S H O R T . S T O R Y : P R O L O G U E

P R O L O G U E

“I wanted everything, so I took it.”

I've seen so many people who have lost themselves to desire and greed. I have watched the best of us fall so far, because they aimed too high. You see that's it, at the top there's nothing to hang on to, if you can't find a way to float you're going to crash. I have been there, I hit the top and it hit right back, sometimes I think that it was all for nothing but now I realise that to truly have everything, people need to think you have nothing.

Fame is a virus, a deadly disease, a poison that spreads like a starved wildfire, it's impossible to outrun it forever. Sooner or later it will catch you, strip the flesh from your bones and leave nothing but your whimpering soul, clinging to ashes.

This is the tale of how I became the greatest nothing. The most sought after shadow, the most famous ghost. I live in hiding, because my affliction is the world's most desired curse.

C O N F U S I O N & R E V E N G E

 C O N F U S I O N

I saw the earth made diamond,

A cloud at the bottom of the door,

There are feet running circles on the pavement,

There's a body, hanging from the floor.

 

I saw a horse pulled backwards,

I saw a dagger in the law,

There are five small hearts on this harp string,

There's a body, hanging from the floor.

 

I saw the bed sheets darken,

Past the window, a shadow on the moor,

There's a man sat laughing underneath me,

My body, hanging from the floor.

 

 

R E V E N G E

You betrayed me.

And now you lay there cold and breathless,

Because if you wrong me-

I'll leave you cold and breathless.

 

A sickly frail sneaking,

Murder on the stairs, a short half sketch,

Across alabaster skin drawing lines of fire.

 

Our hands hold justice, a blade of ice.

Because if you wrong us,

We leave you cold and breathless.

Book of the Month, December 2012.

Check the Book of the Month section for this month's book: 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' by Laini Taylor. At the end of the month I'll post a review, with Patrick Rothfuss saying, 'Wow. I wish I had written this.' we can expect good things! From what I've read so far, I love it. Keep checking back for the review!

Any ideas for January's book, post them in the comment section.

I V O R Y

I V O R Y

At the centre of your heart is a bold white star

All but fire will perish here

The final resting place of all mankind

This ivory core, is where we will go to die.

Will we find you there sleeping?

In our version of events, we never ruled the world

We stood on a pillar of lies

No voice echoing up to its height
 This ivory tower, is where we will go to die.

Will we find you there sleeping?

At the deepest depths of our own insanity

  Fragile ships are torn apart

Their sails float upwards, dreaming

This ivory ocean, is where we will go to die.

Will we find you there sleeping?

D R E A M W O R L D

D R E A M W O R L D

I unravel the napkin and let the cutlery fall to the table, I pick up the fork and begin twirling it between my fingers. She's late, I'm nervous, the restaurant is heaving, hot and loud. A delicious scented steam floats through the air and catches me for a while, I glance up at the clock, it is five past the hour. Ok, so not that late, but still late and late is never good. I look at the tables around my own, all but a few are full; couples on dates, families laughing, dinner between friends. Here I am, sat alone, waiting for a woman who I'm not even sure exists, let alone sure will show.

Saline is a name I'd heard only a few times before Dare had really brought her up. She was a Prescriber, supposedly. I'm not really sure what a Prescriber is, Me and Dare have taken an educated guess or two. I don't really care what she does, so long as she can help me get back Jhan. I realise I've been staring at the table to my left for about a minute now, the people seated there have realised this too and so I quickly steer my eyes back to my own table. I freeze. Sat in the chair opposite me is a woman, immaculately presented, stunning really. I look her up and down, quickly; black dress, black hair, long, past her shoulders, green eyes, dark lips. Saline. I don't even question it, this is her. I open my mouth but she hushes me instantly.

“Elliott,” her voice rings clearly over the hum of the other customers, I nod, “I am Saline, our transaction must be completed by the time I finish the wine.” Her polished nail taps a sparkling glass of deep red, it chimes quietly. I nod again. She lifts the glass to her lips, oh God. I reach in to the inside pocket of my suit jacket and pull out the crystal blade Dare had given me before we'd set off to the restaurant. I fire my hand forward with what I hope is a deadly sort of precision, I release the blade at the last moment.


For a single second it hovers before me in the air, I watch as Saline's eyes widen over the brim of her wine glass. The blade pierces it silently, the wine ripples in the air as the glass shatters outwards. It isn't until the blade passes through Saline's teeth that I hear the wine glass shatter, with harsh clashing sounds. Her eyes blacken as the crystal leaves through the back of her skull. She falls forwards onto the table in a pool of blood and wine, dead.

The floor rumbles, the walls shed a layer of what looks like dust. I look down at the cutlery and watch as it slowly turns to sand, the table quickly follows suit and a fierce wind begins to rip through the room. No one makes a sound as they begin to fall to pieces, the walls twist and tear apart, everything begins to spin. All I can see is a churning wall of beige. Suddenly a light burns through, Saline appears, a ten-thousand foot siren pushing the Earth deep into the desert that surrounds me.
 

I fall through miles of cloud, freezing rain splinters against my skin, the blue of everything burns my eyes. My stomach blurs and my heart skips as I hit the floor, Saline and the desert disappear. I blink and realise I am sat in a restaurant, I look up at the clock, it is five past the hour. I look to the chair opposite me, Jhan smiles tentatively. “Ready to order yet?” I blink again.