Dana Chapter 10

December 20, 9:00 a.m.

“Hey, Lil’ man. Sorry about everybody calling you ‘Broccoli.’ If I knew it was gonna stick, I never would’ve said it. I think I passed everything and convinced all your professors to pass you based on what you had already done. There may have been some bribes involved by I can neither confirm or deny this. The next semester is easy enough since you’re going to be awake by Christmas. I know you don’t like me drinking so much, but I gotta cope somehow. I’m almost finished building our place, so you won’t be able to not take a key. Well, I gotta get to work. Yeah, I’m working again, but only ‘cause it keeps me away from everyone. They always gotta be telling me how bad it is to spend every waking moment with you, so I’m just shutting them up. Well, I’m not really going work, truthfully. I’m gonna hide out at Davon’s. His nephew stays with him now, by the way. Well, I’m out of here. Dream of me, Lil’ man.”

December 20, 10:30 a.m.

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 10

Execution

It had been a few weeks, and in the same way Marcus would do research on a project or the competition he went to work on his plan to make Lisa finally want him. It was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done. A man who had killed people. Watched fear in the eyes of men and women as he walked by them. Yet he was absolutely terrified of what he was about to do. It was the one thing he knew he might actually not have the ability to do. And that was scary to process.

He had grilled Lisa about so many things that she had been doing a lot of laughing at him. He actually enjoyed being with her in a much more vulnerable place than he did when he was taking his original approach. It was lighter—more fun. Completely free of the underlying tension of hopes she would finally let him stick his penis inside her. If he was really honest, removing that from the equation was proving to show just how much he really liked her.

Virgil Chapter 10

The Beginning Of Trouble

Now, this may not seem like a big thing, but I’m fairly certain that this is the start of the veneer cracking: the evil succubus that sucked the joy out of the faux happiness that surrounded the trio that was my family before me. It was the early signs of the hell that was soon to come. See my brother was tired of the spotlight. Tired of not being allowed to play like the normal kids. Too many things were a sin in the strict Christian household. He just wanted to be a boy. A typical seven-year-old boy. 

The type of boy who wasn’t afraid to skip the prayer after his lunch sandwich for fear that God would send a message to his parents. Afraid to miss prayer in the morning when he woke up. He did once, and he prayed the entire car ride to school. Lucky for him this was the one time his parents did not question him about his morning and took it for granted that he did pray. He liked these days more and more. The drill of absolute perfection was limiting his abilities to even understand the things that normal, not so perfect children dealt with.

Revelations Chapter 10

L E O

Having planned to spend a lot more time with Danais, Leo got back to the inn on the mainland much earlier than intended. He had found out that Danais’ regular route included Licol Street, so he had purchased a room there on the way to the farm. Leo spent the time reading and was in the middle of a very tragic love scene when an annoying sound interrupted him.

“Well, you look amazingly happy,” Barton said as he took his seat at the table. One of the servers was already heading over with large mugs of ale, an extra-large one for Leo.

“I had a good day. Short but good. A walk through the market, lunch under the oak tree. Last night we swam. Well, I swam and held him up. He’s of the ‘since he’s Atorathian he’s much better than the rest’ mentality. And he doesn’t know his history.”

“Ah, not this again,” Barton said, feeling the need to gulp down his beer and call the server to fill up another glass. “Not everyone is a serious historian.” Barton gave an unnecessarily pleasant thank you to the serving girl. She gave him that beer for free and told him where she stayed. Leo gave him a glare and a smile.

Identity Chapter 10

C H E R A N N

“This scorching desert heat is unbearable.”

It was a week since they reached a point in temperature change into Mironi and Cherann’s brother was crying like a baby. She found this quite amusing. His rantings were a pleasant addition to her usual solitary thoughts when travelling. She was a chronic overthinker but had learned to wield her mind to better purposes over time. Dent seemed to be able to find something to say about anything—all in the form of complaints. But she could see most of them for what they were: ways to hide his genuine interest in the things she was teaching him.

“We could practice your Mironian again. That would distract you from the heat.”

“Stressing over learning a new language is supposed to be a better option.” Cherann reserved her laugh and waited in silence for what she knew was coming.

Dana Chapter 9

It was the first of December, and not much had changed—except for the date, of course. Dana had a full week of Adrian’s father and enjoyed his company much, but after he left just couldn’t bear to be in the apartment alone, so he moved into Adrian’s vacant room. He and the rest were studying hard. Exams were upon them, and they took tests very seriously. Dana went to the hospital to show Adrian the prints and models of what he was doing for his project. They were in the same class, actually doing this joint project—a model of a mall—but Adrian went into the coma right when they started to build. Dana was merely showing it off before he took it in. He then went on to campus gossip and friend-talk.

Broken Chapter 9

Found

The disappearance of Bryan’s sister had become a local sensation. Mostly because his mother had also disappeared thus making it perfect material for media speculation. There were all sorts of stories going around about how she had maybe eaten her or was keeping her alive in the woods somewhere to torture. Cut her into bits and scattered her remains across town. Without any signs of finding her all anyone could do was speculate. The disappointing part was that nothing was out of the realm for her.

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 9

Realisation

Marcus was at the gym doing what he had to do. Burning of his frustration. He had tried a date with Lisa the night before. Went out, had dinner, laughed and everything seemed to go well—until they got back to the house. Arumand was sitting reading a book. He was always doing something like that, reading, drawing, watching the oddest things on television. And gaming. Now that Marcus didn’t find too weird.

Marcus said hi to the sitter, a mutual friend from back in the day, as he left the house. Arumand didn’t take any notice of Marcus, which was just fine by him. The boy had taken to verbally insulting him. His language was colourful for a boy of seven. It had been months. Marcy was looking ready to drop and totally unconcerned about his lack of concern to be a dad. Besides, she didn’t even know if it was his and he was in no hurry to find out. The New Year had just gone by, and Lisa was warming up some water for hot chocolate. She preferred to add cream instead of making it with milk. It was a welcome idea in this steadily growing cold weather.

Virgil Chapter 9

The Normal Days

Yes, there was a time when my family could be categorised as normal. Unfortunately, I was not here for those times. I’m actually in severe doubt of their existence as it’s more likely my parents were just biding time before revealing their true nature. The set up before the emergence of divine evil. But that doesn’t really matter. What is important is that they did appear normal. These were the showing off the son days. The getting excited about how fast he was growing considering how weak he was at birth. And of course the ‘isn’t God good to give us such a blessing’ days.

These days were full of first-time parent stuff. Trip to the park stuff. The occasional throw-up on the shoulder and pee in the face during a diaper change. It was normal sleepless and hectic, and they loved every single minute of it. Mostly because they were dying to practice all the shit they preached in their books. There’s no doubt in my mind that they saw raising a child as another experiment. Yet they somehow convinced themselves they were madly in love with my brother. And not only themselves, the whole world. No one, not even themselves, was aware of the misguidedness of the situation. How could they be? It looked just the same as any other parents that would be enamoured with their first born.

Revelations Chapter 9

Leo woke pleased to find himself still with Danais. Danais had a light snore that Leo thought was cute. He was about to get out of bed, but Xan jumped into the bed to give him a message.

“He suggests you take the boy across in the morning rather than spend the day in the city. He also says that Danais likes the large pastries.” Xan seemed to find the second bit of information quite amusing. “It seems he wants to help you but has informed me to ensure you tell no one he’s interfering.” Leo also found this amusing. It was clear that something was going on and others were supposed to let it run its course. But he had no doubt that there would be meddling.

Identity Chapter 9

S H A L I N I

They veered off about three streets in toward Pilal. There was no real goal in mind: just mindless wondering. It was a hot day as always in Mironi, so they decided a mug of chilled ale was desirable—or rather, Shalini just didn’t feel like walking anymore. The two of them settled in at a bar and Shalini found herself just entranced while looking at him. He’d left her to go gamble at a card table with some locals. They apparently loved him just as much as she did. He had a way with people. He was inherently good in a way that even she found hard to be sometimes. And he wasn’t afraid that she could destroy him. That was always a good sign.

Dana Chapter 8

It was the following Friday, November 10, not that the date really matters, but there it is just the same.

“So you’re both on probation?” Rene asked as he sat down on the couch with a beer. They were staying in this Friday

“After forcibly trying to take me off the premises, you should be.”

“Whatever you say, sex offender,” Dana said before Adrian went into a coughing fit. They couldn’t fit him in until Saturday for surgery. He wiped a trickle of blood off his mouth with his finger and off the arm he had used to shield the cough when he bent over. Dana would’ve helped, but Adrian was persistent in declaring that he was fine. He went to the kitchen to get some water, and before making it to the tap, he collapsed. Hearing the fall, the others ran to him and then sped him to the hospital, not even thinking to call an ambulance or considering the fact they could get pulled over.

Broken Chapter 8

Manic

Sandjai’s phone was buzzing like crazy. It was from both Jess and Lucas claiming a friendship crisis. He got up brushed his teeth threw on some clothes and headed out to his car.

“So where am I coming to?” he had Lucas on speaker.

“Bryan’s. Man, he’s totally flipped out. Like I haven’t seen him this crazy in… Shit, I don’t know. I forget he can even get this intense.”

“What happened?”

“His… Shit, he’s actually fighting his dad again. Just get here.”

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 8

Again

A year later and Marcus found himself yet again under the assault of a small boy. Honestly, this kid was messing with his program. The moment he could convince his mother to take him seriously the child was going straight to boarding school.

“You expecting someone?” Marcus asked as there was a knock at the door.

“Haven’t you been listening? I have a date.”

“A real date?”

“Yes. And Arumand’s coming along.”

Virgil Chapter 8

Defiance

Never ones to accept failure easily, my parents went full throttle into their plan. They worked both morning and night for almost a year trying to bring into fruition what they wanted. It was the worst year of their life. They had never failed at anything. And even with all of the brilliance, the genius they had, nothing was working. They prayed to God daily and still nothing. And when the doctors told them that their chances were floating somewhere around twenty percent, they really began to despair. What if they failed?

Revelations Chapter 8

Leo was walking in late for his own celebration. He thought for a moment that his father would be mad at him for being late. Then he realised had his father expected him to be on time, he wouldn’t have had the musicians ready to play a processional as he entered. And the abysmal burial music they were playing was clearly a sign that his father had interpreted that Leo would be late. Some of his musician friends were trying to stifle their laughter in the crowd. Leo just decided to look straight ahead and not look at his father. He wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he won this round. There could always be payback another day.

Identity Chapter 8

“Class, this is Lynton from Keldon. He will be staying with me, for—well, I’m not sure. But with me he’ll be. And today he’ll be watching how amazing you behave in my class.” That brought a brief roar of laughter. Though she was pleased, they were generally quite disciplined; it seemed this discipline came along with loads of spontaneous questions totally unrelated to class.

“You’re from Keldon?” Janon asked. This guy had all the size of the mountain people without being too much. A fear that he had. Janon wanted to be big but not crazy-muscular like his people were.

“Yes. The province of Zar.”

“You’re a mix.”

“I’m part Mironian.”

Dana Chapter 7

It was Monday night, around one-thirty. Technically it was Tuesday, but whatever. Dana was just getting in from one of his excursions and was about to wash himself off as he usually did. He decided to give Adrian a call. Adrian was either asleep or doing what he had just finished doing. Either way, he could leave a message.

“Hello.’

“Lil’ man. Guess you’re out getting yours, so you won’t be harassing me like usual.”

“Well, if you said yes more often—”

“I’m not a machine or a piece of beef that you can just heat up at will and have your way with,” Dana said with a chuckle, and Adrian laughed along with him. “So dare I ask who it is that you’re with?”

Broken Chapter 7

Happy

“God you two aren’t even for real dating. Break it up.” Sandjai said as he squeezed in-between Jacob and Bryan and grabbed a controller. Selling burgers was a tough job. Apparently, everyone forgot he worked there and he had to field off questions about his dad. And if that wasn’t enough university students badgered him about living with one of the greatest minds of the age. Today he actually told someone to shut the fuck up and order already.

“So tough day at work.” Bryan asked.

“God I wish my dad never claimed me some days. My life was so much better when I was living in obscurity.”

“Big words for a jock like you.”

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 7

Marcus

It was dark and at the end of a good rain. Like something out of a movie, Marcus got out of the car and walked down to the dock, his entourage behind him and his rather ruthless sidekick at his side. She was clearly angling to be his wife. That wasn’t going to happen, but he’d be a fool to act like she wasn’t his best asset.

He had just set up a deal for some rather sensitive documents. The person who was supposed to deliver the goods had decided they would take things and sell them on the side for more money. Clearly, the cut Marcus was offering wasn’t enough.

Virgil Chapter 7

Success

Success came quickly. My parents made records getting their doctorates. Wrote a multitude of books on all sorts of issues. And most of their children’s books, both Christian and academic, were critically acclaimed. They knew their stuff. The only thing they took a back seat in was the church. That was God’s domain and as such the people in charge would give them positions if their help was needed. No shock that it was.

As a couple and separately, they were on all radio and TV promoting their books. With the combination of their expertise, in both Christian and phycology fields, they found themselves swimming in more money than they could ever spend. Being the cool, hip, and up to the times people they were, they built youth centres. Donated computers to schools. Fixed up parks in impoverished areas. The extent to which their arms reached even graced the president’s doorstep a few times.

Revelations Chapter 7

D A N A I S

Danais couldn’t believe the morning he was having. After hours in the bathhouse, he had been massaged, oiled and scrubbed, and he smelled like freshly coined money. He felt like he had all the gold and silver one could possess. If this was what being rich felt like, he could surely get used to it. Getting his hands groomed was understandable, but he was having serious trouble wrapping his head around the idea of getting his feet groomed. Keeping the nails trimmed for toe- sucking was okay, but having them soaked and scrubbed, oiled and lotioned just like the hands, seemed a bit much. However, he had to admit his feet were feeling amazing.

Identity Chapter 7

S H A L I N I

Shalini was pleased with the message that all was well and even more with the messages she received from Tork on how well she commanded the situation. They did come out with a few broken limbs and some serious cuts but nothing that wouldn’t heal over time or couldn’t be healed immediately. At least they were all alive.

She was pleased to be waking up next to an increasingly interesting man: Lynton. He was 150 years her junior but still amazing. He had a heart bigger than anyone she knew—and at such a young age, she thought. It even took her a while to finally encompass that amount of care for all things good in the realm, yet he did it so effortlessly. She was impressed. He was only just waking up, and she was ready to bathe.

Dana Chapter 6

The morning sun was shining through the bedroom as Dana and Adrian woke up. It was about two thirty.

“Morning Lil’ man,” Dana said with a kiss.

“So. Italian mob. It’s not just the stuff of movies.”

“It’s my life. Was my life. But something happened and I decided I didn’t want to be anywhere near home anymore.”

“Fair enough. I haven’t been back home either. I can understand that.”

“It would seem that shooting two people is grounds for a visit. My cousin told his dad, who called me to tell me I should call my dad before he does and that was why I told you who I am. Seems I have no control over the situation.”

Broken Chapter 6

Pool Party

School was finally over. Now it was time for the college years. Bryan was looking at himself in the mirror. He’d just got out of the shower and stood wrapped in a towel. He still had a little belly but in three months of ‘Sandjai the trainer from hell’ he’d lost almost 100 pounds. There was no way he wasn’t fat if he could lose that much and still not have a flat stomach. However, as he looked at himself, he thought he actually looked cute enough to be called Pudgy again. He was an average, solid kinda guy once more. He even smiled. Was he feeling good about his body before even reaching his goal? Now that was something to tell his therapist. No shirt at the party today. No one was ruining his high.

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 6

Home Life

“How’s my little miracle baby?” Mark's mom had just picked him up from school. Seriously, she smothered him. He tried to be like, “Stop hugging me, Mom,” but he got it. The woman wasn’t supposed to be able to have kids and had a five percent chance of ever getting pregnant again let alone surviving. His mom was a walking miracle herself, on meds for the rest of her life but she was so much more vibrant than women younger and healthier than her.

“I’m fine, Mom. Can I get in the car?” She finally released him and let him hop in the passenger side. She had one more child to pick up. Her daughter was driving age. It had been a year since her independence had started but Mark’s mom still acted like his sister had gone sixteen only yesterday. She greeted her other son with the same enthusiasm. He was much more resistant. This did nothing to deter her.

Virgil Chapter 6

Consummation

Their honeymoon was a tricky affair. They couldn’t decide on a conference for child psychology or a Christian conference. Ultimately, they took a month out of their lives to go to both. Sex, well they did that religiously every day. With nothing to go on, they assumed it was meant to feel the way that it felt. I’m assuming it was really bad sex, but being the psych experts that they are, they had no problems fixing that shit. Oh and of course praying for guidance.

Revelations Chapter 6

D A N A I S

Danais woke up the next day not sure if the previous one had been a dream—especially the ending moments of the night. Could a Kentai really have spoken to a peasant boy? It had to have been a dream. He was thankful there was no rain after he slept, meaning a dry floor as his feet hit the stone ground. After fully convincing himself that last night was a dream, he went to look out the window, where he saw, in profile, Kale leaning against the side of the window and staring out onto the farm.

“You are awake, young one.”

“So it wasn’t a dream.”

“I’m afraid not. You’ve got a busy day ahead. You should be getting ready.”

Identity Chapter 6

C H E R A N N

“You didn’t waste any time packing,” Cherann said to her brother. “No. I said goodbye to dad. The neighbour will take care of him. He doesn’t look so good. I feel bad about leaving him.”

“You shouldn’t. It was his idea.”

“His?”

“Yes. You only just went eighteen. He knows you have this passion for exploring the world, and he didn’t want you to wait until he died to do so. He said if he goes when you’re gone, at least he’ll die knowing his baby got to experience their dream.”

“He didn’t tell me that.”

Dana Chapter 5

“Morning, Lil’man.”

“Morning. What time is it?” Adrian barely had his eyes open and was stumbling his way into the kitchen.

“You got time for breakfast. You won’t be late for class.”

“Okay.”

And that was it for Adrian. He saw no reason to force human status before caffeine consumption.

***

“And why were you late? Like I even need to ask,” Rene said to Adrian. He had just informed his friends that he was indeed late for his first class.

Broken Chapter 5

Special Guest

“Sandjai will you wake up and answer your phone!”

“It’s the weekend Ma!”

“Don’t make me come in there!”

Being fourteen was hard work. He checked the miss calls. Why was his dad calling him this much before lunchtime? What part of the world was he in? It could be a time difference thing. He called back.”

“Why won’t you answer your phone?”

“Because sleep is far more important.”

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 5

Cooking

Bobby grabbed his favourite stool so he could get to work. He was only eight, so some things were just beyond his reach. Today's menu was something slight, mac and cheese chicken and boiled vegetables. Walking home after school was the norm in these parts. The school was practically in the neighbourhood. What wasn’t quite the norm was a boy of eight cooking a full-scale meal. But it was survival. And, more importantly, his normal. Being so young he had a deep-seated fear that his parents would starve to death if he didn’t feed them.

They were social drunks. They somehow managed to be perfectly sober during working hours then after that just plunge into madness. They only beat on each other. Their friends were enablers, found it funny how they went at each other. It was all their fault. Bobby hated every minute of it, but he wasn’t stupid. Even at his age, he realised his parents weren’t paying rent. They had good jobs, and even being who they were, were steadily climbing the ranks at their company.

Virgil Chapter 5

The Meeting

Though they had crossed paths on numerous occasions, nothing that would usually transpire between two adults in this game of attraction happened. It was mostly mutual respect. Besides even if they were the type to be weak enough to fall for such carnal animalistic instincts, they were way too busy saving the world. Combine that with their vow to make it to marriage without losing their purity. It would take an act of well, God to bring them together.

As luck would have it, apparently, he did want them to be together. Well, if you believe their version of things. As such, it is the only version I have so I’m forced to relay it to you. At one of my mother’s many prayer sit-ins, my dad just happened to not be doing something. Being so devoted to his cause in life, naturally, where else would he be spending a weekend if not studying and then having an all night prayer pow-wow with fellow believers. So to the hall my mom had secured for the sit-in he went.

Revelations Chapter 5

L E O

“Only just getting back, Barton?” Leo asked as Barton walked to the table he was sitting at.

“Yes. I was forced to stay and see my spell through. I sent a message with Kay.”

“I got it. I was just asking to ask.”

“Where’s Xan?”

“He said his brother was in town. I would imagine he’s gone to find him.”

Identity Chapter 5

C O R T E L L

Cortell was spending his second night home, and as he looked out over the green land of Keldon, he actually felt something he didn’t feel too often: peace. This land had that effect on everyone, which was why he was appalled at the idea of travelling for months. Why leave home, he wondered, when home was providing all that he needed? His brother was such an insufferable good spirit sometimes. Still, he was his brother: the only one out of all the people he knew that treated him like he was normal.

Revelations Chapter 4

D A N A I S

Danais awoke to find himself in the tub being sponge-bathed by his cousin. There was a strange odour in the air, and he had a feeling it was his. After a lengthy and not so enjoyable scrub, he made his way to the kitchen and saw what he thought was Barton’s back leaving the room. Danais grabbed a bottle of his uncle’s home brew and sat at the table.

“I hear you took advantage of not one, but two magicians. You even sang to one of them, and I’ve got one of the best bottles of wine and also one of the best ciders in town on Ice.” Torak had no intention of punishing the boy, but he was still interested in his response.

Dana Chapter 2

So the first week of school was done, and it was now the third week in August. Things were pretty much the same. Everyone had concluded that Dana was just a nice guy, anger issues aside, and there was no girl. There couldn’t be. That would mean their sleuthing skills were lacking and that obviously wasn’t happening—at least in their minds.

The twins were back at scheming to get Marco laid. He was just coming in the house late Friday night from another one of their blind dates, shouting furiously in Spanish.

“I guess it didn’t go well,” Rene snickered.

“Shut up, Rene.”

“Feisty.”

Dana Chapter 4

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Broken Chapter 4

The Aftermath

True to form Susan did attempt to burn Sandjai’s car to the ground. He was ready for her, though. He wasn’t about to go down like that. He had the entire squad barricading it. Instead, she settled for spray painting evil all over his locker. Burning his school books. And managing to burn his clothes after gym class. How she did this no one knows, but he had to walk around in his boxers for the remainder of the day. This idea totally backfired. He actually got more attention being half naked for the day then he did clothed. Thus making Susan more set on revenge.

***

Sandjai was being awoken by the dogs as per usual for a Saturday. This time he made the effort to get to the park on time. Bryan looked like he was in one of his moods today, though. He wasn’t going to get much out of him so straight to business.

Brothers And Frenemies Chapter 4

Brotherhood

Sebastian was sitting in his room, staring at his math homework. Honestly, he didn’t understand why any human with a care for other humans would inflict such torture on humans. All the numbers looked the same to him. Other than counting cash what was the point of all this addition and subtraction and… He threw his book across the room in a fit of rage and decided that finishing off his ice cream that was on the verge of being soup was more important. Ultimately, he ended up drinking it once he realised scooping it was a futile effort.

And then he decided he needed a Coke to wash away the pain. When he finally felt up to the task of doing homework again, he picked up English. More stress. Spelling. He had to memorise words well enough for tomorrow's test. Annoyed. School was torture, and he was too young to be dealing with this shit.

Virgil Chapter 4

Father

My father. I’m a bit tempted to just take what I just typed and replace mom with father. But that would be a bit disingenuous—even if rather accurate. Let's just zoom through this. Straight A student. Model child. Sunday worshiper. Also fascinated with the human brain and all things human in general. And ultimately came to the same success. Not as aggressive as my mom, but you couldn’t tell that when they were apart. And since their ideas matched so well, it never really mattered who was wearing the pants at home.

He suffered from the same curse of beauty that she did. Skin the shade of the most deliciously sinful chocolate cake. Brown eyes that had a splash of hazel. A voice so deep and smooth it could make ice cream melt while simultaneously making evil quake by its power. And tall. Very tall. He had to be to create that perfect balance they always strived for. It would explain why my mother fell for him. He came in at about six foot five. Exactly seven inches taller than her and the number seven is one of God’s numbers. And so on and so forth. Basically, they were a match made in heaven, and their ridiculous passion for all things Christian made them believe that even more.

Revelations Chapter 3

“Yes. I’m unharmed. Thank you,” the boy said,

“You must come eat with us,” Leo said, pleased with the response. Yet again, Danais found himself faced with turning down a magician. He’d only managed to walk off half of his drinks, and now the prospect of having more was upon him. Then again, he was starving.

“Okay.” So he followed them into an establishment he had never been able to go into. He sat at one of the best tables to drink fire orange wine out of a bottle he was sure produced red.

“You put a spell on the wine?” Leo asked.

“Yes,” was Barton’s immediate response to Leo’s question. Leo found no fault in merely changing the colour. If that was what Barton had to do to amuse himself, then it was what it was.

Identity Chapter 4

S H A L I N I

Shalini watched as her students left: glad to see that none of them cared a single bit that they had missed lunch. Regardless of the heat in the late afternoon, she had to admit that there was something peaceful about Mironi. Builders were building everywhere, so they were mostly talking amongst themselves, and the booksellers and shop owners were much more laid back than in any other province. It had to have something to do with the heat; one couldn’t be too overexcited with all the heat that was in Mironi.

Still, this was her home—sandstorms, heat and all. As she approached her favourite pub on Magicians Way—a rather boring name for a street if ever there was one—she came across something that she hadn’t seen in a while. What disturbed her more was that everyone was too busy to help. And the Alliance—what happened to the members that always roamed the free land? Where were they? Instinctively, she sent out a wave of magic that pushed the magician, a Mironian, off the peasant boy he was assaulting.

Dana Chapter 3

It was now the first week in September. Dana was just getting out of the shower. He’d spent the night doing something that made him feel the need to be clean, to just wash. He was feeling a lot of that these days. He wrapped himself in a towel and headed to the kitchen for some juice only to find Jason sitting on the couch watching TV.

“You feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Just fine.”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know what you’ve been up to. You can’t just wash this shit away.”

Broken Chapter 3

The Breakup

Bryan was dealing with fat jokes. A typical high school morning for him. Sandjai was def lying when he said he was just a bit husky. Mind you he’d lost at least ten pounds in these three weeks. He was sure it had more to do with the fact he was starving than exercise. Healthy eating was severely overrated.

Sandjai was already there. At least one perk of having the hottest kid in school be his best friend was that when they were together no one teased him. Pudgy was the name he was most popular for. But that was a legit nickname he had since before he reached double digits, so it didn’t bother him. But it could be annoying depending on the circumstances.

Brothers and Frenemies Chapter 3

Choices

Mary woke up in the hospital, happy to have successfully made it through another pregnancy. Lots of people wondered why she even bothered to have children, why she stayed with her husband. She even questioned it. Looking at him now, happy holding their son, it almost seemed like she had that perfect life she dreamed of. But he hadn’t asked her how she was doing. Didn’t care that even having a child was a miracle in itself. This was the third one, and he was clearly more concerned about the baby than her.

How did things get this bad? When did the man she fell in love with turn into this guy who just liked her because he could show her off? He clearly valued her accomplishments more than he actually valued her. She realised the only reason she stayed was that he was a good father. Not because he was a good man. And children deserved a solid home life. If only she knew that that too wouldn’t last.

Virgil Chapter 3

Mother

My mother, as a girl, was your typical overachiever. Straight A student. Never got into any trouble. Went to church every Sunday and was on every church board. Basically, any parents dream child. She always did what she was told, what was expected of her, and this travelled all the way through into her adulthood.

Also, she was very beautiful: having long dark brown hair and eyes as blue and clear as ice crystals. Taller than the average female, about five foot nine, and had a voice that could charm anyone to her will while also being intensely venomous when needed. There isn’t much about her before-college years that would make her stand out amongst the rest other than her brilliance. In all things human. No shock that she went on to be one of the most successful psychological, therapists of her age.

Revelations Chapter 2

L E O

Leo woke up to find himself in a very comfortable position. Across his chest lay a red haired beauty. She was from his home province, Mironi, named after Miron the God of Good Fortune. The Mironians were known as builders. Their magical talents allowed them to be exceptional at carving stone and wood, but mostly for building purposes. When it came to magical stones of the provinces, they were by far the best at moulding them—some stones only the Mironians could mould. Leo, being a Mironian himself, wasn’t really concerned with that at the moment.

He was more concerned with the woman, the feel of her nipple, and the fullness of her breast on top of his left side. He leant down and inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled of sweet flower oil: a scent that almost matched the body oil she used which sent his mind reminiscing about the previous night. The sun shining through the window reflected off the yellow stone walls, giving an otherworldly hue to the room. As she woke, she opened her eyes and let out a seductive chuckle at her first vision.

Identity Chapter 3

Janon was wondering how the apple exploding boy passed any of the tests to get in. How did the teacher know he would fail so miserably at the task? Why did she embarrass him? Surely there were other students that couldn’t do it.

“You coming? You can’t stay in your seat forever,” Janon said. The boy who exploded the apple liked Janon. He was tall for age eleven, a Keldonian, attractive and had a smile larger than the sea. He got up and followed Janon out of the class.

“Janon. And your name?”

“Drak.”

Janon saw the shocked look on the boy’s face and smiled. Clearly, he had no intention of telling Janon his name—well, at least not his real one. If he had remained cool, it would’ve been less obvious.

Identity Chapter 2

S H A L I N I

Shalini woke up to another amazing morning. The birds were singing, and the morning dew was enveloping her as she opened her window. Life was good for the moment. She went to the baths and filled her bathtub with the usual scents, with a twist of lavender and honey. Those were the constants out of whatever combination she had for the day. Afterwards, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was pleased. She was almost as slim as the Mironians but had some of the voluptuousness of the Dani people. So she was perfect in the fact that she didn’t really fit a category. Some mixed races didn’t turn out so well. But she thanked the gods her dear mother married a Dani and created her— may Salinor watch over her soul. Her mother had died some years ago of an illness magic, and natural cures could not fix. She was with child at the time and losing both her mother and the child sent her father into madness, so he killed himself. But life went on. She’d lived many, many years, as magicians do, and was now settled in a job she thought best to help the realm of Salinor.