to rule the desert

by Monica Robinson

There are rules even in death; rules upheld by invisible hands and the singular cruelty of the desert shadows. There are things that can harm even the dead, and they lurk in the desert.

She may be a spirit, but it is impolite and unwise to slip through walls. Even a gaping doorway without a door is better than a space not intended as a gateway.

she preached to Quinn through blistered lips, secrets of the desert and adages that remained ageless and eternal.