“Are you ready?”“Of course I am, dear. You’re the one who wanted me to do this, right?”“Right…bring her in!”Watching as the door at the other side of the temple slid open, Ruby’s eyebrows raised as she watched the shrine maidens pull someone inside. Tied up with what looked like enchanted ropes, they were evidently taking no chances with this particular prisoner of theirs. Standing her up in front of the witch, the pair of shrine maidens did their best to look in any other d

“Confirmed, I have a lock on your position. You’re right on target, just hang tight until they show. I’ll pull you back once you have the target.” Sending back an affirmative, I took another look around the forest and settled in to wait.Another assignment to this same planet. Who would have thought?At this point, I honestly had to wonder what was going on with it. There were plenty of places where people in my line of work could work without ever needing to travel, but with the numb

“You know, for someone who normally wants to spend as little time as possible at school, you certainly seem to be putting a lot of effort into getting inside this time, Miyo.”“Is this really the time for this?” Turning just enough to look at her friend, Miyo gave Amari a sour look from where she was perched on top of the fence surrounding the back of the school. It was almost midnight, and the two had precious little time to finish up with what they wanted.“Look, I’m just saying th

“Everything looks to be in order. I hope you enjoy tonight’s festivities, Lady Bathory, and if there’s anything that you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”Giving the senechal a brief nod of thanks, I walked inside and took a moment to survey the grand hall in front of her. I had to admit, the lady of the castle certainly knew how to throw a party. A quick glance over just the crowd that I could see here revealed a veritable whos-who of the local nobility, merchants, and wealthy elite, an

- Agent N Elridge, Casefile 745 ‘BEEKEEPER’, report 6. -- No new developments. Earlier leads on location of supposed hive promising, but no new leads to report. Still investigating eyewitness and missing persons reports, partner still collecting information from last site. -- Next report will likely be some time before completion. -Sending the message and closing the secure connection, Nadia walked to the apartment window that overlooked the factory district and sighed. This case had been

‘Wanted - A group of Intrepid Individuals willing to conduct a search of the middle and upper reaches of Foggy Mountain. Recent storms have washed out the bridge on the west side of town, and until it can be repaired an alternate route must be found. Applicants should present themselves at town hall, and return there once their survey is complete for a generous reward.’Glancing at the job notice again as her group made ready to break camp, Drea looked back up at the fog-shrouded slope that

“HEAVE TO AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!”Jolted wide awake by the sounds of shouting and movement from somewhere above her, Rachel threw back the blankets covering her and pushed off of the too-large bed, almost tripping flat on her face as the sheets tangled around her legs and feet. Rubbing her eyes blearily, she tried looking out the porthole mounted in the wall, but all she could see was more wood just on the other side of the glass. It only dawned on her why that would be a second later,

“The key, my dear, is presentation. If you look like you belong, then as far as your prey is concerned, you do belong.”Every time I did this, I always thought back to the advice that my mother gave me, and so far, I hadn’t been led astray by doing so. Whether it was walking right into places where I wasn’t wanted, leaving said places without anyone batting an eye, or generally enjoying myself and doing whatever I wanted regardless of my surroundings, there was a remarkable level to whi

Slowly flicking away at her phone before setting it down with a sigh, Cassy wondered again why exactly she had agreed to take this shift.Glancing around the convenience store, while it wasn’t quite entirely empty, it may as well have been. Just a pair of truckers stopping in for lunch, plus a younger couple that looked to be trying to find something that would calm down an overactive child, or at least keep them occupied for some stretch of time. If anything, having people inside actually ma

Stepping under the hanging curtain of ivy, Alea looked around in suspicion at the sunlight grove they had apparently walked into. She knew many of the plants and flowers surrounding them, and very few of them were native to this area, and even if someone had transplanted them here, there was no way barring magic that they would all be in bloom at the same time.“Oh, guests. It’s been so long, I wonder what the occasion is~”Hearing movement along with the lilting, singsong voice coming fro

From the outside, the building was a sleek, but otherwise unassuming and fairly ordinary high-rise building. At 30 stories, it fit in amongst the other buildings in the business and financial districts, and was by no means the tallest in that area, and although the black stone and tinted glass paneling were slightly darker than the shinier and more reflective neighbors that surrounded it, it was by no means the strangest or most distinctive edifice in the area, much less the entire city. Final

Ah, Halloween. Something about this holiday always served to bring out the best in people.Looking down at the general revelry going on below her, Deva was once again overcome by the capacity for the mortal races to manage to continue on their chosen course, no matter how counterintuitive, strange, or outright self-destructive that might be. Of course, it made her pastimes that much easier, but it was remarkable just how well the tried-and-tested methods continued to work over the years.Case in

“Mother, do you know when he will arrive?”“Calm yourself, dear. His message indicated that he would be here within the hour, and there is no reason to believe that he would be late, especially today.”Looking back over the balcony overlooking the front of the manor, Amy heaved a dramatic sigh and slumped back down into her chair, but the only reaction from her mother was a roll of her eyes as she went back to the book she had been reading. It hadn’t been long since a messenger had bro

“You’ll never get away with this, you fiend!”As soon as Cinder stepped into the dungeon, the yelling inevitably started again. She wasn’t sure if it was something that princesses were taught at a young age, or something that they learned, but without exception every single one seemed to believe that simply screaming at her enough would inevitably get them what they wanted. Princess Elaine “If you haven’t noticed, your highness, I already have. You’re in chains in my dungeon, and

“Welcome back, one and all, and for all of those just tuning in, you’ve come just in time for tonight’s final round! I am your special host for tonight’s Halloween episode, Samantha Hain, and this is Food for Thought, your favorite celebrity elimination trivia show!”Watching as the host for this ridiculous game show strutted out from offstage to yet more clamorous applause and cheering from the costumed members of the the live audience, DJ Bitch Tits (or just BT, so that the host didn

Hearing the chime of the doorbell, I looked up from the book I had been reading and grinned. Lunch had finally arrived.Walking over to the door and opening it slightly, I smiled again when I saw the young lady standing outside the door, delivery bag in one hand and phone in the other. Pulling the door open all the way, the blonde gave me a distracted smile as she tapped away at her phone, no doubt already filling out the order status to ‘Completed’, and as I took the bag from her she slid

Skidding to a stop behind one of the tall pillars that were scattered around the room, Caria fought to catch her breath, but as much as she wanted to look around the edge, to try to locate the enemy that she knew was somewhere nearby, she knew that she couldn’t risk it. Not against this foe. Taking another deep breath, she wondered just how things had gone this far out of their control.It had all started out so simply. The four of them were doing what they were best at - traveling the count

“...but before she could run, the ghost rose up through the floor around her, its hungry jaws wide! And so the last of the survivors was swallowed up, and the Haunting of the Valley House would continue on…”As Rose’s story came to an end, she stood with her arms outstretched, attempting to use the flickering shadows cast by the campfire to wring a little extra bit of ambiance out of the situation. The other girls sat and looked at her for a few seconds, before there was a snort of laug

Research Notes - Thus far, have seen no evidence of the supposed ‘etheric phenomena’ mentioned by the villagers in the nearby town. Residual magical energy is slightly higher than normal, but nothing thus far that would indicate paranormal activity. Need more data for a solid theory however.Closing her journal, Celysis looked back up at the dilapidated house and environs, she squinted, wondering what exactly it was about small towns that made them generate these types of stories. Every ti

“What’s going on with the Panacea project? This is the third time I’ve had to refactor-”“-heard that someone is going to be showing up from upper management to look at-”“-another leak in the Pharmaceutical department. The media found out way too fast-”As the elevator chimed on her floor and she exited out into the office itself, the snippets of conversation that Betty had heard on the way up stuck with her long after she had sat down at her workstation. As a project supervisor

“Ah! Ms Garou, if I could have a moment of your time?”Trying to hide my sigh of disappointment and quell the simultaneous grumbling of my stomach, I turned to check who was calling out to me, but I already knew who it was just by her shrill voice. A quick look behind me confirmed what I already knew, and I turned to stop by the door leading out into the parking lot as Pamela strutted up to me, followed closely by her two everpresent hangers-on, Bethany and Mary.“Whatever you need, girls,

The most commonly held belief of what hell entails for those sent there is that it is a place of punishment, where those that have transgressed or otherwise acted contrary to what was preached as ‘correct’ behavior were sent upon death. There they would be punished in accordance with their sins, whereas those who had not were free to reside in far more comfortable environs.This is only half correct.While it is true that it was a place of torment, despair, and general misery for those who en

Generally speaking, there were few situations in which Aesirko would not be at least somewhat grumpy after being woken up. Being gently woken by the previous night’s partner stirring and stretching in her embrace was by far the best, followed by the warmth of the sun falling on her scales. More commonly it was the plaintive grumbles of her stomach asking to be fed, or the need to deposit what little was left of the previous night’s amusements, if they hadn’t met her expectations.Today th

As soon as she stepped inside, Star could tell that this place was entirely different from just about every other club she had even been in. Granted, that list was relatively short, but the fact remained that this place both catered to and expected a very different clientele than your ordinary club.Of course, with a name like the ‘Underbelly’, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise.Star hadn’t even heard of the place until about two weeks ago, when another one of her friends had menti

Sometimes the event of a lifetime comes with the thunder of trumpets and drums, a climactic triumph displayed to all. Other times it is a quiet thing, a sudden realization while deep in study in some forgotten library. Some actively sought it out, while others let it come to them.And for a very lucky (or unlucky, depending on your opinion) few, you can end up having very little say in the matter.“Alright, remind me what’s supposed to be down here again?” Looking down at the hole in the

“Harley, are you sure about this? You know that gyms really aren’t my thing…”“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on doing anything major today. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere; you wouldn’t even believe what I looked like before I started working out.” Turning to look at Darla, the larger of the pair put her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulder and gave her a lopsided smile as they walked inside. “Besides, there’s barely anyone else here right now. Perfect time to let

Leaning back at her desk, Jessica flicked out her phone as she waited for class to get started. Last period was always a drag as everyone was just waiting for the day to end, and this semester it was particularly bad as a number of her friends had managed to finagle their schedules so that they could leave early.Meanwhile, she was stuck in history class.Watching as everyone slowly filtered into the classroom, she was surprised to see that Mrs. Daniels wasn’t here by now. Normally the teacher

Today, I had planned on working on another batch of potions, finishing off the set of fetishes that a friend had commissioned me to make, and then spend the rest of the night relaxing before I met them at the club.Instead, I had some troublesome interlopers to deal with.As soon as I had woken up, I could feel the telltale frisson of magical energy that told me that one of my spellwards around the city had been disrupted. That wasn’t so uncommon; there were plenty of reasons why it could have

ALLURING AND EXOTIC PLANTS FROM FAR-OFF LOCALES!!!FLORA NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ON THIS CONTINENT!!!ONE MONTH ONLY LIMITED DISPLAY, GET TICKETS NOW!!!Looking up at the multicolored placards that had been liberally plastered all over the outside of the botanical garden, I just sighed and went back to unloading the latest shipment of compost and fertilizer that had arrived earlier that day. Ever since the garden had brought in the new traveling exhibit, my workload had tripled, and some of the new disp

Another night, another round around town in preparation for the big night to come.Jessica honestly wasn’t sure who had initially come up with the idea to ‘police’ the route that the town’s children would take come Halloween night, but whoever it was, the idea had caught on rather significantly within the parents at the school, and before they could do much to the contrary Jessica and her friends were ‘volunteered’ for duty.Unwilling to go against such a widespread sentiment, her and

Swinging the door to her apartment closed, Cindy just leaned against it for a moment in blissful silence as she finally let herself relax for what felt like the first time all day.It was Friday, and so for the next two days at least, there was nothing that she needed to do.“Damn, you look like shit. Long day at work?”Her roommate’s amused voice brought her back to reality, and she opened her eyes to see Kathy’s smiling face leaning out from around the hallway corner leading to the kitch

“Magey, don’t forget your breakfast!”“Thanks mom!” Grabbing her bag from where it was hanging by the door, she ran back into the kitchen and smiled when she saw the stack of thick-cut buttered toast sitting on the counter. Taking a bite out of the first slice and giving her mom a wave, she pushed open the front door and started to skip her way down the street towards town.“Hey, Magey, hold on! Wait up!”Looking behind her, she saw Vanessa waving and running up the street to catch

Decent weather, no work, and a fresh stack of homemade burgers ready to go on the grill? For Amanda, there wasn’t much better.Opening the lid of the grill to check on the coals, she smiled in satisfaction and picked up the platter of patties on the table behind her before beginning to set them out in nice neat rows. This was likely going to be the last real opportunity for an outdoor grill this year, unless there was an unseasonably warm day in the months to come, and so she and her friends

“You’re sure that this is the fastest way to get back? I didn’t even know there was a road here…”“Oh, don’t worry about it, I go this way all the time. It doesn’t show up on GPS because it’s not paved, but trust me this is the fastest way back.” Skipping forward down the road, Charlie continued on down the narrow path that led behind the row of trees. The party that the two of them had gone to had very much been worth it, and the two of them had even managed to win some p

Slowly leaning back in her chair and sipping at her wine, Laylamon couldn't help but be amused at the course of events that the night had ended up taking. All it took was one little thing for things to end very differently than many had been expecting, although she also suspected that most of those present would agree that it had been no less enjoyable.The night’s events had started quite some time earlier, when the invitations for the dinner had first gone out. She was always happy to atten

The soft chime of a bell echoed through the halls of the castle, and despite the late hour, Rebeka was immediately awake. That particular tone did not belong to any of the various clocks or other things inside the estate, and had a single meaning of overriding importance.Her mistress wanted something, and it was her duty to not keep her waiting.Heading down the hallway and into the sitting room, Rebeka was unsurprised to see Mistress Bathory sitting in front of the fireplace, holding the small

Stepping out of her apartment building and taking a deep breath of the evening air, Varysoir smiled and wasted no time in taking a few quick steps down the sidewalk before deftly skipping onto her skateboard and heading down the sidewalk.She always preferred to go out and ride later at night; there were fewer people and cars that she’d have to dodge around for one, and the cool night air would ensure that she could go as long as she wanted without needing to worry about getting too hot.But mos

“Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!”Slamming the hood of her car shut over its smoking and overheated engine, Jackie turned around and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. As soon as she had seen the patch job that the mechanic had passed off as ‘exactly what she needed’, she had known that it wasn’t gonna last long. She had hoped to be able to at least get back home where she had the tools to fix it herself, but evidently that was not to be.Pulling out her phone, she started to flick

As times for birthdays went, Halloween was a pretty decent time of year to have one.Looking up at the combination of balloons, pumpkins, and other combination decorations that had been liberally applied to all over the inside of the house, Poker had to admit that if nothing else, it let you do some pretty interesting things with the different things you could combine. Plus, when the one throwing the party has a nice big, secluded house, it makes for a perfect excuse for a nice big party.At the

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST! ONE NIGHT ONLY! PRIZES, GAMES, AND HALF-OFF ALL DRINKS!Looking up at the orange and black sign stretched across the front of the bar, Emily’s gaze perked up and she turned around, looking at Jennifer. Doing a little pirouette, she smiled as she showed off the sparkling sequins sewn into her costume.“Well, do you think I’m a good enough fairy to score some free drinks?”“I hope so. Maybe some food too? I’m starving.”The two had been originally been sever

Pushing open the door and listening to the soft tinkling of a chime, Komi looked around the inside of the store in interest. She had never been inside a store like this before, much less this specific store, and although it had been little more than a whim that had drawn her interest in ‘The Ruby Emporium’ there was certainly enough interesting things on the shelves to keep her interest, at least for the time being.Stepping inside, she began to idly browse through the diverse offerings, and

“After three thousand years, finally the world gets to see what mysteries and secrets await in this last set of tombs! I can’t even imagine what might be waiting for us, can you?”“Don’t have to imagine, my dear Eve. We’ll be inside in just a few minutes.” Leaning back against the wall and letting her crowbar drop down to the floor, Tricia took a long sip of water from her canteen as she looked back at her employer. “I have to say though, I’ve been part of quite a few expedi

Things were not going well.Dodging to the left as I ran across the circular platform, I narrowly skimmed the edge of yet another blast of energy as I watched the tall feminine form in front of me once again lift the staff it was carrying and send another pulse of replicated magic towards us. Bracing as well as I could, I was still sent skidding backwards along with the others nearby, and I could only watch with growing dread as another pair of the companions that had accompanied me were sent fl

“TRICK OR TREAT!”
Looking up from her book, Chiaki stood and straightened out the ruffles on her skirt before walking over to the doorway, setting down her book before pulling the door open. Smiling at the children outside, she motioned to the large cauldron filled with candy and watched as they each took one, then waved as they laughed and giggled their way back down the steps outside.
It was interesting seeing the different customs for this holiday around the world; Chiaki had see

Stepping up to the railing of the spectator area overlooking most of the track, Kelly had to admit that she was impressed.
Most considered something like go kart racing just a hobby, something for children not old enough to drive an actual car yet, and thus paid it no more attention than someone would any other ride at an amusement park, to be fair, Kelly was mostly the same save for one key difference.
She was, in fact, still too young to race professionally, but ever since she had seen a show

“Vanessa, are you ready? We’ll need to head out soon.”
Glancing back as one of the attendants poked her head into the dressing room, I gave her a quick nod before looking back at the set of mirrors in front of me. Gazing at the dress, the veil, the flowers, and everything else that I was wearing and surrounded by, it still felt somewhat surreal. It was hard to believe that this day had arrived, and yet here it was.
I had always known that it would though, sooner or later. I

“Can you believe this? Who would ever go for something this dumb?”
Looking up as Yolle flipped the laptop around so that she could see the screen, Misaki squinted at the flashy graphics on the screen that were obscuring the tight lines of text on the page. At this point they had already been through at least a dozen of these personal ads on this particular dating website, with most of them being distressingly similar, but this one was easily the worst thus far.
A number of what loo

On the list of things that I preferred to not have to deal with, hearing something splatter against the windows and side of the house this late at night was quite high up on that list. This time of year, it could only really be one thing, and I was very much not looking forward to needing to spend tomorrow outside in the cold trying to hose dried egg off the siding. This was the third year in a row that kids from the neighborhood had decided that this was how they wanted to spend their nights

“Embyr! Embyr, come on, you gotta try this!”
Stepping up to where Natalia was waving at me, I looked with amusement at the sideshow game that she was indicating. One of the fairly standard ‘test your strength’ kind of attractions where you hit a button with what is typically a comically-oversized hammer, I looked dubiously at the hammer that the nervous attendant was offering me before I just shook my head and stepped up to the switch. Drawing back, I lifted a foot and

“Anna, I know that you said that this wasn’t really a huge deal earlier, but of all the places to go, why did you pick this one?”
“Because it’s the biggest one, duh. If we’re gonna go this, may as well make it something that people will respect, right?”
Gazing up at the elaborate mausoleum that dominated this portion of the graveyard, Jenna had to concede that part of the argument. There was no doubt that this was the largest mausoleum for counties aro