Lazette Gifford's Blog, page 21

Flash Fiction #502 -- The Long Way Home/2

 The castle bells rang first, then more began to add in throughout the city so that the sounds overlapped and built layer on layer."That answers one question," Jamison said.  He started to the window and stopped.  "The king is dead.""That was what I had been told," Rory answered.  He did not relax.  It might have been better if it hadn't been confirmed.  "I wasn't certain until I saw the men next

Flash Fiction #501 -- The Long Way Home/1

 The Blue Swan's nightly fare was not as elegant as that of the establishments closer to the castle, but it catered to people like Rory Callen, who held a third-level position with the Sunry ambassador to the capital of Euriday. To say that the job didn't pay well was an insult to the very idea of coinage.Rory wasn't here for the money.He wasn't here for what he learned in the next moment,

Flash Fiction #500 -- Number 500 (Drabble)

 The plot bunny sat on the edge of my desk. "I've got nothing."I looked in dismay. "You can't be serious. This is number 500!""Yeah, exactly. You create a new story for 500 weeks in a row!"I looked at Musette. "You realize you're a figment of my imagination, right?""If your imagination is so good, do this yourself.""Hold on."  I didn't panic. Much.  "520 is more important. That will be ten years.

Flash Fiction #499 -- Baiting with Trolls

(This is perhaps the third or forth Grik and Dan story.  I hope you enjoy it)  I stood at the bottom of the stone stairs to the police station and waited for Grik to bring the unmarked van we usually drove.  He liked to go get it because Rock Trolls usually didn't drive vehicles of any sort.  Grik was one of only ten Rock Trolls in the city with a driver's license, but he didn't own a car of his

Flash Fiction # 498 -- Earth Bound/11

 EpilogueBy the time we left the Earth system and headed to the farther stars, we already had reports of aliens far too close. I didn't say it, but I wondered if they had tagged the Belgium lately and kept an eye on us. There had been few reports of Were this close to Earth, so I didn't think it a coincidence.We had trouble with some of the ship's crew the first few days. They were rude and

Flash Fiction # 497 -- Earth Bound/10

 Tana expected someone to stop her, and she had the feeling Sally expected the same thing. However, everyone had gone silent and still. When Tana was within a yard of the woman, Sally screamed and stumbled backward, falling on her ass."I have a plan," Tana said as she stood over the panicked woman. Her voice remained unnaturally calm. "How about this? You go out and check on the validity of the

Flash Fiction #496 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/9

 Tana felt her body tense as she prepared to move, though no direction looked good --"Oh, it's you," the woman said. Lasers lowered around them. The woman tapped something on her wrist. "Tell the Captain we found them. Come on, Tana. Let's get out of this damned cold.""Marka," Tana said. She finally recognized the voice of the head of security on The Belgium. "Is that you under all those layers?"

Flash Fiction #495 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/8

 The shuttle swept over them a couple times, close enough to make their hidden hole tremble. By the end of the third time, they cleaned up from the meal."She's trying to decide which part of the city to flatten to land that thing," Tana said as she looked up at the trembling ceiling."Actually, she's probably just waiting for them to clear enough space at the landing pad," Tom replied.Tana turned

Flash Fiction #495 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/9

 The shuttle swept over them a couple times, close enough to make their hidden hole tremble. By the end of the third time, they cleaned up from the meal."She's trying to decide which part of the city to flatten to land that thing," Tana said as she looked up at the trembling ceiling."Actually, she's probably just waiting for them to clear enough space at the landing pad," Tom replied.Tana turned

Flash Fiction #494 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/7

 The place had comfortable chairs.And hot chocolate. Tana had only had hot chocolate once in her life, and she stared into the cup with the kind of reverence another might have given to a holy relic.Yeah, she needed rest.After a small sip  -- she intended this to last -- and she looked at the others. Lisel and Ret were passing around cups to Krisin and Tom, both of whom looked spent.Then they sat