Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 5
5 Ander always knew there was a special kind of magic in creating something. It didn't matter whether it was just a little drawing in the dirt or a massive undertaking like building a house. Making something real that wasn't real before, first...
Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 4
4 - in my bar!" That voice startled Kiana out of her daydreams and slammed her back to earth with an almost audible thud. She looked around, trying to figure out who had shouted so strongly, and then the door to Othello's banged open to the strangest...
Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 3
3 He wasn't numb enough yet. He could still feel the bartop against his cheek, reeking of rotten grapes. That's all wine really was, when you got down to it. Rotten grape juice. The only reason anybody ever drank the foul stuff was to get drunk, go...
Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 2
2 "Again?" Ma turned around, the knife in her hand nothing compared to the daggers flying form her eyes. "Didn't you visit him yesterday?" "And the day before that," Layla added. "And the day before _that_," Fa added still, although he and Layla did...
Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 1
Chapter 5 Blood in the Snow 1 Kiana awoke with a gasp, disoriented and shaking all over. It took her a few seconds to realize she was in her bedroom, lying in bed, staring up at the same old familiar ceiling with the same old familiar bands of...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 25
25 Where his left foot touched down on solid ground for the first time since he was pulled out of the river, his right leg just ended a few inches too short, the bandaged stump hovering in mid-air. He didn't like that asymmetry. His eye was just as...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 24
24 - lightly patted him on the shoulder, like he was a grieving she-wolf widow at her husband's pyre. It was all Banno could do to keep himself from bursting out in gales of laughter. He'd almost lost it back there with his little speech, talking...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 23
23 "Boys. Get in here. Close the door." Luke briefly considered making a run for it, maybe hide in the woods with Tim for a day or two like a pair of fugitives, but the short tone of Dad's voice was enough to tell him that if he intended to run off...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 22
22 _Ssshhh..._ Luke could see those eyes, black inside the black. He could feel them boring into his own like one of Dad's hand drills, going deeper and deeper. _Ssshhh..._ He could still smell the smoke from the dead candle, mixing with the...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 21
21 Kadai sat down on his bedroll, thankful to be back in the shade after spending so much time out in the sun. After all the things he's gone through; burying his baby daughter in the woods, watching his sons get brutalized to within an inch of their...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 20
20 "It's not your fault, you know," Kadai said, sifting through the ash. It was an odd sight, the Chieftain and his son on clean-up duty, work that would normally have fallen to Wolves of low standing. But no one had stepped up to do it, and Kadai...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 19
19 The morning air was cool and felt good on Kadai's bruised face. He considered staying in his tent all day long, but such action was not befitting a Chieftain. He always walked through the village this time of day, and everyone knew it. Straying...