Leonidas sighed as he hefted his pack. The noonday sun seared the back of his neck as he trudged wearily home. As a soldier, one would assume he'd be used to the constant marching, but marching towards something was very different from marching away from it. Ever since he was a boy, he had always loved the thrill: the fire coursing through his veins when he marched towards battle. There was an ancient magic there, perhaps...

Edgar was still waist-deep in the water, heading for the riverbank, when he realized his clothes were missing. He'd left them neatly folded and within easy reach. Looking around in bewilderment, he saw no sign of them. And then he heard a muffled giggle. Narrowing his eyes, he spotted the young woman. She stood behind a large oak tree bordering the woods. While her body was concealed, the dress she wore drifted in the bre...

My husband gingerly picked up the small book, as if he feared touching it might contaminate him. Sitting to the side of his desk, I looked from the book's obscene cover to Jacob's face, wondering if I would discern more than blatant disgust in his eyes. He wasn't always so proper, I reminded myself. Before we were married, he was quite persuasive in convincing me to try all sorts of filthy acts, both in bed and out. But n...

Near the bottom of the lake, Vari, and her sisters Mayani and Linh, gathered around their mother one last time before striking out on their own. Mother reminded them that while larger bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, might be home to many naiads, each in her own cove, inlet or bend, smaller bodies of water, such as ponds or springs, might have only one. "You'll have to swim hard and choose quickly," Mother said,...

"It's wrong, what you and I are doing." I say this even as I hold him close. He lifts his head from my shoulder to regard me with those large, guileless blue eyes. "How can love ever be wrong?" For weeks now, he's used that word—love—to describe the way we feel about each other. Not once have I uttered it, but I've never disputed it, either. Still, I'm consumed by uncertainty. The young man sitting in the back of my car,...

There was not even a hint of a breeze. With sails furled, the corbita lay motionless under the blazing sun. It was noon. The sailors were napping in the hold, and so were Pristinella’s parents, her brother, and their household guards. She and Rosa were the only ones on deck. “Father is such a softie,” Pristinella scowled. “Any serious man would have set some watchmen on deck to scout the seas. Who knows what might be comi...

"What are you two giggling about?" Reuben asked between bites of his lunch. Glancing at Tilly, I had to muffle more laughter, and I could tell she was doing the same. Earlier that morning, she'd revealed that Reuben was an excellent husband in all ways. "He's very eager to please," she said while giving me a meaningful look. I was innocent as to what that look meant, so I asked her to elaborate. Tilly had then proceeded t...

One morning, when haunting dreams woke Šárka with a start, she found herself transformed into a ball of fur. Thinking it was but a dream, she arched her back and debated if she should go back to sleep. A tail attached to her rump flicked back and forth in contemplation as she noted the oak bed frame appeared larger than usual. Looking down, she could see two white paws like fuzzy mittens attached to equally fuzzy legs cov...