He’s a rapist and murderer, but the thing that can stop him is far worse. — What would give light must endure the burning. — Viktor Frankl Cassie was still awake when Watts returned. She wished she had put on a robe as she stepped away from the door. Watts walked into the apartment, hands thrust deep into his jacket pockets. …

There’s only one law, and it doesn’t belong to nature. — Are you listening, Father? William had nodded off after sitting idle in the confessional for most of an hour. He jolted awake and asked, “Where were we?” As if lips pressed against his ear, the coarse voice spoke with chilling intimacy. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I begin…

The hardest step is to pass from the dreamy midnight of what one wants to be to the cold morning of what one is. — The Last Time Alex had lost weight. Her black-and-navy fatigues belonged to someone much larger. Along with the oversized clothing and wild brunette curls, her wide green eyes deceived if they suggested childlike innocence. “You’ve looked better, Alex,” said Virtue. “She’s not going back,” said a dark-skinned woman standing with Alex.

Darklaw Saga #12: Gods can’t hide. — Avestine stood looking out across the bay from the castle’s highest floor. King Jarreden had been deposed the day before and retreated to The Breakland. She leaned forward, her hands supporting her weight on the marble windowsill. She found a lot to like in Fivefold Woke. The city had been…

Darklaw Saga #11: The Darklord emerges. — The air remained saturated after the brief rain. It was the first mating flight of the year, and flying ants from every nest swarmed together to follow the new queens that emerged. Kami watched the swarm, the males so numerous she couldn’t find a queen. She inserted herself into the…