ENGINES RARELY SEEN, by N.G. Lancaster   The Grift came back from upstairs all red-faced, saying that he was going to help his whore dole out a vendetta. The whore himself, a wispy kid who was ugly but for his mop of chestnut hair, stood back on the stairs while the Grift made his declaration. […]

THE MADNESS OF THE MANSA, by Cullen Groves One summer night, a great storm arose over the western ocean, and many citizens and sailors in the port of Asongai told how they had seen the demons of madness walking the black winds in the darkness. The gales made wrack of the galleys in the harbor, […]

MELTING GOLD AND ASHES, by Dennis Mombauer   The massive and ornate ship was visible even from the hills above the city, swarmed by ant-like workers who had been carrying pyrewood onboard its planks for days. When the ship would be ignited, the flames would burn hotter and higher than any flames had burned in […]

THE REEDS OF TORIN’S FIELD, by Andrea G. Stewart Torin’s Field stretches before me like a reedy ocean, the hills forming the crests of waves.  I take a swig of wine from the pouch at my side, and it slides past my tongue, rich and astringent.  My former comrades liked to proclaim wine akin to […]

CRAZY SNAKE AND THE CIGUANABA, by Eric Atkisson   I Help me. The horseman froze. He could not be certain if he had heard a voice at all–little more than a gentle whisper above the murmur of the falls, the branches rustling overhead in the night breeze, and the soft crunch of his pony’s hooves […]