Of course he’d known a forest on an alien planet wouldn’t look anything like the labyrinth of birch and deer tracks, rose thorns and skittish pheasants hidden in the undergrowth, where he had roamed as a boy. But with only… Continue reading

Dying the first time was easy – just as much so as most mistakes. Obvious only in hindsight, only without the hindsight, just one blurring, obliterating second to know it had all gone wrong somehow. Dying the second time was… Continue reading

There hadn’t been any warning sign, turn back or quarantine, outside the city limits. Of course not – they wanted hapless people like her to wander in. The only signs were neon, buzzing blue and magenta signal fires for motels… Continue reading

I must have looked just the same as her once. Just as dazzled by the silver glory of the knife being held out to me, the destiny illuminated by its shining blade. A life of heroism, power fettered by noble… Continue reading

In the stories, epics of reincarnation spanning centuries, it always seemed to be so clean. Lovers who looked into one another’s eyes and just knew, glances or songs or last words spoken again as first words that brought all the… Continue reading

Fourteen years – or was it fifteen? A span of time that needed no precise measurement, that didn’t matter, until it ended. A partnership long enough to feel as if it never would end. Anything that went on for so… Continue reading

One night of penance for all the years of wickedness. One night of labour before the eternal rest. It seemed too generous a deal for anyone to refuse, proof of the kindness of Heaven. One night of guarding its borders,… Continue reading