The door swings open, and a big, too-likable face gazes down at me. “No,” I snap. Sort of. That angry word, charging from glottis to tongue, shrinks at the lip from years of Catholic absolution. After all, it’s not his fault I’m here for my wife. vi…

I wake up sweating, check the alarm clock. Three fifty-nine? Too light. I fumble for my watch. Almost 10. I come back from Kyle and Lisa’s across the street. “They don’t have power either. And there’s no Sunday paper. Must be out across town.” via P…

The mountain dreams pain. Cold iron vibrates purple-blue deep in the stone while tongues made from rot and rust bite and gnaw and hunger ever deeper. The dam...

Czern clumsily held the sharpie marker and etched his name on the My Name Is nametag before pressing the adhesive to his dilapidated gray robe. The letters were crooked but he was satisfied with his handwriting. It had taken him nearly a month to le…

When David got to work that morning, he discovered a large shell on his desk holding down errant pieces of paper. He smiled. His coworkers were always razzing him about how messy his desk was and now, it seemed, someone had taken it upon themselves …

Ada had heard that tone before, the horror of a newly assigned doctor witnessing the Leak for the first time. She waited for the novice’s breath to settle. via Pocket

Solinsky sat upon the mountaintop and watched his hometown die. As the sun set at his back, the farthest outskirts of the city fell into shadow first. Solinsky had his telescope trained there, upon the edge of town. He gasped to see the first of the…

Before I met you, Luke, I’d known nothing but flight — staying just long enough until the bills began to pile up. Not that that changed. When I arrived in Memphis, I didn’t even have a stroller for James, just carried his car seat until my arms burn…

The howls of the gore-hounds filled the night air. Vanda stopped to catch her breath. Sounds echoed off the trees, throwing noises at her from odd angles. Her pursuers were close. When they caught her it would be the end. via Pocket

Something woke me. A sound. I rolled to my back. Sand and rock ground into my shoulders and my skin hurt everywhere and my lungs seemed too dry to work properly. But for a moment I forgot all that, because when I looked up, there was a silver bowl o…

Hishi’s claws ticked on the polished floor as she ran. The sound was barely audible, yet the teeming corridors emptied ahead of her. News had spread through the great city, out and down from the bloody throne room, that a new blend – an Excisor – ha…

Hold This Star for Me – Mark David Adam – Metaphorosis Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2BknsEd

Once upon a time there were three brothers who lived with their parents in the midst of a vast forest. via Pocket

Claudia Campbell shifted in her seat, clutching her oversized pocketbook closer to her chest. She released an audible huff. With all the automation these days, why couldn’t they move things along faster? She dragged a digital magazine off a nearby t…

I set out for Velaya as a young man, having only just pledged to wed. I was to marry Belqis, flower of our village and light of my eyes, in whose father’s orchards I had played since my childhood. Our marriage should have been enough for a lifetime …

Any Old Disease – Dimitra Nikolaidou – Metaphorosis Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2L0wXry

On her sixteenth birthday, a girl approached her mother, a priestess gifted in prophecy, to learn her name and her fate. The trees of that island country spoke with the people, the priestesses most of all, and taught them things that we, to whom the…

Over the past year, we at MAELSTROM have covered stories which have often bordered on the sensational, such as the famous rivalry between siblings Amaterasu and Susanoo, the Japanese gods of the Sun and the Storms respectively. via Pocket

Thirty breaths, and then my world will be over. I know I will die from the moment I know anything at all, an understanding so innate, so instantaneous and thorough that it seems to precede me, which makes sense, as it was coded into my mind before y…

Sure, he’s not exactly the same. There are small differences. Some easy tidbits that I picked up on. Like, he’s right-handed. Ian was left. And this morning he asked if I wanted to take a week off. Save up for a get-away. via Pocket

Sister Nadine’s first true thought is of beauty. Father Paul is delivering a sermon on sacrifice in his deep voice, pausing for emphasis every so often, when the bird lands on the ledge of her squint with a silent flutter of wings. via Pocket

Here’s what I know: When Mom discovered she was pregnant with me, my parents had been separated for some time. Dad had left her for another woman in another town, and Mom had filed for divorce. I was conceived during a short-lived Christmas reunion.…

PodCastle 535: The Threadbare Magician — Part 1

I see her shoulders tense, then one hand releases as the other arm swings out and round. Ashes form a plume on the wind. “He’s gone, Darion. Free at last.” Essa blinks back tears as she smiles at me. There’s a release in her eyes, a relief and a par…

The chopper could be heard in the distance. Chakk-chakk-chak-chak. It was still out of view behind the sheet of mountains. The sound of the unicorn blade clacking over the sounds of gunfire gave the platoon courage. via Pocket

Barbara pulled the baked turkey from the oven and set it on the counter carefully. It was perfect! She did not want the juices to slosh over the side and burn her like they had the year before. via Pocket

It was once told some time ago that there were four brothers that were the son of a huntsman that had saved a princess from a dragon. The four brothers had each mastered gainful trades with skills beyond any other with their craft. via Pocket

Today was my day to choose a disease. Mama was heavily pregnant again. She was stirring a large pot that bubbled away on the stove, filling the air with the aroma of milk and oats. Sage, Lentil, and Chilli were crawling around Mama’s ankles, squeali…

This Side of the Wall – Michael Gardner – Metaphorosis Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2nuaFoJ