The Eternal Race: Collections, #19

By Meyari McFarland

Adventure takes many forms, from finding your way to challenging the gods and evolution for survival. Meyari McFarland brings together ten epic stories of adventures that are sure to thrill you, including:

Coming Clean

Whitehorn's Band

Undead Dragon Hunter

Mortal Stream of the Undead Sky

The Street of the Phoenix

The Silk of the Guardian

The Blade Was Not Brass

Mutant Blue Eden

Molten Avatar

Storm Necklace

Also includes an excerpt of the Steampunk mystery Blood Worms!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meyari McFarland
• Release date: Sep 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393958994

Meyari McFarland

Meyari McFarland has been telling stories since she was a small child. Her stories range from SF and Fantasy adventures to Romances but they always feature strong characters who do what they think is right no matter what gets in their way. Her series range from Space Opera Romance in the Drath series to Epic Fantasy in the Mages of Tindiere world. Other series include Matriarchies of Muirin, the Clockwork Rift Steampunk mysteries, and the Tales of Unification urban fantasy stories, plus many more. You can find all of her work on MDR Publishing's website at www.MDR-Publishing.com.

Book preview

The Eternal Race

The Eternal Race

Collection #19

Meyari McFarland

MDR Publishing

Special Offer

The rainbow has infinite shades, just as this collection covers the spectrum of fictional possibilities.

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From contemporary romances like The Shores of Twilight Bay to dark fantasy like A Lone Red Tree and out to SF futures in Child of Spring, Iridescent covers the gamut of time, space and genre.

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Meyari McFarland shows her mastery in this first omnibus collection of her short fiction. Twenty-five amazing stories, all with queer characters going on adventures, solving mysteries, and falling in love are here in the first Rainbow Collection.

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And now you can get this massive collection of short queer fiction, all of it with the happy endings you love, for free!

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Sign up here for your free copy of Iridescent now!

Contents

Author's Note: Coming Clean

Coming Clean

Author's Note: Whitehorn's Band

Whitehorn's Band

Author's Note: Undead Dragon Hunter

Undead Dragon Hunter

Author's Note: Mortal Stream of the Undead Sky

Mortal Stream of the Undead Sky

Author's Note: The Street of the Phoenix

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Author's Note: The Silk of the Guardian

The Silk of the Guardian

Author's Note: The Blade was not Brass

The Blade Was Not Brass

Author's Note: Mutant Blue Eden

Mutant Blue Eden

Author's Note: Molten Avatar

Molten Avatar

Author's Note: Storm Necklace

1. Snow

2. Wind

3. Water

4. Cold

5. Heat

6. Silence

7. Tunnels

8. Library

9. Mansion

10. Kitchen

11. Cottage

12. Dawn

13. Ice

14. Earth

15. Air

16. Home

Author's Note: Blood Worms

1. Kill Room

2. Skywinder

Other Books by Meyari McFarland

Afterword

About the Author

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

Day Hunt on the Final Oblivion

Day of Joy

Immortal Sky

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A New Path

Following the Trail

Crafting Home

Finding a Way

Go Between

Like Arrows of Fate

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Out of Disaster

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The Shores of Twilight Bay

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Coming Together

Following the Beacon

The Solace of Her Clan

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You can find these and many other books at www.MDR-Publishing.com. We are a small independent publisher focusing on LGBT content. Please sign up for our mailing list to get regular updates on the latest preorders and new releases and a free ebook!

Copyright ©2019 by Mary Raichle

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Print ISBN: 978-1-64309-070-2

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Cover image

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ID 74490255 © Grandfailure | Dreamstime.com

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be emailed to [e-mail].

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This book is also available in TPB format from all major retailers.

Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

This collection is dedicated to Mercedes Lackey and King Arthur, both of whom taught me at different points how much fun adventures could be.

Author's Note: Coming Clean

Family puts certain expectations on all of us. Sometimes those are happy, welcome things that make us feel at home. I'm lucky in my personal life that that's what family has been for me.

But for some, family is the exact opposite. Their demands suck life away, trap you and drag you down. For those people, those characters, the struggle is to escape, to find a way towards freedome, and to create a life where they can life as they wish instead of as their family demands.

Coming Clean

Sweat-stale air that stank of blood and vomit puddled around Phoenix as they drooped against the pear-shaped airlock door blocking them from their residential block, blood dripping down their cheek. Head wound. Lovely. Cleaning up was going to be a joy.

The whine of the overburdened air system almost, not quite, drowned out Reilly's gang as they moaned and panted, too taser-stunned to get up and make Phoenix pay. Good thing, too. Phoenix was pretty sure that Reilly, at the very least, had been recording the whole beat-down. Plenty of credit if you could prove you were a badass.

Yeah, right.

Like Reilly was a badass.

Stupid airlock. Took fucking forever for the thing to open. If they'd just fix the hull in this area, they wouldn't need to have the airlock doors between sections engaged all the time, but no, that wasn't going to happen. Not under this station administration.

Not under any administration as old as this station was.

Probably, once upon a time, the thing'd been pristine silver-grey with bright red crosshairs under the dick-shaped window. Hell, back when the station was built, the light bar around the airlock was probably bright white, pretty as could be.

Phoenix sighed, straightening just a little as Reilly straightened her arms underneath her only to fall back on her face when they gave out.

They slumped back against the airlock, using the pear shape of the seal around it to wedge themself upright. And force it open once the damned thing finally cycled through its release sequence.

Dingy-grey, scratched and scuffed, the airlock looked like it'd been through a war. Couple of wars. The cut next to Phoenix's cheek was matched by a deep one at the bottom of the window. Someone, probably Bertie, had long-ago drawn balls on the bottom of the window in red marker. Didn't have to draw anything at the top. The creators'd put a nice red triangle up there in just the right spot to make phallic jokes an easy touch.

There'd be more stains now from Phoenix's blood and the general grim on their skinsuit. Phoenix licked their lips, watching the timer on the control panel count down to the seal opening. They snorted. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, blip and it was back to nine. Thing kept glitching every time it hit six. No wonder it always took forever to get through here.

Phoenix'd bet that it wasn't a casual glitch. Trap someone at the airlock, threaten 'em, them beat 'em bloody if they don't pay up made for a nice little racket. Have to come back tomorrow and reprogram the thing, put a trap or two on the access panel so that Reilly caught herself a surprise the next time she pulled this trick.

It finally hit one after who knew how many trips through the countdown, unsealing the airlock which wheezed open just wide enough for Phoenix to shove a hand in the gap. They shoved, slipped through and then leaned back against the airlock door to seal it tight once more.

Sealed up like a trick, just a secure as could be. Phoenix snorted again. This side was just as battered and grimy as the other but the check light blinked next to the seal timer. They tapped the little report fault button on the screen, tiny little wrench icon in the bottom left corner that you had to hit juuuuuuust right.

Get a tech out here, let them fix it. Then, after the tech was done, Phoenix would add some traps. If, of course, a tech actually came.

No guarantees. Wasn't like the station management could afford to fix everything on this old clunker, especially in this wing of the station. Last Phoenix had read, the planning was to jettison this section into the sun after the next round of repairs up in the garden was done.

Phoenix slowly, painfully, staggered up the aisle past the other residential pods. Lindsay's door was sealed tight, the lock flashing bright warnings not to disturb her. Couldn't blame her for that. She'd been working fourteen days straight and still had three more to go. Caron and Anat's door wasn't sealed but Phoenix didn't stop to ask for help.

The sound of quiet whining carried out of their cracked-open door, this one a proper rectangle that slid to the side instead of the ridiculous pear-doors everyone else had. Keala must've left the kids with Caron and Anat to babysit while she worked up in the entertainment district.

Trash littered the aisle, clustering at the bases of the access panels by each door. In here, the stink was rotting trash mixed with cooking food. Someone, probably Caron and Anat, was cooking garlic by the ton. So rude. Both of them knew the air filtration system couldn't handle that sort of stink but then garlic was cheap and what else were you going to do with the bland lentils, beans and tilapia that were all anyone in this section could afford for food?

Still turned Phoenix's stomach as they waited for their door with its marker sketch of angry fists and glaring eyes on top of the dick-shaped window to open. They shoved it open, then leaned against it until it sealed tight. Nearly slid down to the rust-brown metal grate floor as the air system started working to clear the garlic.

Sweat. Blood. Gross garbage smeared into Phoenix' skinsuit and hair.

Shower. Definitely time for a shower. They put their boots into the cleaner, then stripped off their skinsuit and shoved that into its narrow little receptacle, too. Too narrow for real clothes like shirts or trousers but the cleaner did a great job stripping grime, stink and blood away with sonics and steam. It'd just take a full twenty-four hours.

Good I have a spare suit, Phoenix muttered while peering into the tiny mirror perched on top of the head-sized entertainment center that'd come with their module.

It was just a four inch by four-inch bit of silvered glass, sent by their parents when they escaped here, but it was enough to let Phoenix gingerly smooth on some synth-skin to keep the headwound from bleeding half of forever. They smiled grimly as it hardened to a shark skin textured cap that would protect Phoenix's head from any further damage. Always pay for the good stuff when it comes to synth-skin. They'd learned that lesson early on.

Everything else was bruises, plus a busted lip that Phoenix ignored. Their arms were mottled with bruises and it felt like their back was, too, but it wasn't that bad. Not bad enough to go to a doctor. Cost too much. Too many questions. Bruises healed just fine. No need for Phoenix to make that trek across the station and up into the nice parts.

Mother would've pitched a fit.

Phoenix shook their head and sighed. Mother was hell and gone back on Old Earth, living the good life with real dirt under her feet. She and Dad never had asked why Phoenix left. But then, they never asked Phoenix anything. It'd always been do this, do that, the family's going here, you'll like it.

Sure.

Phoenix's comm blinked with an incoming message. Early? The ID tracking program they'd hacked in beeped a warning that it was Mother, herself. Definitely early given that she usually wouldn't have called for another half hour, more than late enough for Phoenix to have gotten cleaned up and covered up the bruises so that she wouldn't see them.

Phoenix darted into their bathroom stall, leaving the door open so that they could hear Mother as the comm system engaged.

Darling, I hope you're home from work now, Mother called as if she didn't have her own tracking and hacking programs that said that yes, Phoenix was. Had to be why she'd called early this week.

I'm in the shower, Mother, Phoenix called back to her, starting the water up and stepping right in so that they weren't caught lying. I just got in. Do you mind?

Well, really, darling, Mother said with that little huff that meant that Phoenix had better do another scan to see if she'd somehow gotten health monitors into their module again, you didn't answer me last week. I was worried!

Mother, I sent you a message last week because I was working extra hours, Phoenix said, annoyed. You knew I wouldn't answer. I've told you before, you're perfectly free to leave a message and I'll call you back later.

It only took seconds for Phoenix to slip back into the snooty speech patterns they'd learned as a child. Mother always did that to them. Part of why Phoenix had never and would never go back to visit. No matter what Mother claimed, it would be far too easy for her to simply… bulldoze Phoenix into doing and being what she wanted.

The lukewarm water stopped after just barely long enough to get Phoenix's hair and body wet. The spray barely dampened the surface layer of grime but it did rinse away some of the blood. Soap from the dispenser was more than good enough to get the crud out of their hair though Phoenix was very gentle around their head wound. Even with the synth-skin, touching it hurt.

You can keep talking, Mother, Phoenix called to her. I am listening.

I was being polite and waiting for you to be done, darling, Mother replied so snippily that Phoenix glared at the translucent plastic of their pear-shaped bathroom door. I know you're limited on time for showering.

Huh, yes, most people are, Phoenix replied. For once they could tell the absolute, literal truth and Mother would approve of it. I'm not. I pay a healthy up-charge to have unlimited shower time. I mean, really? Two minutes to get clean? I couldn't clean a spoon in two minutes, much less my whole body. And hair, too? Impossible!

The laughter from the comm was so bright, so unforced, that Phoenix almost reached out of the little coffin of a shower stall with it's weak forcefield instead of a shower curtain to tweak the bathroom door aside.

Almost.

Goodness, dear, I'm glad that you're slumming, Mother said and there was the sharp tone that Phoenix had expected.

Well, of course I'm slumming, Mother, Phoenix replied. You know where I work and live. But that doesn't mean I have to be filthy.

The long silence that followed went unbroken as Phoenix finished soaping up, using their fingers to skim all the bits of garbage and as much gunk out of their hair as possible. Then they started the water for the long, wonderful, well-worth-every-credit part of their day. No more lukewarm water. The spray was needle-sharp, hot to the point of near scalding and it filled the bathroom with steam.

As the steam billowed out into the module, Mother sighed. Just how long does this hot water last, darling?

Full hour if I want, Phoenix said. They tilted their head back, washed the last of the soap away and then bent their head forward so that the spray would pound against their neck.

Hm.

I did tell you that it's my one indulgence, Phoenix said.

A tap against the waterproof control panel shifted the spray from needles to a more gentle drenching flow that warmed them right to the core. Helped loosen up all their aching muscles, too.

Your father's birthday is coming up, Mother announced. Finally got to the official reason for the call. That meant that the real reason would be soon after.

I've already sent him a present, Phoenix agreed. I think he'll like it. Should arrive in the next couple of days so do please tuck it away where he can't find it, Mother.

We'd both appreciate it if you would give him the present in person, darling, Mother said. They heard a shifting sound as if she'd abruptly sat down hard enough to shift whatever heavy bit of retro-modernist furniture filled her house now. You've not been home in so very long.

"Mo-ther, Phoenix replied, raising the temperature on the spray a degree and the flow another notch. You know perfectly well that we're in the final stages of this project. We're ahead. The early finish bonus will be a full twenty-five percent extra. And, as I told you the week before last, it will not happen if I'm not here to direct my team. Twenty-five percent, Mother. Father would not want me to destroy that for myself, much less for my team."

Twenty-five percent of a paycheck isn't that much, Mother started to say.

Phoenix immediately interrupted her because oh, no, she was not playing that game. Twenty-five percent of the entire contract's payout, Mother. That's more than you've ever earned in a single year. It may be more than you've ever earned in two years. I haven't checked but I certainly can if you like.

They put as much scorn as they could into their words just to drive the point home. No matter how much Mother liked to pretend that she was a sweet, kind, loving mother who only wanted what was best for her darling child, Phoenix was successful. Wildly successful compared to her and it had only happened after they ran away from home.

Money, Mother said with such scorn that Phoenix flinched and snapped their mouth shut against the automatic need to apologize. I'll tell your father that money is more important to you than he is.

He'll be delighted to hear it, Phoenix snapped right back at her even though their heart pounded and their stomach was a molten ball of agony in their stomach. Just like last time and the time before that. And all the times before that, too.

There was a long moment of pure silence that lasted just long enough for Phoenix to be hopeful that she'd hung up with out some final bit of nastiness. Then, as Phoenix's hand hovered over the shower control panel, Mother huffed.

It breaks my heart that a child I bore, one so bright and so kind, would end up like you, Mother said. She sounded near tears. Probably was crying, frankly. Mother had always excelled at the big fake tears that broke people's hearts.

Why Mother, Phoenix replied, sniffing just like she always did when they did something crude, Father's always said that I'm just like you.

This time she huffed and hung up for real. Phoenix's comm hummed and then beeped three times sharply when their programs confirmed that she was actually gone. They collapsed down to the floor of the shower, shaking, for long enough that the timer ran out on the water and the flow stopped.

Phoenix pulled themself to their feet, allowed the force field shower curtain to wick all the water off of them, and then pulled the pear-shaped bathroom door open.

The comm was off. Their little mirror on top of it was lightly fogged but the air system hummed as it cleaned the excess humidity out of their module. Phoenix didn't bother getting dressed. They pulled a leftover Mongolian beef container out of their tiny refrigerator, heated it to lukewarm and ate it as it chilled in their hand.

Then they folded down their bed from its wall alcove, the hinges creaking painfully before it locked into place. The second-hand blanket they'd gotten when they arrived on the station was blue and grey striped, wide bands that swept from their thin little pillow to the foot of the bed. Phoenix crawled under the covers, tugged the blankets up over their head and sighed.

Another few months. The contract would be finished in another few months. The payout really would be just as good as Phoenix had said. Everyone on their crew was working their asses off for it. Phoenix would get paid. They would get a ticket further out-system, out to one of the newer stations in the same orbit as Pluto.

Too far for Mother's weekly calls. Too far for Father's half-hearted and very occasional threats of dragging Phoenix home. They'd be safer there.

And, if Phoenix worked hard, learned a few