Dark Fantasy Mystery Thriller

Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances is the 4th volume of Night Shade Books’ five volume Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman....

Lydia awakes, bound and blind, to the whispered urgings of a man who has his hands on her. His words confuse her at first, but she soon understands they are both in the middle of a performance that will determine whether she remains in captivity or dies.

In the second Peter Octavian novel, the Shadows have been exposed as living amongst us and the ancient vampiric race now finds itself threatened by the most powerful demon of all: human prejudice.

The city of Luskan has always been a den of pirates, thieves, and murderers. But lately, things have gotten much worse. A ship crashes offshore with nothing but corpses. Every day, people go crazy and brutalize those around them. And the only signs that even the most hardened criminals still walk the streets at night are bones. Luskan's sister city, Waterdeep, has sent a detachment to quarantine the unclean city - to let the filth within die, rather than infect the rest of the Realms. But Myrin has slipped inside, declaring that she will save Luskan.

In a world steeped in shadow and ruled by an unforgiving Queen, Elara hides a deadly secret: she wields forbidden fire magic. Haunted by her past and pursued by those who would see her destroyed, she lives in the shadows of Kaelithar, a kingdom on the brink of rebellion. When fate entwines her path with Valen, the feared and enigmatic Commander of the Queen’s Guard, their connection sparks a dangerous flame neither can ignore.

Though shadow sweeps over the land, light will not relent. On the run with the new King of Cragspear and her shadow guardian, Ilsaletta must gather the seven swords and destroy them all or risk her rival destroying not just Cragspear but the world. Something has changed with Ilsaletta's shadow bodyguard and as he slips away, Ilsaletta must choose between the fate of the world and her own heart. Can she follow duty and good, or will she try to keep what was never hers in the first place?

A dark wind gathers on Chaco Navajo reservation, deep in the heart of New Mexico. Grant Romer, the Keeper of the secret bell, can feel it pulling at his soul. Caroline and Owen work as hard as they can to treat the Navajo, but the dark wind brings a desperation to their clinic that is beyond western medicine.

As a ruthless sentinel sworn to protect the ancient Vampyr king and the house of Jadon, he has "HOJ" literally inscribed on his heart: a heart that was tragically broken centuries earlier, when human hunters slayed his mother and Dark Ones murdered his father. Having survived the unthinkable, he never dreamed he would come this close to another human predator, let alone a female pretending to be his destiny.

The battle for Templar has only just begun. The city is under attack by a mysterious woman in a purple cloak who wields an extraordinary elemental power: Every few hours, a sustained lighting column strikes the city, slowly draining the lives of everyone it touches with its deadly, crackling energy bolts.

For Harmony Black, practicing witch and government agent, defeating criminal masterminds and eliminating supernatural threats are all in a day's work. She's ready to fight, as long as she can count on her partner, Jessie Temple; her team at off-the-books special FBI unit Vigilant Lock; and her magic. But her latest case threatens it all.

Cursed long ago to check their growing power, vampires can only coexist in small groups. Yet despite their many conflicts, those of the Bloode possess similar traits. All vampires, no matter from where they come, are male. They can go unnoticed by humans unless they wish otherwise, and they can’t survive sunlight. Mormo, servant of the goddess Hecate, has created a small new Bloode clan at her behest. The six vampires he commands are rough, ill-disciplined, and mean, and they fail to follow orders on a daily basis. But they’re needed. Something big and bad is coming.

I escaped from the first wave of monsters with a magic sword, a kidnapped duke, and a big chip on my shoulder. It's not enough for me to run. Not when this tide threatens to sweep over the entire world. I'm the only one who can warn people of what's coming. I'm the only one who knows the truth. And I'm the only one who holds a sword able to fight against the tide of plague and monsters...or am I?

Four years after the events of The Worm and His Kings, Donna Ashton ekes out a life far removed from her troubled past, only to be abducted one December night by a monster in man's skin. Held prisoner by operatives of a clandestine research facility and drugged into a sickened state, each day brings questioning and punishment. Escape should be possible when Donna faces only mortal hands this time, but the more she sees, the worse her mind splinters with horrific understanding.

When John Hunter finds out he can get paid $5,000 for trapping a rogue chimera, it's game on. Now, he'll have a crash course on the goings-on of the secret underworld and more than a few bruises to prove his mettle. But not all is as straightforward as it may seem. There are those closest to Jonny who are more than they're letting on. And the humans in his life turn out to be the worst kind of monsters. Jonny may be able to save himself, if he wants to save the city from an unspeakable, ancient evil lurking in the shadows, he'll have to catch up fast.

At the Salerna Beach drum circle, Lu meets Jake, a handsome addition to her brother's typically wayward social sphere. He's a college kid—a refreshing reprieve from high-school mundanity—and he's undeniably interested in Lu. And Lu is interested in him. But try as she might, she can't clear her mind long enough to enjoy it. She can't stop thinking about the kid in the cove. On her way to the drum circle, Lu stopped to help a boy caught in the rough waves between the cove jetties.

They’re gone. I’m still trying to process that fact, but I can’t. Although I have nowhere near enough life or leadership experience, I have to serve my purpose and lead the Angels’ army to war. But for every step we take, Lucas trumps it as he orchestrates the beginnings of World War III. Single-handedly, he turns the humans against the Amadis, and when Tristan and I top every country’s list of Most Wanted Terrorists, we’re forced to go underground to fight this war.

Eighteen-year-old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She's not your everyday quasi-demon, half-demon, and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory's arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she has not lost a battle yet.

I woke up to a changed world, and saw the sunrise for the first time. The covenant is broken, but the empty throne creates a powerful temptation. Am I to be a queen, or a rebel assassin? Who has the right to make that judgement? When my mortal enemy usurps command of the king's army and sends them after me, I journey to distant compounds seeking allies. I'll do anything to save my siblings from Nigel's grasp, but how many lives will be in danger—immortal or otherwise—before humans and their vampire masters settle their differences?

After Del Larouche defeats the Gris-gris man, she struggles to find her place in the adult world. She just wants a normal life. But her horrible "gift" means her life will never be normal. When six-year-old Clara goes missing from the St. Augustine Orphanage - the third child in two weeks - a frantic search begins and Del agrees to use her gift to help find the girl. As the dark layers of New Orleans are peeled back, a terrible truth is exposed. What she finds lurking in the shadows of the old city is unimaginable. But it’s what the lurking shadows find…that is truly deadly.

When NYPD detective Marie Reinhart met Nessa Roth, a Manhattan socialite and dabbler in the occult, sparks flew. Then came the gunfire. Nessa and Marie are the Witch and her Knight, characters from a fairy tale brought to life and trapped in an endless curse: to meet, fall in love, and be torn from each other’s arms by violent death, again and again for all eternity. Now they have one slim chance to escape their doom. It lies in Wisdom's Grave, the resting-place of the first witch who ever lived, and the wellspring of magic.