“Salmon,” I said, nodding my head as the plane came in for a landing on the Binghamton county air strip. “Smoked salmon. That’s what I’m going to have him make when we get there.”
Category: Horace and Queen Betty
Chapter 11: Nachtka Wai Loses
In the sea, perfection is all around us. In the sea, we are cushioned from the vagaries of chance and mutation and all of those countless catastrophes that regularly rock the surface world. There are creatures in the sea that are so perfect that they have not changed in hundreds of millions of years. Sharks remain a perfect predator, largely unchanged over the course of time that dwarfs any civilization’s lifespan. Their behavior does not change. Their diet does not change. They continue, eternal, and beautiful.
Chapter 10: Horace Gets Mad
The water churned as it filled in the sink hole. My fingers throbbed with each beat of my heart. The earth stood still beneath my feet.
Chapter 9: Horace Gets Left Alone
There was someone warm in my bed. I shifted slightly, an arm going over them, squeezing them gently. They were soft. I squeezed a little bit tighter, pressing my face into warm, soft, faintly musky hair. I felt an ear flick against my nose, and a soft purr filled the air, the vibration rocking my chest. “Good morning, Horace.”
Chapter 8: Walter Carries a Grudge
When I was sixteen, in 1964, I joined the navy. I was Polish, which made my joining the Russian navy an unusual event, to say the least. But I had a hunger for greatness. I wished to be someone, to make my mark on the world.
Chapter 7: A Fat Guy Tries to Bite Horace.
Monday morning broke. For the first few peaceful moments, it was beautiful. Sunshine, the rich and welcoming light of dawn peeking across the valley, setting the hilltops ablaze. Green trees swaying in the breeze, and the soft low buzz of life in full swing outside. The blissful amnesia of sleep left my mind free to worry about minor, silly things. Where’s Betty? Where’s Li? What am I going to make them for dinner today?
Continue reading “Chapter 7: A Fat Guy Tries to Bite Horace.”
Chapter 6: Horace Finds Swords.
“Come on!” I growled, tugging Ku. She stared at the dissolving figure. “Ku! There’s only so much-” I looked down the corridor, and saw half a dozen Atlanteans in strange and colorful armor swimming towards us. “Oh, fucking hell!” I looked over at the wall. “Get us away from them!”
Chapter 5: Ku’s Dad Makes a Deal
I studied the holy geometers. Triangle for violence, the sharp points of a tooth. Quadrangle for stability, the flat sides of a brick. Pentangle for magical power, the fingers of the hand, the basis of all manipulation. Hexangle for resilience, the six sides of the scale. And the circle. I paused over that for a moment. The circle, which could have countless angles, or only one; the symbol of ambiguity. Of divinity constrained. Both infinite, and utterly limited. The order mattered. For this, more than so many other things.
Chapter 4: Horace Smacks a God
The viciously cold waters of Lake Huron closed around me like the icy jaws of a very moist Death. In an instant, reflexes kicked in. Reflexes honed bone-deep inside of humans. Unfortunately, they were not very useful reflexes.
Chapter 3: Ku Visits A Buffet
My father’s first words to me were ‘You shall be our salvation.’
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