Michael Williams
Stories
10
Chapters
6,152
Words
7.1 K
Comments
0
Reading
35 m
-
Thaddeus Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 10:30 a.m. Despite Thaddeus’s attempts at efficiency, paperwork and in-depth after-action reports still took longer than they had any reasonable right to. It consumed almost two hours before he could depart the Red Guard’s main field base. By that time, he already had his next steps firmly in mind. Using his fame and his identity as a frequent consultant for the coppers, it was fairly easy to get access to the records at the city’s archive. According to what…-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 8:15 a.m. Siobhan felt the moment when they escaped whatever method the Red Guard had been using to track her from the maze. As the strain on her divination-diverting ward fell to the normal low-level prickle and coldness of working against her dowsing artifact, her shoulders relaxed and her jaw unclenched. “We are clear,” she announced, triggering a simultaneous sigh of relief from everyone else in the small boat. Beside her, Gera looked up from where she had…
-
133 •
-
-
Thaddeus Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 7:50 a.m. As Thaddeus, Captain Aisling, and Agent Marcurio forced their way free from the ever-changing hedge maze trying to trap them within, Captain Aisling spoke. “I do not believe I’ve ever said this before, but I think we came out of that negotiation on the losing end. The Raven Queen controlled the flow from beginning to end, and I am only now beginning to realize how skillfully.” Thaddeus agreed. Captain Aisling had undoubtedly gone through the same…
-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 7:05 a.m. Professor Lacer turned on Siobhan and scowled. “I distinctly remember mentioning that I would be observing from the edge of the board. So why, I wonder, did you start casting your anti-divination spell halfway through your demonstration?” Siobhan remained awkwardly silent. She hadn’t even considered what activating the divination-diverting ward’s full effects might do, even though she knew that it protected her shadow as well as her physical body.…
-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 6:55 a.m. Captain Aisling and Agent Marcurio shared a look of surprise and distrust at Siobhan’s offer of a shadow-familiar demonstration. “Totally safe,” Siobhan repeated. Agent Marcurio’s tails lashed back and forth in agitation. His voice was tight, and his accent came through more thickly. “You want to show us the spell you used against the other agent who fought against you? The same one you used on the Pendragon Corps. The creature of shadows that…
-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 21, Saturday 6:35 a.m. One unexpected benefit of no longer needing to sleep was that Siobhan could set appointments at times that would be inconvenient for others. Such as before the sun rose on a weekend morning. One of Oliver’s people had ferried her across the Charybdis Gulf in a four-person speedboat, and would be waiting to take her, Enforcer Gerard, and Enforcer Huntley back from the Lilies in an hour if all went well. The two men escorted her toward the place she had chosen…
-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 15, Sunday 5:00 p.m. Though it was a hassle, since she planned to talk to Professor Lacer that evening, Siobhan changed into her other form to travel back to the University. She didn’t have confirmation that the Red Guard were willing to wait until the meeting time she would set, or even that they would be amenable to a conversation at all. And though it might not hold true if they changed methods, they had indicated that they were unable to find her as Sebastien. She looked out…
-
133 •
-
-
Siobhan Month 8, Day 15, Sunday 3:15 p.m. ‘ She had needed a momentary break from the edge of helpless pressure building into insanity inside her, and so had descended among the children to perform some party tricks for Theo’s birthday. And, well, she But still, the adults, who one might have reasonably thought would be more logical, composed, and knowledgeable about magic than the children, were the ones who seemed to be most affected by her presence and demonstration of some simple spells. The…
-
133 •
-
-
Thaddeus Month 8 Day 15, Sunday 6:00 a.m. Thaddeus had not slept. The Raven Queen—Siobhan, as she had told him to call her—had left his cottage hours before, disappearing into the trees during the darkest hour of the night when most of the city slumbered. Theoretically, there had been time for him to catch a bit of rest, but Thaddeus had not even attempted to lay his head on his pillow. He knew sleep would not come. Even now, he was still buzzing with the energy of her visit. He was walking through…
-
133 •
-
-
Sebastien Month 8 Day 15, Sunday 1:15 p.m. The next day, Sebastien walked a long, winding route through Verdant Stag territory on the way to Nightmare Pack’s fighting arena. It was sunny, without a trace of clouds in the sky, but she wanted to be triply certain she was not being tracked or followed. Her divination-diverting ward didn’t so much as twitch, and though she was aware that she might have no idea if some more arcane magics were being used, she noticed nothing alarming. It was apparent that…
-
133 •
-
- Previous 1 2 3 … 616 Next
