spinning yarns from heartstrings
“Hmm?” Rough as sand, his deep voice cut through the silence, but she didn’t startle. Instead she asked again, “Will it always be like this?” He wanted to lie to her. Yes—that was the word she wanted to hear, the promise he should make, even though it would be impossible to keep—it will always be […]
Hungry Troll wait. Crouch low and comfy, Troll wait for feet sound—clippity-clippity-clippity. Troll guard bridge. Prince say so. Give Troll shiny hat too small for Troll head. Bring Troll big club called dragon bone and say then to Troll, “This Troll job. Troll watch bridge and no let pass unless pay.” Troll know what not […]
There was something in her hair. A bug, or a piece of string tickling against her scalp. Harlene’s arms flailed, hands immediately combing through the deconstructed strands of what was once a tight French twist. The tickling thing brushed across the tops of her knuckles, and she ducked down, a high-pitched shriek tearing through her […]
She is perfect. Sharp and unyielding, she rushes through water like air. Striking at the right moment, withdrawing in a graceful arc before her enemy can lunge forward, she whirls. A dancer pirouetting in a flash of steel that trails red ribbons in its wake, enemies fall at her feet like crumpled supplicants, blood blooming […]
David stared at the crustless toast, a half-melted pat of real butter slowly leaking into the crispy fibers of the bread as it slid across the surface so slowly only a stop-motion camera could have caught the movement. He loved butter. He’d bought it a week earlier, and had yet to use it, probably because […]
“Hey, do you think we could talk for a minute?” She huffed the bangs off her forehead, a display of rainbow color rising upward before settling back in over pale, golden brows. “I’m on my way out.” “I know, honey, but this will just take a minute.” The things he had to tell her would […]
Everything good came in threes; Mama always said that, but Hark seriously doubted her reasoning. Three sons were born before Papa disappeared, not at the same time, but over a course of five years. He took off when the youngest was six and Hark was eleven. He was born first, but Mama said it didn’t […]
I have no choice but to leave this with you and ask that you keep it safe for as long as possible. Your life, and the lives of so many others depend upon it. I won’t tell you not to be afraid. You have every right to your fears. Terror breeds vigilance, vigilance will keep […]
Exhaustion burns in every muscle, tugging until her bones ache. The quiet hum of the engines should be putting her to sleep, but the underlights lining the cabinet cast a glow like muted, dirty paper across their naked bodies, and she can’t sleep. Can’t stop looking at him, feeling the warmth of his thigh pressed […]