“Avoid playing games of chance for money, young lady.” His eyes twinkled. “Yes. You have a question. So, ask it.”

Part Six by Iona Laing.

Chapter Sixteen.

This is a paraquel to “Pawn …” as told by Dawn (Bill). (Since it isn’t prequel or a sequel it must be a paraquel)

At the beginning of my sophomore year I finally was ready to act. Perphaps not really ready but I had to do it this year. I had carefully researched the possibilities. This was the year to come out. Next year the conditions would be much worse.

The September sun beat down on Ethan's back as he lounged in Jordan's backyard, a half-empty can of soda warming beside him. It was one of those lazy weekend afternoons where time seemed to stretch endlessly, a welcome break from the first few weeks of their senior year that had already proven to be more demanding than expected.

It was a tennis match I was supposed to win easily, against an up and coming female tennis player from a rival high school. Since she is a junior and I am a sophomore we had never played each other before.

Due to a lack of tennis players in the state, there was no separate male and female teams. Just one team open to either a male or a female. This also applied to several other sports, golf also being one of the sports. In the sport of tennis, some of the best players were female, their agility overcoming any male advantage due to their strength.

Dedicated to Sephrena Lynn Miller, in the hope that this story fits her expectations. Thank you for all you have done for the group.

Frances and Jill were friends from a long way back. They had met in their nursery school and unlike many small girls, or boys for that matter, had not been selfish, but had played happily together with imaginative games like ‘Doctors and Nurses’ or ‘Mummies and Daddies’ for as long as they were awake.

As soon as I saw Bill walk towards school in a dress I knew that I had been handed a golden opportunity. No, I had no interest in Bill himself but his actions opened up so many possibilities.

This story arose from a dream, it has no ending

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the alley, freezing the boy in his tracks. His heart hammered against his ribs as he pressed himself against the cold brick wall, barely daring to breathe. He shouldn’t have followed the man in the black coat. He should have stayed home, right where his mother had told him to. But curiosity had always been his weakness. And now, he’d seen something he couldn’t unsee.

There was a scream from one of the girls as two doors slammed shut and the car roared to life. Hank reversed out of the garage at full speed that I thought the car would jump the curb and drive into the park. The car lurched forward and then drove up Driftwood Ave to one of three exits out of the neighborhood.

CHAPTER 74
There was nothing either of us could do for him, of course, being so far away, apart from simply doing our best to be there, wherever and whatever ‘there’ might be, if he needed us. Maz, as ever, spent so much of her energy worrying about others that she had let herself fade, just a bit, and I was slowly beginning to realise what a gamble she had taken in almost literally throwing herself at me.

After flubbing a powerful incantation, meant to give newly coronated Demon Queens the wisdom of their ancestors, Devilla Satanne awakens to memories of her past life as Jacob Divington, a human from Earth. Having gained a new perspective on life, she quickly comes to a rather horrifying conclusion: she's been a complete and utter brat! No wonder everyone hates her!

And then there's the fact that she's apparently been reincarnated as the villainess of Tower Conquest, a lesbian porn game with a surprisingly intricate plot. One in which the Heroine conquers Dimona Tower, turning Devilla's people against her in the process. In victory, the Heroine brings about a glorious age of peace between demons and humans for the first time in millennia. ...Which actually sounds pretty good for her people, come to think of it. Devilla knows her terrible behavior is beyond forgiveness, but maybe she can still make up for her past mistakes? She just needs to make sure the events of the game unfold correctly. Though there is one little detail she'd like to change - the part where Devilla herself is killed or enslaved!

The series cover was commissioned from https://twitter.com/HaizeUqei