Horrorscope: Stories (Paperback)

Sagittarius

There are men on horseback giving chase, Sagittarius, but you are not afraid. They have their crops, boots, and jodhpurs, but you have four long graceful legs of your own. You easily put a bit of distance between the hunters and yourself--vaulting across the meadow on your hooves.

You veer into the wood, but before you can crash through the underbrush and vanish, you discover archers waiting in your path with arrows nocked. Turning to gallop off another way, you find the riders have already caught up.

In your peripheral vision, one of the riders suddenly does the unexpected. Climbing up, they stand on top of their mount, and springs toward you through the air like a cat. You've never seen a human foolish enough to do such a thing, you're in shock.

You feel a weight land on your back then and cling there astride you. You buck and buck but try as you might, you are unable to throw them and at last the muzzle is slipped over your mouth.

"I've broken many a foal," she whispers in your ear digging into your middle with spurs, "But never saddled a centaur before."

Capricorn

"And what is this supposed to be exactly?" the professor said standing before the thing you spent all morning shaping from clay. A creature with a goat's head that ends in a fishtail. Your classmates are eager to get on with their own critiques.