Sally, A Pair Of My Own

I earned my living as a consultant, advising people in how to invest their money and hold on to what they had in today’s economy. I purposefully selected only female clients, most males think they know better and do not listen to the advice I offer them. Then, when they lose a chunk, they blame me for steering them wrong. I avoid all of that drama by not taking them as clients in the first place.

"I used to be 5'11"," I complained.

After a man is stabbed in the back and dies, he wakes up in the Labyrinth with a new body, new power, and another chance.

This story takes place in the same universe as my story Invoker.

Felicia, Sharing Her Clothes

My girlfriend and I were headed to Florida for Spring Break. The college we were enrolled at was not one of the show up and we will let you graduate ones. The teachers were top notch and homework was to be expected in every class. So a chance to get away for a while and relax was something we were definitely looking forward to.

 
Stormy, The Bare Essentials

It was time for our company's New Year's costume party. Kind of a tradition, since this year will be the thirteenth edition of the affair. Over the years, the party has changed quite a bit from scary monsters and witches to famous movie stars.

This year, Monica, the CEO, wanted a more lighthearted theme since with the virus, the depressed economy, and so many people unemployed, anything to help people forget for a while would be welcome.

We saw the last of them off at around ten, several of Ish’s friends insisting on staying a little longer than the others to help clear up the debris. LC was still bouncing. Our video guests, with lives of their own, had logged off, but I was guessing that Ish and Clara would be having a far more private conversation a little later. LC had run out of steam an hour earlier, but had insisted on staying up with ‘new friends’ despite the fact that she was falling asleep. It was Maz who carried her to her bed, while I hung around to shoulder the burden of making gentle fun of my son.

Once the public furore and extended media frenzy over Professor Fox being charged with some of the crimes had died down, both members of the Fox family were brought up before magistrates once again.

This time, the full gamut of charges, including child trafficking, paedophilia and child imprisonment, were laid down. As before, both pleaded not guilty through their legal representatives.

Olivia, My Sister’s Agenda

I was back home for the first time in two years, excluding some brief visits several times a year. This time I was here to stay, my schooling concluded. The last two years of college consuming that time, with my degree in business economics finally obtained. I finished junior college in my home town, but wanted my degree to have a little more clout than just a state university.

After a man is stabbed in the back and dies, he wakes up in the Labyrinth with a new body, new power, and another chance.

This story takes place in the same universe as my story Invoker.

Chapter 60: Truths at the Table

The shift from the backyard to the house felt surreal. The evening air still clung to their skin, carrying the faint scent of smoke and grass as they left the chaos of the yard behind. Every step through the threshold felt like crossing a border between worlds—outside, the rawness of magic and fear; inside, the muted hush of ordinary life, untouched, waiting for them.

Track Ban
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

If you really know your horses, on track betting is the way to win. People who treat horseracing as a game of chance are fools. Why not toss a coin? That is chance and probability, but if you know horses and courses and watch the animals and their riders and the track close up and in the flesh, then it is not a gamble, it is the exercise of special skills.

NEIL
There was no sign of Anth at breakfast, just the kitchen staff to serve me, and it appeared that I had either missed all the other guests or there were none. Apple juice. Tea. More tea. Cereal. Tea. Then the fry-up, which got easier to eat with each mouthful. Then…

One of the kitchen girls brought me more tissues as I sat looking at the crumpets I had just toasted.

“It’s okay, Neil. Nobody else here, aye? Anth telt us what you’re up for, today, like, so no shame. We all remember her, and we all saw the news. For what it’s worth… no point to cards or flowers, we thought, but will you take a hug for her? For Maddy?”

CHRISSY
This was getting more and more like one of the more difficult clubs, and I was beginning to feel very much out of my depth, for I had nothing I could bring to that evening’s table. The stuff about ‘Pat’ had blindsided me, and then Red stepped in with even more.

It was indeed like one of those clubs, where a succession of devious sods did their party pieces and challenged me, in effect, to outdo them. That place with the guitarist who seemed to worship Nick Drake, for example. I just about had to beat him to death with the smallpipes.

After a man is stabbed in the back and dies, he wakes up in the Labyrinth with a new body, new power, and another chance.

This story takes place in the same universe as my story Invoker.

Charity Auction
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

It was a charity event. I was wholly committed to raising money for research into the treatment of myeloma, a disease that killed my dear mother.

I suppose that myeloma is not a disease that people think demands immediate attention. Some people live with it, and some, like my mother, die – there is no known cure.

NEIL
I wasn’t relaxed. How could I be? I had managed to get a room at the Twice Brewed with no issues at all, as they seemed glad to have me back, but the alternator on the Kwak had needed replacing, and I couldn’t decide whether to trust the new one or simply switch all my luggage over to the Beemer, and all of that had been even more stressful due to the e-mails and phone calls about the other shots, at Cawfield. Would it work in monochrome? Could I handle colour as well as…

We changed the subject by unspoken but mutual agreement, and concentrated on planning for the barbie, Maz being very, very clear that it mustn’t be overloaded with our friends.