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[Author's note: This month's prompt was "Blooming". The muse refused to deliver a cohesive story for this and left me to play with the letters of the prompt.] Billy listened. Overhead, one missile. Incoming. Nearing ground. Blinding light, opalescent. Omniscient minds invented nefarious, grievous ballistics, launched on our modest inferior natural globe. Before long, other ordinance makers invaded. Never gaining balance, lands of opulent majesty invited neutral guardians, b

The witch was dying. The rumour buzzed through the forest like wildfire, sparking hope in the hearts of those who heard. For decades, the evil crone had cast her dark and cruel shadow over the land and the denizens had lived in fear of her hateful magics. Now the young ones whispered of a light that would follow her passing, of the promise of a brighter future. For the elders, this hope was held in check. There was a time before, a distant memory it seemed, that the woman’s

The hubbub in the boardroom hushed when the manifestation started. Above the long table, tendrils of smoke appeared from nowhere. Disregarding the law of gravity, the limbs stretched in all directions before curling around their centre to form a dozen dark spirals. They flicked, resembling the swish of a fish’s tail, and the central mass began to spin. The speed increased until there was nothing but a rotating blur. From the midst of the maelstrom, a green-irised eye glared.

With the cashier still howling in agony, Ben Hudson grabbed the cash from the counter and stuffed it into his pocket. He figured he’d scored less than two hundred pounds. Not enough to warrant having put a bullet in the young woman’s leg, but plenty for his current goal. Glancing around, he spotted the CCTV camera and froze. It was aimed directly at his face; there was no way he could not be recognised. Unable to suppress a grin, he counted to five then turned, left the prem

[Content warning: suicidal ideology.] Kavin smiled at Trish as she crumbled. His brown eyes reflected joy but her own leaked sorrow. He was silent and still while raucous sobs shook her whole body. Her shaking arms reached out for him, missed. She tried again, swinging wildly. Her success was granted more by luck than coordination. The framed picture was flung from the bedside table, striking the wardrobe with a thump and the sharp crack of breaking glass. The destruction o

It was Al’s idea, all of it. Let’s go away for Christmas , she said, just the two of us . Of course I was going to jump at that. Apart from time away from the bickering family, there was the added bonus of getting some tropical sunshine in the middle of winter. I didn’t know she’d meant a week spent in rural England. I tried to hide my disappointment when she showed me online pictures of the cottage she’d booked. Yes, it looked quaint and cosy, but isn’t that just real est

Booker opened his front door to see a gaggle of monsters without. Five or six small creatures stared up at him, devils and vampires, ghosts and witches. Before he could utter a groan, they released their high-pitched chorus upon him: ‘Trick or treat!’ Without hiding his scowl, Booker stepped forward and reached for the plastic pumpkin one of the children held up. He snatched it from plump little fingers, drew his arm behind him and hurled the container down his driveway, sw

The swirling smoke coalesced and compacted into the form of a grotesque creature. Red skin, multiple horns erupting from its head, eyes blazing with malevolence; the monster loomed over the front of the car. Ewan stared in horror. It was one thing to have witnessed an attack from featureless black figures, but the thing before him looked as though it had stepped right out of a nightmare. He briefly wondered if he had been knocked unconscious when the car had jolted to a stop

When Ewan and his mother, Beverly, entered the house, Ewan’s father was cradling Sandra in his arms. Both were pale and looked years older than when he had last seen them less than an hour ago. Behind them, the ghost of Lita Balodis looked on in concern. ‘It was a Vadātājs,’ Lita said to Ewan. ‘I managed to subdue it.’ ‘Does that mean it’s over?’ Ewan asked her. ‘Are you free from the curse?’ Her tone told him all he needed to know. ‘I had to go to their world to fight it.

‘Seeing an enemy soldier get possessed by a Vadātājs must be dreadful enough,’ Ewan said, ‘I can’t imagine how bad it was to then watch him kill your mother.’ Lita’s face was emotionless when she answered. ‘I think the horror of it shocked my soul.’ ‘I can believe that,’ Ewan said quietly. ‘No, I mean really. Physically.’ Ewan’s brow creased in confusion. ‘Witnessing my mother’s body collapse,’ Lita explained, ‘I felt such a shift in everything . The world tilted, sounds

As time passed and alcohol flowed, the mumbled consolations of the mourners grew steadily louder. Anecdotes involving the late Billie were shared, conversations grew lighter and laughter became easier to release. The mood of the wake gradually transformed from the bleak sorrow which had permeated the crematorium to a spirited celebration of the life of the young woman. The noise of the revelry drifted out to the beer garden but left Ewan Holmwood unaffected. His face remaine

The sun was approaching its zenith as the horse, sweat-sheened and with billowing breath, entered the village. The rider pushed his charge harder, squeezing every ounce of energy from the tired steed. Finally reaching his destination, the rider dismounted and threw the reins to a local with a sharp command to stable the horse. Without waiting to see the deferential nod, the man strode to a large hut. The building was set aside from the others in the village and was larger. T

‘You’re telling me you’re a ghost?’ Considering the craziness of the question, Ewan thought his voice was relatively calm. Having seen the pitying looks in the eyes of his fellow mourners, he had left the pub shortly after his outburst. He was now sitting in the outside dining area, his only companion the odd woman who – apparently – nobody else could see. The woman spoke again, the familiar chill coming with her words. ‘My name is Lita Balodis,’ she said. ‘I died on Earth

Ewan blinked and wiped the tears from his eyes. By the time his vision had cleared, the mysterious woman had gone leaving him as mystified by her disappearance as by her words. I must have misheard her, he thought as he followed his dad and sister into the pub. Inside, the tap room was decorated with hastily printed images of Billie. A dozen pictures were hanging on walls, placed on the tables and the bar, all charting the girl’s life from toddler to young woman. Julia sto

From the moment she saw Ewan, Lita knew that he was special. The problem was that he didn’t even know she existed. Ewan was Billie’s cousin, two years her senior. Lita met Billie when she was sixteen and for ten years they were inseparable. Wherever Billie went, Lita would follow. Billie trusted Lita’s counsel more than anybody else’s and it was Lita who had convinced Billie to dye her hair vivid red. Ewan had entered Lita’s world at a family gathering. An aunt or great aun

A good foundation was the key to success. Cathy-Ann knew this to be as true as the inevitability of death. But sometimes she had to treat the skin before applying makeup. A bruise stretched from behind the left ear, under the eye and marred the whole nose. The deep purple contrasted sharply with the rest of the face, making the pallor seem almost jaundiced. Such was the size of the discolouring, Cathy-Ann was amazed the nose had not been broken. After some consideration, she

[Author's note: This is first of two winning entries to Spinetingle.com .] The night her husband was shot dead, Amanda Preston was with friends. She had arranged the evening to celebrate Charlotte’s 30th but in truth Amanda had just needed a solid alibi. She had known that Ben had been cheating for some time now. He wasn’t the greatest liar on God’s earth and some of his excuses were paper-thin. Late evenings at work to meet tight deadlines. Weekend team building courses. A

[Author's note: This is second of two winning entries to Spinetingle.com .] The creature had been taunting him for days. Malcolm had decided that enough was enough and determined to finally find and kill the beast. Malcolm’s first indication that the house had gained an uninvited guest had been the smell. Though the two others in the house did not seem to notice, Malcolm’s keen nose caught the scent as soon as he had sauntered upstairs. On the top step he paused, scouring th