The Word Worker

Category: Fiction

  • The Bridge

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It only appeared in the fog, the old bridge. Not the morning fog when the rising sun burned off the surface of the river. The rare sunset mist defying the golden glow spilling over the horizon. The mist that was both there and not there, with impossible shapes darkening it. With the bridge that couldn’t…

  • Purgatory

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The harsh brightness of the midday square angered him. Even the fountain stood dead before the theater, colorful banners hanging breezeless above it, hallmarks of the latest empty dance of gauze and orchestral cacophony. Sweat beaded in the furrow above his eyebrows, daring him to mop it away with the napkin crushed in his grip.…

  • Portal

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Hugh carefully backed around the corner he had just rounded and leaned against the cool stone, sucking a deep breath into his startled lungs. Eyes wide, he took another peek. The hole in the wall was still there. It definitely wasn’t there before. He trembled; his old nurse maid would have mumbled about witchcraft and…

  • Old Friends

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The spring gurgled cheekily, making Hob smile as he dried his supper dishes. The warm glow from his kitchen window touched the thick green undergrowth, a contrast to the misty dusk filtering through the trees behind. He knew the chapel would be sharing its own glow across the pond, with Father Ziz at his prayers…

  • The Phantom’s Mask

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The flashlight beam reflected from the dark water, and she stirred the water with her toe just to break the unnatural stillness. Even her footsteps barely whispered in the cavern. Quite a contrast from the busy, vibrant stage far overhead. She continued skirting the lake, passing her light over damp columns. The years had left…

  • Conscious

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The wreckage from the treetops littered the moss, cracking under Pim’s feet. He placed his palm against the bark of the nearest trunk, feeling the thrum of distress from its heartwood. The storm had happened too early, whipping into the new growth forest before the development of deadwood. Pim didn’t understand the complex algorithms that…

  • The Stokers

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Suli adjusted her breather, coughing at the acrid scent of smoke. “Drake’s breath, if the Princes are gonna make us take shifts in the Nursery, they could at least make sure our equipment works.” Derk grunted, heaving a load of coal into the nearest furnace. He wiped his face on a grimy sleeve, accomplishing little…

  • The Folly

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “Come on, Sal, what kind of place is this for a picnic? It’s creepy!” “Donny, you’re the scariest guy I’ve ever met. It’s just an old building and some dead trees. Can’t you imagine what this place looked like in its heyday?” “Heyday? Sometimes I think you’re an old ruin, Sal. Who talks like that?…

  • New

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    I could almost imagine I was back home in Spruce Falls. The gravel crunching beneath my feet. The whisper of foliage in the silent wind. Fluttering wings, scritching and rustling of undergrowth dwellers, twittering and chattering far overhead. Then I open my eyes to… pink. The Overseers insist I’ll get used to it. I’m not…

  • Mirror, Mirror

    —

    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Good morning, my queen. Your wish is my command. You wish to know the fairest in the land? Of course you! Who else possess this marble perfection? (The aroma of your conceit sends delicious shivers through my bones. I drink it like wine, intoxicating ether.) What thwarts your smile of ice, Majesty? Does trust in…