Far Fetched Fables

Flash Fiction: “Junk Silver” by Michael Canfield

(Originally published at Daily Science Fiction.com.)

Albe ignored Tic, who exclaimed “huh!” after stabbing another Wikipedia article in his usual overly-enthusiastic way. Albe then watched Tic push the article off the sharp end of his poker into the bag. Tic wiped his hand on his leg, as he did every time he cleared his poker of trash.

Albe had gotten himself knee-deep in Myspace pages, which had started to seep through his garments and cling to his skin, so he didn’t care what Tic chose to vociferate about.

“Junk silver,” said Tic, unswayed by Albe’s lack of response. “That one was about junk silver. Know what that is?”

Albe didn’t, and he didn’t care.

He knew Tic would tell him anyway.

Michael Canfield writes about monsters, superheroes, couples, bank robbers, babies, astronauts, paranoids, background artists, obsessives, and other people. He has published mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror and just-plain-odd stories in the magazines Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, Realms of Fantasy, Black Gate, Flytrap, and others.

You can find him on Twitter as @michaelcanfield and at MichaelCanfield.net.

Main Story: “The Wind-Catching Wizard” by Danny Adams

(Originally published in Mythic 2.)

Ogrin nearly turned himself to stone to keep from recoiling in horror when the old wizard offered him a pouch of gold.

The wizard chuckled at his bodyguard’s reluctance. “What’s the matter, Sergeant Venn? You’ve earned it. Your men have earned it. This is your reward for good service.”

The warrior shifted as if straightening a sword stance. “Ogrin, sire,” he corrected, though he had been in Gettir’s service for four years. Venn was Gettir’s bodyguard generations before Ogrin was born.

“Yes, so I said. My apologies if I was mumbling again.”

“And sire,” the warrior said even more quietly than usual, “you have already paid us for this month.”

Gettir’s sag-­wrinkled eyes blinked under his single white brow. He straightened the simple violet sleeping robe that he had taken to wearing throughout the course of every day.

“Don’t be foolish, Ogrin. I’m not losing my mind. I… I’m…” He stared at the bag in his hand as if it were about to come alive and bite him. “You misunderstand me. This is a — bonus.”

Danny Adams is the co-author, with the late Philip Jose Farmer, of the short science fiction novel The City Beyond Play (PS Publishing). His shorter work has appeared in Abyss & Apex, Asimov’s, Ideomancer, Mythic Delirium, Not One of Us, Paradox, Space & Time, Star*Line, and Strange Horizons. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where he is a librarian at Ferrum College and a reviewer of science fiction and fantasy books for Publishers Weekly.

You can find him on Goodreads.

About the Narrators:

Kenny Park is a video editor by trade, but having trained and worked as an actor, director and writer, he maintains it’s all just storytelling. He’s been involved with Starship Sofa since the early days of Tony and Ciaron, filming their interview with the legendary Michael Moorcock in Paris, and he still does narrations and wee video intros when Tony can pin him down. He can be found online at KennyPark.com.

Graeme Dunlop is a software solution architect and voice actor living in Melbourne, Australia. He is the co-editor of the fantasy podcast Podcastle, and used to host the YA podcast Cast of Wonders. You can find him on Google+ and he occasionally tweets as @kibitzer on Twitter.