Kilgore's Five Stories #14: February 2022: Kilgore's Five Stories, #14

By Shaun Kilgore

Kilgore's Five Stories #14: February 2022 includes an eclectic mix of genre stories by author Shaun Kilgore. In this newest volume, you'll find The Witch of Greenwatch, a fantasy about a reclusive former soldier who is forced to rejoin the world to save her kingdom; At A Crossroads, a starship security officer is assigned to a new vessel and take a chance at a fresh start; Maybe More Than Friends, the story of two friends who take a risk to find out if there could be more between them; Deep Thoughts, Cold Drinks, one man celebrates his birthday at O'Riley's Bar and maybe finds a chance at something special with a special someone; and I Can't See The Sun; a grim tale of a creature of the night and his longing for an end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Founders House Publishing LLC
• Release date: Feb 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201853129

Shaun Kilgore

Shaun Kilgore is the author of various works of fantasy, science fiction, and a number of nonfiction works. His books appear in both print and ebook editions. He has also published numerous short stories and collections. Shaun is the editor of MYTHIC: A Quarterly Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine. He lives in eastern Illinois.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

The Witch of Greenwatch

At A Crossroads

Maybe More Than Friends

Deep Thoughts, Cold Drinks

I Can’t See The Sun

About the Author

Copyright

Kilgore’s Five Stories #14

February 2022

Original Short Stories Every Month

Shaun Kilgore

Introduction

Hey gang, I have a fresh crop of short fiction for you in Issue #14 of my monthly mini-magazine, Kilgore’s Five stories. It’s a mix of genres again and includes sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and mainstream fiction. One is the second story in what I’m thinking a new series of sci-fi short featuring the crew and the exploits of the Stargazer, a space vessel exploring the galaxy. While another is the fourth of my ongoing O’Riley’s Bar stories. Thanks for reading. Until next month.

Shaun Kilgore, February 2022

The Witch of Greenwatch

AGATHA SENDER WAS AWAKE and about her daily chores as the dawn’s light was creeping over the Hypathian Mountains. The spring glow warmed the vine-covered walls of her home. Agatha moved with the grace and strength common to her father’s elven race as she carried pails of water up from the underground cistern that supplied the keep. To outer appearances, she looked like a woman of thirty years with skin darkened by years toiling beneath the sun though she was twice that age in truth. Her broad-framed body was hardened by years of labor and carried the scars of her former life—a life more than three decades behind her now.

Agatha was garbed in a patchwork skirt and jacket made from old uniforms left behind by her fellow soldiers. She had gotten very good at repurposing every scrap she could find whether it be cloth or abandoned weaponry. There was no one else to depend on and Agatha found she preferred it that way.

A breeze teased her toffee-colored hair and she paused to let it brush her weathered skin. She inhaled slowly. Closing her eyes, she could smell the aromas of the forest surrounding her home. The denizens of her mountain home, plant and animal alike, had unique smells—as did the fresh, upturned earth in her gardens.

Agatha adjusted her grip on the pails and continued up the crumbling stone steps. She glanced around walls and found the watchtower rising up in its lonely vigil over the mountain pass. It no longer served any purpose, but was a reminder of a darker time she was happy to forget. Nature was slowly reclaiming Greenwatch Garrison. Weeds and vines insinuated themselves between the stone bricks, slowly breaking them down. Saplings, weeds, and tall, hearty grass were growing within the walls on what was once a soldiers’ practice field. Agatha strode to the far side of the field where her main garden sprawled. She had fashioned a simple fence enclosure around the beds to keep the smaller creatures who wandered the grounds from devouring her produce.

Even though I tell them to stay out, Agatha mused.

She arrived at the garden and settled the pales of cold water on the ground. Agatha looked over the enclosure, stepping between the rows of the beds carefully so she wouldn’t disturb the fencing. A pleased grin stretched across her face. The first shoots of new growth were peeking out of the soil. She knelt down beside the plants, lightly brushing her fingers over them.

Hello there. Welcome to the daylight world, little ones.

There was a tingle of awareness reaching up from the plants through Agatha’s fingers. There were subtle energies—a hint of the deep magic—radiating both directions, providing a means of communication between the life of the woods and mountains and herself. Solitude had further honed her senses over the years and Agatha could not forget to credit her elven lineage for the connections she had made. She was never truly alone and hardly missed the companionship of people at all.

Not that she didn’t see people every once in a while. Even though Greenwatch was a remote outpost, a trickle of peddlers and pilgrims still took the Barring Road that came within less than a mile. The garrison’s towers were visible from the road though the forest had began