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Misty’s shoulders slumped, and she said, “Everyone points to Christmas as the most wonderful day of the year. But you know what I think, Claire? I think Christmas eve is probably more powerful than Christmas. It is the moment before Schrödinger’s box opens. The cat is dead alive. Your binary human existence hasn’t forced it...

C “Cargo ship Lam Tin. Make no further course adjustments, kill your thrust, and prepare for boarding. You will be fired upon for failure to comply.” Desi saw the threat indicator and saw no fewer than four Trickster-Class fighter craft, her own type of craft, and two assault vehicles packed with Marines heading in their direction...

“Across all of Japan, The Samurai sought his prey. This Ronin, this masterless cur who threated the security of the very Empire with his deviant ways, magical powers, and the demons at his command. The Samurai would have leapt from earth and followed the scourge to the heavens—from the sun to the stars, if that...

Suddenly, there was a deep rumble that felt like an earthquake or an explosion. He heard no sound but felt the bass deep in his chest. The salt vibrated in a circular pattern from the center of the room…His mind turned to the recent Deviant bombings on a flight school in Prague. The academy here...

The smell of burnt and burning meat filled the halls, as did smoke from what had to be dozens of small fires all around the ship. The new Deviant weapon was said to only light living beings on fire (what a horror show), but they were told small flames would pop up everywhere based on...

“Waves of commerce are far more rare, important, and beautiful in this universe than waves of water mindlessly battering the rocks…There are no worlds containing sentience that exist without commerce. I promise you that. Trade? Goods and logistics? Regardless of the world or the race, that shit right there is universal and magnificent.”   –Yale Boliver In...

Chapter 27 “This is not that, Clarabelle. I am truly sorry for what you’re about to see, though I am happy to welcome you away from the world of black and of white and into the world of gray.” The Alpha boarded the lift, indicating his work here was done. Claire locked all the recent...

Admiral Oshiro was focused on Arnez. Oshiro said, “Arnez, stop what you’re doing and surrender. I don’t know how you’re doing this, nor can I fathom why, but you’re never going to get off of this station. This is not a request. You have five seconds to comply.” Oshiro was not bluffing or playing at...

“And just now, he stood on all sides of Josephine. All six of him were dressed in slightly different, trashy clothes. All six held different blades, and all six advanced with the will to cut her, smash her face, make her bleed. Josephine filled her breast with fire that spawned in the base of her...

“It was hard for me to remember my life before the Mindframe. Or to be honest, it was hard to forget the Mindframe itself. Every boom I heard was a gunshot. And realized I didn’t ever want to go back. I was tired of combat…and The Delta Messenger agreed.” On this episode of Mindframe, we return...

On this episode of Mindframe, we revisit Mariel Barbeau (previously known as Josephine). She is close to a full repair and relaunch of the Old Dame Hotel, and she’s eager for Uncle Alphie to get there. She doesn’t expect the what happens to her reality as a result–both her and her chapters will never be the...

Penny touched Grim’s stomach, danced her fingertips to the burn scars from when the Maglici family had him in chains, hit him with electricity, and put cigars out on his flesh. She slunk behind him, her hands touching each of the other scars that blossomed on his back, from where he was whipped at that...

The air smelled of smoke mixed with rainy air seeping in through the back doors, but tainted by the scent of iron and spilled life. Marcellus lay still, legs tucked in a strange angle nobody could ever maintain. Blood pooled under him. It was starting to drip off the edge of the spotlight walkway like...

The gossamer death orbs bounced off the Framing Chamber and couldn’t penetrate its odd hull. One touched a marine, passing through his calf, and he instantly lit ablaze with a white phosphorescent flame. The second marine screamed something and ran to his aid, but another white ball danced through the bulkhead and into his chest,...

“Using this practice, we enter the dreams of a subject. The reason for this Dream Tap is to assist in especially difficult or tricky investigations. People’s memories are faulty at best. Witnesses lie, or are scared, or were so traumatized by what they witnessed that they can’t accurately recall things. In forensic dreaming, none of...

Hilt’s brain registered only four details about the men that were important. First, the man to his right was holding a sophisticated military shotgun. Second, the one to his left held a highly customized sidearm. Third, the one with the shotgun was raising his shoulders. Fourth, the one with the pistol was lowering his shoulders....

This darkness would drift over Desi lately. She was hiding something, keeping an emotion deep inside of her like she did. She paused and shifted to her back and stared up into the darkness. Marcellus laid his head against her breast, the perfect place, and heard her heart beat. It was a heavier sound than...

Grim knew that only the individual person made an area dangerous. He also knew that he was the only person here in danger, based on his isolated location and lack of guards or surveillance. This type of mistake was how he got caught by the Maglichi’s in Italy before he was tortured. In Chapter 19...

Josephine was Claire’s Framer. Her father’s second widow. This woman watched him die and had spent the past year and a half mourning his loss. That was more than Claire ever did for the man. She went on with training, fired a gun at the man’s funeral in salute, and eagerly got upvoted to become...

“The seamless perfection of the white shell of the Framing Chamber looked as if an egg suddenly had a crack in it. The crack widened, moved with a purpose and shape. The portal appeared, and the thing was seamless no more. There was a pop and a hiss of air exchanging, and it slid open.  Inside,...