116 Results in the "Burned Cover" category
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Story
Burned Cover
Erika Walker has a problem. Her mother isn’t who she says she is. An urban-fantasy set in supernatural Chicago. -
Chapter
31 – i – The Daughter
Delilah staggered through the door to her apartment quarters, following after her mother. The air around them was a noxious cloud that smelled of acrid incense with a metallic aftertaste, clinging to them like a sticky, slimy film. Her shoes left burgundy stains with every step, and she couldn’t bring herself to care. “I’m taking a shower,” Delilah said. “We’re not supposed to use hot water after ten.” Delilah trudged past her mother, grinding the heels of her shoes into the frayed…-
403.0 K • Ongoing
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Erika checked her watch, mentally counting how long each second took to pass. Normally, time moved at a fairly regular pace of one second per second, but her watch accelerated after she broke things. Starting four hours behind real time, she had until the watch caught up to the current hour before the ripples of her power would propagate, thus becoming detectable to The Mummy. The tests with the cubes had gone on for an hour, breaking all five of the cubes during that time. She had also performed a few…
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403.0 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
29 – i – Outside Context Problem
Reality fractured, splitting apart at the seams. It began at the macro level, with large, whole objects. The old motel’s walls shuddered as paint bubbled and peeled away in slow-motion waves. Windows melted like wax, glass pooling on the sills before the windowsills cracked and split into thousands of identical fragments. The bed elongated, stretching to fill the room even as the legs twisted and knotted together like tree roots seeking water. Light itself bent, creating pockets of blinding white…-
403.0 K • Ongoing
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“How, exactly, do you break curses?” Erika’s eyes lingered on the scenery flying past Rick’s van as she considered her response. In truth, she did not know how she broke anything. The exploit was there, a flaw in reality that she—and she alone—could perceive. Physical things were the easiest and most obvious things she could break; Erika had stumbled across her ability to break things like security, both digital and otherwise, as well as break the more metaphysical connections between…
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403.0 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
28 – That Which Cannot Die
The birds did not follow. The SUVs carried on down the new path The Emperor carved towards the mountainous terror bird, but none of the birds were interested in them anymore. They stayed clear, still dotting the red skies in the distance, back toward the bridge, but without approaching. On one hand, it meant they weren’t having to fight endless hordes off while driving. On the other, Erika wondered what they were wary of. Nya said they feared the Carrion Eater, but it hadn’t moved since…-
403.0 K • Ongoing
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“Hey, Danny, think fast.” With a light, underhand toss, the small metal cube sailed from Erika’s gloved hand through the air, right to a startled Daniel, who, as reflexes dictated, scrambled to catch the flying object. His hands clasped around it, leaving him sighing in relief. For one brief moment, he started to inspect it, only to pause and look up with a frown on his face. He rubbed at one ear while looking around, turning to Rick, then to Anna. “Can you—” he started, speaking louder…
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403.0 K • Ongoing
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“She’s still breathing—” “Get her inside, quickly!” “Rick, get me the first aid kit. Sofia, find clean towels.” “On it.” Leslie swept his arms over the table in Varn’s back room, knocking aside stuffed animals, party balloons, and packs of trading cards destined for the prize counter. Erika’s hands shook around Delilah’s shoulders as she helped Anna lift the girl up. The metal creaked under Delilah’s weight, and a few stray cards fluttered to the floor; Erika barely…
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403.0 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
27 – The Carrion Eater
The Emperor glassed four city blocks worth of the brier patch. Looking at the mountain of a bird glaring at them, Erika wasn’t sure it would be enough. It moved in a lethargic, sluggish manner, like footage captured on a slow-motion camera. Both wings rattled, shaking off more crusted remnants of rock and stone. The boulders rolled and tumbled down its feathers, cratering the ground where they landed around its feet. “Physics won’t let that thing fly, right?” “It’s a god, Rick,”…-
403.0 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
27 – Did It Work
Erika’s skin tingled and burned, rubbed raw from her scrubbing. The water running down her skin felt exquisite anyway, and yet it wasn’t enough. Two empty body wash bottles littered the floor along with three bottles of shampoo, but Erika could smell the bile and sludge. Some still circled the drain, sticking to the edges of the stream where the water pushed it aside; the stench was as strong as ever. “I think I got it up my nose,” Erika groaned, rubbing around the interior edges of her nose.…-
403.0 K • Ongoing
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