Queer Fantasy and Weird Tales for the People
It was early morning, the sun not yet risen over the desert horizon, when a man arrived at our newly completed gate. He was dressed in rags, his feet unshod and bloody, and between breathless gasps he gave his name as Osuli and explained that he had run all night from the mine and brought news for Reva.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XX”The storm lifted at last before nightfall. I took the horses out of our shelter and tethered them to a twisted tree nearby, under a sky painted in brilliant colors from the dust still in the air. The mountains were black beneath the fiery sunset, and the red plain to the east was stained a bloody hue. From the city to the peak, all was quiet.
I slept then and did not dream. Aysulu woke me before sunrise. We struck our camp and gathered our things in the dark, and as one final gesture of spite to the Ascended, I set fire to the chariot. It was against Aysulu’s advice, but I saw no reavers upon the plain, and I took measures to ensure the flames would not spread. We could not take the chariot with us, in any case.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XIX”The winner’s chest was heavy, but it was small enough for me to carry in one arm. I took Khalim by the hand—let the Seven see with their unblinking, jewel-like eyes that he was mine and under my protection—and walked with brisk purpose down from the platform.
The nobles on their cushions sat still, but the crowds below them had begun to surge toward the exits. Elsewhere in the city, I knew, the forces of House Darela and House Kaburh were attacking the city’s stores of food and weapons. The majority of the guard was here, in the arena, and they rushed toward the gates to slow or stop the miners’ exodus. We would have to move quickly.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XVIII”We raced down the length of the arena in a thunder of hooves and rattling wheels. Aysulu bent her head against the wind, squinting into the dust. I could not hear the crowds over the noise, but I could just make out the spectators closest to the ground, gripping the rails and leaning out as far as they dared.
Pace by pace, our chariot was gaining ground. Jahan and Alaric traded blows ahead of us, their staffs knocking together with a force that could break bones. We slipped between the Lion and Wolf’s chariot and the wall and caught up to Jin and Heishiro.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XVII”I awoke with the sun, and I heard the sound of someone moving quietly outside my door, stoking the fire and boiling water. Khalim still slept, a tangle of long brown limbs stretched out on the narrow bed beside me. He slept easy, his breathing deep and even. For the moment, no dreams troubled him.
I do not remember if I dreamt, but now that I was awake, guilt plagued me. Had I made a terrible mistake? Maybe it would have been wiser to keep my distance, so that whatever was to come, I could believe at least I had not made things worse. But it was already too late for that—it had been well before the previous evening.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XVI”As they left the industrial district, Reva split off to head through the back alleys toward the slums, and Aysulu and Garvesh went on to the noble quarter. It was almost fully dark, with only the faintest glow of the setting sun casting light on the hills beyond the city walls. Phyreios itself did not sleep during the festival, and already it was lit up in an array of torches and lanterns that outshone the glittering stars above.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Interlude Two”Aysulu kicked her horse forward, nocking an arrow to her bow. I followed, keeping Khalim and Garvesh behind me. The salamander looked at us with one eye, small and shiny like a glass bead, and then turned its head to examine us with the other. Steam poured from its nostrils.
It was customary, I learned, for the entire team to face their beast, even those who had no skill for combat. Khalim’s value to us in this fight was obvious, but I was less sure about Garvesh.
He soon proved his worth. “I have read of these creatures,” he said, peering out around my shoulder. “They live in caves—it will be nearly blind in daylight. And watch for its tail! That will trip you as sure as its breath will burn you.”
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XV”The contest of oratory was a quiet reprieve from the activity of the day. When it concluded, there was a rush to find something to eat and to heal those who had been injured in the duels. A greater test of strength and skill was coming. Aysulu slipped out to fetch her horse from the Darela estate, accompanied by a few of the house guards, who wore surcoats of sapphire blue. She returned, horse in tow, as the crowd applauded the last speaker.
I waited until Khalim woke on his own to get up. When I came back with food for the team, he was pacing the length of the bench restlessly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“There are others who are hurt,” he said. “I should help them.”
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XIV”From where I stood, I could see the high seats where the Seven observed the games. They shone in the sunlight, their skin and their draped garments shimmering as though woven of metal, their faces serene and unmoving. At the center sat Andam the emperor and Shanzia his consort, father and mother to all of Phyreios. Watching them there in all of their finery, I felt I understood their haughty assurance that they could command all within their borders, including the worm under the mountain.
They had already once been wrong, however. I was certain that during the night they believed Khalim to be dead, but he had overcome. Now, of course, they knew the truth: he yet lived, and he was mostly unharmed, his magic having overcome the Serpents’ poison. If they still wished him ill, they would have to try harder. I had slain two Serpents, myself, and Aysulu had taken the third. I would only have to be faster and more vigilant the next time.
The arbiter called me forth to the ring. Were the Ascended watching me, studying my performance in this contest to find the means by which I could be bested? There was nothing to be done about it but to win the contest and the approval of the citizens, and make certain that the Sword of Heaven was awarded either to our team or to an ally.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XIII”I must have fallen asleep, for my next memory is of the early morning sunlight streaming through the narrow window of Khalim’s room. My neck ached from sleeping upright, and my tongue was dry in my mouth. Someone was walking quietly around the common room, careful not to disturb those who still slept.
I pulled myself to my feet and turned to Khalim. His eyes remained closed, though his breathing had grown uneven, and I could not tell whether he had awoken. Had the medicine Garvesh had mixed for him done its work? There was no way for me to tell; I had no skill for medicine.
Whoever you are, I prayed to Khalim’s god, though I knew not if he could hear me, you must not let him die.
Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XII”
Space Whales Press 