I was only seven when I first saw the Angel. Most people live their entire lives without seeing it. When it does appear, it appears in a blinding glare of too-bright light. It speaks its Judgment in a voice that sounds like the crash of iron plates, and within seconds it vanishes. Only those in … Continue reading Angel of Death

When they came for her mother the servants betrayed her and threw her from her bedroom window to the street below. Legs broken and helpless, the horses trampled her to death as she screamed for mercy. The Queen Athaliah would not meet her death as her mother had. She would meet her death upright and … Continue reading The Voice of Treason

The shepherd stood upon the hillside and watched as the party of men approached. They were bandits, from the broken lands to the south. They lived in the caves and hid from the King’s men. But times were hard, and for every desperate thief that the King’s captain dragged out of his hole, ten more … Continue reading King of the Jews

John hesitantly approached the gates of the prison cell, shaking and sweating. The angels faced him, one on either side of the metal door. Their serene faces held those distant smiles, impervious to the screams that filled the hallway. The glory of their presence here among such infinite misery was still just as incongruent to … Continue reading The Gates of Heaven

He was named ‘To Shine on the East’, a lofty expectation for a Chinese peasant’s son, in a land where lofty aspirations for sons was common. Two hundred years ago a poem was written by this boy’s ancestors. These long-remembered elders of his ancient clan had been the first to give him a name, centuries … Continue reading Child of Stone

The man squatted by the cave mouth, half shadowed. He hadn’t eaten in days, but the hunger in his belly stilled in wonder of the strange rite echoing from within. His arms still ached from the long climb through the woods that cleaved to the mountainside. But that seemed like nothing now as he stared … Continue reading The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

The moon was bright and full upon the shoreline, the sand almost silver beneath its gaze. The waves brushed that crescent of beach with the softest sighs, brief tips of white upon their heads. On this magical night everything was still, everything was quiet. It was the eve of the years height, the eve of … Continue reading Racing the Sun

Everyone has a blonde moment sometimes. But what if it actually made your hair turn lighter! In such a world, how far would people go to hide their embarrassment?... Technically, I’m not breaking any law, though I doubt that argument would stand up in court. If you knew me in real life you wouldn’t look … Continue reading Dyeing for a Fix

We are the ones who guard the gods. We are the stewards of their shrine, the gatekeepers of their temple. My family have served them for generations, and been blessed in return for their service. I am the last of our line, the youngest. The gods picked me from my brothers and sisters and elevated … Continue reading Of Dogs and Men