep Night
He is a gorgeous boy, elegantly dressed, the smell of cotton and linens at his pulse point. His skin is so pale that she can see the blue of his veins.
Read MoreCOTTONMOUTH
It is told that the first demon was born when a young human child from the first village on this world wandered out into the forest nearby to explore.
Read MoreThe Shadow We Cast Through Time
“But he’s my son …” his voice trailed away as he stared into her blank face. This was futile, he realized. How could she, a spell made flesh, possibly understand?
Read MoreThe Fine Print
Here’s the thing you need to know to understand this story: I was meant to be an only child. The doctors, when they examined my mother, only counted one heartbeat.
Read MoreWhat Sisters Take
It happens on your way home from dropping your brother off at school. You’re stopped at a red light. There’s a soundless flash that makes your ears pop and the world go blank. You stand on the brakes, hard, trying to push the pedal right through the floor. As your eyes squint themselves open, the horizon pulses distantly, once, twice.
Read MoreSurvival, After