[With thanks to Courtney for another great caption!]

Life really takes some strange turns and moving to New Mexico did it for me. I hated my new life. At my old home in Idaho, I had a couple of friends, and we played games and hung out, but not in the new place. It sucked.

Keir, Von and Hanina were escorted through the halls of the keep at the center of Desolate Fort to the main hall. The escort watched them warily, particularly the ghostly maid who floated silently behind Keir. The necromancer wondered how the dignitaries would act when they met. So far he'd been greeted mostly by fear and wariness, he could understand why they felt like that, but it was getting annoying.

“Shall I introduce you as Keir or Keira?” Von asked.

I returned a few moments later holding the old, leather Bible. It was the family Bible, the one that recorded all the births and deaths in the family. According to family lore, the Bible had been in the family for well over a hundred years. My Aunt Cat who was in the kitchen, pointed with fingers toward my uncle's office. I nodded my head and started to make my way to the office. The door was locked so I gently knocked. A few seconds later, I heard a crossed voice from behind the door call out.

“Wow,” she said. “The boys are going to be watching that show.”

Dela

Walther Livingston is a penetration tester, employed to probe the security arrangements at National Reliant Bank where a vast quantity of diamonds are stored. He tricks his way past guards and through numerous barriers, but the final line of defence is like nothing he has ever encountered before...

Strange and powerful memories started to flood over me. I remembered a time when I was just starting kindergarten. I attended a private kindergarten, one that had a playroom that was attached to the main classroom. I froze and peered up into the sky as I found myself falling through time and space. In the corner of the play room, there was a corner, a kind of private corner. I also remembered there were toy chests that held clothing that the girls in my class use to play pretend and dress up.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Ursula finally understands what the strange happenings around her mean. A race to warn the two Counts, and then another to get to the Shevesty field... where every man-at-arms is equipped only with a practice blade!

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

67 - Treachery in Faralan

Jamie's grandmother pulled into the Fabric Barn parking lot. Jamie looked down at his outfit: a short-sleeved white blouse, black and white tweed shorts, black pantyhose, and black Mary Janes. The pantyhose were control top and high-waisted. The waistband stopped a couple inches above his belly button, giving most of his abdomen a gentle hug, which he thought was a wonderful feeling.

Five o'clock finally rolled around.

I couldn't wait to get to my room, it would mean I could either take a nap or get ready for supper. Thanks to the time difference between my hometown and Doom Valley, my body insisted it was not only past my bedtime, but I'd missed supper by several long hours.

“Jonny gots bitsy feet,” Linda told Turkle. “But not littler than mine!”

Abbotsford, BC

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

“What?” Retorted the big man, turning in his seat to stare at the boy sitting beside him, “You said you needed to get to Alberta to spend time with your girlfriend.”

Gering, Nebraska
June 13th, 2007
Late Evening

I discovered my true self in the Mississippi Delta, a region known for its coffee colored soil, known to grow any crop known to man, known mostly for the growing of cotton and a style of music called 'The Blues'. Yes here in this flat region, I found my true self and I've never been the same. Now the chief source of income for many in the delta is farming, the crop of choice is cotton.

Chapter 11

When we had finished the meal, Suzette and I packed the dishes in the washer while my mother chatted with our guests. May was regaling her about some of the odd ladies she had made dresses for and when she mentioned that a few had been men my mother said “Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

I said “Mother dear, have you looked at the photos in the window of the shop?”

She nodded so I carried on. “One is of a lot of local ladies at a celebrity wedding and the other is a group at a party.”

Looking out the carriage window at Desolation Fort, Keir decided it needed a name change it was hardly desolated now.

“I’m hundry,” Linda informed me. “Donna said you would make hopgakes for us.”

I found the room, but it turns out I took too long to find it. And the game was already starting when I stumbled into the room. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed at first, after all I'd been promised the leading role of the “Queen” piece. But a few minutes later a sense of relief washed over me. I quickly learned that when a piece was “Captured” it was given a cream pie to the face as a penalty, normally by the piece that captured it.