Fiction
The Half-Life of Angels
Disasters spawn angels upon the earth. The angel of New Orleans bears wings of rain and howling wind. The angels of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bear wings like flash–burned silhouettes. The angel of San Francisco bears wings of smoke. The angels of London stand together, wing brushing wing, fire, plague, the concussion of bombs. The Valdivia […]
A Year and a Day In Old Theradane
1. Wizard Weather It was raining when Amarelle Parathis went out just after sunset to find a drink, and there was strange magic in the rain. It came down in pale lavenders and coppers and reds, soft lines like liquid dusk that turned to luminescent mist on the warm pavement. The air itself felt like […]
Ghost Champagne
1. Comedy You know what I wish? I wish I could just reach into someone’s chest and pull out their beating heart and show it to them, like a movie villain. (And then I would put it back and their chest would seal up and they would be fine. I’m not a monster!) But imagine […]
Midnight Hour
The Nameless Queen sipped her port, rolling the blood–dark liquid in her mouth. The night’s rain pattered against the tall leaded glass windows of her sitting room in a gentle susurration. On the mantel, the clock ticked four minutes until midnight. The door burst open, bouncing against the paneled wall. “… must be planted in […]
Woman at Exhibition
Because it was the only decoration on the cracked white walls of the apartment, Estelle found herself gazing for the fiftieth time at the faded print of Nighthawks that had survived Luke’s college years with its corners thumbtacked to lace. Her attention drifted from the counterboy’s white cap and shoulders to the gleaming coffee urns […]
The Rainbow Flame
For C. S. E. Cooney, whetstone Wiping sweat from her forehead before it could spill into her eyes, Rupali stirred a large iron cauldron over a searing fire. Swirls of silver, shards of sky, and the thorny notes of a forgotten folk melody all danced through the boiling beeswax. It was different every time, like […]
Three Voices
Andre Irving was pissed off about going to the Adams Ave Street Fair. Bethanny tricked him by saying they were only having espresso at Lestat’s Coffee shop to talk. He wanted to discuss their off–again–on–again–now off again relationship. He was trying to turn it back on. Bethanny wasn’t trying to hear him on it. Once […]
Young Woman in a Garden
Beauvoisin (1839–1898) Edouard Beauvoisin was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, a provincial doctor. When he demonstrated a talent for drawing, however, his mother saw to it that he was provided with formal training. In 1856, Beauvoisin went to Paris, where he worked at the Académie Suisse and associated with the young […]
In Libres
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” ―Jorge Luis Borges Euclavia glared down at the sweaty slip of paper crumpled in her left fist. She had managed to shut the door of her tutor’s office quietly behind her, managed to walk with soft steps all the way down the hall […]