Seven Heavenly Virtues: Fantasy Noir Anthology From The Fringe

By The Fringe

The light of the righteous pierces through the dark, compelling the sinful to be virtuous. Our heroes may not always take the path of goodness, but even in the gritty, fantasy worlds of private dicks and classy dames, the light can triumph.

Seven Heavenly Virtues – Fantasy Noir Anthology From The Fringe brings together seven tales of fanciful, hardboiled, worlds with messages of goodness and grace. Produced by authors from Fringe Fiction, a Goodreads group focused on finding rare gems in indie fiction, the best stories are showcased in this divine anthology.

Featuring stories by: Sarah Roberts, Lily Author, Michael Benavidez, Justin Bienvenue, Ed Ireland, Rachel Mars, and Quentin Wallace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Fringe
• Release date: May 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310452680

The Fringe

The Fringe is comprised of indie authors and artists who, in addition to all being members of the Goodreads group Fringe Fiction, share the belief that creativity can grow and thrive in an atmosphere of respect, honesty, and friendship. Publishing is rich with hidden gems and diamonds-in-the-rough that belong to self-published, indie and otherwise underappreciated authors. Fringe Fiction is devoted to those who admire such individuals and want an outlet to discuss under-the-radar books with readers eager to discover fresh talent by obscure authors. Indie aficionados who welcome such recommendations and are enthusiastic about giving them are encouraged to let members know what they might be overlooking in the lesser-known corners of publishing.

Book preview

Seven Heavenly Virtues

Fantasy Noir Anthology

From The Fringe

Copyright © 2015 by The Fringe

All rights to this Anthology reserved. Rights to the individual works contained are owned by the submitting authors, who, by submitting, have permitted their use in this collection. Copyright owners are listed with each work.

No part of this collection may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without the express permission of the author(s). This collection contains works of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or deceased, and/or to actual events are coincidental.

Cover Design Copyright © 2015 by The Fringe

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

Chastity,

the practice to stay pure

Humility,

to be self-assured

Temperance,

to be moderate, showing restraint

Patience,

getting over that unbearable wait

Charity,

to give back, generosity

Diligence,

sloth with velocity

Kindness,

friendship, to be polite and act true

We are proud to present

Seven Heavenly Virtues

Fantasy Noir Anthology

From The Fringe

Table of Contents

The Doll and the Army Guy by Sarah Roberts

Rolled by Lily Author

Black and Grey by Michael Benavidez

Scarlett’s Wall by Justin Bienvenue

Patience is a Virtue by Ed Ireland

Just Because by Quentin Wallace

A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing by Rachel Mars

About the Contributors

The Doll and the Army Guy

By Sarah Roberts

Her eyes pierced right through my soul. I never seen eyes like that. They were like balls of frozen sky floating in a sea of white. Those eyes made her look something between sad and dangerous. I should’ve known that a doll like that would be a healthy helping of both.

It was a hot summer night when she first came to my bucket. Like most of her kind, she was looking for a quick fix. She wore a scarf over her head and big movie star sunglasses. Either she didn’t want to be recognized or she was worse off than my supplies could handle.

I watched her sway as she walked with stiff knees over to the glue. She stood there for a minute and then the waterworks started. Dames.

Is there something I can help you with doll-face? I called out to her, but she didn’t answer. Now, I knew better, but I couldn’t let a lady fall to pieces. Not in my shop. No matter what she was made of.

See, the predicament I found myself in was a matter of organizational mandate. The Dolls were supposed to stay in China Town and us Army Guys were supposed to keep to our buckets. But as the only collector of supplies, I had a steady porcelain clientele. It couldn’t be helped. Cracks happened.

There, there, sweetheart. Stop the crying. All that shaking is bound to make your cracks worse. I wanted to comfort her, but that meant touching her. She turned and her shades slide down her ivory nose. One look into those eyes and I could feel my plastic heat up.

Let’s have a look, I said, hoping that she could tell I was smiling.

You shouldn’t be talking to me, mister. I shouldn’t even be here.

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