Black Gate

Dyzan Ludd was the Sorrowless Thief, and the prize he had in mind proved he was insane — or a thief like none other in Ahn-Tarqa.

At the time I had lost interest even in the meager profession of begging. I gave up my alms bowl and crawled into a smoke pit in the most dismal part of Ahn-Tarqa’s most dismal city.

I do not know how many days I droned away on a cot in a sweltering common room filled with narcotic smoke before I heard that voice. Its tone spoke sharp and clear from a place outside drugged dreams. I propped myself onto an elbow so I could listen to it.

The voice belonged to a tall man perched over the dreamer in the cot behind mine. The speaker was pestering the dreamer with questions. “You’re a fool to bother,” I muttered.

My head swam from the smoke, but I could see the man turn to look at me. “I’ve heard that sometimes the best knowledge in the city comes from men in smoke pits.”

“Sometimes. But this near to the Month of the Moon we’re all close to dead. You’re better off pestering the sots drowning themselves in a tavern.”

“Taverns are filled with other thieves,” he answered. “I don’t want to make competition. Not with the haul I plan to make.”

Ryan Harvey won the Writers of the Future Contest in 2011 for his story “An Acolyte of Black Spires,” part of the science-fantasy series on the continent of Ahn-Tarqa, which is also the setting for “The Sorrowless Thief,” his ebook novelette “Farewell to Tyrn,” and upcoming novel Turn over the Moon. His work has appeared in Every Day Fiction, Beyond Centauri, Aoife’s Kiss (upcoming), and the anthology Candle in the Attic Window. He writes science fiction, fantasy, and the shadowy realm between both, as well as a long stint writing a weekly column at Black Gate.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Emily Mah, David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna, Aaron Bradford Starr, Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“The Sorrowless Thief” is a complete 7,000-word short story of sword & sorcery. It is offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

It’s tough to run a tavern — and customers carelessly tempting fate by using magic don’t make it any easier.

The woman was stunning. Long blonde hair that fell in ringlet curls framed a round face with high cheekbones and porcelain skin. The men in the room no doubt also noticed that her dress clung tightly to her generously proportioned curves. Dina, however, set her tray aside and grabbed the broom from the corner.

“Out!” she said, jabbing it at the woman.

The woman jumped sideways with a squeal of rage.

“I mean it,” said Dina. “That’s a glamour you’re wearing, and I don’t allow magic in my tavern.”

The woman pouted, her rosy red lips puckering just so. Behind her, Dina could hear the scrape of chairs against the stone floor as several of her patrons got to their feet.

“I mean it!” Dina shouted. “I run an honest business.”

Emily Mah’s first story for us was “The River People” in Black Gate 15. She tells us she “writes science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah and chick lit and romance as the indie writer, E.M. Tippetts.” She also does audio interviews for Black Gate and designs book tie-in jewelry for her label, Emily Mah Jewelry Designs. She lives in London with her family.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna, Aaron Bradford Starr, Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“Disciple” is a complete 6,000-word short story of adventure fantasy. It is offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

Black Gate is very pleased to offer our readers an exclusive excerpt from Waters of Darkness, the supernatural pirate dark fantasy novel by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna.

The Witch’s shot smashed its prow with a sudden chaos of flame and smoke, blood and cinders. Lengths of oar blew into the air and fell slowly like matchwood to the sea. Sailors and pieces of sailors littered the waves with a red stain. Kate’s ruffians howled, and the crews of the Raven and the Falcon roared with approval.

The Arab ship quickly sank under, the men in her waist and stern jumping overboard. The uglies aboard Kate’s vessel rushed to the gunwales with musket and pistol and fired upon the men in the water.

The Lark then let loose with a thunderous broadside.

The Witch‘s side guns answered, as did the Raven’s. The Falcon’s cannon blasted a second galleass under the waves, her shot striking below the water line and sending the Arabs aboard her to desperate measures, attempting to caulk and repair the wound and return the Falcon’s fire.

Gallant’s crew sent their foes down to a deep grave with a blistering salvo of cannon shot once again aimed at the water line.

Zeus van Rijn’s curses could be heard rising above the din of battle as the Lark swept the waves and bore down upon Buchanan’s ship.

David C. Smith is the author of twenty-two novels, primarily in the sword-and-sorcery, horror, and suspense genres, including The Witch of the Indies (1977), Oron (1978), The Sorcerer’s Shadow (1978), and The West is Dying (1983).

Joe Bonadonna is the author of the sword and sorcery collection Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser, the space opera Three Against The Stars, and several short stories, including “The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” one of the most popular entries in our Black Gate Online Fiction line.

Waters of Darkness was published by Damnation Books on March 1, 2013. It is 182 pages and currently available in trade paperback for $19.25, and Kindle format for $5.95. The cover is by Dawne Dominique; learn more here.

Read a complete sample chapter of Waters of Darkness here.

John Sherman has a gift… a gift that’s brought him to the attention of the wrong people. Getting out will take a lot of luck — and some very quick thinking.

John had never tamped anyone into the black before. He had seen Ronnie do it, twice. The first had been a young guy on a motorcycle, maybe nineteen or twenty. Veronica had tucked her long black hair behind her ears, then focused on the target. The kid had looked right at them, a puzzled look on his face, sweat suddenly pooling on his forehead, and then something had come out of the bed of a pickup heading the other way, something small and sharp that struck the kid squarely in his left eye.

For a second it seemed he would keep the bike from toppling, even as his hand flew to his face. Then he lost it, not even laying the bike down, a skid morphing into a tumble, and John thought or imagined he could hear his neck snap when he hit the pavement. Veronica, utterly calm, had looked at John, who was open mouthed and shaking.

“So now you’ve seen,” she’d said, and they had never spoken of it again.

David Evan Harris’s first fiction sale, “The Mudslinger,” was published in Black Gate 11. It was one of the most acclaimed stories in the issue, and Grasping For the Wind said, “Harris has the makings of an epic fantasy… I look forward to more.” He is a lawyer in California.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Aaron Bradford Starr, Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“Seeker of Fortune”  is a complete 7,300-word short story of contemporary fantasy. It is offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

Today we are proud to present the second and final installment in “The Sealord’s Successor,” a complete 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery, and the third tale of Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh.

Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh find themselves drawn into a deadly conspiracy involving a powerful kingdom, ancient secrets… and a very peculiar painting.

Our perilous, mad descent began in the middle of a raging storm. The runners bore us along a mountain path lit only by flashes of blinding lightning, tromping at speed down water-washed trails alongside deep chasms and sheer drop-offs, bearing us in pursuit of those who had left the citadel.

Dressed as we still were for a coronation feast, neither Gloren nor I were prepared for this sudden chase. But Gloren leaned far out into the night, regarding the winding road below us with visible distress. Crossing close below us was the carriage of Baron Lurec, and ahead of him that of the Countess Therissa and her companion Velice. Further on still, but lost from view in the night’s inclement weather, Garder Jho’s medical team was surely nearing Landing Port, the primary harbor.

I glanced back up toward the citadel, visible only as a dark patch against flickering skies, and noted the beacon. This signal, a red circle encompassed by a green ring, was a sign the harbor should be sealed, forbidding passage into or out of Landing Port.

I had asked Gloren who, exactly, we were chasing after a particularly harrowing turn.

“Everyone,” he replied.

Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh were last seen in “The Tea-Maker’s Task” (published here on December 30th) and “The Daughter’s Dowry” (October 14). Of “The Daughter’s Dowry,” Tangent Online said, “A story such as this deserves a world of its own and more adventures from its hero,” and it called “The Tea-Maker’s Task” “an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… I wanted more.” We’re more than happy to oblige with this third 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 Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“The Sealord’s Successor”  is a complete 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery presented in two parts, with original art by Aaron Bradford Starr. It is offered at no cost. Part I is here.

Read Part II here.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh, last seen in “The Tea-Maker’s Task” (published here on December 30th) and “The Daughter’s Dowry” (October 14), find themselves drawn into a deadly conspiracy involving a powerful kingdom, ancient secrets… and a very peculiar painting.

The group gathered around it. There were few people present. Hallmaster Terring, whom Gloren, Yr Neh and I secretly knew to be an Eidnine Knight and possible successor, was present, as was Garder Jho and his houseboy, Peppin. In addition, there were ten courtiers of various rank.

Terring stood slightly behind the painting. He swept the drape aside.

Masterfully done, the painting showed little but a small patch of sun-washed beach. In the sand lay a cut stone of shocking red. The flat, dark expanse of beach was marred only by rows of runes drawn in the wet sand.

It was instantly mysterious, this image. Who had drawn these symbols? What did they mean? The stark image would have been interesting enough. But as we stared, the painting moved. A sheet of water swept over the sand… When it was done the jewel lay in a new place, and new runes again covered the image, cut into the sand.

Terring spoke from where he stood just beyond the painting. “Is this indeed the Succession Painting of the Etherbis?”

They all nodded, muttering agreement.

Of “The Daughter’s Dowry,” Tangent Online said, “A story such as this deserves a world of its own and more adventures from its hero,” and it called “The Tea-Maker’s Task” “an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… I wanted more.” We’re more than happy to oblige with this third 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 Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“The Sealord’s Successor”  is a complete 35,000-word novella of fantasy mystery presented in two parts, with original art by Aaron Bradford Starr. Part II will be presented next week; both parts are offered at no cost.

Read Part I here.