The city of Astar shines as a lone beacon of peace, free from the constant warring of the inhuman, gemeng tribes of the Plains. Aerlid, a man neither human nor gemeng, tricks his way into Astar with his charge, a young gemeng named Riley. In the human city, she experiences a type of fear and oppression foreign to her, and longs for the freedom of the world beyond the city walls.In an empty and dangerous world, the human city of Astar shines as a lone beacon of peace, free from the constant warring of the inhuman, gemeng tribes of the Plains. Aerlid, a man neither human nor gemeng, tricks his way into Astar with his charge, a young gemeng named Riley. In the human city, she experiences a type of fear and oppression foreign to her, and longs for the freedom of the world beyond the city walls.Unbeknownst to her, the world is changing. To the north, another human city is discovered, where the people do not constantly fear invasion by the gemengs, while in the western city of Coastside, a young man begins speaking to the fishpeople, gemengs that dwell within the ocean.But something far worse is coming. The ancestors of the gemengs, creatures far more powerful than either gemeng or human have faced in centuries, are returning. Unaware of the danger, Riley abandons the safety of Astar, while the people of the city remain sure in the strength of their walls…

A short story of 5k words. April Stevens works, day in and day out, in an office, part of the secretarial pool. There is nothing remarkable about her life; it is pristine, organized, ordered. She dislikes change, dislikes the unpredictable. But she is changing, and in ways that she can’t predict, doesn’t understand, and can no longer hide...

Colin suddenly finds hist life turned upside down. His friend and mentor, Grandfather Thunder, is gone, replaced by their merciless aunt Grizzelda.Transplanted to Horwood House, a Victorian mansion that has family history and secrets, his personal abilities begin to reveal themselves. He finds out that he is the great grandson of Zuhayer Horwood, and his grand father is coming for him.Isabel Stone wanted a normal life. But when the unexpected death of her father leaves her at the helm of the family business, things quickly go from weird to worse. Vampires are on the loose and out of the coffin, and only Isabel can walk the fine line between the world of the living and the world of the undead.Torn between letting go of her past and embracing her future, Isabel will have to decide who she can trust, and be willing to use all the weapons at her disposal, to get to the bottom of a terrifying string of deaths that lead right to her doorstep—before she becomes the next victim. In a city where nothing is what it seems, ending up the target of a deranged killer might actually be the high point of her week. Because in this town, the things that go bump in the night… just might kill you.

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise...A horror fantasy short story. 1500 words plus an Authors AfterwordIf you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise...A horror/fantasy short story of 1500 words.Including an Authors Afterword. Warning; Though not of an adult nature, this story contains some scenes concerning animals which some readers may find disturbing...but then it's a horror story, innit?A different version of this story appeared in the Amiga diskzine "Dark Portal 4" in 1996.

The Soul Shadow and Other Tales of Tomorrow are stories that fancifully defy the everyday. People are plunged into unpredictable events that amuse, amaze, terrify. They are sometimes the retaliation of man's ingenuity and sometimes the result of baffling outer influences. So don't take your reassuring routines for granted!The eleven stories in "The Soul Shadow and Other Tales of Tomorrow", are often rooted in reality. But they soon become improbably perturbing, droll or outlandish. However, in The Soul Shadow - the first story - we are already in a weird and wonderful future, whose equilibrium is threatened by former traits of dark ambition.In "Klein", a curious creature designed for a film set, begins to breathe, then takes off in a bid for freedom....And the ageing fortune teller in "Zizi's Last Wish", opts for her ashes to be launched in an urn into outer space where she hopes to discover, even after death, the secrets of the universe!People, who at first appear to be living an everyday life, are suddenly pitched into an unearthly element or terrified by events beyond their control.In "The Flood", why was a whole community borne away so rapidly by the rising water? And in "The Bell Flowers of Lymphos", how had malicious plants taken root so readily in humble homes and gardens?You won't find any answers but enjoy these deviations, even if they are the stuff of bad dreams. At least you can confront them while awake!

It's Midsummer's Eve, but Sam Tyler is starting to regret agreeing to find her ex's adopted brother a suitable coat for the coming night's ball.*Read this if you enjoy the work of Jon Courtney Grimwood, Tad Williams or Joe Abercrombie, or love watching Alias or Teenwolf.It's Midsummer's Eve, but Sam Tyler is starting to regret agreeing to find her ex's adopted brother a suitable coat for the coming night's ball.*The city of Neppon drifts through the shallows, where the walls circling the mortal realm are thin. Here the daemons gather out of the surrounding night, drawn by its promise of candle flame warmth.As the election for the city's mayoral office approaches, one man stands head and shoulders above the other candidates. His reputation is as a bastion for all that is good and honest, in a world beset from all sides by horrors. But Jaret Roscan carries a secret. A secret that could bring ruin to his political career, and chaos to his beloved city.One person carries the key to his salvation. The question is, will they come forward in his hour of need?Harlem's Deck; a story in instalments. Keep your hand close to your chest...*Read this if you enjoy the work of Jon Courtney Grimwood, Tad Williams or Joe Abercrombie, or love watching Alias or Teenwolf.

Allia Washington watches as another Compound candidate is wheeled to the morgue. Now a new position is open and the first in line is Allia's young son. She knows the program will kill her son, but protecting him will take more than solving why all of the candidates die too soon. She may be forced to do anything to save her son, even if she has to defy the Compound itself. This is a short story.Allia Washington watches as another young Compound candidate is wheeled into the science lab for emergency care. The boy is only 12 years old and will not survive to see another sunrise. This means a new position will open in the candidate program and the Compound will be looking for new applicants, the first of which is Allia's four-year-old son. She knows the program will kill her son and she has to find a way to keep him out of it. But protecting her son will take more than solving the mystery that kills all of the candidates too soon. She may be forced to do something drastic, anything to save her son, even if it means she has to defy the Compound itself. This is a short story prequel to The White Lilac a YA dystopia sci-fi novel.

The old man next door, Old Man Rab, has disappeared and been replaced by the sinister Mrs Hitchcock and now no-one remembers him, except nine year old Kim Cutbush. His Mum and Dad think he's mad but It’s not just Rab who has gone. All over the village, people’s loved ones are disappearing and being stitched, or ripped out of time, and no-one can remember them except Kim.The old man next door, Old Man Rab, has disappeared and been replaced by the sinister Mrs Hitchcock and now no-one remembers him, except nine year old Kim Cutbush. His Mum and Dad think he's mad but It’s not just Rab who has gone. All over the village, people’s loved ones are disappearing and being stitched, or ripped out of time, and no-one can remember them except poor Kim, the only one who sees what she is doing.The only one who has the chance to save them from her is a child.

Astronomy proves a dangerous hobby, as while out camping Jenny Airhart and her friends are drawn into an adventure by paranormal investigator Lionel Baker - Gentleman, adventurer and purveyor of mystery... and who is pursued by a very dangerous gang. And there are even dangers awaiting where they're going, to a vault buried beneath the earth where deadly secrets lie in wait...Stargazing and astronomy proves to be a dangerous hobby for Jenny Airhart and her friends, as while out camping they are stumbled upon by a paranormal investigator, Sir Lionel Baker - Gentleman, Adventurer, and purveyor of mystery! (The biggest mystery being why did Kaya's mom once give her a sweater with Donny Osmond's face on it?)But Lionel is not so harmless as he first appears, as soon the women are drawn into an adventure with a very dangerous gang. And even greater dangers await them where they're going, beneath the earth, where deadly secrets lie in wait...This novella takes place after the novel 'The Little Queen', and before the upcoming novel 'Asterion'.

Locked in a fight to the death in the subworld of Kiilda, John’s only option is to defeat Kiilda if he ever wants to see his little sister again. Meanwhile, Faith is quickly forming a friendship with Tarsh Landid. But when Castrum Fortress is surrounded by the Brown Bandits, it looks like the only thing that will satisfy them is the former “Ghost of Hedekira”…whether he’s dead or alive!The Golden Lands, one of the three worlds of Terra, is supposed to be a place of peace, light, and happiness. But the Golden Lands hasn't exactly been such a place for John Hedekira, a jaded, hot-headed teenager.Locked in a fight to the death in the subworld of Kiilda, John’s only option is to defeat Kiilda if he ever wants to see his little sister again. Meanwhile, Faith is quickly forming a friendship with Tarsh Landid. But when Castrum Fortress is surrounded by the Brown Bandits, it looks like the only thing that will satisfy them is the former “Ghost of Hedekira”…whether he’s dead or alive!

When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late--client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe.

When New York Times Bestselling writer Tad Williams described Peter S. Beagle as a 'bandit prince out to steal reader's hearts' he touched on a truth that readers have known for fifty years. Beagle, whose work has touched generations of readers around the world, has spun rich, romantic and very funny tales that have beguiled and enchanted readers of all ages. Undeniably, his most famous work is the much loved classic, The Last Unicorn, which tells of unicorn who sets off on quest to discover whether she is the last of her kind, and of the people she meets on her journey. Never prolific, The Last Unicorn is one of only five novels Beagle has published since A Fine and Private Place appeared in 1960, and was followed by The Folk of the Air, The Innkeeper's Song, and Tamsin. During the first forty years of his career Beagle also wrote a small handful, scarcely a dozen, short stories. Classics like 'Come Lady Death,' 'Lila and the Werewolf,' 'Julie's Unicorn,' 'Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros,' and the tales that make up Giant Bones. And then, starting just five years ago, he turned his attention to short fiction in earnest, and produced a stunning array of new stories including the Hugo and Nebula Award winning follow up to The Last Unicorn, 'Two Hearts,' WSFA Small Press Award winner 'El Regalo,' and wonderful stories like the surrealist 'The Last and Only,' the haunting 'The Rabbi s Hobby' and others. Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle collects the very best of these stories, over 200,000 words worth, ranging across 45 years of his career from early stories to freshly minted tales that will surprise and amaze readers. It's a book which shows, more than any other, just how successful this bandit prince from the streets of New York has been at stealing our hearts and underscores how much we hope he ll keep on doing so.

12,000 B.C. They were four trained scientists, each of them skilled in several disciplines - because this was an opportunity that would never occur again. There would never be another chance for men form the world of 2070 A.D. to examine in person the world of 12,000 B.C. What they learned and taped would be the only record ever made of this dim, enigmatic period of prehistory. But absolutely no one in the world of 2070 or in the borrowed time of 12,000 B.C. could have imagined what the tapes would reveal... A superb novel of adventure and intrigue in a vanished era Cover illustration: Geoff Cummings

Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit. Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne.... To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death. October Daye is about to find out what they are.

Just when Nola O'Grady thinks she has it all... Nola's the new head of the San Francisco branch of the Agency, the Psychic organization so secret that even the CIA doesn't know it exists. What's more, for some mysterious reason, Interpol has assigned her lover, Israeli secret agent Ari Nathan, to her new bureau as her permanent "bodyguard." But everywhere she looks she sees a Chaos manifestation spying on her. Inexplicable "rogue waves" are sweeping innocents to a water death before she can save them. She has two increasingly dangerous searches on hand, for Reb Ezekiel, the supposedly dead prophet from Ari's past, and for the mysterious "Brother Belial," head of the Chaos cult they had managed to take down. To top it off, her brother Michael is dragging Nola and Ari into his attempt to rescue his girlfriend from a radioactive alternate dimension. How is Nola supposed to serve the forces of Harmony and maintain the balance between Chaos and Order when she can't even keep her own family under control?