Audio Fiction
Select stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies are available as MP3 audio files. Click the "Audio MP3" links to download or visit our Forums to listen via streaming audio. Subscribe to our podcast RSS feed to receive notification when new MP3s are released.
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Pridecraft
from Issue #93 (Apr. 19, 2012)
There hadn't been a killing in years, though. We'd forgotten.
Bearslayer and the Black Knight
from Issue #92 (Apr. 5, 2012)
No one decided anyone's fate that day. The champions were too evenly matched.
A Place to Stand
from Issue #89 (Feb. 23, 2012)
She had dreamed of being a weaver, and a fisher, and a soldier, and many different wives, but the life of a seeker of knowledge had never come to her yet.
The Book of Locked Doors
from Issue #91 (Mar. 22, 2012)
She cursed herself for freezing up and ruminating when the proper response was to react.
The Mote-Dancer and the Firelife
from Issue #90 (Mar. 8, 2012)
Nicolai was three years dead when I lighted to EZ Aquarii to forget him. Naturally he came along too.
Shadows Under Hexmouth Street
from Issue #89 (Feb. 23, 2012)
“You’re not human.” Yengec could barely keep his voice steady. “You’re one of them. A paramental.”
The Last Gorgon
from Issue #87 (Jan. 26, 2012)
I lift the Gorgon’s head and remember my mother as she lay dying in her bed.
The Lady of the Lake
from Issue #86 (Jan. 12, 2012)
My fingers sought the memory of a scarf around my throat, then slid down to Sun Lin's thin shoulder.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Her Field-General, and Their Wounds
from Issue #85 (Dec. 29, 2011)
Baru Cormorant sorts her existence left and right, so that she can forget the proper things by turning.
Read This Quickly, For You Will Only Have a Moment...
from Issue #81 (Nov. 3, 2011)
...before the tapping of a beak upon the glass calls your guards as well.
To the Gods of Time and Engines, a Gift
from Issue #80 (Oct. 20, 2011)
The silent commands were with her all the time now, haunting and familiar.
The Judge's Right Hand
from Issue #79 (Oct. 6, 2011)
The brand Adultery will scar her pretty cheeks, and our son will wear the Bastard brand his whole life. But those aren't the brands I'm worried about.
The Magick
from Issue #78 (Sep. 22, 2011)
Out from her hands where the book once rested, a butterfly flapped clumsily toward the shutters.
Butterfly
from Issue #78 (Sep. 22, 2011)
Aidan pulled away from my hand. I could feel his finger bones slip and shift out of place.
Gone Sleeping
from Issue #77 (Sep. 8, 2011)
Well, what was I supposed to do? I wished harder. I couldn't just stop.
The Witch's Second
from Issue #76 (Aug. 25, 2011)
One can scarcely thank a man for promising to thrash one's best friend in a duel.
My Father’s Wounds
from Issue #75 (Aug. 11, 2011)
Father guides my hand to the ruin of his belly. My fingers sink into the wound, touching something moist and pulsing—
Ink and Blood
from Issue #74 (Jul. 28, 2011)
Her smile made him feel like someone other than pudgy Wilhelm from the paper store.
Walls of Paper, Soft as Skin
from Issue #73 (Jul. 14, 2011)
Layers of parchment enclosed the room. Walls yellowed and tearing. Ceiling shedding like a lizard.
The Nine-Tailed Cat
from Issue #70 (Jun. 2, 2011)
The cat departs from the moonbeam, flicking its tails.
Cold Iron and Green Vines
from Issue #69 (May. 19, 2011)
Most people didn't bother replacing teeth; they all went wicker-and-cogwork as young as they could.
The Finest Spectacle Anywhere
from Issue #68 (May. 5, 2011)
One night, I tried to sneak into the tent. Mistake.
The Fairy Gaol
from Issue #66 (Apr. 7, 2011)
I will fashion a dagger worthy of his jeweled throat.
Love, Resurrected
from Issue #65 (Mar. 24, 2011)
Three years after her death, she still labored in his service.
Mr Morrow Becomes Acquainted with the Delicate Art of Squid Keeping
from Issue #64 (Mar. 10, 2011)
They couldn't be serious, Morrow thought...but then the Major allowed the squid to slip from his fingers and into his mouth.
Breathing Sunshine
from Issue #64 (Mar. 10, 2011)
I worried about the detector. Kept my attention up for the slightest tingle of accidental particle ingestion.
The Ghost of Shinoda Forest
from Issue #63 (Feb. 24, 2011)
Whether I was drunk or sober, Princess Teiko haunted my dreams.
Silent, Still, and Cold
from Issue #62 (Feb. 10, 2011)
The place where Ameos should stand is taken by another boy. We are fewer now.
Mamafield
from Issue #61 (Jan. 27, 2011)
Mama holds us close, long roots circled deep.
Two Pretenders
from Issue #60 (Jan. 13, 2011)
The alternative to boredom is remembrance. And that, he avoids at all costs.
Transitions of Truth and Tears
from Issue #59 (Dec. 30, 2010)
Garran woke with a scream and scurried on all fours to the corner of the sanctuary to vomit. He remembered everything.
The Suffering Gallery
from Issue #57 (Dec. 2, 2010)
“Do you question me, Mielbok, the Billion-Toothed Maggot?”
Bread and Circuses
from Issue #55 (Nov. 4, 2010)
She and I made bread every day knowing that if the grain didn't ripen, we were next in line to be cut down.
Dying on the Elephant Road
from Issue #54 (Oct. 21, 2010)
Abe experienced the odd sensation of Madame Oljon inside his head aligning her face with his, pushing eyes and lips forward past his own.
More Full of Weeping Than You Can Understand
from Issue #53 (Oct. 7, 2010)
As with Papa, she knew Thomas was gone and felt no regret, for she had changed equally.
The Girl Who Tasted the Sea
from Issue #53 (Oct. 7, 2010)
Salt! It tasted of salt as much as the sardines did, but with some wilder flavor, too.
Winecask Bellies and Owl Wings
from Issue #50 (Aug. 26, 2010)
Wind tore through the cave as I washed my silken face and hung it to dry.
And Blow Them at the Moon
from Issue #50 (Aug. 26, 2010)
Magrat was right. This man stood at the heart of it.
Eighth Eye
from Issue #49 (Aug. 12, 2010)
Guess it's just you and me now, spider.
Prashkina's Fire
from Issue #48 (Jul. 29, 2010)
I left him there, stacking dirty straw in the brazier to honor a dead goddess.
Memories in Bronze, Feathers, and Blood
from Issue #45 (Jun. 17, 2010)
But we--we are alive, in a way that no other making will be.
Remembering Light
from Issue #44 (Jun. 3, 2010)
“Nothing in Driftwood is free. What do you want?”
Mister Hadj’s Sunset Ride
from Issue #43 (May. 20, 2010)
So when Mister Hadj said that a stone in the road told him where we'd find Parson Lucifer, I didn’t doubt it.
As the Prairie Grasses Sing
from Issue #42 (May. 6, 2010)
I began the hand-signs again, still doubting they could be understood yet desperate not to lose that other whose thought I’d felt.
Pawn's Gambit
from Issue #41 (Apr. 22, 2010)
The more he asked, the more chary I got that he’d figure out what I was doing--that one of his marks was my little girl.
Waiting for Number Five
from Issue #40 (Apr. 8, 2010)
Four crouched alone on her platform, unwatched, abandoned.
Pale
from Issue #37 (Feb. 25, 2010)
I take my time undressing her, half-expecting for The Marshal to come calling.
In Memoriam
from Issue #38 (Mar. 11, 2010)
What horror could I feel, I who had counted more bizarre monstrosities among my friends?
A Skirt of Many Colors
from Issue #37 (Feb. 25, 2010)
The pond was a bathing pool, long ago. You can still see pictures in stone, under the water and scum.
To Slay with a Thousand Kisses
from Issue #36 (Feb. 11, 2010)
Her tongue was a grave-worm tunneling into me, befouling me.
Shatterach Gates
from Issue #35 (Jan. 28, 2010)
It roars, shuddering the stone, and I imagine three thousand corpse voices in shrieking harmony.
In the Age of Iron and Ashes
from Issue #33 (Dec. 31, 2009)
When she spoke, her voice stopped him, as surely as a knife drawn across his throat.
The Manufactory
from Issue #30 (Nov. 19, 2009)
We figured we’d get rich once corpses became rare and valuable resources again.
The Woman and the Mountain
from Issue #29 (Nov. 5, 2009)
The mountain was listening very closely, watching the wind blow faint tendrils of her hair, catching the warmth of her breath.
Great, Golden Wings
from Issue #28 (Oct. 22, 2009)
Lady Percivalia sat motionless for as long as she could so that she could savor the thrill.
Six Seeds
from Issue #27 (Oct. 8, 2009)
Dollies were the chore of my life: winding them, mending gears, and keeping good care of their pricier parts which pleasured the men.
The Pirate Captain's Daughter
from Issue #27 (Oct. 8, 2009)
Pirates of the highest tier raided poetry itself.
Of Shifting Skin and Certainty
from Issue #26 (Sep. 24, 2009)
“If it was the last skin you wore,” he said, “would you take it?”
The Alchemist's Feather
from Issue #25 (Sep. 10, 2009)
I wake to find another finger gone.
Father's Kill
from Issue #24 (Aug. 27, 2009)
I lock both Father and the night away.
The Prince's Shadow
from Issue #22 (Jul. 30, 2009)
My hands were reading the elaborate carvings on the fireplace when I heard two halting footsteps behind me.
Blighted Heart
from Issue #22 (Jul. 30, 2009)
His eyes, shining yellow in the night, were the ones I remembered from the day I had lost my heart.
Walking Out
from Issue #21 (Jul. 16, 2009)
For a second or two Creeper just strained against our hold, pale eyes locked and empty on the horizon.
The Bone House
from Issue #20 (Jul. 2, 2009)
I clambered to my feet and embraced my father, sobbing my sorrow and regret against his shoulder.
The Mansion of Bones
from Issue #19 (Jun. 18, 2009)
I know it was wrong of me to savor the look of fear on Kenji's face, but some temptations are not to be resisted.
Haxan
from Issue #13 (Mar. 26, 2009)
Her words got me to thinking about my past. What there was to remember.
System, Magic, Spirit
from Issue #17 (May. 21, 2009)
There's nothing better than low-ranking, fad-following royalty for extinguishing any last desire to even bother fighting for one's life against other wizards in the Ring.
The Sacrifice Pit
from Issue #16 (May. 7, 2009)
She was beautiful. But it was forbidden, in the eyes of the Tetharan.
Driftwood
from Issue #14 (Apr. 9, 2009)
She would probably die before her world did.
Unrest
from Issue #12 (Mar. 12, 2009)
We are borne up by fate like leaves on the wind, and sometimes carried home.
Preservation
from Issue #11 (Feb. 26, 2009)
I thought at first my hands would shake. But when I reach to make the incisions, they are calm.
Hangman
from Issue #10 (Feb. 12, 2009)
I'd had a name, a long time ago. But no one but me remembered it.
Of Thinking Being and Beast
from Issue #9 (Jan. 29, 2009)
Boreas crushed the keys in his palm to silence them.
The God-Death of Halla
from Issue #5 (Dec. 4, 2008)
Once a child of the holy rich; now the pawn of a priest?
Dragon's-Eyes
from Issue #9 (Jan. 29, 2009)
He thought of a man strapped to a table, whispering his secret.
Sand-Skin Man
from Issue #7 (Jan. 1, 2009)
I remember seeing a patch of sun-scorched grass become a lion watching me with amber eyes.
Precious Meat
from Issue #5 (Dec. 4, 2008)
I am Boon. I lead my pack.
The Last Devil
from Issue #4 (Nov. 20, 2008)
Would this querulous magician's insinuations distract my master from slaying our vile prey?
Kingspeaker
from Issue #3 (Nov. 6, 2008)
She is the voice of the king, until he cannot speak for himself.
Sun Magic, Earth Magic
from Issue #1 (Oct. 9, 2008)
If her venerated sorcery fails, how can she save the boy trapped deep in the cave?
Architectural Constants
from Issue #2 (Oct. 23, 2008)
A city, a librarian, a sentinel, and a silhouette.
These audio fiction recordings are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 U.S. license. You may copy and share the MP3 files so long as you retain the attribution to the author, but you may not sell them and you may not alter or transcribe them.