Chapter Two - Whipmaster Wu GrandMaster Karl Davidson was going to be Master of Ceremonies tonight. That wasn’t required by his position, but the reality is that powerful Masters and Mistresses often have delicate egos and would see great treachery in minor verbal faux pas. Thus, someone with the diplomatic skills of the GrandMaster needed to make all of the introductions, explanations, and, of course, the declaration of...

Chapter One - The Lady Emerges It was a very nice autumn evening and I was sitting on the back deck of my lake house sipping bourbon when the alarm on my phone sounded. That was immediately followed by a loud klaxon and an even louder speaker yelling out, “Intruder in the compound. Intruder in the compound.” I dove flat on the deck and grabbed the Glock that I keep in a waterproof holster attached under one of the benches...

“Hey, Mom!” Oskar called out as he entered the house. “Am I adopted?” Juliana had been dreading this day. She knew it would come, but she was hoping it would be after Oskar was a little older. He was a senior in high school, but still she hoped a few more years could pass before that question had to be answered. She had known for many years that the other children were teasing him for being... different. It wasn’t just th...