Dire Watchword
Little Transylvania had survived the devastation better than most of Amsterdam Two. The serpents must have thought the undead weren’t worth killing, or maybe Tiamat had a soft spot for outcasts. There were gobbets of mostly…
Steven Smiley
Steven Smiley is the author of Milo & Fairfax.
Pearl of Dreams
“There’s a couch floating past us.” I nodded. “That there is.” Epiphany followed what looked like a Barcalounger as it drifted after the couch. “I only point this out because we’re in a cornfield, and the…
The Farm
“This is not what I expected the museum to look like,” said Epiphany. “You were expecting marble columns and urns?” Milo said sardonically. “I was expecting a lab with magic circles and electrified unobtainium cages. This…
Torosian
“Took you long enough to get here, Milo,” said the voice in the center of the flame sourly. “Frank!?” Milo and Epiphany were standing in a well-appointed study. A heavy, richly inlaid mahogany desk littered with…
The Diner
“Why can’t she leave Mars Prime?” “She can’t leave her apartment, is closer to the truth. We all—every troubleshooter who was working at the time—gave up some of our karma to build the place.” Epiphany sipped…
Epiphany
“I need a body.” The abbot drew on his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of soma, and flicked the butt off of the cloud island. It turned into a shimmering golden butterfly on its way down and…
Tia
“This is a nice surprise.” “No, it isn’t.” The woman looked to be about thirty. She was tall and athletic, with skin the color of old bronze and long dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail. Her…
The Junkyard
The dog made it to the bottom of the scrap pile first. The man slid down after, picking a careful path with his flashlight through the stacks of discarded luggage and old toys. There was a…
Two Years Later
It was early fall in the misty hills. The morning air was crisp. The little girl ran for the joy of running, up from her father’s house to the temple at the mountain peak. She leapt…
Lucien Murdock
I’ve always liked night markets. Something about the hustle-bustle of people doing business under the stars appeals to me. This one was situated in the ruins of a Greek temple on top of a mesa on…
Training Day
I stepped out of nowhere and onto the Alaskan tundra. Nails Cullen stubbed out her joint. “Hey, Milo,” she said without looking up. “We killing monsters today?” Nails was a compact, muscular young cambion with pale…
Honey White
“It’s like they think I’m a criminal! What the hell?” “You are a criminal,” I said, my eyes on the road. Honey White rolled her eyes. “I’m a gemological archivist. It’s a perfectly honest occupation!” I…
Ghouls
“Can you narrow it down a little bit?” I sighed. “Hooded black robe, carrying a Book of Forbidden Magic, scurried into this pub. Looked like a cultist.” “This is Transylvania Prime. Do you have any idea…
The Train
I found the train’s porter in the dining car, industriously polishing the long wood bar. It was a gremlin, a small humanoid amphibian with huge ears and bright green eyes with slit pupils. They’re passive-aggressive, ill-mannered…
Regulated Ink
Dire Watchword moved his mouth in something approximating a smile when I walked through the door of his tattoo parlor. It was a learned behavior—werewolves don’t really understand why baring their teeth is supposed to put…
Middle of Nowhere
The delicate crimson filigree that covered the left side of the surgeon’s face had been etched into her skin with techno-organic bacteria and edged with liquefied rubies. It was a physician’s glyph, a highly specialized magical…