By Abby Meacham “I fold.” The words echoed in the gentlemen’s hall. Although it was nearly midnight, the chandeliers were still glowing, the windows shut against the rainstorm outside. It was empty save for the four men seated at a table near the back, all clad in costly suits. One was smirking, one was frowning, one was stacking his chips, and one held no expression at all. The smirker was Charlie Harte. He was a Read more
By Shay Manning The keeper can’t remember the last time the old house had a guest. Perhaps the woman who’d become lost in the rose garden? Or was she before the man who’d been stung to death by the bees? He shivers; that death had been particularly gruesome. But the house demands a sacrifice now and then. The grandfather clock in the hall has long since chimed eleven in the evening when the keeper is Read more
By M. Gagner The camp was a speck in the distance of Mina’s vision as she followed the shoreline. It was spring, and the lake’s water ran high and cold from mountain runoff. Wildflowers and lush willow trees populated the fields to the right of her, and iridescent clam shells populated the waves that hugged her ankles. Dry reeds brushed against her, fluting their soft airy song. It wasn’t her first time exploring this part Read more
By McKayla Gates The ground beneath Yeomra slipped out from under her. Snow mixed with beaten soil slicked the roads surrounding the barracks. With each step, mud seeped between the gashes in her boots, cold finding its way deep into her flesh. The burlap sack the guards placed over her head sucked in with each breath and choked the air out of her. But the men dragging her toward Commander Otsana’s tent did not care Read more
By Clarissa Janeen Speculative fiction is unique in that by separating ourselves from the real world, we have the tools to examine our reality from a perspective that is otherwise unobtainable. Fantasy in particular is known for portraying a multitude of fictional races; it can be concerning for fans of the genre to see this asset used in problematic ways as the portrayal of these ideas in fiction can negatively contribute to real-world ideas of Read more