In the cold, dark October morning, Rule walked alone down the railroad tracks toward the Ross Shaft of the Homestake Gold Mine. Alone in the early morning, his breath coming out in fits of steam, he felt alive. The air above ground was different than the air […]
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Under the sharp blade of moonlight, Za’darius Marquez Serenus rolled the five small stones into the circle he’d etched in the dirt. A pentagram. His fierce howl sent the ravens screaming from the gnarled and twisted branches of the trees deep in the forest. Satisfied with his […]
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Fareheart was different than the others, the many men who came before him. They were nameless, never staying around long enough to be known. Pembrake had seen most of them, watched them come into town, watched as they left with their dreams stuck in their back pockets. […]
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Khirijan, working through the lonely night, bagging and loading 25-pound blocks of dry ice in a plant in a remote canyon far from what anyone would call civilization, dreamed of warm sunshine. At the end of the long night, Khirijan removed her gloves, sucking on the tips […]
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Obli, my spiritual grandfather, taught me how to hear, a bud opening to reveal a flower, the bear turning over in slumber, a falling leaf. And then he taught me to see, stars above the blue sky, wind parted by a formation of geese, blood pumping through […]
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There is no place to hide anymore. She stands in the emptiness of her studio, looking over her shoulder at the door and then back to the windows that overlook the dirty sidewalk below. Sunlight scratches through the streaks in the windows, cutting across the hardwood floor. […]
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She settles into her chair across from me, pulling her legs up in a sukhasana, and smiles. Do you mind? she asks. Of course not, I say. Sitting this way is more comfortable. Would you like a cup of coffee? I would love a cup of coffee, […]
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Cross-legged on the dirt floor, the conjurer, Juan Carlos, begins the death song, the death rattle painted the colors of the desert in his left hand, the owl’s claw in his right. The dance of flames throws shadows on the walls of the adobe hut, the smoke […]
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Brix Ransom, a tall twist of rawhide, stood sipping his beer at the bar next to Dumphy, the trail boss for the Triple X Cattle Company. I’m headed out in the morning, need to collect my pay. I won’t have it tomorrow, Dumphy told him. Why? The […]
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Santiago is thought to be the best fisherman in the village of Vizcuan because he brings the most fish to market. There are few days out of the year when Santiago doesn’t have fish to sell. Even though he is old and tired, he fishes every day. […]
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