Back-Off-I-Bite

    Dad didn’t take rejection well, so he had a rough time coping when Mom walked out on him. It wasn’t an easy time for me either, but since I was fourteen at the time I can’t pretend like I didn’t see it coming. Mom had a hard enough time as it was raising me, but with Dad around she might as well have been raising another child. He was nearly impossible to live with because he felt compelled to immediately spend any amount of money he had, even though he knew we were on a tight budget.      The final straw was when he drained Mom’s savings account on what was supposed to be a pure bred Irish wolfhound that he

     “Joes Pool Hall, this is Eight Ball speaking?”    Let’s be honest, it is not the first thing people might expect to hear when answering an incoming call with no caller ID. Most people would probably shrug off the exchange as nothing more than a prank caller, telemarketer, or some such telecommunications annoyance. For others, their first thoughts jump to the implications it has as the start of some cheap, poorly written horror movie. But for the likes of Jasper Axton, it was something much more serious.    Jasper looked around to make sure that his wife was not around. Loran was either in her office working on anoth

    “Whose idea was this!?” Sëthra shouted over the roar of the stampede, clinging onto the thick fur of the rampaging bull-fox for dear life.    Typical Sëthra. She’s always been the little spitfire of the gang; quick to take credit for when everything went according to plan, and just as quick to criticize if something went wrong. Heaven forbid anyone mention that it was always her plans to begin with.    “I blame Vultaura!” rebuked Nilla, falling back on the biggest scapegoat of the group.    Nilla always fancied herself the leader of our little ensemble. At the time we all first teamed up it on

    The house was dark; the afternoon sun was unable to penetrate the blackout curtain that hung in each window. It was like a warzone inside. Everything was a mess, left in the exact condition it was from the party that had been thrown the previous night. The hostess had managed to get rid of the last of the lingering guests and finally managed to make it to bed. She lay sprawled out on the bed.    Suddenly the coffee pot in the kitchen clicked on and began brewing. A few minutes later an alarm clock sprung to life, buzzing loudly on the nightstand next to the bed. The noise persisted for a moment like a high pitched fire alarm, badgering

    The stage was set. Quite literally in fact. The venue was set at the Hatik’Ovash royal family’s annual Masquerade dance. Everybody who was anybody was in attendance. Only the elitist members of the most powerful clans in the nation were invited to this extravagant party. Those who were lucky enough to receive an invitation made a point to make an appearance.      The evening had been full of the best entertainers money could buy. Kingdoms near and far sent their best performers out to represent themselves. However, the most anticipated performance of the soiree belonged to the Hatik’Ovash’s own entertainers. The s