World Eater

Reading Time: 2 minutes

She threw the token onto the pile in the center of the table.

Chisholm froze. “You serious?”

“I’m always serious,” she said, letting an amused smile curl one corner of her mouth as the eyebrow above it raised. “Even when I’m playing.”

“Especially when she’s playing,” chimed Davis. He’d folded on the previous round, his tongue, and his wisdom, loosened by whiskey. A tight player when he was sober, Davis had dropped to two gold pieces after ordering his fourth glass. “Serious like a dog star…”

Chisholm shot Davis a glance to shut him up and leaned into the light to pick up the small figurine. (more…)

Reading Time: < 1 minute

“The very last one,” Meredith whispered as she pinned the treasure to a small square of cardboard and lowered it carefully into the box.

She’d tracked the Solar Locust, Eater of Worlds, through six systems and two light-years. A mottled brown with only a hint of the yellow that adorned the female, he wasn’t the prettiest prize. But the end of a line. “Priceless.”

*

She watched the shadow through the doorway, felt the life drain from her mate. The thief had stolen her post-coital meal, sealing her fate. Her brood would make a delightful parting gift.

A World Eater tale.

My first contribution to Friday Fictioneers  organized by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. 100 words. Photo prompt. To see other’s responses to the prompt go here.

Photo Copyright – Shaktiki Sharma

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Damn,” Meredith’s disappointment felt unwarranted. She’d noticed the signs even before shuttling to the surface, but they’d made the descent anyway. This wasn’t the debris of a Solar swarm. Something other than those bastard Locusts had destroyed this world.

“Not what we were looking for?” Azi chimed, their tone knowing. (more…)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“You peer too deep,” Azi whispered.

Brushed by her companion’s breath, goosebumps rose on Meredith’s neck and cascaded down the right side of her body. The smooth fabric of her flight suit tantalized her alerted skin, sending a shiver through her bones. (more…)

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Tell me about your home.”

“Nazarai?” Azi queried back, knowing it wasn’t the answer she wanted.

“No,” Meredith responded, “your true home.”

Azi, compelled by the magics woven through their bones, would always give Meredith what she wanted. “I was born on a water moon.”

Meredith raised her eyebrows. “Island dwellers?”

“No islands,” Azi said. ”Not that I can recall. Just water. My tribe were nomads. Pirates, maybe. I was taken before my tenth turn so my memories are vague.” (more…)

Reading Time: 6 minutes

“So much for retirement,” Chisholm grumbled. The hum grew louder on the other side of the bay doors. “This was supposed to be a small town on the dark side of a tiny planet circling a quiet little star…” He heaved a duffel into the open rear hatch of the tug. “But no.” He scanned the bay for other vital possessions, walked to the corner and picked up two photoelectric cylinders and a tank of propane. “First, I lose my damn ship to an evil blonde ex-Marine, then I get caught in a fucking apocalypse.”

Rain began pattering on the metal roof. First just a few drops, then a few more, heavier, then the shower began in earnest. Except he knew it wasn’t rain. (more…)

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Even though everyone had perished, including Bess, the only creature in this universe that he’d ever truly trusted, Davis swore on the dawning star that he would go home again.

As he peered out at wings unfolding, preparing for a descent through clouds of who-knew-what toward a landing who-knew-where, Davis swallowed his embarrassment, choked on his grief, and studied the bitter taste of his fear.

He swirled the tang of panic and terror around his tongue, searching for sweet or earthy or musk, some note he might learn to savor but, plummeting through the mist, he tasted only sour.

Wait, is that all? Nope! Click to read more in the World Eater sequence.

Photo by Brian Gaid via Unsplash

Three Line Tales, Week 59

Reading Time: 5 minutes

“I’m stuck,” Davis groaned. “And I can’t see anything….”

“That’s ’cause your big ass is blocking the light.” Chisholm twisted the top of the cylinder he was holding and a glow illuminated the rocky floor in a dim circle around his feet. He let out a sigh. (more…)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“Davis?” His voiced dropped to a whisper. Davis wasn’t in the cave. “Where the hell did you go?”

Chisholm turned in a slow circle. The cylinder tucked under his arm illuminated the empty floor around him. His sleeping sack and shoulder bag had vanished along with his companion. (more…)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Davis surfaced slowly. The previous day’s trauma had knocked him deep into a dreamless slumber he felt reluctant to exit. His eyelids clung together, sticky with dust from the cave, and he levered himself onto one elbow before prying them open enough to survey the cavern. Light poured from the entrance, casting his shadow across Chisholm’s empty bag.

“Good morning!” Davis shouted, relaxing and reclining again. Silence. “Hey Chiz!” He tried louder. “What’s for breakfast?!” (more…)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“Hello girl,” Chisholm greeted the Arken’s transom. “I missed you.”

“Don’t get too flirty,” Meredith shot sideways, popping the ship’s hatch. “She’s my baby now.”

Chisholm gave her a black glare. “Perhaps a hand of cards later?”

Meredith’s eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Do you have anything left to lose, Chisholm?”

He flashed a disgruntled smile, then sighed, surveying the area. “Looks like Davis took off with more than just my bedroll, but I’ll gladly wager the tug if we can track it down. He can’t have flown far.” (more…)

“You’d think I’d be used to this by now.” Davis absentmindedly addressed the plump little bird cradled in his hands. The creature squirmed. The vestigial wings, dwarfed by its nearly round body, wiggled uselessly while its legs pushed in a pulse against Davis’ cupped palms. The wide, nocturnal eyes appeared unfocused and the small, nearly round beak gasped open and closed. “I guess I’m just a softy at heart.”

Davis broke the bird’s neck with a practiced twist. (more…)