Black Gate

To men of greed go the riches. And the seasons.

“Seasons are all amuck,” Uncle Hobnor said. He turned, shielding his eyes as he looked down toward the inner city, its towers standing tall, reddish flags billowing about stone ledges. “Blasted season wrecker.”

“Why does he always keep it Dryburn, Uncle Hob-hob?”

“Why?” He snorted. “I’ll tell you, boy, it’s because of that damned sovereign’s heart.” In the distance, towering high above chipped marble houses, was Lord Banamp’s impervious demesne. “He cares only for this warm weather so his flowers can live forever.”

“I think I’m beginning to forget what snow’s actually like,” Perry said.

“Me too, boy,” his uncle said. “Which is why we’re going to get it back.”

Paul Abbamondi lives in the middle of the Pennsylvanian woods with his wife and two cats, reading, writing, and drawing. His short stories have appeared in Shimmer, Farrago’s Wainscot, Warrior Wisewoman 3, and Kaleidotrope, among other publications, and he enjoys all things weird.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Vaughn Heppner, Mark Rigney, Aaron Bradford Starr, Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“So Go the Seasons” is a complete 1,300-word short story of adventure fantasy offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

The young warrior Lod, last seen here in “The Oracle of Gog” (Black Gate 15) and “The Pit Slave,” returns in a fast paced tale of sword & sorcery on the high seas.

Eglon paced the stern deck. Subdued archers and soldiers sat in clumps about the galley, whispering and casting fearful glances at the captain’s cabin. They were alone in the vast sea, a small island of rotten, creaking wood.

Then an eerie moan emanated from the captain’s cabin. Wood rattled and a harsh red light poured through the chinks between the boards. The hellish glare startled the soldiery, many crying out and pointing. The moan became a high-pitched scream. The shadows nearest the cabin flickered as if with infernal life. The scream lasted too long. It stretched impossibly, and then the wicked light snapped off and the scream died.

“Necromancy,” whispered Eglon.

SF Site called Lod “a cross between Conan and Elric of Melniboné,” and Louis West at Tangent Online called “The Pit Slave” “classic sword & fantasy.”

Vaughn Heppner has written Amazon best sellers such as Star Soldier, Invasion: Alaska and People of the Ark. His new SF novel, Assault Troopers, is hitting the top of some Amazon SF categories and Alien Honor, the latest in his Doom Star universe, will be released on November 26.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Mark Rigney, Aaron Bradford Starr, Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Michael Penkas, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“The Serpent of Thep” is a complete 11,000-word novelette of sword & sorcery offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

Gemen the Antiques Dealer puts the plan he’s been preparing for decades in motion, in the conclusion to the epic fantasy series that began with “The Trade” and “The Find.”

Five more times did Gemen, Tetch, and Velori delay or misdirect their pursuers. They destroyed a bridge over a high gorge, they broke open an upstream beaver dam and flooded the road, they laid caltrops and netting, they set tripwires and, once, right in the heart of the vast Samandwan forests, in a natural amphitheatre of towering duskwood trees, Tetch spent the best part of a day laying an enchantment on the roadway that would, or so he assured Gemen, cause the Corvaenish riders to ride in a tight circle and return by the way they’d come, none the wiser for hours.

“It’s a guarantee!” said Tetch, more than a little defensively.

“When I do a thing,” said Velori, “I simply do it, and leave off the guarantees.”

“Come now, girl!” said Tetch. “All this time spent with Gemen, and you’ve yet to develop a belief in magicks?”

“What I believe,” said Velori, “is that we’ve set obstacles aplenty, and we’re still being followed.”

Mark Rigney is the author of the plays Acts of God (Playscripts, Inc.) and Bears, winner of the 2012 Panowski Playwriting Competition. His short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appears in Black Static, The Best of the Bellevue Literary Review, Realms of Fantasy, Talebones, Not One Of Us, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet and many more. A haunted novella, “The Skates,” is now available from Samhain Publishing, with a follow-up due in early 2014, and his contemporary fantasy novel, A Most Unruly Gnome, won the 2009 First Coast Novel Contest.

Mark’s previous stories in The Tales of Gemen the Antiques Dealer were “The Trade,” which Tangent Online called a “Marvelous tale. Can’t wait for the next part.” — and “The Find,” which Tangent called “Reminiscent of the old sword & sorcery classics. I can’t wait to see what fate awaits Gemen. A must read.”

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Aaron Bradford Starr, Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Michael Penkas, Ryan Harvey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“The Keystone” is a complete 15,000-word novelette of weird fantasy offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh discover that there is more than one plot afoot in their search for the enigmatic Highwater Harbor — and that danger comes in many forms.

False panels fell away on every side, revealing the entire hold to be lined floor to ceiling with tiny, latched compartments. Before Yr Neh or I could properly react, each of the hundreds of brass latches clicked from their secure position, freeing the doors to swing open.

From each, the tiny dark forms of rats tumbled, gathering into a squeaking carpet.

Yr Neh, staring with horrible fascination, let out a deep growl. As one, the living mass faced us. With high barks and squeaks of rodent rage, the rats charged forward toward this living symbol of feline oppression, and, by extension, toward me.

I retreated atop the nearest crate, while Yr Neh climbed up my exterior, to stand, defiant, upon my shoulders, teeth bared, claws flexing for purchase, which he found at the level of unyielding bone. The wave of rats washed forward, up the sides of the boxes, relentlessly advancing.

“Kill him!” Pamani screeched from below.

Louis West at Tangent Online called “The Sealord’s Successor” a “gripping tale of fantasy, mystery, murder and intrigue. A must read” and “The Tea-Maker’s Task” “an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… I wanted more.” We’re more than happy to oblige with this fourth exciting installment of the adventures of Gallery Hunter Gloren and his cat companion, Yr Neh.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Michael Penkas, Vera Nazarian, Ryan Harvey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“The Highwater Harbor”  is a 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery presented in three parts, with original art by Aaron Bradford Starr. Part I is here; all three parts are offered at no cost.

Read Part III here.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh find more than they bargained for as their sea voyage in search of the enigmatic Highwater Harbor becomes embroiled in strange intrigues.

“Your ship is in danger,” Gloren said without preamble. “Someone has been tampering with the sigils, altering them subtly so that they may very well not work at all.”

Pelico’s face darkened at this news. “Are you sure?”

Yr Neh told the Captain the general consensus we’d reached, that Fallon and his secondary crew were a growing danger.

To our surprise, Pelico burst out laughing at this revelation. “I can vouch for Fallon,” he said. “I’d bet the life of every man on board of his reliability. In fact, given his crew has taken one out of four shifts, I already made that bet, and have won every time.”

“Something’s going on, Pelico,” Gloren said. The Captain stood, laughing, clapping a mighty hand on Gloren’s shoulder.

“Something’s always going on when you gather scholars together,” the man said.

Louis West at Tangent Online called “The Sealord’s Successor” a “gripping tale of fantasy, mystery, murder and intrigue. A must read” and “The Tea-Maker’s Task” “an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… I wanted more.” We’re more than happy to oblige with this fourth exciting installment of the adventures of Gallery Hunter Gloren and his cat companion, Yr Neh.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Michael Penkas, Vera Nazarian, Ryan Harvey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“The Highwater Harbor”  is a 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery presented in three parts, with original art by Aaron Bradford Starr. Part I appeared last week; the final installment will appear next week; all three parts are offered at no cost.

Read Part II here.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh, last seen in “The Sealord’s Successor” (published here on March 3rd), “The Tea-Maker’s Task” (December 30th),  and “The Daughter’s Dowry” (October 14), find themselves tasked with unraveling the secrets of a mysterious artifact… as the death toll mounts around them.

“The Cipher Key,” he said. “Is it a code? A secret writing system?”

“A means to unlock the ships themselves?” the large man asked. His words revealed his interests, and I knew him then to be a martial man of the sea, perhaps a freebooter captain.

“A mapping coordinate system,” offered Lady Armeline at the same time. “A secret route to one of the most powerful southern fortresses of the Old Kingdom.”

Gloren chuckled, sitting back and looking at the eager trio. He glanced at Yr Neh, and then at me. “It is a puzzle,” he offered. “We’ll need a second crew, if you’re thinking of recovering a ship from the Harbor. And someone you can trust to lead them.”

“I’ve got just the man,” said the Captain.

Louis West at Tangent Online called “The Sealord’s Successor” a “gripping tale of fantasy, mystery, murder and intrigue. A must read,” and “The Tea-Maker’s Task” “an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… I wanted more.” We’re more than happy to oblige with this fourth exciting installment of the adventures of Gallery Hunter Gloren and his cat companion, Yr Neh.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Jamie McEwan, Martha Wells, Mary Catelli, Michael Penkas, Vera Nazarian, Ryan Harvey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here.

“The Highwater Harbor”  is a 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery presented in three parts, with original art by Aaron Bradford Starr. Part II will be presented next week; all three parts are offered at no cost.

Read Part I here.