Collar 12 -- Pax Vo Biscum
I gasped and pulled Fletcher tightly into my embrace, feeling him grip me closely to him. The words clanged inside my head:_I think he sold me._ Nothing in my life had prepared me for the horror that I felt from those five words. Even Elizabeth's...
Tending to Important Matters
**_Sunday Morning_** I stirred gently, waking to the sounds of birds and a whisper of soft music barely beginning. Stretching, I reached over to turn off the alarm. Some years ago, I had discovered the CD called_Morning/Jewel,_and I realized that...
The Radiant Lion
Body-surfing the waves as only a lean young otter could do, Javier coasted toward the shore and the spaces where only the knowledgeable few could gain entry to the old boardwalk. He reached the wet sand at the tide's edge and performed a happy...
Real Love on a Train
I'll say this for her: It was an interesting venue for a break-up. Debbie never gave herself enough credit for her ingenuity, especially in the machinations of twisting the knife. She's a vixen, and the daughter of an alcoholic mother, so some would...
Readership, Part 2
Following the adage that "no good deed goes unpunished," Gwydion found himself padding down the hallway of the hospital the next morning, on his way to meet the fox whose life he had helped to save. He was accompanied by two males who couldn't have...
Ariel Ascending
_"Ariel is the name of an angel... sometimes also of a demon..."_ --Cornelius Agrippa, Occultist (1486-1535) **_Saturday Evening_** I leaned back in the old, worn, but comfortable office chair (trying not to think of myself in quite the same...
The Rooftop Muse
My name is Naomi McLeroy, and I'm part of the county's CSI department. I'm a vixen therian, a creature whose mere existence is a mixed blessing in the world of humans. I can perform a special service that few humans can do: I can see and speak to...
The Laputan Factor 02
The briefing was good, meaning short and to the point. Gorgonea Tertia was not exactly one of the top stars in everyone's constellation list, but there were some reports from that general region that might indicate some trouble for travelers going...
We Have Seen
_Letter dated August 4, 2023_ _Tristan Black Wolf:_ _I found this sealed envelope in Jason’s papers, with your name and an old address in Stillwater OK on it. Glad you’re still in touch. No one has seen Jason in ten years, so we have opened his...
Maxwell 1
# Maxwell 1 **Monday, March 16, 2011** "Now, that's the way to bring your laptop in for service." Maxwell Boudreau smiled at the otherwise unassuming, professorial, white-furred fox who proffered his closed laptop as the platter for a pastry box,...
The Late Train
The railway platform hadn't changed since the days that it had first come into being. No matter the time of day, no matter the weather, the season, the year, the century, it still felt of necessity and enforced patience. It wasn't "clean" in the way...
The Jam Jar
For Neil Gaiman, who unknowingly gave me the seed crystal _ _ _ "Ye gods, that thing is repulsive."_ _ "Yes, I know."_ _ "Why do you keep it?"_ _ "It needs me."_ \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* The rat, mid-sized for his particular feral...