PodCastle 656: What My Flies Keep for Me Author : Shaoni C. White Narrator : Abra Staffin-Wiebe Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 656: What My Flies Keep for Me is a PodCastle original. Content Wa… What My Flies Keep For Me By Shaoni C. White There’s a dead body on the floor. This is a bad thing. I’m having trouble recalling why that’s the case, but I’m sure it’ll come back to me soon. via Pocket

La Héron by Charlotte Ashley In the grayest hour of the evening of April 16th, 1699, when the sun had just vanished behind the great château that embraced the city of Caen but before her lantern-bearers had taken up the hooks of their trade, a gargantuan woman stooped to fit through the door of the Trois …

The Last Exorcist by Danny Lore Author’s Note: This piece was commissioned and then declined by a prominent magazine. The only information that has been altered/omitted are locations, as those have been deemed a national security risk. Re-post and share at will. Naheem is our last great exorcist. When you point this fact out to …

PodCastle 546: For the Removal of Unwanted Guests

Ellie watches her husband from the front porch. He makes a lean shadow against the twilight, his arms outstretched, his heels lifting from the ground and dropping again. The wind rustles the branches of the trees overhead, their limbs picked clean o…

PodCastle 549: Fixer, Worker, Singer

PodCastle 552: The Watchers

PodCastle 553: Grounded Women Never Fly

The Tanuki-Kettle by Eugie Foster As she opened the door, Hisa was surprised to see an iron kettle sitting on her step. It had a large, round belly and four stumpy legs. The spout was wide and curved like a fox’s mouth with two round, black eyes above it. And most curious, a pair of …

By Eugie Foster. Read by Diane Severson. When we reached the south entrance, Nai-nai stopped. “An-ying, there is great passion in you,” she said. “A blessing and a curse, I have always maintained, that you were born in both the year and the hour of the rabbit but also beneath the auspice of fire. Fire …

Honored Guest by Ellen Kushner I have met very few evil people in my life, but my grandmother is one of them. When my mother died, Omama told my father that she would support him and my brother and me, but only if he gave up all his and my mother’s friends, her family and …

Black Swan, White Swan by Eugie Foster Concentric circles lap beneath the dock’s wooden planks. A swan floats out, its shining plumage driving the water’s void back. “There’s a man across the way.” The swan fixes Delia with polished onyx eyes. “Sometimes he’s a lighthouse and sometimes he’s a train, but silence doesn’t scare him.” …

When Shakko Did Not Lie by Eugie Foster The maiden’s amber eyes glowed in the moonlight. A single tear glistened and rained down her moon-white face. “Don’t cry, lovely one,” Shakko barked, alarmed. The maiden lifted the sleeve of her jasmine-yellow kimono and dabbed at her eyes. “Why should I not cry?” she asked. “My champion says …

The Cruelest Team Will Win by Mike Allen A spider with a leg span wider than my outstretched hand squeezed out from the space behind the light switch, and spread its wings. I froze, my finger still on the toggle. Behind me the dust-draped ceiling fan hummed to life, the light bulb beneath it flicking on …

Telling Stories by Sandra M. Odell Sam knew there would be trouble the night the saguaro came to call. “Evening,” she said, and stepped aside for her unexpected guest. The cactus scrunched down as far as it could and skittered through the door on its roots, bringing with it the breath of rocks, sage brush, and …

Their Changing Bodies by Alaya Dawn Johnson Judy had been painfully aware of him since her arrival two weeks ago, when she had seen him across the mess hall. They talked a little, but Judy hadn’t been prepared for his appearance or his popularity. She hadn’t expected him to change quite so much. Judy had …