Hope's Light

Chapter 17

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Seventeen - Needles

Beliel’s Tears, the waters of Lethe. The stuff had many names and had spawned legends both in Hell and on Earth.

And had almost allowed a Chaos-infected jerk subsume and conquer the angelic princes of the damned.

Blake Medical Recovery Center, Napa Valley, Northern California:
Cindy and Sara’s Office:
Dakota was sitting at a little table that Sara had bought for her to color and play on her tablet while she worked. Sara knew Dakota sometimes didn’t like being alone and felt better if she was nearby. She looked over towards Dakota and could tell she was happy.

Margaritas, Beaches, and Bikinis

Chapter Two
Belk's Department Store

A few days passed. And the writer's block still held its firm iron grip on me. I still felt like I'd abandon all of my writing projects and I felt like I owed my readership a reason why there had been no new Emily stories. Or any updates on her many misadventures. But every time I opened up a blank word document  and told myself that now I was going to work on her stories I found my mind going blank. Blank like the word document I was peering at.

I meandered through the aisles of one of our local shopping malls looking for inspiration for Christmas gifts a couple of weeks before the big day. But the hole in my heart from my wife’s passing two years earlier hadn’t yet mended and wasn’t going to be patched by buying towels for my daughter-in-law.

Dinner left Brad wondering if Sara was waving him off and her not being at the café the next morning makes things look bleak. Was it over before it ever got a chance to begin?

The Other Side of Me – Part 33
by Lily Rasputin

After my initial shock of finding myself unceremoniously falling on my butt during cheer practice, I realized that everyone, including Coach, was staring at me with bewilderment. Everybody that didn’t know I was currently leaping back and forth between universes; that is.

“Miller,” Coach said, giving me a look that was part annoyed, part concerned. “You okay?”

This one's not for the faint of heart. Over the course of the story there will be death, suicide attempts, a fair amount of physical and mental abuse, some egregious torture and a hefty dollop of foul language, but hopefully a happy ending. Actually, the last bit's a given since it's me doing the writing, but between here and the end is a rocky road, so please if any of the above is likely to be triggering for you, please, please think twice about reading.

Chapter 13

“What’s happening?” he asked as we arrived at the comms tent. Stuart and Jen were there along with our remaining guards.

“We’re er, waiting for Laurel,” Stuart said. “She and Nick are on their way. I’m not sure she would have been able to do anything by herself, any more than these, er, people can.”

“This has to do with what you were saying when I left the tent, isn’t it?” I asked one of my former captors. “That heuristic defence thing you were talking about. Care to tell us about it?”

Margaritas, Beaches, and Bikinis

Chapter One
A meeting with my Editor

I took a deep breath as I peered across the wooden desk. Sitting in front of me was a woman who seemed to be in her late thirties. Her long brunette hair was tied back in a tight bun and she was dressed in a charcoal gray skirt suit. Her dark green eyes reminded me of the eyes of a Russian Blue.

This one's not for the faint of heart. Over the course of the story there will be death, suicide attempts, a fair amount of physical and mental abuse, some egregious torture and a hefty dollop of foul language, but hopefully a happy ending. Actually, the last bit's a given since it's me doing the writing, but between here and the end is a rocky road, so please if any of the above is likely to be triggering for you, please, please think twice about reading.

Routine for Brad enforces order, structure, and security - but Sara isn't easily put into a box. No doubt there's an attraction, but what does her being Trans mean to pursuing her? Funny thing about stepping outside the norms, ya might realize there's more to life and you've been missing out.

Authors note: Hope is to drop a weekly chapter, with the goal being six to eight in total. Dropped this early because I'm traveling for the holiday. Happy Turkey day everyone! Thank you for considering the read.

Hope's Light

Chapter 14

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Fourteen - Balance

The crimson trail illuminated by the bracers held steady and straight, but the realm of hot barren desert curved away as we flew higher through a sky of perpetual sunset. There the path twisted to snap at right angles to the realm’s reality, and once more we found ourselves fading through clouds into somewhere else.

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

Jennifer Shannon

Chapter 9

Everyone was just staring at me, seeming unsure of what to say. Then Daniel crouched down and grabbed my shoulder. I felt a strange heat rise in me, but I had other things to worry about right now.

“Please don’t panic, but… yes, you do,” he said.

I tensed up, and I only didn’t get up and run because he was holding me firmly.

“Oh my god! He didn’t realize?” asked Lanelle.

Escape plans might be in the works, but will Cameron have something to say about that? She might rock the boat a little and have something on a personal level to deal with surprise her, while she continues to get closer to Garrett.

Chapter 12

Jen and I went for a walk before dinner. No surprise, we had a couple of soldiers following us, rifles in hand. They remained at a discrete distance but did a good job of showing themselves to us.

“You could probably get away if you tried,” Jen said, keeping her voice low.

“Let’s reserve that for if and when it becomes necessary,” I muttered back. “If I get away once, they’ll increase the number of guards, and probably arm them with tranquiliser guns.”

“Don’t you think that’s what those are?”

Is Late Better than Never? Chapter 6
by Lily Rasputin

I honestly wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that the club Maddie’s parents belonged to happened to be the ritziest, most expensive, and most exclusive one in Greensboro.

Pulling the Beemer into an empty spot not too far from the oversized putting green, I stared at the massive structure that was a living testament to wealth and privilege. As Mike, I had only been here once, at a gala charity fundraiser that one of the senior partners of Kelly’s firm was hosting.