In the Crescent

28/10/2021

13/10/2021

It was a dark and stormy night…

That’s actually bu****it, but that’s how I felt walking into Carnal Play. Every inch of my being seemed to come to life when I stepped through the door. The world, life, everything was so much brighter, which meant I’d obviously come in from the darkness. Carnal Play held magick I could and would never understand.

It was also home to my best friend.

Herbie stood behind the bar, dressed in a weird mixture of denim and plaid. His man bun proved secure. Not a hair stirred as he whipped his head around when my scent finally hit his senses. Apparen…

13/10/2021

“You can’t be serious,” Nick said with wide eyes. There was a glint in those eyes that I would have mistaken for fear if I were stupid. Yet, I wasn’t smart enough to tell what it actually was.

I nodded to the dream catcher symbol burned into his chest. “What about this situation tells you I’m joking?”

“I am not telling you how to kill me.”

“I didn’t tell you to.

I bit my tongue, at a complete loss for words. I didn’t think anyone would catch onto my motivations so quickly. I thought I played my intentions close to my chest. Not even my family knew the full…

13/10/2021

It was the night of the new moon, the night at its darkest. The wind howled, sharing the pain of the children of the city. They were born of the Crescent, but lost and searching for a way out...or a way in. They were desperate to find the power hidden within themselves and the fertile soil that gave them life.

Krista slept fitfully. Her dreams filled with cries and terror.

“You wake me up and yell at me, force me out of bed, and then give me the silent treatment? That’s just great. And typical. I knew it was too good to be true. Why can’t you spirits ever rest?” Kris…

02/10/2021

I stepped out of Aces and blew into the side of my balled-up hands. The wind was chillier in the city than it was in the bayou. I stuffed the crumpled piece of paper with Val’s number into my black coat pocket. Closing my eyes, I sighed and stepped into the street.

I danced down the street, swayed by the moves I had seen from Val mere moments earlier.

Would I still do it even if I didn’t have this primal urge to kill? Yeah, probably because I enjoy it. The satisfaction of deciding the fate of someone’s life in my own hands is exhilarating. But i…

02/10/2021

I damned near fell over. He was like me! “What are you? And am I dancing or not?”

The man spread his arms wide as a cocky grin appeared on his face. “I would love a dance. I’m very talkative, though. I hope that’s okay. You’re some kind of were, aren’t you? You’re purer than a human, that of an animal.”

I took a deep breath and smiled.

I found myself wanting him, this strange, dark man, but I was also afraid of him, of what he could be. If he ended up being an agent of Estran, I would be dead by morning.

24/09/2021

Not many escape from a contract once it has been made with my kind. Sure, there have been theories and ideas on how to escape from a contract, and we duly throw out misdirection to keep you guessing. In nineteen-eighty, I found out one of the ways someone can escape us and paid the consequences of my failure.

This

My hand crossed the line and vanished, ceasing to exist. I pulled it back, and it returned. In anger, I reached through again with the same result. I bared my teeth at the unmoving human and let ou…

24/09/2021

“Well, this is me.” Nick stayed by my side but allowed me to lead the way back to my apartment. The entire way, he made the usual small talk. Where are you from? What brought you to New Orleans? What do you do? I answered the questions in so far as I was comfortable answering them. I tried to keep the subject about the new life that I had just stepped into rather than going into my past.

The hand I kept under my pillow to support my head gripped the tangled net that I kept there. I had two more just like it hidden beneath my air mattress just in case. I was ready. I just need to wa…

13/09/2021

Once I’d gotten through my mother’s funeral, I began the process of packing up our lives. I spent my days at her house to deal with those who’d stop by to offer condolences, but my nights back in the loft above my store. It seemed a lot darker and quieter than I remembered. I chalked it up to my time in the big city but, for the first time in my life, I didn’t like it.

Finally, I was able to pull my hand from the pillow. My heart was racing, and sweat beaded on my forehead. I tried to control my panic, but was still having trouble breathing. As I worked to contro…

13/09/2021

CW: Self-mutilation

After I lost Estran, I was at my wit’s end. Sure, I caught my brother’s scent, and that brought me some hope that I would find him, but I had lost Estran again. Surely, he knew I was tailing him, he must. Our eyes met while I was on the pole, he had to know it was me. I groaned. Maybe this was not the way to go about it, but I did not know where else to turn.

“Maybe you should seek some help, child,” Tania chimed in as I left work a few nights later. I looked at her oddly. She was part-fae, and I wondered just what help she could suggest. I was shocked …

13/09/2021

It had been a few weeks, and I hadn’t travelled outside of the bayou yet. I preferred being around nature, but I was growing bored with not doing anything. I was used to moving from place to place, never really staying anywhere for more than a few days. Part of me wanted to leave this place behind and ignore my brother altogether, but there was the pull that just kept convincing me to stay.

I saw the dancer glance down at me and smile. She blushed and looked away, sparing one last glance my way before the music started and her eyes closed. She moved her body on the stage, flowing like…

06/09/2021

Krista trained with Zenda every day for weeks, and she wanted nothing more than to get a break from the woman who delighted in pointing out the many signs Krista had missed throughout the years. Signs that should have alerted her to the fact that things were most definitely not what she had always believed.

When she thought about how much time and money she’d wasted on skincare...well,

Without her natural abilities suppressed, she felt like she could finally breathe after a lifetime of suffocating. Now that the pressure was no longer there, she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t no…

18/08/2021

Dealing with the police is always a challenge, but a murder ratches things up another notch. There are always so many questions, and no matter how many times you answer them, they keep asking the same ones over and over. It’s just to see if they can trip you up, make you confess, so they can wrap their case up quickly. This was one time they couldn’t do that.

“Hmpf. You’re as hard-headed as your father was. You react without thinking things through. For once, gather the information before you chart a course of action. And be careful who you trust. Someo…

18/08/2021

I found myself dancing in the streets alongside thousands of other celebrants. The sights and sounds caused my soul to sing. I pranced with people dressed in flamboyant costumes and became intoxicated by the flavorful scents drifting through the air.

The rhythmic drums and blaring trumpets played me like a marionette.

“It’s okay, baby. Don’t cry. Follow your dreams wherever they may take you. I’ll always be by your side. Au revoir, ma chérie.” Her hand left my cheek, and the two walked off into the darkness toge…

13/08/2021

Content Warning: Abuse and Torture

“Daddy, please stop,” I whimpered, my chin stuck to my chest, glued with blood. I opened my eyes as much as I could, squinting through the pain and the darkness surrounding my vision. He wasn’t even looking at me. His whip fell at his side as he looked off into the distance. His long black hair stuck to the sweat dripping down his chest.

I yelled out in pain, unable to hold it back anymore. My head fell back down to my chest, the fresh and warm blood curdling up in my neck rolls. I spit out blood, a red glob landing in front of me …

13/08/2021

The morning after my return to Aces, I went to work a little later than I normally would have. Gideon was in his office when I entered, and he chuckled as I limped in.

“Late night?” he teased as I sat down beside him.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “It was not what you think.” In all honesty, my dancing last night, being back on the stage in front of semi-familiar customers, was cathartic.

“Gideon, you are the last person on this rotting earth that knows me, the real me. Selfish as this may sound, I cannot lose you. I would lose my last remaining tie to…well, everything.”

04/08/2021

I couldn’t take my eyes off the little statuette at the top of the bookcase. It was exactly like Grandma’s. Same muted colors, same glossy finish, same white-painted glint in the skeleton’s empty eye socket.

Blake glanced up in the direction I was pointing, then shot Darrell a strange look. Though it only lasted a second, I caught it in my peripheral vision.

Blake

I slammed my drink back and set the glass in front of Blake before walking past him. Never taking my eyes off the statuette, I grabbed the bottle of bourbon off the bar. I took a healthy swig, wipi…

04/08/2021

Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street was party central for New Orleans. True to its reputation, there wasn’t a car in sight. All the traffic that crowded the place was foot traffic only. If that was what it always looked like, I’d hate to see it during Mardis Gras.

The street had everything a partying tourist could want.

I whipped around, preparing to kick this boy’s balls further up into his body, when a black leather jacket slid between us, cutting off the violent contact. “Pardon me,” a velvety British accent in…

04/08/2021

Krista rushed through her morning routine and headed back out to the Square. She was sweaty and out of breath when she made it back to the tables where she had found the tarot card reader. And, of course, the woman wasn’t there.

After spending half the morning walking around, Krista was finally ready to give up her search when she heard, “Back already? I thought I’d have to track you down again.

“Someone placed a blocking spell on you when you were very young. Without knowing more about it, I cannot simply remove it. So, instead, I cracked it. Think of it like an egg. You’re surrounded by …

25/07/2021

“If you know so much about me, then you would know that I’m pretty hard to kill, Matt,” I replied.

“Anyone can die, Sabine,” he replied, “even if they are immortal. You better than anyone should realize that.”

My heart beat a little faster for a moment, my breath catching in my chest. I knew what he was talking about. My father, the area bandrui before me, had been murdered.

I nodded as I looked around for his ghost. I saw him standing to the side, a sad expression on his face. Before I could say anything to him, a figure in black appeared behind him and said something…

23/07/2021

One of the fourteen purses I’m wearing catches on the doorknob of PJ’s Coffee, nearly making me fall. It doesn’t help that I’m wearing one combat boot and one stiletto heel. I think I couldn’t decide on which vibe I was going for. One half of my vibe felt like f**k with me, and I’ll curb stomp you.

Hmm. How to answer. The better question would be, who haven’t I been? Put me in a toga, and I’m the Fates. Viking attire, I’m the Norn. Egyptian headdress, I’m Ma’at. I’m the Oracle in almost every…

22/07/2021

“F**king Alo,” I mumbled to myself as I crept through the darkness. The night was my favorite time to travel because there were fewer humans out and more animals. I preferred to only travel in my human form when I didn’t have to interact with other humans. Humans bored me. They were the pure epitome of evil, and I hated their kind. Animals, on the other hand, were pure.

“Now listen to me. He will guide you to her. You will stop this nonsense,” Alo said from behind me as I began to shift back into my human form. “For whatever reason, she finds you worthy of her pow…

19/07/2021

I awoke with a start, not exactly sure where I was. It took me a few minutes to remember that I was in New Orleans, in a hotel suite bigger than my apartment, and I was supposed to be ready for dinner by seven. I grabbed my phone to see it was exactly 5:00 PM.

I jumped off the bed and got myself put together. I threw on my best dress, did my hair and make-up, then looked at myself in the mirror.

As Blake unlocked the inside doors, something began to stir in my soul. I felt a heaviness in the air. I felt sadness, pain, and heartache. My hands began to shake as the urge to cry fought with th…

16/07/2021

"The dishwasher is broken," Ariel says as we stand in the kitchen. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and I scowl in disappointment. Not over the dishwasher, no that is an easy fix. I am more annoyed with the outfit she is wearing. A crop top and ripped jean shorts. Where in the hell does she think she is going?

"Uh-huh. We will talk about the dishwasher later." I grit my teeth.

It has been centuries, and she has shown no sign of having her parents’ abilities. I thought the dragon abandoned her but allowed her to keep her immortality, but it seems I was very wrong. B…

15/07/2021

My stomach groaned, scolding me for skipping lunch in favor of ending my journey sooner rather than later. It will all be worth it. It will all be worth it.

I had been driving for about thirty-three and a half hours straight, only stopping for bathroom breaks and power naps. I had been living on fast food that was easy to eat while driving.

Find something to enjoy about your new home. My father’s last words echoed in my head. I could still feel his cracked lips on my forehead, where he gave me a farewell kiss. My vision blurred with s…

12/07/2021

I’ve been vomiting for about two hours straight. My body is freezing cold and aching. My skin feels too tight, like it is about to rip itself apart with every minuscule movement I make. Pain shoots through me in freezing waves.

“Did you think my gifts were infinite?” Grimaçon/Not-Tommy purrs in the back of my mind, even as the doll lays lifeless in the other room on the bedside table.

I force these thoughts down. I can’t afford to think like that anymore. In many ways, it is him or me. That’s it. He has this coming. God knows what he’s done to people in the darkness…holdin…

08/07/2021

As I boarded the airplane at Denver International Airport, I couldn’t stop the barrage of emotions and images that danced in my head. I had never done well in crowded places, but it was more than just the sheer number of people surrounding me. It was the not knowing what I was going to find once this plane landed.

Only a couple of weeks earlier, I’d been the only child of an only child.

I began to panic when I realized that I couldn’t read the guy across from me. I couldn’t sense the emotions of those around me. I couldn’t read the aura of the attendant at the front of the plane. …

07/07/2021

Content Warning: Gore

I stretched my massive owl wings and lifted myself from where I’d perched. My frame covered the full moon and cast a mighty shadow down below. I was looking for a place to stay for the next couple of weeks while I was in Las Vegas. Not a hotel or motel. No, I wanted a nice house.

I finally decided on a red brick house on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

He looked around at the blood trail that led from behind him to where I sat. He examined the couch, turning from white to red the longer I sat there. I could feel the blood on my bare skin sticking…

02/07/2021

Krista could still hear Zenda’s words ringing in her ears as she walked home. What bothered her the most was that she felt deep down the old witch was right. How had she gone so long without knowing who she was? There were missing pieces in her childhood, and even worse, she never realized those pieces were missing until she came to New Orleans.

In

While she sat and read everything she could find, the air swirled softly around her, almost a caress. It relaxed her and excited her all at once. Setting her laptop next to her on the couch, Krista…

01/07/2021

Content Warning: Gore

I stand at the large window on the second floor as Ash’s form disappears further into the thick overgrown forest. Vines dance with the slight breeze outside, tapping on the glass like small nails. My mind wanders to a time long before New Orleans and long before her death.

“Everything is strange here. Different. It feels like my entire being is constantly on vibrate, and I know why. Something lives here in this city. I just haven’t figured out what it is, nor am I to…

29/06/2021

What is the first thing you think of when I say Robert Johnson? Blues icon or legend? Yes. Dead at twenty-seven, although he still had four more years on his contract. Founder of the twenty-seven club, as they call it? Yes. Guitar player? Yes. Sold his soul at the crossroads to the devil? Yes, and we know this devil oh so well. It was me. Let me tell you all about it.

Show them up? Well, how could I refuse? Could I refuse? I wasn’t sure that I could? I stood there weighing my options, the pros and cons of the situation presented before me. I scratched my cheek a…

25/06/2021

I made my way quickly up the stairs and opened doors until I found a locked one. I put my lock picks to use again and closed the door behind me as I slipped in. It was bright enough outside that I didn't need a light, but it was dim. I stood still, counting my breaths as my eyes adjusted to the lower light. When I was ready, I slipped my heels off, set them by the door, and went to the dresser.

I got lost in my thoughts as I took the back roads towards D.C. I knew that no matter how much I wanted to avoid it, I needed to get to New Orleans. It didn’t matter how I felt about seeing D…

23/06/2021

I woke up on my couch, still in a fog of bourbon and bad dreams. The emotions from Grandma’s journals were still reeling in my mind. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t seem to love my grandfather as much as he’d said she did.

I made my way to the kitchenette and got the coffee brewing. The idea of food just didn’t jive with me, so I slammed back a handful of Ibuprofen and got myself motivated.

“Whoa there, cowboy,” I said, cutting him off before he could finish his thought. “This is a business deal only. I don’t need to be wined and dined, and I’m sure as hell not coming to New Orleans l…

20/06/2021

The screeching wind howled in my ears as I sped into the Gulf. I had tried to sell off the speedboat in Gulf Port, but I couldn’t without the ownership papers. So I had to abandon it. I directed it off-shore and killed the engine. I dropped the anchor and sighed. It was a nice little boat, but I had to say goodbye. I dove off the edge, shifting as I began the swim back to shore.

A man, sitting not too far from where I came ashore. I hoped he had not seen me walking fully clothed out of the water. Even at this distance, I felt a strange pull toward him, as if there was more…

18/06/2021

As I allowed my powers to ebb and flow, I found myself hovering just off the ground, the pebbles and shells levitating at my feet. Enjoying the solitude as the sun set over the horizon, I lowered myself and headed back to my car. The roads were somehow calmer at night, and I made great time.

Loosening my tie and slipping off my wingtips, I stuffed the socks in my shoes and rolled the legs of my trousers. I stepped off the boardwalk and into the surf. As the breeze ruffled my hair, I to…

16/06/2021

Lush mahogany skin lay against cool white sheets. Dips and curves of a body born to be taken made the sheets appear lacking and inconsequential. Her hands were bound above her head, jerking at the headboard. Her legs were spread lewdly wide and bound to the footboard by mismatched ties.

She looked delicious.

Heat radiated up my arm and a slight glow shone over my palm. Remy had been in the heat of the moment. Dan had been an accident. If someone was f**king with my brother, there was no telling what I’…

13/06/2021

“Stay with us, Maggie…”

My eyes flew open even as I spun out of bed. My heart pounded as I looked around the room, seeking the danger I felt lurking in the darkness. Adélaïde creaked around me. Great, I was scaring the house. My gaze swung to my phone. I picked it up, checking the time. I sat back down on the edge of my bed and pressed the contact at the top of my list.

When I lifted my lashes, it was to see a man at a nearby table watching me. His cup hovered halfway between his mouth and the table as he stared with hunger in his eyes. I smiled at him, winking fl…

13/06/2021

The sun was still high in the sky when I pulled up to the Stanley farm. The place was quite unimpressive, to be honest. The main property must have been built over a century ago, and it showed. The original owners must have lived with well water and oil lamps, but I guess some people would call that retro or quaint. There were signs of renovation, but the project looked to have a long way to go.

Laughter pierced the fog as I struggled to get back on my feet. I shook my head, slowly adjusting as the world finally stopped spinning. I looked up at my three assailants. One was spinning a chain…

08/06/2021

I spent the rest of that night pouring over my grandmother’s journals. I went back and started reading the first one from the beginning. It had been a birthday present from her grandmother, Joan Francine Monte-Gumarie. I couldn’t explain it, but saying her name out loud sent waves of emotions through my soul.

Most entries were nothing more than the mindless ramblings of a young girl.

As I watched, I noticed the people inside. I wanted to walk closer, but I couldn’t move. I strained my eyes to see through the window, noticing an older woman and a young girl. As I stared in their…