Category Archives: Free Fantasy Fiction

I publish short fiction in the fantasy-genre for free here, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

If you’d like, you can receive my free fiction in your email inbox. Just sign up here!

Serial: She Danced with Shadows (part 1)

Posted on by

Note: This entry is a part of my free Serialized Fiction Preview, which will run on this site and through my Free Fantasy Fiction email list through January, 2012. Starting in February, my Serialized Fiction will only be available to Patrons. Meanwhile, enjoy the preview!

She was born in the farmhouse. As she grew, the land her parents worked was her primary domain, though she was sometimes brought into the nearby village when her father or mother went to trade. It was lonely to be the only child on the farm. She grew close to the animals. Cows, pigs, a goat, and chickens were her companions. She spoke to them as if they were other children and told them stories about things she had done that they hadn’t, such as climbing trees, or walking down to the stream with her mother or father for a moment of rest.

She worked hard, and seldom showed reluctance to do her part around the farm. There was so much to do, even though the farm was small. She knew that the farm next door was larger, but they had grandparents, parents, children, and even a great-grandchild all living under one roof. There were plenty of hands to help. That farm had sheep as well as cows, pigs, and chickens, and greater numbers of those besides.

For Rachel it was just two cows, a handful of pigs, a small flock of chickens, and the goat. And Rachel. And her mother and her father. And that was all.

Continue reading →

One thing to bring along

Posted on by

It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon. Church was over. All through the town the members of the congregation were settling down to weekend chores or digestion of the morning’s brunch. He had come home, as he always did, alone. Once there he sat on the porch for a while and had a sandwich, drank tea from an earthenware mug his wife had shaped with her hands before she died. He looked out at the little yard. There should have been children playing in that little yard by now, he thought.

This thought was familiar to him. In often came on Sunday afternoons as he sat on the porch and looked at the yard. In the corner he could almost see the little playhouse he had intended to build for them. It was a place he might have played in as a child himself.

Once again, as he did on many of these Sundays, he thought of leaving. The house was small, very small, but still it was too big for one man who clung to solitude.

Continue reading →

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 12

Posted on by

Just as Helmar was almost there at the gate, just as he had almost crossed the courtyard and escaped, he stepped on something with his right foot and it upset his delicate balance. The thing went skittering off through the gate. Carl wobbled on Helmar’s shoulder. Helmar desperately struggled to get his foot under him, but it was to no avail. Everything seemed to move with sickening slowness. He tossed his sword ahead of him, hoping he wouldn’t impale himself or Carl on it as he fell. Carl’s feet hit the ground first, whipping the burglar off Helmar’s shoulder like a ragdoll. The twist in the momentum sent Helmar himself spinning. Something cracked the side of his head hard enough to send stars across his eyes, and he tumbled onto his back and rolled a few feet.

Continue reading →

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 11

Posted on by

Helmar hadn’t thought it was possible, but he sped up slightly. He was starting to get dizzy from the endless slight curve of the stairway as it swept around the wall of the tower. But he kept the wall on his left and continued to run. The single-room levels rushed by on his right, illuminated briefly by Carl’s fading torchlight. It was hard running with a broadsword in his right hand, and he knew that if he fell he would probably impale himself, but he couldn’t drop it. If the beast behind him caught up, it would be all he had left.

Continue reading →

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 10

Posted on by

Suddenly the chain jerked with a snap, tightening and then relaxing. Helmar jumped, and so did Carl. From somewhere within the pile of smoldering furniture there was a sudden movement. A wardrobe jumped. A table jumped. A chair fell off the table. Still the origin of the movement and the terminus of the chain, which Helmar took to be one and the same, was not visible. The warrior decided not to wait till it was. He began to move toward the door as quietly, calmly, and quickly as he could.

Continue reading →

Free till 2012: Fantasy Novella Serialization

Posted on by

I’m currently finishing up a first draft of a fantasy novella tentatively entitled She Danced with Shadows. Starting next weekend, I’m going to begin releasing She Danced with Shadows in serial format on a weekly schedule. Every weekend I’ll send out several thousand words of this novella, edited and revised to a more refined state than that of my free fantasy fiction. Think of this as the second draft of my novella, never-before-published!

For now, the serial version of She Danced with Shadows will be available for free week by week on my website, andrewcodispoti.com, and through my Free Fantasy Fiction email list. This state of affairs is temporary! I’ll be serializing roughly the first half of the novella for free for two months. Starting in February, 2012, the serialization will move to a paid weekly letter, to which interested readers may subscribe for a fee.

So for December and January please enjoy the weekly serialization of She Danced with Shadows, on andrewcodispoti.com and the Free Fantasy Fiction email list! Let your friends know about it, and tell me what you think!

Love and letters,
Andrew Codispoti

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 9

Posted on by

This is it, Helmar, Helmar said to himself. The door was sturdily built, with no keyhole, just a latch. The boards were old and dry, and looked as hard as rock. Helmar took a deep breath, let it out. Then he lifted the latch carefully with his left hand and pushed the door open as he stepped through.

The room atop the tower was a single space, with a single window. There was a single lit brazier by the window, and a single man standing over the flames with his back to the door. Innumerable objects, such as chests, tables, bookcases, and wardrobes, crowded the edges of the room, crouching in the shadows.

Continue reading →

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 7

Posted on by

The next room was dark too. And the next. And the next. There were four rooms on the ground floor of the tower, quartering it, and each was dark and empty. In the fourth was an unrailed stone staircase leading up to the next level. The room above seemed dark as well.

When they saw the staircase Helmar and Carl exchanged a glance. Then they proceeded up the staircase tight together, Helmar in the lead with sword ready, Carl just behind with the torch raised high. The torch cleared the second floor just as Helmar’s head did, and he saw an empty room, with a dark doorway. It might have been slightly smaller than the one below it, but otherwise it was identical.

Climbing the rest of the stairs and gathering at the doorway they repeated the cautious approach they had used to explore the rooms on the first floor. Continue reading →

Helmar Ventures into the Mountains: Part 6

Posted on by

The stars had come out, and in the shadow of the tower it was already getting too dark to see. Helmar put his hand on Carl’s shoulder and shook the burglar. Carl’s head wobbled back and forth where it rested against the wall, but other than that there was no reaction.

“Dragon balls!” said Helmar, rather more loudly than he meant to. He froze and listened for any sound from within the tower. There was none that he could detect. Reaching into the ground-floor room he grabbed the latch and pulled the door quietly shut. Then he cursed again, under his breath this time. Carl snored, and slowly slid down the wall into a more comfortable position. As he slid he bounced a bit with the friction that is inherent in sliding down a rough stone wall, but he still remained asleep.

Continue reading →