Ash Gray

I never thought I__ ever leave Zerc. But after knowing Cricket, it occurred to me that I had no reason to stay. I had no family, no friends aside from her. I never even spoke to Enkai until she brought us together. It was she who first inspired me to dream of actually seeing those worlds I spent my every waking moment reading about. Her and her wild heart, her laughing spirit, so bright in her eyes whenever she spoke of her travels and all the wondrous places she had seen. When I was a boy, I envied her for her adventures. When I became a man, I only pitied her.

You start wondering if you deserved those high reviews on your books or if people just pitied you and went __oor sod. Here__ a five star review so you don__ hang yourself in the garage.

But what do you care about Qorlec?_ went on Dr. Zorgone. __ heard you escaped Alsa Sif V, and immediately upon your departure,_ he frowned, __ou set coordinates for Earth?_ He laughed softly, nastily, and Quinn felt anger shiver through her to see the twinkling mockery in his eyes. __hat would your people think to know that, I wonder?_ continued Dr. Zorgone, tilting his head. __he first place you ran to wasn__ Qorlec, wasn__ the ancient home of your __ighty_ ancestors, but the polluted shit-ball of ape people? The true home of the true empress is Earth._ His eyes danced over her, searching, hungry. __ou speak Roknal and English fluently, but I bet you don__ know a damn lick of Aviye. The entirian princess isn__ even entirian --___hat do you want?_ Quinn said abruptly.__hat do I want?_ repeated Dr. Zorgone, rolling his eyes to the starry sky. __et__ see . . . What do I want? I always wanted an indoor pool.__uinn__ lips tightened.

Alright. So how are we getting down there? Can you turn invisible or something?___hat do I look like? A magician?___ell, can you fight?___an you?___o,_ said Thalcu with a sad laugh. __onbiri women aren__ allowed to handle anything bigger than a butter knife. Not legally, anyway. Besides, I could never shoot a gun. My hands are used to pushing remote control buttons, pounding game controllers . . . picking the good chips from the bag.

Halt! We are attempting an arrest!___eah, we__e aware,_ Quinn muttered under her breath.

There__ no point running anyway. In t-minus ten minutes, you will have no where to run to.__uinn tensed at the triumphant look in his eyes. _. . .what have you done?___ have entered launch codes in the computer. In exactly ten minutes, Alpha Star 9 will be a black stain in the middle of Utah.__uinn__ lips part in shock.__es,_ said. Dr. Zorgone in amusement. __ramatic gasp!

Yeah, I__ listenin_,_ Morganith answered, __nd Arda once told me pregnant Alteri women can see what might come to pass, not what will come to pass. What they see is just what people chose to do of their own shitty free will, not what they were forced to do by some gods.

We live in a world where it__ feasible that a tiny hobbit can save an entire world, but not a feminine woman. And god help her if she__ a woman of color, because that__ given as even more inconceivable.

We have books and films where mice and hobbits and dwarves and children can save the world, and that's perfectly acceptable. But a 120lb woman save the galaxy? YOU GO TOO FAR, SIR.

Then perhaps you don__ need it. I think the scar gives you character, even if it does mar those pretty tattoos. Would make for great tavern stories if you didn__ cover it._ Neferre laughed flatly and stuck her hands in her pockets. __here__ nothing great about getting mugged, Ziro._ Ziro laughed, her deep voice jiggling her second chin. __h, aye. But no one said you had to tell the truth now, did they?

Return me safely to my home,_ the princess said, __nd I shall reward you with your weight in eggs._ Olorun snorted derisively. __ou__e joking, right?_ The woman__ eyes flitted in embarrassment. __ow wait a minute,_ said Helianthus. __e__e talkin_ eggs here. What sort of eggs? Ostrich eggs?_ Neferre made an impatient noise. __el! She doesn__ have any eggs! Unless they__e hidden in a very . . . delicate place._ Neferre grinned at the princess. __ell me your eggs are hidden where I think they__e hidden.

Neferre swallowed hard. __he elder used to tell stories of dark places in dark times,_ she said, picking the needle through with black nails, __hen the winters were endless and the sun fell cold across the land. When beasts far worse than the crags prowled the shadows. And there were no humans. Only elvkarin and the night. We knew the bitter sting of winter__ breath and it never ended as it ends now. We called it Isaria on Evile. A Time of Darkness.

Helianthus snorted. __lorun is like his mother: he will only change as the face of a rock changes. But . . . I think he missed you.

:Do you trust me?: Wareska quietly linked.:To stay alive? No. You and the monster will get lost in riddles and philosophizing. Then you will make some grand, heroic gesture, poorly thought-out and overestimating your own strength, and when the creature has roasted you alive, I will be the one sweeping up the ashes _ figuratively speaking, of course. Lest we forget, I do not have hands.:

Why does everything want to eat children?!__eferre smiled. __ecause you taste like candy. Stinky socks would mask your delicious scent from the aziza. We must get you stinky socks. So they do not eat you.___hat__ not much of a bedtime story! You really haven__ done this before!

Kimaria smirked and placed her hands behind her back. __ome now. It doesn__ have to come to that. Violence is so beneath us._ __o, it isn__,_ said Helianthus at once.__ell . . . it is beneath me,_ the high queen said and touched a hand to her chest. __nlike you, I am civilized. I wear shoes and I have a last name._ They watched as she eased into a chair. She crossed one leg over the other, folded her arms, and regarded them calmly. __ren__ you the least bit curious as to how I snatched the famed Nineveh Atvaris from our dark past? You can__ be that boring.

:The way to the Seaglass Stair will be long and arduous. There will be those who wish to stop you. They will kill you to keep you from succeeding.: :Why? That__ insane.: :As if insanity were some fabrication, some dark tale Hemfra told you one night when you were a child and refused to sleep. There will always be resistance to anything and everything, defying all logic, all natural sense of self-preservation. There will be those who wish for you to simply let the world fade away. It is the way of humans to be illogical for the sake of personal conviction and made up nonsense.:

Verne frowned. __alm down. Don__ exert yourself in your condition._ Salen looked at Verne in amazement. __on__ exert --! My dear woman, we are all about to die! I don__ think it damn well matters if I shit my pants at this point --