Interlude I am angry and sore, however much Master is pleased. Once this would have soothed all my hurts, but now... My shoulder stings where the hunter's teeth marked me. My brothers hide on the other side of him. Seeing blood on my fur, they begin to fear the place, even while the loss of others in our Tribe has not. Poor lost little mice. So pleased is he that he does not notice that another of my brothers has failed to return. I scoff at my thoughts. He would not notice e

-Ellen- I gazed upwards, watching a gentle November snow drift through naked branches, savouring the stillness of early morning. I stood in a small clearing, surrounded by a bush lot that I’d played in as a child; spending innumerable hours climbing trees and inventing adventures. Grandfather had taught me which berries I could snack on, and what mushrooms we could add to our evening meals. I’d played assistant to my mother when she’d performed simple incantations and recalle

-Ellen- Departure the following day went without incident, thank heavens. I was worried about Babe; he seemed melancholy after our altercation with David Andrews, but he was likely just reflecting our mood. We were on the road home when Shigeto raised the subject again. "Do you think there’s anything to his claim?" He asked. "David Andrews, that is. That something happened to his fence." I looked over at Shigeto. "He was just looking for a story." "Yeah, but still. Babe hasn’

-Interlude- The Court comes calling. Mostly ones and twos, sometimes a cluster. "Baubles and Trinkets," they say. The prizes we risk our lives for. Lose our lives for. He shows little interest in making gifts to these courtiers. Even those Titania favours are slighted by his neglect. I see them swallow wounded pride, for they still desire these novelties, so they bide their time. But I see a price will be paid. And that my brothers will pay as Master does. Instead, he squande

-David- I ended up at my local, sitting at the bar, my mind turning the visions in my head over and over. The beer appeared at my elbow, startling me, but it didn’t stop me from draining half of it in short order. The advantages of being a regular. Ruth gave me a knowing look from the other side of the bar. "Rough day?" "Weird day," I responded. "Ever see shit you couldn’t explain?" She snorted, "I work here," she responded, "that’s pretty much every Saturday night." I gave h

________________________________________________________________________ Interlude I return to find them clustered around him, my absence forgotten. They are eager to show him their prizes; winter seeds untouched by magic, spider's silk – tangled but true, and Brokk has a small thing trapped in a cage of fingers. A mouse, trembling but still. Master sees me, as shaky as the mouse with cold and … something else. In a stride he is upon me, his power suffocates me. I try to hold

-Ellen- It wasn’t until we were back in our hotel room having some pizza that I finally got up the courage to ask the question that was preying on me. "So what do you think’s going on with him?" I asked. Shigeto didn’t hesitate when he answered, confirming my suspicion that he’d been well aware of the changes in Babe, just as I had, that it was plaguing him, just as it did me. "I don’t know, but he’s definitely not behaving normally. It’s more like he’s pretending to be an an

-Interlude- The pavilions rise and Master goes to Tea. His best invitation in seasons beyond counting, though not with Titania. Her favourites, though, are cruel. They ask for tales of new conquest. He bears it poorly, his stature only a memory. His claws flex and they titter. He is a shadow of himself tonight, and I am filled with shame. Their servants look upon me and sneer. Suddenly it seems too much for him, this scarce concealed contempt, for I see him frown and step fro

-David - Jittery with caffeine, I crawled out of the third-story window of my house onto the flat section of the roof over the kitchen. I’d just finished a complete re-write of the Wiccan article and the sun had risen and set on me and several pots of coffee. By the time the ‘whoosh’ of my email program had told me I was done, it had been after eleven. My long day had been the result of my editor's profound displeasure with my first draft. "A gutless rehash of your first piec

– David – I called Anne Phillips, a Prof at York university, who'd done work on characterizing the minority faiths. The religious colleges associated with the University had objected to her appointment; but the university had argued that her work didn’t support the practice of illegal magics, just catalogued them. Anne felt their fussing was simply the traditional religions were trying to maintain their influence. I told her about the series, and that the next piece would be

I still say it was a light that woke me — a green flash, bright as spring.

A Bull – brilliant as the snow in sunshine and subtle as a pearl shimmering in moonlight.