At first I made the mistake of thinking that the City was static. As far as I could tell, no one aged and hardly anyone died. No one left. Buildings were damaged, the Cleaner repaired them. Everything was always good as new. Then one afternoon, I ventured down a well-worn path between Melody’s place and the square where we sometimes found odd...
The Library always smells faintly of ash and salt. It isn’t just the big things – the Library of Alexandria, the Hanlin Academy, 焚書坑儒, and the like, though names like Aurelian, Itzcoatl and Qin Shi Huang and not even whispered in the halls – but the flames of chance as well. Hundreds of individual manuscripts were committed to paper...
“I want spinach, tomatoes, pasta and a divorce,” “Spinach, tomatoes- what?” “Just making sure you’re listening, dear.” She kicked his suitcase down the hallway toward him. “I hate tomatoes.”...
I had heard stories of the жар-пти́ца, the firebird, since I was small. I had read still more about it when I started researching. Every source described it’s surpassing beauty. To stand in front of it was still something else altogether. I continued to feel as if I were on fire, but it seemed increasingly unimportant. The pain faded...
Kether was busy sparring with one of Eden’s project kids when his father walked in with the men in suits. “-so you see, they’re coming along nicely but they’re still a little young to actually see war.” “The department doesn’t have time to fund flights of fancy, Dr. Saito.” “Unless the department has found a means to speed up...
It was weeks before I realized something was weird. Jian has always been bigger than me. If you asked me when I was fourteen, I would have told you he was ten feet tall and even bigger in dragon form. When he entered even the largest room in his lair, I felt his presence. He filled rooms. And then one day as he berated me for messing up something...
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