Hugh J. O'Donnell

They call her the Woman of the Woods. Although few have seen her, everyone knows the signs of her passage. The old forest is filled with good, well-maintained paths, hidden caches of supplies, and emergency shelters.
She’s almost a figure of legend, a helpful wanderer out of the golden age when immortals walked the world. They say she can sing the forest to sleep and heal with a touch.
Nobody sees her gathering herbs or surveying routes. There is little true magic left in her.
But hard work makes her eternal life bearable when her grief is all that remains.

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We set the airship down in the mossy water as the sun dipped towards the swamp. The skiff was all elegant lines and swooping sails. It barely made a splash entering the water. The island was close.
We’d buried the chest here long ago, trusting the safety of our treasure to flowing water and shifting geography. We disembarked and broke out the shovels.
The Lich’s heart was still where we left it, pulsing with an eerie scarlet light. I nodded to my partner. It was time for us to make our move.
But I never expected him to betray me.

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The forest existed in both worlds, making it the ideal spot for the two kingdoms to negotiate an alliance.
The knight arrived in shining silver armor, with a jeweled longsword on his hip. The dragon descended from the canopy, its serpentine body stepping on thin air as they bowed to their counterpart.
The spot was a hole in the fence between realities, and they each had a vested interest in keeping it small and well guarded.
And yet, the dragons coveted the human kingdom’s wealth, and the humans desired mastery over the dragons’ magic. The alliance proved tenuous and brief.

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After a week of terrible nightmares, she found herself summoned to the Faerie Court. While she was too tall to fit inside the palace, she stood in the courtyard and bowed before the Faerie Queen.
“Human,” the queen said, “You have been chosen from among your kind to aid us. The Raven King gathers his dark forces at our borders. He stalks our villages and plots to snuff out our light. We demand your aid.”
“You want me to serve as a great warrior?”
“Not quite.” The Faerie Queen looked embarrassed. “We want to use you as a launching platform.”

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The alchemist looked over the contract. “And I will have perfect knowledge?”
The devil smiled. “Over absolutely everything. You’ll know how it all works.”
He signed the parchment and screamed as the information appeared in his mind. It felt like a terrible migraine and plunging into icy rapids at the same time. He combed through his new knowledge as though picking through a looted library.
“Light is a particle. And a wave?”
“Indeed.”
“And humors…”
“Utter fantasy.”
“I can’t share any of this. They’ll burn me alive.”
“Humanity will catch up. You just have to wait a few thousand years.”

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From his hiding spot by the stairwell, Keith watched the two fairies exit the elevator.
“Are you just going to hover like that?” Buttercup asked. “Someone will see you.”
Anise snorted. Her unicorn face didn’t look like a mask. “I am not touching that carpet, even through shoes.”
“Fine, let’s get this over with. This realm makes my wings itch.” The tiny fairy pressed her whole weight against a door buzzer. The door opened, and the pair went inside.
“Hey, kids! How you boys doing?” Anise asked before the door closed.
The next day, the apartment they visited had vanished.

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