Mercury Hat It was too warm for a February afternoon, even with the clouds obscuring the sun. Without the biting wind or freezing rain Hector had come to expect from a life in the northeast, the grey sky of winter felt otherworldly. He leaned on the railing of the parking garage and put a cigarette in his … Read more
The Mansion was too quiet. Olive hovered by one of the rooms in the western wing with a bundle of plastic trashbags in hand, peering just inside the door. Slate had left behind more of himself than some of the Mansion’s other tenants, even though he’d usually been seen stalking its halls. Discarded liquor bottles, … Read more
The bitter scent of burning toast hit the back of Ansel’s nose and he woke with a start. Disoriented, he stretched his arm out and cracked his knuckles into a wall, scraping off skin which healed in an instant. He dumbly dragged his fingers over the thickly painted plaster before pushing himself up off the … Read more
Millie rubbed idly at the bandages on her arm as she hop-skipped down the steps of the parking garage to the street below. Blinking with surprise at how bright the sun was, she shielded her eyes as she turned onto a side street. Odette was in a lull at the moment, trapped between the morning … Read more
The walk back to the mansion was a rare moment of solitude for Olive. With her Thirst satiated, the buzzing desire which was normally so pervasive had dulled in the back of her mind. She could almost ignore it and pretend she didn’t exist as she flitted down the side of the road, as if … Read more
A Hunter’s body was not his own, not truly, not once the Legacy had been passed on to him and he was Honor-bound to protect the poor lost souls of the world. Since inheriting his power, Hector never slept, never ate, never had a moment’s peace to himself without his Honor first giving its assent. … Read more
A figure slunk along the starkly illuminated corridor of Odette General’s topmost westerly wing, dark curls bouncing behind her in a low ponytail. Her face was obscured by a thin surgical mask (It’s flu season, please protect yourselves and others! the sign at the entrance to the wing had explained) and her body was wrapped … Read more
Muddy water splashed up onto Ansel’s and Slate’s pants cuffs as they trudged through the waterlogged streets of downtown Odette. Alone in the dark together, Slate had been complaining about nothing and everything for the past half hour. “Total bullshit,” he repeated for the hundredth time. “Two people to take care of one lunatic in … Read more
The least offensive ringtone on Hector’s phone was something the developers had titled Mountain Rush, but he’d come to develop a pavlovian hatred for the tune. It chimed in his ear, jolting him out of a dead sleep and his phone vibrated against his keys on his nightstand. Fumbling in his half-awake state, he tapped … Read more
Sucking down another cigarette as if it could remove the memory of Baptiste’s blood in his mouth, Ansel’s gaze was settled on the stretch of highway before him. Glistening with the sheen of the night’s earlier rain, it had transformed into an inky black river reflecting the yellowed streetlights above. A pair of headlights cut … Read more