Archives

Bomb

Originally posted on Patreon in August 2019 and part of the Great Patreon Crossposting to WordPress.
This story comes after  The Gardener, The Garden, To the Garden, and Catch the Rain. It is part of the series with  First Garden.  It takes place in the Fae Apoc world during the apocalypse .

💣

Although an area more than a mile on a side had become known as Damkina’s garden, in the core of it was still the museum and its own gardens, the place where it had all, for a certain definition of the word, begun.

And in that garden, around the oldest statues, ones she had carefully brought and restored and up-kept, someone had knitted kilts.

Damkina walked around the two statues, observing them.  The one on the left had been sculpted in memory of her first husband — not by her, whose arts did not lay in the dead stone, but by someone she knew, by hands who had also loved that man.  The one on the right was a bit newer, a couple centuries, but was of a woman she had loved.  They were both, as was the style, naked.

Except currently they were both wearing kilts.

She studied the kilts — they had been knitted in place, or perhaps had been knitted off-site and finished in place.  They were well-done, in brilliant colors.

They were interesting.  But they were also — she wasn’t sure of the words.

She left them where they were, although she added a sketch, tucked in a sheet protector, of what these two had actually worn in their own times.  Kilts were not that far off, but they were, perhaps, a little understated.

The next time she returned to the core of her garden, someone had added a lovely crocheted pectoral to her first husband’s outfit.  Damkina found herself smiling.

The world was falling to compost and dust.  There would be revolution and there would be screaming and blood in the streets.  But if people could take the time to dress statues in garishly bright plastic yarns, then perhaps the sprouts that grew from this forest fire would be strong enough to carry it for another millennium or more.

She found some yarn and a crochet hook in an abandoned store, a book on crochet from the locked-down library, and a sad light pole at the edge of her greater garden, and she began to crochet.

Want more?

Haunted House 58: Happy

First: A story featuring a male keeper and a female Kept.
🌳

The chickens were excited when Mélanie went out to feed them, clucking away at something.  Mélanie tensed, worried she was going to find something strange in the pen again — but it was only one of the rescued former slaves, clucking back at them.  He jumped when Mélanie approached. 

“Oh, sorry!  I just– I used to be in charge of the animals–“

“If you want to feed them and get the eggs, I’d appreciate it.  I’ll go turn the horses out into their paddock then.” If they were going to have company long-term – and House seemed to think they would – they might want to think about getting a rooster around and hatching some more chickens. “The food’s kept right over here, in the barn.” Continue reading

Spoils of War 15 – Rest Stop

First: Spoils of War I: Surrender

Content warning for this chapter: Clumsy field medicine on rat-induced wounds. 

~*~

They were far enough from the Mountain that nobody looked too worried at soldiers riding into town, but close enough that people were cautious. 

“We need clean water, preferably some alcohol for our wounds, grain for the horses, and a sheltered place to sleep,” Nikol told the townsfolk (for a generous definition of “town”), when they were asked what their business was.  “We made a bad choice of resting places, and the rat-things in the factory back there—”

The bigger of the cats made a spitting noise and a very indignant face.  The four people — three women, one man, all armed — laughed. 

“That cat is right.  They’re not good eating, I can tell you that, for man nor beast, but they think you’re a pretty decent dinner.” The four of them shared a look.  “Toby’s barn on the edge of town is clear right now, there’s a little grain and a clear-water pump.  You have something to pay with?” Continue reading

Landing Page (in Progress): Faerie Apocalypse

The gods left this world thousands of years ago, but they left many of their descendants here on Earth.

Those children mated with humanity and with each other, hid in plain sight, and learned to use Ftheir magic without being found out,

In 2011, many of their children come crashing through the gates onto Earth and all of the rules changed again.

This setting is urban fantasy, apocalypse, post-apocalypse, and then rebuilding, depending on the era of the story.

Work in progress: This is my biggest setting, hands-down, and I expect the landing page to take quite a while to work out.

Content Warning: While not all stories in this setting involve any of these, it is important to know that the magical/metaphysical Law of this setting includes:

  • The Law of Belonging (Keeping) – includes magical emotional control and forced obedience. 
  • The Laws of Sanctity  Including sanctity of one’s word; I.e., when a fae makes a promise, they are bound to it unless released.

In addition, the magic of this setting involves mind and emotional control. 


Pinterest Board

Collected Stories

This is a work in progress.  Volume I Stories should be readable with no knowledge of the setting, Volume II with some knowledge, and so on.  

This is an anthology; each collection will bring you further into the world.

Volume I

Volume II

The Stories

Continue reading

Haunted House 57: Home Again

First: A story featuring a male keeper and a female Kept.
🌳

The House was waiting for them. 

The wagon ride back had been – well, strange. The former slaves had spent a lot of time looking at Jasper — and then at Mélanie — as if they were some sort of strange creature.  Which, Mélanie supposed, was not all that unfair. 

“So…” one woman had asked, maybe twenty minutes before they reached the house, “what’s going to happen to us?”

They really had been slaves for a while.   Continue reading

Haunted House 56: Sparkle

First: A story featuring a male keeper and a female Kept.
🌳

The whole barn seemed to be holding their breath — even the slaver, who had stopped wiggling in his captors’ arms.  Do you understand what I am doing?

You’re turning things on their head, and it’s impressive.  Mélanie stayed quiet; she was holding her breath, too. 

The woman nodded, cleared her throat, and nodded again.  She tried one more time; Jasper handed her the water again.  Continue reading

Haunted House 55: Turn About

First: A story featuring a male keeper and a female Kept.
🌳

Neil, the slave-guard that wanted to buy his own slave headed into the barn while the slaver (and, unseen, Mélanie) watched and listened. 

It took only a moment, a surprisingly short moment, for the shouting to start.  Jasper?  No, none of those voices were familiar.  She moved closer, listening until she heard Neil shout in panic. 

Good. She smiled a little bit.  It might not be stinging bugs in his pants, but it was probably just about what he deserved. 

The slaver looked between the barn and his nice warm house.  She could almost see the gears turning in his head. Safe house, profits, safe house, profits. Continue reading

Spoils of War 14 – Dirty, Rotten…

First: Spoils of War I: Surrender

Author’s note: oops.  Please check http://www.lynthornealder.com/2019/07/03/frenemies/ first and pretend I posted these in the right order.  Thanks!

Aran pressed his back against Nikol’s as they made, sideways, for the exit. There were strange giant rat-creatures coming out of everywhere – almost literally everywhere; they seemed to have some sort of camouflage power.  The horses had fled. The cats were by their ankles, attacking their share of rat-things with glee. 

“They really – really don’t like rats,” Aran panted.  “Shit, fuck, ow.”

“Almost there.”  Nikol couldn’t do a Working right now without it sending blinding pain through her head, but she could still swing a sword.  And she did, sweeping it through seven of the things in one long go.  Continue reading