I accepted magic to fight evil and it turned me into a girl, but I don’t think I really mind?

Jennifer Shannon

Chapter 1

The Accidental Soprano
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

They said that I was fortunate that the injury did not cause lasting damage, but that was before it changed my life. I am not bitter towards the surgeons that repaired my neck. I have used surgeons since, and I am grateful to them. Surgeons have to do what they do to let us live, or to normal lives.

CHAPTER 54
That week was one for delicacy. While Maz and I seemed to have sorted a lot of common ground, it was still a problem dealing with the assumptions, and the dreams, of others. Not our first hurdle, but perhaps the most immediate, was at the weekend, when, largely at Dal’s urging, we had a mass descent on the climbing wall. Should that be ‘ascent’? No matter. That was when I discovered the fall-out from that publicity video, oh dear me.

Hope's Light

Chapter 5

by Erisian

Book 6

Part Two

Chapter Five - Plans

Brightness sweeps away the Book’s words and echoing voice entire.

All is light, and Light is All.

Infinite yet singular, timeless yet growing, perception expands.

Perception of existence, perception of pattern.

A vision of glory beyond all glory, depth beyond all depth, and purpose beyond all purpose.

From this vantage, a locus forms. A pivot through which the Light’s perception shall guide, reach, and measure.

A pivot through which to recognize Self.

A pivot through which to Act.

People are noticing Cameron's connection to Garrett and there's an escape plan in the works which puts her in the middle of it, but not without bumps...

Thursday came, and it was doomsday. Danny awoke, dreading what he would have to face after school. He wants to cry, scream, shout, and rage, but he can’t. And if he could, it wouldn’t change anything anyway. He laid in bed, the alarm on his phone going off repeatedly as he kept swiping snooze. Eventually, his mom knocked on his door commanding him to get up. Danny dragged his butt out of bed and hauled it into the bathroom. After using the toilet and brushing his teeth, he headed back to his bedroom to change. However, he was interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door.

Rose looks at the contacts she downloaded from Ciarán’s cell phone. She knew some of the people on his contact list. She knew the people he had on his contact list were well-connected. Rose wonders if the people Ciarán turned to were connected to anyone on Ciarán’s list.

Planters Moon
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I should have thought about it. Crops that grow above ground and lie upon it, like watermelons or pumpkins grow best if you plant on a planter’s moon - on the waxing moon, the night before the full moon. Above ground they grow. I should never have buried Lionel Palin on that night.

CHAPTER 53
I actually felt nervous as I opened the front door. This wasn’t like the interplay between Caro and me, as that had largely been on our own turf, at her place or mine, before… I shut that memory down hard. As I closed the door behind us, Kul called from the front room.

“We’re eating off our laps, you two. Tea’s fresh, though, or there’s some cold ones in the fridge, he hinted in an obvious way”

I led the way into the room, to find the family shuffling seats to leave the sofa free.

Being Samantha Masters

an homage-prequel to Being Christina Chase

Pool Area:
Kassie paces herself as she counts mentally how many strokes it takes her to reach the other end of the pool. When she reaches the other end, she turns around pushes off the wall, and starts swimming towards the other end. She makes sure to take into account how far she glides before counting her strokes again. She knew the wall of the pool was on her right-hand side this time and that the rope that separated her from the other lane in the pool was on her left-hand side.

Hope's Light

Chapter 3

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Three - Sin

Languages are magic.

Think about it. By making weird sounds or scribbling strange markings against a surface, we transmit ideas, conjure images the recipient has never seen, and organize the very way we think. And it’s not limited to only verbal or written mediums; there is language in music, in mathematics, in dance and motion, and yes, in the act of making love. They are the tools by which we interact with each other and the universe at large, coordinating our very perceptions into meaning.

Mostly we use language to manipulate the thoughts and ideas of others, but some…well, some use it to manipulate the world directly. And what lies behind it.

Wedding in Paradise
by Lindale

Because of a long lost family relationship, Tom is offered the chance of an expenses paid trip to the West Indies, commemorating the role of a man who not only released slaves, but gave them a proper life as well. Except that he also has to commemorate the role of the man’s bride.

If I laugh or giggle, is he going to get offended?

Pete's Vagina
58. Run/Pass Option
by Erin Halfelven

CHAPTER 51
I opened the front door as quietly as I could manage, and she was there, a small holdall in her left hand. I didn’t know whether I should step forward, or aside, so I did the latter, and she slipped in and headed straight for my room. I stood at the open door for a moment, then closed it, once again as quietly as I could manage, before following her. When I arrived, she simply undid her coat and let it fall, to reveal her pyjamas. I lifted the covers on her side, and as she slipped into bed, I did the same on my side.

Hope's Light

Chapter 2

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Two - Paintings

Ever since that moment of radical transformation (or resurrection, if one prefers) back at the start of all the madness - when my name went from Justin to Jordan and personal pronouns flipped on their heads - I’ve had occasion to journey to a scattering of spiritual places. Planes of existence, dreams, realms - call them what you will - they all had a certain commonality. They were formed around an inner core, a nugget of desire or purpose which stabilized the whole and resonated throughout. Some were tied to entire stories sung forth in glorious splendor, others built on specific concrete principles or even emotional states. The more coherent the core, the more cohesive the realm - and all the souls and spirits resonating in sync with that pattern locked-in the solidity even further. Their presence and observations made things more ‘real’ within that domain.

I’ve tasted, touched, ripped, reinforced, and even created such places anew. The planes of Hell were no exception in their properties, and while I’d only visited two of the many available, for various (and desperate!) reasons I’d needed to delve deep into the structures of both to fight against a Chaos-corrupted agent attempting to shred them into incoherent pieces.

CHAPTER 50
Chad was the late arrival at work on Monday morning, as he was busy dropping Vern off somewhere. I didn’t need to know whose place was involved, as long as the lad brought a smile into the office on his arrival.

Ronnie was already behind her desk, and in response to Maryam’s “Morning!” as the three of us walked in together, Ronnie simply said, “Very chipper this morning, Ms Rahman!”, before shutting her mouth more than a second after speaking.

Welcoming Center:
A black, blackout window minibus comes driving up the long driveway leading to the vineyard. It stops in front of adobe style building where several people are outside waiting for it. The black minibus stops in front of the building and the door opens as a Native American woman knocks gently on the doors.