CHAPTER 39
I had texted her in advance, of course, so she was waiting in the little café down the street, still acting in that filtering, shielding role I had recognised. That said, there was real warmth in her greeting to me.

“You got news for us, girl?”

“Oh yes! Best sort. He got nicked on Friday, after we had finished the trials and stuff with the other lot”

“Oh, we saw that on the news. Not what I’m asking, is it?”

“What are you asking, Deb?”

When among Dragons... Chapter 11 Discoveries

by Machara and Chryos Stormwing

Special thanks to
my love Chryos who creates this with me,
Gabe as my editor and friend

Garrus hummed, still focused on each other’s ministrations.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m not sure either of us can lift the other, at the moment.“

A hint of sarcasm shone through Garrus’ humor.

“I'm afraid I’ve got to ask you to…“ he harrumphed “… step down.“

Shakedown
by Ellie Dauber (c) 2003

The Ace-High Lounge was in its early evening lull, between the “I’ll just stop off for a quick drink on the way home” crowd and the “Let’s go out tonight and have a few drinks” crowd. A few people were scattered here and there through the room, trying to decide which group they wanted to be in.

A beefy man, about forty, in a police uniform, walked in and headed quietly over to the bar. “Your boss around?” he asked the bartender.

“In the office,” the bartender said. “You want I should get him?”

CHAPTER 37
I must admit I have had many evenings a lot worse than that one, and very few better. By the time I got home (by way of the all-night shop for a tin of cocoa, of course) my laughter had toned itself down to smiles, but only just. Whatever Deb was doing was working. Only a few of the girls had given me any idea as to what had happened in their past, but they were all transgender and each one had been hurt,

Raben returned to the tabernae then headed to a bed in the men’s dormitory. The men in the drinking hall exchanged looks of mystification.

The next morning Raben ate a bit of bread and cheese in the tabernae then headed over to the centurion’s home. The new mother was awake cuddling her newborn. After checking mother and child he pronounced both were doing well. He also went over the mother’s restrictions concerning bed rest and lifting restrictions as well as again cautioning her to wait a full day after taking the mandrake potion before nursing.

At the infirmary the medicus warmly greeted Raben. While older than the young healer the military doctor recognized the youth’s obvious skill. Together they checked on the three soldiers who had been severely injured and then skillfully treated. The trio were allowed to get out of bed and move about the fort but were cautioned to take things easy and to spend a week sleeping in the infirmary.

Centurion Didius entered the infirmary as the bandaged trio exited giving them a withering gaze as he did so. “Well Raben, has their prognosis changed?”

[at a Student House in South Leeds]

"Fuck shit and double fuck," exclaimed the attractive young woman as she stormed into the sitting room of her house.

"What's up dude?" asked another of the occupants who was clearly 'high' after consuming his third joint of the day.

"Yeah, why the swearing Luce?" asked the third member of their household who was pouring over a laptop computer.

"I called home to wish my Mother a happy birthday only to find out that my frigging father is throwing a huge party in the summer for his fucking fiftieth birthday. It's going to happen during 'Cowes Week'."

The Angel of Chicago

Part Ten: A Major Disturbance

by

Rodford Edmiston

"Those of us who attended the teleconference decided on multiple approaches to deal with the revelations from those documents Blackpool provided," said Aaron, as the trio prepared supper. "That approach being necessary because we still don't know what any of the goals actually are, beyond 'turn more people against the empowered.'"

Coffee

I sat outside on the porch. Hair only a tiny bit up, in a hair band, skirt, and t-shirt. I looked like looking nice was a habit. Like this was just what I wore when I was going out. Nothing special. Don’t infer anything from the way I look. We’re two friends meeting up and no one expects a thing.

At least I hoped.

Light's Promise (Part 2 of 6)

by Erisian

Chapter 4 - Price

“Jordan, perhaps you can elucidate to the class how the emergence of powered individuals has disturbed the foundation and premise of the law and structure of the United States?”

Rabbi Kirov was picking on me again. When I had received my schedule I’d discovered that he had wedged his own class onto the list: The Ethics of Super-powered Beings. Now we were at the end of the second week and he already had established to everyone that I was some sort of teacher’s pet. He kept selecting me non-stop to answer questions or to reiterate the passages in the assigned reading texts. It had gotten out of hand, and I was so going to yell at him at our private magic practice session come Monday.

Originally presented on Wed, 2006/08/09

What is life but a journey along an unmapped route toward a certain and inevitable destination? What would you do to tread a different path than the one you have walked so far?

The Angel of Chicago

Part Nine: Conclusions

by

Rodford Edmiston

"Did you get any sleep?" asked Arielle, the next morning, as she entered the kitchen and found Melody still where she had left her the night before.

"A few hours," said Melody, barely not yawning. "Your father insisted."

"You've been at this nearly twenty-four hours!"