A Martyr’s Art

I wiped red blood from a white arm. Scars knotted its lines. Some pink, some white. Here and there the skin was near to bone, where flesh had long ago been torn away. The legacy of a dozen clients, a limb turned halfway skeletal. “I don’t fight any more.”

Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Issue 267, December 2018

“Lush in every detail…it kept me enthralled from start to finish.” — Barnes & Noble

“A great adventure story!” –Locus Magazine

 

The Resurrectionist

“Yes, I can bring your wife back from the dead,” I told the farmer, who had reasonable doubts about my abilities. “Just realize that it might not be what she wants.”

Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show
Issue 58, August 2017

We Have Discerned a Potential Deal

On his way back from Aldebaran, a particular salesman stopped by the Vatican. “I’d like to buy it,” he said.

Mysterion
Issue 1, April 2018

The Blue Widow

It was good tea, all things considered, and I really did admire his efforts at being a good host—but the fact was, I was there to kill him. This was, unfortunately, something of a trend in the profession.

2017 Baen Fantasy Adventure Contest Grand Prize Winner

Also Appearing in Podcastle

Issue 551, December 2018

The God Down the River

We all saw him, certainly, as much as the grown-ups tried to pretend he wasn’t there.

Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show
Issue 64, August 2018

You Would Make an Excellent Dictator

“Unfortunately,” said the career counselor, “you’ve tested completely unfit for participation in civil society. Which is, of course, why we’ve decided to make you a fleet captain.” He clasped my hand. “Congratulations.”

Galaxy’s Edge
Issue 37, March 2019

Tenure Track

“We’re concerned that you’re not human enough,” I was told, which was something of a surprise, considering that I was the only human in the room.

Galaxy’s Edge
Issue 27, July 2017