Five Stars: Five Outstanding Tales from the early days of Stupefying Stories by Starr Aaron & Stewart Guy & Roland Rebecca & Landrum David & Jones Ryan

Author:Starr, Aaron & Stewart, Guy & Roland, Rebecca & Landrum, David & Jones, Ryan [Starr, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Rampant Loon Press
Published: 2014-08-19T16:00:00+00:00

Guy Stewart is a husband, father (biological, in-law, grand, and foster), teacher and school counselor as well as a writer (not necessarily in that order). He’s also a member of SFFWA and has had short stories published in ANALOG, AOIFE'S KISS, STUPEFYING STORIES, AETHER AGE, AURORA WOLF, and PERIHELION, as well as having science fiction stories for young adults in CRICKET MAGAZINE and podcast on CAST OF WONDER.

The King of Ash and Bones

by Rebecca Roland

A man is no longer a king without a kingdom to rule over. What did that now make me? I sought the answer as I spurred the gray gelding through the cobblestone streets, setting thatched roofs on fire.

We weaved our way among the dead. They walked slowly, their hands out to feel where they were going, as they were headless. Dried blood stained fine robes and drab wool garments alike. They were equals now, joined by the plague that had driven them all to sever their own heads. Once I saw to them, I would seek out the witch who had cursed them and ensure that she could never do this again.

The gelding snorted and sidestepped as we rounded a corner, to find a mob of headless people blocking our way. The stench of rotting flesh and loosed bowels was strong here. I turned the gelding and we sought a different path, all the while my torch setting fires behind me.

Flames arose from the city center as the stables and outbuildings burned, surrounding the dark gray stone of the castle I had called home. Somewhere inside those buildings, my son and his family had already burned. An image of my granddaughters taking kitchen knives to their own necks came unbidden to me. Their blood stained my cream-colored linen shirt. I had tried to stop them, but the plague had imbued them with unnatural strength. I’d tried to pray for their souls, but the words choked me far more than the smoke.

Having done all I could, I led the gelding on a gallop towards the nearest gate, his hooves clattering against stone. Once through, I reined him in and dropped to the ground, nearly falling when my quivering legs failed me. Digging my feet into the ground, I heaved the wooden gate along its ruts until it slammed shut. Then I mounted the gelding again, and we surged up a grassy hill dotted with wildflowers in pink and yellow and violet. At the top, I turned him, and watched as the town and my home became a giant funeral pyre.

I should have cried at the sight of my city-kingdom going up in flames, all its people dead, but those tears had been spent a long time ago, leaving me hollow.

The fire sent billows of smoke into the air, turning the afternoon hazy. Ash began to rain down around me like sooty snowflakes, and still I remained, to make sure every corpse burned and none escaped.

Within the leather bag tied to the saddle, the worm writhed. It had

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