They're en route to Thovia... ----- Chapter 4. Varan: "Sasham, are you sure this is entirely wise?" Guvthor inquired. I shrugged. "The Eönwyl and I discussed it for quite a while, and neither of us sees any likely risks." We could, nonetheless, remain safely in Conversion. What is the benefit that justifies even the unlikely risk? "Up-to-date information," The Eönwyl answered. "We're about to leave Imperial space, and we've crossed most of the Empire in complete isolation. Given that the Imperial Relay network is set [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVOLUTION, Chapter 3
September 3, 2018 By 1 Comment
We've seen the other two sides of this game, let's look in on the third side... ----- Chapter 3. Shagrath: You have still not located him. The thought was a statement, not a question; Shagrath knew that his allies would have told him instantly had they even a guess where Varan was. The point was to drive home the fact that though many things were going according to plan, there was still a dangerous random factor going unchecked. Not located. Departed for unknown destination, galaxy is wide, wide, and none of [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVOLUTION, Chapter 2
August 31, 2018 By Leave a Comment
So, Varan was on his way in The Eonwyl's ship... ------- Chapter 2 Varan: "You're good at that." I glanced toward my feet and a little outward – carefully, to keep from bashing my head against the access hatch – to see the Eönwyl looking up at me. "I've seen a fair amount of action out on the border, and a lot of it before I was commanding. Replacing shield coils and crystal matrices gets to be pretty much a habit." That won a quick, bright smile from her. "A duty, but one that a lot of people aren't [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Mick Oberon
May 8, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The Mick Oberon series by Ari Marmell is a common recommendation to those who enjoyed Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. And there are certainly a lot of similarities. The following description applies, more or less, to both: A wisecracking PI who happens to use magic as well as more traditional methods keeps getting mixed up in magical hijinks out of his league in his home town of Chicago. His magic, unfortunately, conflicts with the newer gadgetry of the modern world, and he often tries to avoid having to use said gadgets. He may be considered [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 19
April 10, 2018 By 1 Comment
We learned a bit more about why the Blackwells are hated... in this chapter, we get to meet another one... ----- Chapter 19. New York City, 1980 “Congratulations, Dyl, you passed your second history exam,” Tina said, leaning against the Muffin House display case. “There actually is a brain in that head of yours.” She smiled and tapped her temple with a thin finger. In her other hand, she held out the purple-dittoed test sheet. A red-ink "85%" was circled at the top. On the table behind her was a stack of books and a binder. For [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past:Revelation, Chapter 30
April 9, 2018 By 9 Comments
And we conclude our snippets of this volume of Demons with an extremely important chapter! ----- Chapter 30. Varan: Torline's Swords, it's been a long day. I thought. Now I get to rest. I headed wearily for my cabin. My Captain's cabin. That did manage to bring a faint smile to my lips still. Other things… I was still awfully conflicted. The depression at my loss wasn't going to go any time soon, that was for sure. I wondered if I'd managed to hide that from Taelin. It wasn't something I could talk about, so I had to hope so. [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past:Revolution, Chapter 29
April 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Something had gone wrong with Sasham... ------ Chapter 29. Shagrath: Restraint. Restraint. Patience. Are these not the lessons I have learned over the years of my penance? Do not let them be lost. Shagrath repeated this to himself several times until he was sure he could maintain control. Such things were so contrary to his people's nature. Yet there was no choice. So much had been lost before due to impulsive actions. That was why he was still here, with these creatures, following their actions and mimicking their behaviors. He [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 18
April 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Another trip back in time, and we see some other characters when they were younger... and learn just how nasty Mr. Blackwell was.... ----- Chapter 18. New York City, 1980 Anna's Muffin Shop was a small shop, with a large display case filled with many different kinds of muffins ranging from corn to chocolate as well as cupcakes and cookies. The walls were painted pink as a background for black silhouette figures that danced across the wall, figures with finger-wave hair and zoot suits. Apparently the shop had started [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 28
April 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
So Shagrath had said there was a test for Varan... ------ Chapter 28. Varan: I focused on the room beyond and muttered a tired curse. Like many of them the closer I got to the center, this area had a psi-damper. I'd found I could still function in rooms with a standard damper before, in my earlier training, but it was like fighting underwater, or in extra-heavy gravity; you just had a lot less to devote to the cause. Worse, the screens were more than sufficient to scramble even my best attempts to remote-view or listen. As [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 17
April 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Dylan's finally waking up to find out that even a Revenant can get badly hurt... ---- Chapter 17. New York City, 2010 When Dylan finally came to from the almost-endless dream, it took a while to understand where he was, what had happened. The only thing he knew for sure was that he'd been wrapped like a mummy – bandaged broken arm, skull fracture, chest wrapped for multiple broken ribs, and serious repair work to put his guts back where they belonged. He spent most of his time unconscious — if you could call that [ Continue reading... ]
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