Stories tagged “urban fantasy”
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When in New York [1]
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Fair enough, but I wasn’t in Rome, I was in New York, and when in New York… Well, I honestly had no idea what New Yorkers like me did, so it didn’t really make much of a difference. My name is Caroli...
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When in New York [2]
“Caro, do you even know how to read that?” Maggie asked me, her tone all bemused and very much an indication that she was humouring me. She does that a lot. I scowled at her. “It’s a map, Mags. It can’t possibly be any mor...
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The Street Sweepers
Nobody sees this side of the city but us: The donut-shop owners starting their machines. The street walkers who didn’t catch the right eye. The lonely taxi drivers making circles around the park. The staggering drunks. The beat cops. The street s...
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A Day in the Life of a Magician
Brandon hated his job. Six years of school and now he stands beside a conveyor belt and casts simple creation spells from nine to five every day. Sure, him and five others could easily do the work that a hundred machines could do in a day, and sure the...
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The Troll
It lived in the alley behind the pizza place, way in the back where the sun can’t reach no matter how hard it stretches. Even Bud won’t go there, no matter how badly he wants to beat you up and take your lunch. That’s why I was there,...
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Something of Worth
The mages stood at a table, examining an object. That’s all two of them could say – it shimmered in vague translucent outlines. It might be a cube – but might not. The shaman, Wing Eyes, spoke first. “So – what is this?...
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Working Nine To Ph'tagn
The followers stood in the chamber. Benches faced a dais, and shadows from torches might have flitted over faces – but two years ago, the chamber was redone with a drop ceiling and fluorescents. The Elder ordered it so he could see unholy texts w...
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Dirty Laundry
“They’re coming for you.” I stared incredulously at the grungy looking man. Why had I let this lunatic into my house, exactly? For all I knew he was a serial killer. “Who? Why would anyone want to come after me? I’m the mo...
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Listen to Ava
Beth stood on the knoll and gazed at the broken city some seven miles distant. The voice on the city’s public broadcast system was audible, even from here, but distance diluted it such that it merely caused Beth a mild headache. Had she been with...
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Ritual
His hood is pulled up, casting his face in shadow. The bus rolls to a stop in front of him, and he steps on board. He ignores the driver’s terse greeting. It’s not like he means it. Years of driving kids to school has turned this ritual int...
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Deliveries
Camera is stuck on the hood of an orange muscle car. The unapologetic engine roars without thought to climate change. Bright lights streak by. Blurry, indistinct, shapes of a city. Car screeches to a halt. Quickly, she gets out. Blond. Pony tail. Dark ...
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War of the Dwarves
Mike couldn’t complain about his life. At 4’0", he wasn’t the shortest dwarf around, but he still had trouble doing everyday stuff. And he’d been lucky enough to be proportionate with no medical defects other than his heigh...
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Grimnebulin
Greg set his tray on the table and took a seat across from his friends. The expression on his face was one of pure misery. Tom inclined his chin at the sickly creature clinging to Greg’s back. “Still carrying that little bugger around, eh?&...
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Unraveling The History of the Dwarves
As his hand wrapped around the helve, Mike’s world was torn away, violently replaced by shrubbery and trees, wildlife and nature. Yelling and roaring rumbled through the forest. Mike’s eyes widened at the sounds and, instinctively, he released the ...
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The Fall of Gnarth
Large creatures, things of the Old Earth, charged for Mike. His arms lifted the battle axe, not under his control, and slammed the helve into the earth. The creatures parted around him, the axe offering some unknown protection. But not from everything....
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Psychic Assault
Derrick gasps, air sucking raggedly into his chest as the pain of a thousand icepicks lances through his skull from all directions. …he fell through the ice and drowned… The pain is intolerable, and Derrick fears he’ll go mad, yet alm...
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Psychic Assault: Break
Morgan continued to lean against the lamp post as she watched him pull himself to his feet. He swayed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and smearing blood across his face. She slid a tendril of thought past the continuing maelstrom that batter...
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A Change in Family Dynamics
“Never trust a man in a trenchcoat. Whether spy, mage, or madman, he is not to be trusted. It’s like wearing a sign that says ‘Hey look, I’m untrustworthy!’.” My Uncle Dan was semi-drunk. He pretty much only existed ...
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Psychic Assault: Sanctuary
They walk in silence, he striving to reassemble his scattered thoughts, she allowing him time to do so. His mind feels like a wind-worn canvas, tattered all around the edges and stretched all through. That’s not a bad analogy. Her presence is war...
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part iii: Heads and Tails
Stephen woke up to a flashing light and an accompanying click click click “Hey stop doing that; you’ll scare him,” a woman said gently. The clicking stopped. “He’s a Doe,” what sounded like a child said. “Hand ...