Secret Weapon
Heltia had left Palloren as prepared as any warrior could be for the long journey to the Infinite Armory. Now, as she finally stood in the fabled Hall of Implements, she feared it would come to naught…
Lamps
Everything is made of other things. Complex shapes reduce, becoming simple. The rustic beauty of a wrought-iron lamp is composed of shapes and lines and light. Complexity is removed. Form remains. A lamp is a consensus. It is what we agree it is.
Organic Gardening
The headless corpse of a chupacabra lay in the mulch below the lion topiary. “Third time this month,” grumbled Tom the gardener, prodding at the thing with his foot as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
A Cup of Christmas Coffee
“But what about all this? Your ranch, your dream of running a Christmas-themed coffee shop right here in a small New Mexico town? And what about the people of Elephant Butte?”