The Bone-Stag Walks, by K.T. Bryski

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) In mid-winter, a skeletal stag comes to the village begging for food, but it eats anyone foolish enough to talk to it. (3,379 words; Time: 11m)

All These Guardians of Order and Clarity, None of Them Can Abide a Free Witch, by Benjamin Rosenbaum

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Fantasy Adventure) Maghd of Ilmak Dale, the “White Witch,” feels that Marish’s account of their encounter and the destruction of Ilmak Dale is very slanted, so she tells her side of the story. (7,796 words; Time: 25m)

It’s possible this is a better story if you have already read "A Siege of Cranes.” (2006), which was reprinted in Lightspeed last month.

Sing in Me, Muse, by Katherine Crighton

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Generation Ship) A young woman on a generation ship sings reports back to an Earth that may not even exist anymore. (1,941 words; Time: 06m)

Still You Linger, Like Soot in the Air, by Matthew Kressel

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Far-Future SF) Gil teaches students how to communicate with the Numens, vast, star-spanning alien intelligences indistinguishable from gods. (5,664 words; Time: 18m)

Great Gerta and the Mermaid, by Mari Ness

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Peter Pan Pastiche) In which we learn of the female pirate, Gerta, who sailed to Neverland with Captain Hook. (6,439 words; Time: 21m)

You'll enjoy this more if you've actually read Peter Pan or at least seen the Disney movie.

Baba Yaga and the Seven Hills, by Kristina Ten

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Fairy Tale Pastiche) Bab Yaga from the fairy tales turns up in modern-day San Francisco looking for help tracking down her house, which has run away. (6,162 words; Time: 20m)

The Swallows of the Storm, by Ray Nayler

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Alien Mystery) Something has been drilling long, narrow holes through plants, animals, even rocks, and Dr. Nino gives the US Senate a report on what it was about. (6,847 words; Time: 22m)

The End of the World Measured in Values of N, by Adam-Troy Castro

[Lightspeed]

★★☆☆☆

(Apocalypse) The world just came to an end N seconds ago. We discuss that for different values of N. (1,959 words; Time: 06m)

Refuge, by Ben Peek

[Lightspeed]

★☆☆☆☆

(Dark Fantasy Adventure) The story of how Aned Heast, having lost a leg and his entire army, reclaimed his honor in a drought-ridden town whose adults mysteriously vanished. (6,568 words; Time: 21m)

The Postictal State of Divine Love, by Julianna Baggott

[Lightspeed]

★☆☆☆☆

(Vampire) It turns out there’s a secret society of vampires all around us, and they offer immunity to viruses. (7,343 words; Time: 24m)

Real Animals, by Em North

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Alien Invasion Apocalypse Horror) The aliens occupied and controlled the bodies of animals, destroying most of humanity. A few survivors in a ski resort pass the time preserving the bodies of friends who didn’t make it. (7,768 words; Time: 25m)

Single Malt Spacecraft, by Marie Vibbert

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(SF Adventure) Fresia makes money flying back and forth between Earth and a colony planet, forty years per round trip but only weeks for her. She trades collectables and ages Scotch. (3,657 words; Time: 12m)

Destinations of Love, by Alexander Weinstein

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Allegory; The Lost Traveler's Tour Guide) In which we read about various travel destinations and what they mean for lovers. (2,733 words; Time: 09m)

The Fenghuang, by Millie Ho

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Uncanny Horror) When Candice gets upset, she sometimes spontaneously combusts and then comes back to life. She needs to get this under control because her family can’t afford the medical bills. (5,370 words; Time: 17m)

The Time Traveler's Advice to the Lovelorn, by Adam-Troy Castro

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Time Travel) Samael finds himself in love with a woman who doesn’t notice him, so he asks the village time-traveler for advice, figuring he ought to know more than anyone else. (3,624 words; Time: 12m)

Melting Like Metal, by Ada Hoffmann

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Space Opera) Enga is an “angel,” a human cyborg enforcer for an AI “god.” Enga has some problems, so she’s eager to prove herself, and this new mission looks like a good opportunity. (6,283 words; Time: 20m)

The Witch Speaks, by Rati Mehrotra

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) A woman who can see ghosts and foresee the future talks with the ghost of her long-dead lover. (2,572 words; Time: 08m)

Glass Bottle Dancer, by Celeste Rita Baker

[Lightspeed]

★★★★☆ A Sweet Tale with a Caribbean Flavor

(Caribbean Fantasy) Approaching 50, Mabel decides to become a glass bottle dancer. She tries to hide it from her family, but the local cockroaches notice it for sure when she gathers up their bottles, and they’ve got dreams too. (5,683 words; Time: 18m)

Voice of Their Generation, by Andrew Dana Hudson

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(SF) Thicket is sure their Detective Pikachu vs. Predator story would be a big hit if they could only get the Machine-Assisted StoryTelling platform to accept it. (2,134 words; Time: 07m)

The Least of These, by Veronica Roth

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Alien Abduction) Two women are offered the opportunity to save 50,000 human beings from Earth’s impending doom, but there’s something off about the aliens’ offer. (4,240 words; Time: 14m)