The Gates of Free Fiction - Spend a Vision with Me, A chase with the Wind

A few goodies for your morning reading or listening pleasure. [Art from "The Grab" in audio fiction below]





Fiction
• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Black Veil" by M. Bennardo. Fantasy.
     "As Constant Sterry slipped exhausted from his saddle, the last he saw was that same figure approaching, outstretched hands sheathed in thin black gloves with lacework as fine as any to be found."

• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "Now Ix, He Was a Lover" by Hannah Strom-Martin. Fantasy.
     "Ela nodded mechanically. The loom clicked: a new blanket for her bed. Feride had got the wool from Kismé and it was pink: the color of a swollen lip."

• At Weird Fiction Review: "The Divinity Student: Part Four" by Michael Cisco.
     "No good trying to concentrate, his mind chasing after a dozen different things, just killing time. Is Ollimer actually his contact — why wait around? The Clown was sent to teach him how to use the box, make him ready to play it for Magellan."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Finally Free" by Frances Silversmith. Fantasy.
• At Every Day Fiction: "Robot for Sale" by Scott Shipp. Science Fiction.
• At Flashes in the Dark: "The Tomb of Nagaresh" by David Nordahl. Horror.
• At Nature: "Reach for the Stars" by Priya Chand. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Goblin King’s Concubine" by Raphael Ordoñez, read by Dan Rabarts. Fantasy.
     "Maugreth was roused by the concubine in the darkness before dawn. He threw off the chitinous coverlet of mushroom velvet and sat up. He was still half-asleep. The sound of a distant horn rolled through the forest, echoed by another note from nearer at hand. "Eh? What is it? What?" he grunted, groping for his sword."

• At Chilling Tales for Dark Nights: "The Grab" by Richard Laymon, read by Matt Grant. Horror.
      "In this twisted tale, a man and his good friend Clark visit a country bar in a small town, which boasts of an attraction called “The Grab.”   The attraction is concealed inside a padlocked box at the end of the bar, and it only costs $10 to play.  When Clark opts to display his alpha-male attitude by committing to give it a try without knowing what’s inside the box, he bites off more than he can chew."