Friday Flash - Festive Felicitations

Friday 24 December 2010

"Caleb, I found the box you were looking for."

Liss held up a small wooden crate. Uneven letters spelled out the word 'Festive' along the side in black paint. She looked across the room. Caleb balanced on a ladder near the door. Two stood below, holding the branch of a fir tree above the window. Caleb swung a hammer, hoping to knock in a few nails to keep it in place.

"What in the name of sweet Vertigo are you doing?" she asked.

"Putting up the festive decorations. Two wanted to help," replied Caleb.

"Why is Two covered in holly garlands?" asked Liss.

"I assume it's because he's overcome by the festive spirit. Go on, Two. Go and see Liss, maybe some of it will rub off on her."

The automaton shook its head, gesturing to the branch that hung from the wall. Only one nail held it in place so far.

"I'm not overcome by the festive spirit because I still don't know what we're celebrating. All my life, everyone has insisted on dragging trees inside and hanging up poisonous berries or eating their own bodyweight in mince pies, and I just don't get what all the fuss is about," replied Liss.

"Oh come on, Liss. You know the stories as well as I do."

"Yeah but they're exactly that - stories. It seems a bit of a waste of time and effort to go to all this trouble over a fairytale," said Liss.

"You're such a grinch," said Caleb.

"Well why don't you tell the story anyway? You know how much Two loves to hear it, even if I think it's folkloric hogwash," said Liss.

"Two, would you like to hear the Festive Story?" asked Caleb.

The automaton nodded. The small antenna at the base of its torso wagged enthusiastically.

"Very well then. Come on, Two. I think that'll hold."

Caleb climbed down the ladder and crossed the workshop to the fireplace. He settled into the armchair in front of the crackling flames. The automaton thudded across the room. The pistons in its knees hissed as it lowered itself to a crouched position.

"Back in the days of feudal rule, long before a single building of Vertigo City had been built, two powerful lords saw the potential in the land. They could farm here, and the river would provide good fishing. But instead of sharing the land, or dividing the land using the river and each claiming a bank for themselves, Lord Oakenstaff and Lord Hollybrough wanted all of the land, and they came to blows," said Caleb.

He looked at the automaton. Two gazed at him, its twin eye lamps focussed on his face. Caleb sneaked a glance at Liss. She stood by the window, pretending to be engrossed in catching a spider. Caleb could tell she was listening by the tilt of her head. He grinned at Two, and continued the story.

"The lords had a mighty battle, and in the end, Lord Hollybrough was beaten. He took his men and left, although he vowed to return one day. Lord Oakenstaff decided to claim the land immediately, and began to build a citadel. He named it Vertigia, after his mother," said Caleb. "Lord Hollybrough did return, but he found the beginnings of a great city where the fertile land had once been. They struck a truce, and took it in turns running the city. Each lord would take a holiday and travel the world while the other was in charge. Every 21st December since then, we have celebrated the great battle that saw the birth of our city."

"How do you explain all the greenery that people bring indoors then?" asked Liss.

"It symbolises the greenery of the land that they originally fought over," replied Caleb.

"And the mince pies?"

"Vertigia's baked delicacy."

"The roast turkey dinner?"

"Turkeys were the only birds that would live in Vertigia."

"Giving presents?"

"Well it's a birthday, isn't it? We're celebrating the birth of the city."

"So why don't we give things to the city then? We could give time, to do things that need doing around the city, or we could give money to the new charities..."

"I didn't make up the rules, Liss. I just celebrate them," replied Caleb. "I know you don't believe in anything, Liss, but a lot of people believe in this story, so stop trampling on their faith just because you don't understand it."

Liss looked at the floor, casting her gaze downwards to hide the embarrassment clouding her amber eyes. A thought crossed her mind, and she looked at Caleb again. A wicked grin played around the corners of her lips.

"Still, it's better than that claptrap that visiting preacher was going on about, isn't it? What was he saying? That the festivities are really about the birth of the son of some invisible being that controls the world?"

"Oh I know, that one really was a bit far-fetched, wasn't it?" replied Caleb. He chuckled.

“Festive Felicitations, Caleb,” said Liss.

“Festive Felicitations to you too, Caleb.”

Two wagged its antenna. Liss and Caleb smiled at each other.

“Festive Felicitations to you, Two!”

Quantum Steam Theory - Part 5 of 5

Tuesday 16 November 2010

The men taunted her, staying several paces behind. In Vertigo, she could call for a Weimar patrolman, or a district lawman. Selina saw no reassuring badges of authority here. The footsteps behind her quickened, and Selina broke into a run. A cart trundled out of a side street, blocking her flight. Panic gripped her, and she threw herself sideways into a dark alley. Clambering over piles of rubbish, Selina plunged into the gloom ahead.

Selina collided with a figure hunched over a heap in a doorway. The figure let out a shout as it fell to the ground. Selina rolled off the man, and scrambled to her feet. She looked down and saw a bloodied knife in his hand. Her eyes flicked between the knife and the motionless heap. Legs streaked with mud stuck out from filthy skirts pushed up to the waist.

“There she is!” shouted one of her pursuers.

Selina took flight, rushing headlong down the alley. She couldn’t stop to think about the heap, or the knife.

What kind of place is this? she thought.

A commotion erupted as her pursuers ran into the man with the knife. One of them shouted a curse, and scuffling filled the air. Cries of ‘Murder!’ echoed around the alley. Windows flew open and heads poked into the darkness. Selina ignored it all, and the fracas grew faint as she rounded the corner. Relief flooded her mind as her pursuers forgot her.

Selina’s foot caught the edge of an abandoned cart and she stumbled forward. The book slipped out of her grasp, and fell open. Selina just had time to notice the starry void opening beneath her as she dived headfirst into space.

* * *

Selina woke up on the floor of the library. Cold flagstones supported her back, and a thumping in her skull told her she hit her head when she fell. She parted her hair and felt a lump. The black leather book lay open on the floor, just beyond her grasp. Blank pages stared up at her, telling nothing of her adventure.

Selina picked up the book and closed it with a thump. She pushed it back into its slot on the shelf. Selina shoved it onto the shelf as far as it would go, and the shadow of its neighbouring tome fell across the shiny golden lion.

Dusting herself off, Selina dabbed at the mud splatters on her boots with a handkerchief. Taking her time, she walked back to her table in the reading room. Quantum steam theory suddenly didn't seem so boring after all.

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4

Quantum Steam Theory - Part 4 of 5

Tuesday 9 November 2010

A handful of prostitutes drowned their sorrows with cheap gin at the bar. Toothless men in filthy clothes huddled around battered tables, nursing pints of pale beer. Selina half expected to see Enrique behind the bar; the pub smelled just like Enrique's basement dive. Instead, a rotund bald man stood polishing chipped glasses.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?” asked Selina.

“Ain't from round 'ere, eh?” asked the barkeeper.

“No, no I'm not. I'm not familiar with this part of the city at all and I was wondering if you could tell me what it's called,” said Selina.

“This is Whitechapel, love,” replied the barkeeper.

“Whitechapel? I never heard of it. In what part of Vertigo is that?”

“Vertigo? What do ya mean, Vertigo? You're in London, love.”

Selina stared at the barkeeper. The unfamiliar place names buzzed in her ears.

“What's that ya got there? Is that a Bible?” asked the barkeeper.

He gestured to the black book she still clutched to her chest.

“What's a Bible?” she asked.

“Exactly who are ya, and what are ya doin' in my pub?”

“Um...sorry to have wasted your time...I just remembered, I have somewhere else I need to be...”

Selina backed away from the bar. She threaded her way between the tables and burst out of the cramped pub.

Twilight skulked outside. Selina looked around, still desperate for a familiar sight. She watched a thin boy in faded tweed help an older man light the gas lamps lining the street. Drunkards made impromptu beds on benches in the yard outside the grand white building.

Selina noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. A gang of four young men loitered by the door to the pub. Their overalls looked like those worn by the dockworkers in Vertigo City. Streaks of dirt clung to their gaunt faces. They stared at her, a predatory look in their eyes. These were not men from whom Selina would get directions.

“Who's a pretty bird, then?” said one of them.

Selina said nothing.

“Not gonna talk to us, darlin’?” asked one of the men.

“I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I'm late for an appointment,” said Selina.

“Gentlemen? Lord preserve us, she calls us gentlemen!” said another of the men. They hooted with derision.

Selina hurried down the street away from them. She wove her way among gaggles of people heading back to their dosshouses after a day's casual labour. Selina threw glances over her shoulder. The four young men followed her. She looked around, hoping to find a friendly shop or tavern where she could find shelter.

“You not gonna stop and play with us, chicky?” called one of the men.

“If you don’t stop, we’ll have to make you play,” shouted another.

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3

Quantum Steam Theory - Part 3 of 5

Tuesday 2 November 2010

She expected to land on her face on the cold library floor. Instead, she lay face down on wet cobblestones. A hackney cab careered past, the thundering hooves of a black stallion inches from her outstretched left hand. Selina scrabbled to get to her hands and knees, and crawled out of the gutter onto the filthy pavement. The book lay open, and mud from a passing cart splattered the empty pages.

Selina leaned onto the cobbles to grab the book. She stared at it in amazement. She flicked through the pages again, trying to find the void. Empty and muddied pages flicked past, with no sign of stars or space.

“'Ere, clear off, you! This is my patch, and I ain't sharin' it with no newcomers!”

A strident voice screeched in her ear. Selina looked up into the pinched face of a middle-aged woman. Knotted red hair hung about her shoulders, and she wore a faded green dress. White face powder settled in the wrinkles around her cruel blue eyes, and two angry red circles of rouge burned on her cheeks. She looked like one of the prostitutes on Commercial Street.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude,” said Selina.

She stood up and looked around her. The woman looked like a Commercial Street whore, but this was not Commercial Street. A muddy gash cut down the street between the uneven pavements. Crooked buildings crammed together around narrow alleys and filthy courtyards. Dirty windows gazed down at her. Scrawny children played in the gutter, oblivious to the degradation around them. Even the Vertigo City slums didn't look like this.

Selina hurried down the street away from the harridan. She clutched the book to her chest. She passed more women in gaudy clothes. Some of the younger ones exposed their chests to the passing carriages, hoping for trade. Selina looked down at her own pale grey shirt and dark grey jodhpurs tucked into knee-high black leather boots. She felt over-dressed. The men stared at her, and the women threw curses, afraid she might steal their business.

The street opened out onto a wider street, an imposing white building on her left behind tall railings. Thick pillars held up a grand portico, while a pointed tower rose from the roof like an accusing finger. Two lengths of stone topped the tower, forming a cross. Selina had never seen such a building before. The architecture of the portico reminded her of the grand buildings of the former Council district of Vertigo, but she couldn't guess as to the purpose of the cross.

A pub stood on the street corner to her right. Gold lettering spelled out 'The Ten Bells' above the door. Light spilled out of the door onto the broken pavement outside. Selina darted across the street between two carts and slipped inside the pub.

Part 1 : Part 2

Quantum Steam Theory - Part 2 of 5

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Ancient books lined the shelves along the corridor. Rotting leather clung to faded tomes, the cracked spines shoved at awkward angles. A sharp smell of neglect and decay permeated the space, and moss bloomed on the exposed brickwork. Selina looked up to see cobwebs looped across the low vaulted ceiling. A large brown spider covered in black stripes sat in a web. It watched her as it unwrapped a dead fly from a silken shroud.

Selina cast her curious gaze over the spines of the books. Some of them bore titles in a language she didn't recognise. She wondered how old they were, and where they were from. She ran her hand along the shelf, and flakes of cold leather drifted to the floor. Selina couldn’t see anything about weaponry. She at least expected Turpin’s Treatise of War or Bartholomew’s Guide to Ballistics.

“Well this was just a waste of my time, wasn’t it?” said Selina.

She directed the question to the spider. The arachnid ignored her in favour of its dinner. Selina shuddered. She could cope with the concept of an animal with eight legs, but as with quantum steam theory, concept and reality were two different things.

Selina turned to leave when a book caught her eye. The flickering lamp light danced across a golden lion embossed on the thick black leather spine. The book seemed out of place among the decaying remains of the other tomes. She pulled it from the shelf and ran her hand over the blank cover. The only clue to its contents was the embossed lion, but Selina had no idea what a lion signified. She wondered if it was the national symbol of whichever country the book came from.

Selina flipped open the book. She expected the same dense print that filled her quantum steam theory textbook, or at least engravings. Instead, the pages were completely blank. Tiny tears and watermarks bordered the pages, but no text marked the creamy white paper. Selina couldn’t even find a publisher’s note or a contents page. She flicked through, inhaling the dusty smell of old paper.

Selina felt a draught on her neck as she flicked through the book. Suddenly, the pages fell open to a black space in the middle of the book. She gazed into the space, seeing stars and distant galaxies laid out before her. A jolt passed through her hands and she dropped the book. It landed on the floor at her feet, still open at the universal void. A strange pull grasped her stomach, and Selina felt herself fall forwards.

Part 1 : Part 3

Quantum Steam Theory - Part 1 of 5

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Selina Mothshaw sat at a heavy oak table in the Vertigo Central Library. The book in front of her lay open at a chart. Dense text covered the page around the graph. Selina tried to read the opening sentence for the sixteenth time.

“Quantum steam theory can, in effect, be described as the optimum state in which all matter resides, such matter being defined as that which is existent within the ordinary spectrum of reality as it is laid out in the Principles of Rumbaud, chapter 4, sub-section 23, paragraph 14. Quantum steam theory is to be applied to all such questions of existence as can be most commonly considered by the thoughtful member of Vertigan society. The theory...”

She pushed the book away. Selina tried to remember what prompted her to choose quantum steam theory when her classmates opted for molecular physics or steam philosophy. Her father's words echoed in her head, telling her that a quantum steam theory qualification could net her a job with the Weimar Corporation’s research division. Selina didn't want to be a steam theorist, but without a viable alternative, she had little choice but to follow her father's advice.

Selina stood up and paced around the table. No one else sat in this section, and the librarians had already cleared away the books and papers left by other students. Her footsteps echoed around the vaulted room, the sound of hob-nailed boots on polished wood sounding like an army on patrol.

Selina looked at her college work. The books lay unread, and doodles of automatons and weaponry cover her ledger. Selina thought she might apply for an internship with Weimar's arms division.

Selina wandered away from the table. A map of the library tacked to a bookcase caught her eye. According to the diagram, the section on weaponry lay at the very back of this floor. She pulled the map from the tacks.

Selina slipped between the stacks into the next reading area. A huge map of Vertigo City lay on the table. Hand-painted monsters lurked in the river, and pencil marks traced a route around Justice Park. A book on anatomy weighted down one corner. Selina wondered if another student was researching the Meat Beast.

She left the map behind and walked among the high shelves. She peeked into another reading area. Four boys sat around a table, flicking wads of chewed up paper at each other. A fifth boy sat apart, attempting to concentrate on a thick book bound in green leather. The other four boys ignored him.

Selina consulted the map. The weaponry section lay around the corner. Her route took her into a narrow corridor. The ceiling dipped, and wooden floorboards gave way to bare flagstones. A damp chill hung in the air. Selina shivered. Selina thought of her quantum steam theory homework, and considered heading back to the reading area. Half of an equation floated through her mind, and she grimaced. She ventured further into the depths of the library.

Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4

The Second Tale - Part 2

Tuesday 28 September 2010

I’m walking along Commercial Street, the slums of Downtown far behind me. My super hearing picks up faint strains of classical music. Wagner. Someone is in real trouble. The echo on the music says they’re in a large building. Vertigo Central Station. I put Downtown behind me and start running north.

It’s one of my gifts, if you could call them that, to hear human emotions as music. I thought everyone could do it until I got to school and realised I was a freak. That was what they called me. Freak. It took me fifteen years to fully embrace what I could do. Fifteen years to realise that I’m not a freak. Vertigo City just produces strange people. We thrive here.

Wagner stops dead, cut off mid-crescendo. I speed up, sprinting through the streets, but I already know I’m too late. Vertigo Central Station sits at the crossroads of Vertigo Avenue and City Boulevard. It’s a cathedral of transport, a cavernous hall of marble and cold stone from the old Windspit Quarry in the Hills. The rush hour throng flows through the main booking hall. People hurry home at the end of a busy day. Bankers, receptionists, lawyers, doctors - all of them oblivious to the anguish and resentment simmering outside.

The throng flows around a small circle of people near one of the booking office windows. A woman sprawls on the floor, her beige overcoat soaking up blood. I assume it’s hers. A man crouches beside her. He wears too much hair cream and his leather gloves smell new. Blood spatters his shoes.

“Look! It’s The Hero!” shouts an onlooker.

I look down into the woman’s not-unattractive face. She looks like any one of the hundreds of poster girls plastered across town, selling hand cream or soda or products guaranteed to achieve domestic bliss. Pretty, but generic. Pretty, generic, and dead.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, one minute I was behind her, next minute there was a bang, she screamed, and she fell to the ground,” he says. “I think she’s been shot.”

“You didn't see anyone?" I ask.

“No. There were people everywhere. It took me long enough to get people to step over her," he replies.

“Anyone know who she is?”

“She’s got a Council ID in her purse. Says she’s Ida Willcott. Justice Department,” says a blonde woman.

She’s holding the dead woman’s bag, guarding it from view. The dame is dead, and this stranger still wants to keep her purse private. Stupid, really.

“Well, Ida…what’s your story?” I ask.

I pull off my gloves, press my index fingers to her temples, and let her start talking.

Back to Part 1

The Second Tale - Part 1

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Late afternoon, late February. It's getting dark already. My shadow strides away from me in the deepening twilight. I follow where it leads. The Christmas lights outstay their welcome in the street. The blinking or broken bulbs loop their way from one lamppost to the next. Their lazy flashes skitter across the wet sidewalk, sparking in the puddles. It's pathetic enough in December. Now it's intolerable. Just like the rest of the city.

Every day, I watch the slow, steady decay of the crumbling metropolis. Notices of condemnation appear on a daily basis all over town. Entire streets disappear into demolished oblivion. The homeless take refuge in the dying shells of these unwanted buildings, and most of down town is a haven for the dispossessed. The apartment blocks stand empty, hunkered over abandoned stores advertising long gone wares in broken windows. No one ventures onto the streets in this neighbourhood. The eerie silence is only broken by gunshots or the squalling cries of hungry babies.

A man shuffles towards me, one shaking hand held out while the other clutches his oily rags at his throat. He stinks of cold, clammy death. At first I think he is one of the Risen, but I see his bloodshot eyes and realise he's just a down-and-out. I bury my face in my collar to avoid the stench. He sighs when I walk past. I have no intention of stopping. I refuse to give his kind money. You just have to take one look at those scrawny arms poking out from beneath his rags, punctuated with needle marks, to know how he'll spend it. I want to help but he's beyond my reach.

I head into an alley between the remains of a retro cafĂ© and a hardware store. Bodies, swollen with rain yet frozen by the cold, lie under disintegrating cardboard shelters. Hungry eyes watch my progress as I cross from 34th Street out into Mayhew Square. I could bring them food, or help them build shelters, but it won't help. Not in the long run. I'd just need to come back the next day and do it all over again. The City Fathers sit back and do nothing. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and all the while the city rots.

Sometimes I hate who I am. They call me The Hero, and yet there is only so much I can do.

The Launch of The First Tale ebook!

Tuesday 14 September 2010

It's finally here! The First Tale e-book is now available for 99c from Smashwords. Click here to buy! The e-book collects all thirty episodes of the serial that ran on this blog, although naturally it's been edited and tweaked to improve the flow, even out the tone and in a couple of places, even add a little extra action.

So now you can read the whole story of the Vertigo City Resistance and the Weimar Corporation in one go, if you so choose! It's available in all the usual Smashwords formats, including MOBI, EPUB and PDF.

As a special bonus, if you buy the e-book, there's a link on the back page to the extras I bundled together, which will hopefully add a little to the experience of Vertigo. I'm talking newspaper clippings, propaganda posters...and of course, another copy of the wonderful cover illustration of Commander Liss Hunt by the exceptionally talented Jimmy Misanthrope.

Of course, if you like it, feel free to leave me a review!

Chapter Thirty - The End of the First Tale

Tuesday 7 September 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Tuesday 31 August 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Tuesday 24 August 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Tuesday 17 August 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tuesday 10 August 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty Five

Tuesday 3 August 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tuesday 27 July 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty Three

Tuesday 20 July 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tuesday 13 July 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty-One

Tuesday 6 July 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twenty

Tuesday 29 June 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Nineteen

Tuesday 22 June 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Eighteen

Tuesday 15 June 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Seventeen

Tuesday 8 June 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Sixteen

Tuesday 1 June 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Fifteen

Tuesday 25 May 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Fourteen

Tuesday 18 May 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Thirteen

Tuesday 11 May 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Twelve

Tuesday 4 May 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Eleven

Friday 30 April 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Ten

Friday 23 April 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Nine

Friday 16 April 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Eight

Friday 9 April 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Seven

Friday 2 April 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Six

Friday 26 March 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Five

Friday 19 March 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Four

Friday 12 March 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Three

Friday 5 March 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

Chapter Two

Friday 26 February 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.

The First Tale - Chapter 1

Saturday 20 February 2010

The free web serial has now been taken down, but you can buy the collected episodes as a novella for the princely sum of 99c from either Smashwords or Amazon for the Kindle!

You can also follow Liss on Twitter @LissHunt.