by Laurie Hilburn Captain James Hook, edge still earning him more than a crown ever could. Out of all of his bastard children, Beatrice was the only one to bow and bide her time. Gerard was clever, but he could never put his intelligence to proper use, too distracted by sparkling baubles, ancient treasure maps, and impatient harlots. Caxton was blunt, bludgeoning where there should have been deft precision, while his twin Hawes could slice Read more
by Zenia deHaven The stylus bled black rivers in its wake as it danced across the papyrus. Its wielder’s eyebrows knitted together in a furrow, like a peasant girl’s wretched attempt at sewing. Huffing, the man sat back. The nubs of the wicker chair’s legs squeaked against the stone floor. He inhaled, breathing in the soft musk of night and old parchment, and rested his palm on the drawing. His pointed finger landed on an Read more
by Savannah Jade Jason Zuckerberg’s head spun while teleporting from his Meta college classroom to his 981-acre estate in the Metaverse to meet a few friends to explore the latest gaming theme parks. Normally, the switch from one place in the Metaverse to another was instantaneous and rarely caused disorientation. But the past few weeks, Jason’s QuestChip device somehow slowed to an Intel Core i9 processing speed, which was laughable considering he just updated his Read more
by Brianne Simone Pa always smelled of cooking grease and smoke. He’d come home late at night, an hour after her bedtime, and kiss her mother on the cheek. Then he’d quietly open her door, whisper, “Are you asleep, darlin’?” and she’d try so hard not to giggle because Momma would be mad if she found out that their little girl was still awake, but Pa would scoop her up and tickle her until she Read more
By Rowan Wasserman It’s a state highway, 50 miles per hour and barely carrying three cars at a time. Tree-lined with evergreens so tall they block the sun. A line of stars follows the path of your car when you’re driving down it, marking the trail of exhaust you leave behind. You weren’t there that night, thank god. If you’d driven down the road that night, the sight would have shocked you. Really, it would Read more