Without my masks, I improvise with a rickety wire crown, bent at the top into something resembling a heart.
I begin the story loudly, almost yelling. I finish it just above a whisper.
Kinder was a seeker. She knew not her maker, or any other like…
The red wave.
Being on board the ship, nearly with the run of it, felt almost like making a home inside one of the toothy jungle trees. But unlike those trees, this ship had rules. And I loved learning the rules of a new place, because it taught me…
No floodin' way.
I'm staring at it, thinking not much more than Naw... when I think of the bridge in the story of Mikela and the Sea. Is this some threat that Harbormaster has riled up, and will bring down upon us? We have no castle to defend and…
That noise is enough to drive you mad. I wrap my coat around me, make sure my hood's up, so I can get closer to the ship and see more of where these footprints go, or whence they came. Anything to get away from the noise.
I don't love coming round this neighborhood, but I used to know my way around here. No reason for there to be that sorta noise. Sounds like a stuck gear that can't shift maybe. Makes me wish Tin-Girl was here. Or even Pine -- I laugh a little to my…
I purse my lips, then head back to Anne's costume room. I slide into a neon green latex trench coat, a pair of topaz lens goggles that dangle from a shiny chain and a surgical mask that's embossed with a pair of blue lips.
I sweep back out to the …
I look between from red rain to the crowd of performers and Millions' hoodlums trapped inside Grindhouse. I don't really wanna stay but leaving isn't promising.
I contemplate my chances.
Well. I'm clearly not needed here.
I get to my feet slowly, carefully. Then in the privacy of Anne's parlor, I start to pull out the rest of the splinters imbedded in my legs and thighs. I make a cheap dressing with some of Anne's scraps.
When I'…
Breath knocked out of me -- I'm wheezing, trying to spit out something meaningful before Suquamish fully extricates herself from our tangle.
Yeah all these dudes saw me used as human currency earlier but they also saw me perform and I'm wearing Mil…
I'm off running after Suquamish; she's on the way to Anne. She's not made for exertion the way I am, not vertically anyway. I'm gonna rush her hard, knock her to the ground. Millions' guards can take care of the rest. Then I'm gonna get Anne in her…
This is some sodding, bloody mess, innit?
I pull another knife out of my boot, stepping in front of Millions. Couldn't really care if he lives in the long-run, but Vignette still needs him for her pageant play with his lieutenants. If Schooner c…
"You've never been very subtle, have you?" I ask.
Schooner has one knife, but I have many, two of which are already in my hands and weighted well-enough for throwing.
I don't wait. I pull back my hand and release, six inches of tempered steel a…