Dark Fantasy Short Stories

This lesser-known character isn't so much a typical Lumley hero as an innocent bystander, who all too often seems to be standing by in the wrong place at the wrong time - a man in collision with various weird horrors, who can never state definitely that the things he experiences are real. So here he is - the neither hero nor anti-hero narrator of these stories - though, in The Nonesuch and Others, he's at least seen to be brave, if not actually heroic.

Nadia Moran is an illegal wizard, an expert thief, and an occasional killer. Riordan MacCormac is an assassin of the Family, a legendary band of assassins bonded to Shadowmorph symbionts. And unless Nadia and Riordan work together, the creatures of the Shadowlands will devour them both....

Tales from the Eerie Canal weaves the sinister mystery of Edgar Allan Poe with the dark humor of Edward Gorey. No canal. No Lake Erie. Just a stream of the disturbing splashed with bits of the absurd.

Captain Torren, the warden of the Dormigan Prison, knows that the mysterious Prisoner 34 is much more dangerous than the authorities think. Torren does his best to guard him, going so far as to break some of his orders, but the new governor's sudden wish to personally inspect the prison threatens to destroy the shaky balance the warden has achieved. Will the Prisoner comply and help Torren through the inspection? What will he ask in return? And will he keep his word?

Viking magic is real, not all knights are honorable, and ancient magic comes with a price in these incredible epic fantasy tales. Bonus: Included are 17 bonus stories not available anywhere else, bringing this collection to many hours of incredible storytelling. These tales don’t have a happy ending. Dark, gritty fantasy at its finest.

Each night, the world is overrun by bloodthirsty demons. For centuries, humanity survived only by hiding behind defensive wards – magical symbols of power. Now, though, the rediscovery of other, long-forgotten wards has given them the magic they need to fight back.... In Tibbet’s Brook, the fighting wards have brought change, heightening tensions and grudges of a troubled past. Selia Square, the woman they call Barren, has long been the force holding the Brook together. As a terrifying new threat emerges, she must rally the people of the Brook once more.

He can’t trust her, but he will claim her. Elise roams free in the anti-shifter research lab. For weeks, she walked by Ransom’s cage, ignoring him. Then she frees him, But she’s reluctant to escape. Ransom won’t leave her behind, She’s shifter, and shifters don’t abandon shifters. There’s more to this brave female than Ransom first realized. Ransom wants to find his pack. Elise wants to return to the anti-shifter research lab. Something has to give. It won’t be Ransom... ◆◆◆ Fight Hard. Love Harder. Ransom’s Revenge is a steamy, stand-alone romance in the Broken ...

Everything Aria tried to do in order to save her brother and help those closest to her has made everything worse. She's now alone with Beru, trying to figure out a way to fix what they've done, to undo what they've started. But Aria still can't get over the fact that Beru is a traitor to Onen Suun, the only man who dared to defy Dag'draath. Beru was the reason Onen Suun was forced to sacrifice his life to save the world.

Talisha is shocked when she finds mechdream pills in the bottom of her husband's underwear drawer. Designed to create a unique virtual reality based on his wildest fantasies, they will allow him to plumb the depths of his pleasure centers. The only problem is, he's spending the rent money building his virtual paradise. Just what are her husband's deepest desires? Talisha isn't sure she wants to know.

Want to explore new worlds, escape reality for a few hours, and enjoy amazing stories? Then Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories is the book for you! With 12+ different tales, you'll never be bored or lack new material. Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories is for anyone who loves to read both genres. Whether you're a child looking for a new adventure, an adult looking for a new escape, or someone who loves to explore different worlds, this book has something for you. With 12+ different stories, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Get lost in these amazing science fiction and fantasy ...

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The nightmares include: JACK IN THE BOX: Harold fixes up old houses and sells them for a nice profit. That is, until he bought the dreaded house on Elm Street. THE SECOND VIRGIN BIRTH: At midnight on Christmas Eve, a nun rescues a baby left on the chapel steps in the freezing cold. GRANDPA: The zombie apocalypse has begun and Grandpa is near death in the next room. TATTOO: Bad things start to happen after Marla picks a ferocious black panther for the free tattoo she won. THE JACK THE ...

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The nightmares include: THE FEUD: After twelve years of truce between two feuding families, Jasper Stump is missing and a beast is devouring people in the woods. CATS: The police are sent to investigate the home of an elderly woman with a houseful of cats who has not retrieved her newspapers for four days. BEDTIME STORY: Cindy is waiting up for her daddy who went out to get something for tomorrow morning’s breakfast. ANOTHER DAMN DAY IN VEGAS: Two detectives have a particularly grisly ...

Crimson, the bloodthirsty, sadistic King of Hearts, is a villain. Or at least he’s supposed to be. That’s just how things work in Wonderland, a strange, fanciful place filled with heroes and villains who always seem to be at odds. Crim is in a very dark place after the hero Alister Kingsley wins the Wonderland joust and marries Madeline Hatter. He should have known better than to hope for true love since villains don’t get "happy endings". But there’s something fishy afoot.

It all started with a virus that spread through the Earth, it was an uncontrollable pandemic. A slightly more virulent flu was called. Governments closed borders, not too many people were infected and died, the world economy stopped for a long time... That was not the biggest problem.

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The nightmares include: SOMETHING IN THE SKY: Strange things happen to two college students on Lovers Lane after a meteor cuts a path through a nearby cemetery. THE TOASTER: The City of Baltimore appropriates funds to move Edgar Allen Poe's gravesite to a new mausoleum. LORD OF DARKNESS: Fred finds a large box on his doorstep with a horrific looking ebony statue inside that terrifies him. He abhors scary things and takes it to the city dump for disposal. THE METEOR: Newt is awakened when a...

The town of Pine Ridge has an eerie past, with tales of witchcraft and ritual murders, but when a local man is savagely killed, all hell threatens to break loose. Supernatural detective Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate the brutal slaying - a murder that seems to have been carried out by children - children with dead black eyes....

Confronting werewolves, exploring haunted forests, calming angry spirits, and befriending ancient vampires. These are just a few of the tasks that Asher Norwood and his raven partner Aethon find themselves doing on any given day. Asher is a sin eater, a guild of mages that exists to combat dark magic wherever it rears its ugly head.

Looks can be deceiving. Believe me, I know. I was captivated when I first gazed into Luc's eyes. He was breathtaking and formidable, and his darkness stirred something deep within me. But beneath the angelic mask lay the devil, and I had stepped into his inferno. Thanks to Luc, my life has become a relentless torment. Just when I’ve lost all hope, he comes to my rescue. I’m broken, and he’s slowly picking up the pieces as his haunting mistakes confront him. Now, I find myself torn between two conflicting truths. I can’t decide if he’s the hero of my story or the monster. This is a...

Hidden beneath the waves, a secret power risesIn the depths of the pool at SUNY Rochester, Anna Taylor isn't just any swim coach. Beneath her clothing hides a secret; growing scales and an ability to manipulate water in ways she's just beginning to understand. As whispers of her newfound abilities reach the wrong ears, Anna is pulled into a turbulent world of intolerance, where even her estranged brother, Joel, stands on the side of the oppressors. Thrust from the sanctuary of the university, Anna's journey to seek refuge takes her from the tumultuous streets of Rochester to the possibility...

The End. Those two little words can mean so much. But how will things end...and will it hurt? That's what we really want to know. Delve into the darkness and join us at the end of the world. From a blighted sky to an invasion from beyond, from untethered time to one person driven beyond the edge of sanity, from a child's game to an unseen apocalypse...it's all imagined here, and imagined darkly.