Peter And The Whale

Everywhere Peter went, the whale was lurking. It wasn't just the ocean he must avoid, but lakes and rivers as well, any body of water large enough for the whale.

Some days, Peter would stare out his window at the pond across the street. Inevitably, the whale would be staring back at him. Peter never understood what he had done to make the whale so angry, but by now he understood that nothing but his own death would quench the leviathan's thirst for vengeance.

For the rest of Peter's life, even drinking a glass of water was fraught with dread.

The Brassy Blood

The following is a warning to all those who get bad mileage:

Out on the ocean, liquid misery

Kingdom of whale lords

Kingdom of spite

Beyond all freedom, right or knowing

Beyond all but winter, arrested night,

There is a bulwark of rock and metal

A stock of madness between sea and sky

That pillars the halls of mighty morning

That clothes the dry emperors in their lie

Out on the ocean, the laughter is growing

It dances on coastlines

It lingers in mists

The coal-hearted kobold has waited and waited

But soon will collect the blood payments we’ve missed