The world was called Montefiore, as far as she knew, and from her aerie on every side all the world descended. The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. There she spends her days cosseted by Primavera Vecchia, the earthy cook, and Fra Ludovico, a priest who tends to their souls between bites of ham and sips of wine. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm - and the world comes to Montefiore. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia - decadent children of a wicked pope - no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest to reclaim a relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, he leaves Bianca under the care - so to speak - of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest there can be found salvation as well ... The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.

The winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Connie Willis capture the timeless essence of generosity and goodwill in this magical collection if Christmas stories. These eight tales-two of which have never before been published-boldly reimagine the stories of Christmas while celebrating the power of love and compassion. This enchanting treasury includes: Miracle, in which a young woman's carefully devised plans to find romance go awry when her guardian angel shows her the true meaning of love In Coppelius's Toyshop, where a jaded narcissist finds himself trapped in a crowded toy store at Christmastime Epiphany, in which three modern-day wisemen embark on a quest unlike any they've ever experienced Inn, where a choir singer gives shelter to a homeless man and his pregnant wife-only to learn later that there's much more to the couple than meets the eye And more From the Paperback edition.

They are trapped, frozen. Waiting. Straining against the wood that holds them. The unwary catch a glimpse now and then - feel their desperate hunger, see a glint of red eyes - and scurry out of the shadows of the wood, back to the light. She's coming; it will be soon. They will run free on the moors again. The Hunt will return. And the ground will run with blood. An ancient curse placed on a family of witches foretells that twins will be born - one good, one evil; and one will destroy the other. But who can be trusted when no one is as they seem?

Sometimes our enemies are also our only allies… After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. When the Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly wondering, who will betray whom first? After a surprise attack and shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war upon the Witchlands.

Numbers. They haunt me. I can't look into a person's eyes without seeing the six-digit date of their death. I’m helpless to change it, no matter how hard I try. I’ve trained myself to look down. Away. Anywhere but at their eyes. My camera is my escape. My salvation. Through its lens, I see only beauty and life—not death and despair. Disconnected from all those around me, I’m content being alone, simply existing. Until I meet him. Tavian. The man beyond the numbers. How can I stay away, when everything about him draws me in? But how can I fall in love, knowing exactly when it will expire?

The Mummy and Miss Nitocris - A Phantasy of the Fourth Dimension is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by George Chetwynd Griffith is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of George Chetwynd Griffith then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

An aspiring reporter, determined to emerge from her father's shadow, finds herself in trouble when a meeting with a contact turns sour. When a kind stranger comes to her rescue, she enlists his help in uncovering the reasons behind the set up. Hoping to find the story she had been after, the pair stumble upon more than they had bargained for, contending with forces both mundane and... less so.An infection must be curbed – even in a schoolIt starts off with just one; a hit and run.Next it’s a car crash, with no survivors. Then the school bus is completely obliterated on a level crossing.Then there’s a fire…Each time, it either involves someone who upset Jasmine, or Jasmine and her friends miraculously survive.Jasmine reckons it’s her guardian angel Gariel that’s protecting her.But Gariel is increasingly insistent that Jasmine has to find and hand him a book he needs.Problem is, Jasmine doesn’t know which book he means – and the longer she takes to find it, the more the school seems to be in danger.

When travel writer and werewolf Ashlee Scott returns to her hometown to recuperate from a shooting, she must confront a place full of painful and pleasant memories while dealing with her identical twin sister Amber and the complications of family. Throw in the full moon, old boyfriends, old ghosts and new enemies, and Knightsbridge Canyon will never be the same for her again.A Quirky, Snarky Urban FantasyGilmore Girls meets Supernatural! Werewolves and ghosts and magic, oh my!When travel writer and werewolf Ashlee Scott returns to her hometown to recuperate from a shooting, she must confront a place full of painful and pleasant memories while dealing with her identical twin sister Amber and the complications of family. Throw in the full moon, old boyfriends, old ghosts and new enemies, and Knightsbridge Canyon will never be the same for her again.MoonRise is a New Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy story of werewolves, witches, ghosts and vampires, family, pack and kin.The Supernatural Siblings series:MoonRiseMoonFallBloodMoonMore to come!

A short story in which a young girl is forced to listen to a murderer reminisce over his kills.Wilson Greene waits for his freedom while monsters growl within the walls. Deep, unnatural darkness shrouds the prison since the Brotherhood murdered his penitentiary prophet Luke Turner. Wilson sits in that darkness and waits for the blades his prophet promised would be plunged into him. He smiles in the dark though his guards and cellmates plan his murder. For his prophet's tattoos snake upon his skin, dark runes shifting in the shadows and promising that the death soon to be delivered is but a temporary sleep before he awakes a free man. The teeth of Wilson's bracelet rattle. Luke Turner has harvested all of Wilson's faith, and that prisoner with the ink shifting beneath his skin has no reason to suspect those tattoos mark him for a terrible warden waiting beyond those prison walls.

Continuing adventures of Zelf, Welfing (bipedal wolf) from First Den, Zev the werewolf, Evans the English spy, Troy the boy from an unknown realm. Will Zelf and Zev finally confess their love to each other? Will Troy find out who he is? Do you love Tolkien, CS Lewis, Susanna Clarke, Naomi Novik? You will love this paranormal alternate history adventure. Buy it now and discover Zelf's great secret!The Mystic Rose, a rose of mixed colors that can only be believed if it is seen. That's what most of the stories says about it, but there are other stories as well. Stories about how it isn't even a rose at all, how it's a person, a jewel, or something no one is quite sure what. The oldest stories say it's something different for each generation, and it shows up for a limited time every twenty years and the only one who knows just what the Mystic Rose is, is the person it shows itself to.

There is a place that shouldn’t exist. But does. And there are creatures that shouldn’t exist. But do. Welcome to a land where all of your dreams and nightmares are very real—and often deadly. Welcome to Everworld. Christopher, Jalil, April, David, and Senna thought they’d seen it all. Especially after “visiting” Neptune’s watery world and then ultimately finding themselves in Atlantis. Once again, they’ve managed to find a way to the next land—hoping it will be the passage back to the earth they know. Back to the real world. But when they wash up on a beautiful beach, they quickly realize that they’ve still not quite made it back home. That they’ve arrived in Eire. And it’s not the modern-day Ireland they’ve read about in class. This is a land of giants, leprechauns, and yes, more gods. But Christopher and the others have experience with these beings. The real problem is that Merlin is closing in, and this time he will not be outsmarted. And he will not leave without Senna…

In his debut novel, literary alchemist Jeff VanderMeer takes us on an unforgettable journey, a triumph of the imagination that reveals the magical and mysterious city of Veniss through three intertwined voices. First, Nicholas, a would-be Living Artist, seeks to escape his demons in the shadowy underground–but in doing so makes a deal with the devil himself. In her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. And finally, haunted by Nicola’s sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola’s lover, embarks on a mythic journey to the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city to bring his love back to light. There he will find wonders beyond imagining…and horrors greater than the heart can bear. By turns beautiful, horrifying, delicate, and powerful, Veniss Underground explores the limits of love, memory, and obsession in a landscape that defies the boundaries of the imagination. This special edition includes the short stories “The Sea, Mendeho, and Moonlight”; “Detectives and Cadavers”; and “A Heart for Lucretia” and the novella Balzac’s War, offering a complete tour of the fantastic world of Veniss.

Set in the 17th century and based on a true-life historical figure, this novel is a swashbuckling tale of exotic lands, romance, and hair-raising adventures. Andrew Battell is a buccaneer on a British ship when he is taken prisoner by Portuguese pirates. Injured and ailing, Andrew is brought to the west coast of Africa where his only solace is Dona Teresa, a young woman who nurses him back to health. Once his health is restored, AndrewOCOs only hope to return home is to first serve his Portuguese masters, but it is a hope that dwindles as he is pulled further and further into the interior of the continent, into the land of the JaqqaOCothe regionOCOs most fierce and feared cannibal tribeOCooverseen by the powerful Lord of Darkness. Survival means becoming one with the Jaqqa; if he can endure their gruesome rites and initiations. Originally published in 1984, this story by a master of science fiction and fantasy demonstrates the timelessness of any great adventure and will provoke thought in a new audience on the determination to persevere at any cost."

For centuries, Vatican sorcerers kept demons and monsters out of our world with the magic found in a grimoire called The Gospel of Shadows. Years ago, to save his people from madmen, Peter Octavian defeated those sorcerers and the Gospel of Shadows itself was banished from the Earth. Ever since, the evils and monstrosities lurking in parallel worlds have been waking to the realization that our magical defences are down – the barriers keeping them out of our world are crumbling. With massive demonic incursions in locations around the world, Octavian should be focused on using his own sorcery to drive the evil out and rebuild our defences. But a renegade vampire named Cortez has murdered the person Octavian loves the most and, even with his friends and allies around him, he is so lost in grief that he can think of nothing but revenge. There are others who can fight the darkness – mages, Shadows, witches, Reapers and vampire samurai – but only the warrior-mage, Peter Octavian, can defeat it. If he will answer the call.