Zuberan USEC didn’t greet me when I opened my eyes. Nobody did. A bump woke me up. A distant engine was cranked up as high as it could go; the capital’s fleets of vehicles buzzed like the opening notes of a rock concert. The world was a hazy mash of shapes and colors and hostile things, … Read moreAn End For Crows (Part 2)
“This won’t hurt, right?” I asked, sending a side eyed glance at the doctor. The walls were covered in propaganda. Petty pieces, petty symbols and quick, nonspecific ways to recognize when the world wasn’t as it should be. I’d read them all three times while waiting for her to show up. My name was on … Read moreAn End For Crows (Part 1)
“Are you happy here?” The Captain asked, not looking up from her talons. She was curled up in the corner again, a vial of paint beside her, and delicately making sure that her talons were well cared for. It was hard to look away from, an odd display of femininity entwined with the Captain’s essence, … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 9)
Jess raised an eyebrow at him, and with the other hand, tugged his blade down. “Down,” Rupert said to his guard, then turned to face Jess. “He gets jumpy when people touch me.” His voice was flat in understatement. “Don’t touch my student,” Jess said, just as flat. “I get jumpy when people touch him.” … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 8)
“I noticed that you and Irony cleared out her professor’s room,” the owl noted. “He was an interim professor- but he’ll be missed, deeply.” I flashed back to a dark tunnel, fire, blood in the air, my heart throbbing like a drum, and shook like a leaf. “Wearing your heart around your neck might make … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 7)
Irony wasn’t in her room. I still knocked and waited at the door for a moment, shifting my weight from foot to foot, and enjoyed, for once, the moment of being alone. Even being alone felt wrong, like a second skin that wasn’t quite pressed so I couldn’t feel it, like a shirt too tight … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 6)
Thyn ruffled the hood of my robes again, and led me through the port. Here and there, fisherman pulled in catches, both professional and student, the only difference being a few years. Strange smells rang up from kitchens, mint leaves and fry oil, watermelon and nougat. The gulls overhead screeched for garbage, and in the … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 5)
Slipping into the middle of town and checking bars, I didn’t find them among any of the student affairs. Would be mages and actual mages traded stories of the mysterious hidden academs, which I didn’t care to hear about, though eyes settled on my uniform and a few saluted me as we walked off. Vali … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 4)
It didn’t take long for Irony to dig through the professor’s things, crate up everything she was interested in, and then haul them over her shoulders, despite her slim frame. I held the door open for her, and when I turned the corner, the Captain was already there, waiting. She gave me a quiet wave, … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 3)
It was just past noon, so the streets weren’t packed so much as they were scarce. A few restaurants bubbled with lunch going students, but it wasn’t exactly a prime season for visitors, so only the most popular joints were too packed for entry. After weeks of nothing but ship rations and literal memories of … Read moreBallad of the Venturing Owl (Part 2)