My Cloak of Keys

by Fran Wilde

A short story (Deadlands 10)

Long, considerate silences.

It turns out, Elise and I had nothing to worry about, and Nell, from “My Cloak of Keys” is everything I wanted in a practitioner of underworld kindnesses. Just remember that kind isn’t always nice.

Unknown Binding

About the author

Two-time Nebula Award-winner Fran Wilde has (so far) published nine novels, a poetry collection, and over 70 short stories for adults, teens, and kids. Her stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, four Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. They include her Nebula- and Compton Crook-winning debut novel Updraft, and her Nebula-winning, Best of NPR 2019, debut Middle Grade novel Riverland. Her short stories appear in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Nature, Uncanny Magazine, and multiple years' best anthologies.

The Managing Editor for The Sunday Morning Transport, Fran teaches or has taught for schools including Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She writes nonfiction for publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, and Tor.com. You can find her on Instagram, Bluesky, and at franwilde.net.

Reviews

[Joanne Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting point of view … I wish there was more of this story because I would gobble it up!