Arc 8.1: Bloodmaiden

Bloodmaiden: Part 4

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Flame burst from the twin rockets on the boy’s backpack, and the boy flew upward toward the mooring mast. Then, lowering himself to the building and landing next to the mast,  he stepped behind a metal cabinet.

The airship moved closer to the mast, and when it was close enough that Amy wondered if the nose would hit, the mooring mast bent and extended toward the nose of the airship.

Amy didn’t see it, but she heard a metallic clank, and felt the airship stop moving forward. It hadn’t been moving much. She barely felt it, but she felt something. Continue reading Bloodmaiden: Part 4 →

Arc 8.1: Bloodmaiden

Bloodmaiden: Part 3

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Amy smiled as her father laughed at the man’s joke, and hoped he meant what he’d implied–that this was as much for them as for her, and that it was a stroke of luck that left her with protection, and them with a good hiding place.

Except her father ran the empire’s intelligence as well as the military, and he’d taught her and all of her siblings about politics. If she’d retained anything from that, she’d learned not to let the details distract her from the big picture. As much as the Harcourts might say that they were her bodyguards, the possibility that they were her assassins fit just as well.

“Well,” Mr. Harcourt said, “I’m sure you’ll want to say your goodbyes privately. We’ll see you inside.” Continue reading Bloodmaiden: Part 3 →

Arc 8.1: Bloodmaiden

Bloodmaiden: Part 2

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They knew. They’d been told during their first magic lesson. Amy remembered their tutor’s scowl as he caught her looking away toward the stables. “Now Amelia, you may not think this applies to you, but it applies to even the most modest practitioner, and not just to the Bloodmaiden. When we work with blood, we work with a being’s essence. The challenge is to separate out that portion of the essence we need. The last Bloodmaiden of the original lineage failed to do so, forever mingling her essence with that of her subject’s–thus your line’s ascension to power.”

Amy banished the memory. Their father looked from one to the other of them before meeting Amy’s eyes. “Amy, understand that we will bring you back as soon as it’s politically possible. That may be years. Some of the lords remember the Bloodmaiden Hildagar all too well, and especially how she hunted down the royal family.” Continue reading Bloodmaiden: Part 2 →

Arc 8.1: Bloodmaiden

Bloodmaiden: Part 1

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Princess Amelia of the House of Sacrifice watched as the dirigible was secured on the lawn in front of the palace. Men swarmed in from the sides, grabbing the ropes that were thrown down and running them toward the short posts that surrounded the airship on all sides.

Soon they’d tied the ropes to the posts. Then they carried out the stairway platforms, assembling them and placing them next to the gondola’s doors–including the cargo hatch.

They’d need the cargo hatch. She’d be bringing a lot of baggage with her. Continue reading Bloodmaiden: Part 1 →

Arc 8: Faerieland

Faerieland: Part 48

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I  clicked on the email.

All it said was “You know what to do,” and underneath that sentence there was a link to a Dropbox folder. I hesitated for a moment and then clicked on it. It opened to a web page that listed only one file in folder. It was called “Exposure.mpv.”

I’d heard of the video format. It only ran on the associated player and only worked once. No one knew who had designed it. The Double V forums were certain it was a known tech genius, but couldn’t agree on who.

Daniel’s bed creaked, and I heard him walk up behind me as I sat at the desk. “Maybe we should get Izzy. It’s only going to play once, and she’s got a great memory for sounds.” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 48 →

Arc 8: Faerieland

Faerieland: Part 47

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A second look gave me a few clues I’d missed when I’d first seen what I’d thought was Adam. “Adam” had the same thin build and overall look, but he seemed taller than normal. It wasn’t by much.

Haley bent down, obviously getting a closer look. “Is she okay?”

Daniel stared at “Adam’s” face briefly. “I think so. There’s no way of knowing how she’ll take this later, but she didn’t kill anybody, or even hurt anyone. She relayed Artaxus’ orders to Hunter and the fae. That’s all. It’s not out of the question that being mind controlled might still traumatize her, but she didn’t do anything particularly terrible under his influence. She was more of a glorified gofer.” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 47 →

Meta

Vote Legion, See New Cover

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Hey folks, as mentioned earlier, I’d like to use seeing the second Legion of Nothing novel’s cover as a vote incentive.

Please vote for Legion of Nothing on Top Web Fiction, and see the new cover.

EDIT: When I did this for the last cover, we actually got Legion up to the number one spot on TWF. TWF’s top spot is higher now than it was then, but Legion also has enough readers to reach it (temporarily, at least).

EDIT: I think this is the most votes LoN has ever gotten at once–169.

EDIT: Wow. 200.

EDIT: 255 and up to third place at one point which was cool as LoN is generally at 8th.

EDIT: Highest rank LoN got was 3rd with a 273 vote total–which is great.

Arc 8: Faerieland

Faerieland: Part 46

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“If you think you can do it, I’m all for it,” I said.

Alex grinned. “Trust me. I’ve seen worse, and it worked out. Now, can you take off your glove?”

I thought about it, checking my HUD for alerts. There weren’t any left. “Assuming the repair systems worked, yes.”

I used my right glove to set the left gauntlet to split and be absorbed into the left forearm. It worked. That didn’t surprise me and it shouldn’t have. It wasn’t the first time I’d tried it after all, but it was the first time I’d tried it after the suit took massive damage.

“Oh,” Haley said, staring at my hand. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 46 →

Arc 8: Faerieland

Faerieland: Part 45

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Taking a risk, but not much of one, I switched the view from sonar to computer enhanced night vision. That gave Haley and me an excellent view of the dragon running down a street in between big suburban houses, unknowingly tearing up flowerbeds, and smashing a Volkswagen Beetle.

As Artaxus smashed a silvery, reflecting ball on a pillar, the air in front of him began to shimmer.

In the next moment, the shimmering had spread across the road, and solidified into a half circle. The dragon blocked much of the view, but I could see a grassy field and a castle wall towering over it. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 45 →

The Legion of Nothing: A Series of Online Superhero Novels (Updates Monday and Thursday)