Some of the sky is visible now, although it's so little that a person who hadn't lived months without it might not even notice; but yet Leland doesn't, even though he can't remember the last time he saw the sun. All he can see are the bodies sprawled before him, rotting with incredible rapidity; all he can hear is the desperate heartbeat of the man ( Read more... )

Once Jacob was young; and in those days he would stroll through the flower-fields, pollen collecting in his hair, and dream of when he would join the dancers crowding around the fire on warm evenings-when he would build a house, and that pretty girl he always smiled at would put a wreath around his shoulders so he could take her by the hand and ( Read more... )

Heracles said to the lion, "What does it matter, anyway? I mean, what's the point? All this strength-it's for nothing! What use does it have when all it takes is some vengeful goddess to turn it against me? You know ( Read more... )

At last Jacob passed the last step, and found himself in the temple. Before him sat three figures of identical height and identical stature, wearing identical cloaks of identical cloth. Before he could open his mouth, one spoke; its voice was the hoarseness of a dying breath and the hopes of a young lover ( Read more... )

This story has a happy ending ( Read more... )

Chris knows many things. He knows the reason humans suffer, how to achieve world peace, and the way to make really delicious apple tarts. He knows the correct way to arrange silverware-yes, even when there are like five billion pieces. He knows how to cure cancer, and whether they'll find the Higgs boson or not (but he's not telling). He knows the ( Read more... )

"Shitcuntfuckhell," thinks The Soldier, his face bloodied. The Change stands opposite him, studying him closely, idly flicking the economy in his hand open and closed. "This guy is such a ( Read more... )

"There are three ways to kill a person in their dreams," says Elle, toying idly with a silver chain. "The first is to trap them in the dreamscape until their body dies. The second is to kill them in their dream form while preventing them from returning to their body ( Read more... )

Now he's just tired. Achingly, constantly tired: the kind of fatigue you get only after countless nights spent chasing a goal you've just seen snatched away. He's tried sleeping once or twice, but his rest is plagued with vivid, urgent dreams calling him someplace far away-he wakes up feeling more drained than when he went to sleep ( Read more... )

Cobalt is having another one of his strange fits outside. Most members of the circle are used to it -- a good fit will put him back to being the most productive of them all -- but some of the newer members will always be frightened. Cobalt's fits are worse, though less frequent, than any other's; he almost always ends up injuring himself in some ( Read more... )