DEATH AT THE PASS, by Michael R. Fletcher: That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial. -Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Somewhere there was a Necromancer. Of that there could be no doubt. Brushing a thousand years of dirt and rot from his robes, Khraen marvelled at how well preserved […]

BEFORE THE VILLAIN, by Alexandra Seidel: Should I give up now because it’s fate? Should I bury the sword handed to me through seven generations of firstborn mages in the watery soil of the moor? in the coal-hot sand of the desert? in the soft black earth behind the house? The seer promised me a […]

DUSKRIVEN, by Keith Kennedy: Broken teeth reflected back at me — the axe blade a mirror — blood on edge and face both, setting sun a glorified backdrop. Underfoot, skulls and hearts — the important parts of men — turned to mush by marching boots and planted strokes. In small valleys, blood flows away churned […]