I signed up for karate classes because I figured a little ‘wax on, wax off’ would be good for me. As an older woman, it might make me less a target and more of a ‘stay away from that bee-atch’ kind of woman.

He looked like a big muscular cherub, curly blond hair and pale blue eyes, arms like ship-ropes. He had no malice in him, though— just violence.

Bruises were the first signs that Phin was in trouble.

Growing up, karate was my favorite thing in the world. At first I wanted to play soccer and I quickly joined a team when I was six years old that I was on for all of about a season before I was kicked off it for constantly shoving the other players, with only a tiny little participation trophy to show for it...

I haven’t often written of this thing inhabiting my body, its claws and feathers, its dragon breath pacing the circuit of my spine. It caught me when I was seventeen, though it had been stalking me since long before that. Each time it had neared, my mother had draped herself between us, and I never even got a good look at it. But when I…