Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Such a long life of killing has left plenty of dangerous enemies in its wake. An ancient witch coven, a jealous assassin, and even a demon lord all have old scores to settle. With one last contract to fulfill, Yrlissa hopes to be free from her past and her guild forever so she can disappear with her husband and young daughter. But the past doesn't forget so easily, and neither will a betrayed guild of magical assassins. Yrlissa's only concern is to keep her new family safe, but with enemies closing in on all sides, will they become a distraction she cannot afford?

Stephen King meets Neil Gaiman in this story of ancient gods and tortured spirits, of temptation and manipulation, and of mankind’s quest to seek justice over revenge. When a forgotten god arrives in a town haunted by the ghosts of dead slaves, will they accept its offer to guide them to the afterlife, or will they heed their priestess’s warnings about the mysterious deity? Gripping and provocative, this story will leave you pondering its ending, and your presumptions, deep into the night.

In this modern day fantasy short story, Shojosh paints a world of seers, sprinters and normals, humans with different or no abilities, who live alongside a world of bountiful creatures, on several of earth’s dimensions. Beneath the façade of your typical coming of age story is an atypical coming together of several mystical forces. Lana and her family are secluded from the rest of Pink Coral, a tiny town that now assumes the worst of the seldom seen and rather odd characters within the Mackenzie compound. But how groundless is the townsfolk’s fear? What evil approaches Pink Coral?

In a military kingdom where the king is selected through a series of challenges and through combat, with 600 competitors in the mix, a human warrior struggles to reach the top of an alien society and claim the throne. With his inclusion in the tournament, the first human in centuries to participate, Marcus comes to uncover a deeper and more sinister plot by the king that could see an end to tradition.

Soar among the redwoods in this bite-sized adventure with Chloe, the recently divorced fairy inventor. She's the one who'll discover the encroaching zombie horde, but what will she do when she does? Come for the campy creature face-off. Stay for the inventiveness, adventure, romance, and intrigue. Torn between her handsome ex-husband and the brave and beautiful captain of the fairy guard, Chloe must fight to save her unborn young and the rest of the fairies.

Bubba’s back from Fairyland, and sometimes it feels like they shoulda just stayed there! Man, coming back to the real world sucks. Bubba and his whole team have been fired on account of going MIA for a year and a half (yeah, time moves differently in Fairyland - yay), and now they’ve got to…get jobs? Oh, this is going to go well.

Here there be gods and monsters—forged from flesh and stone and vengeance—emerging from the icy abyss of deep space, ascending from dark oceans, and prowling strange cities to enter worlds of chaos and wonder, where scientific rigor and human endeavor is tested to the limits. These are cosmic realms and watery domains where old offerings no longer appease the ancient Gods or the new and hungry idols. Deities and beasts. Life and death. Love and hate. Science and magic. And smiling monsters in human skin.

Collecting four novellas into one volume, The Cambion Cycle sees Harker and his cohorts battling bigger threats, teaming with legends of folklore, and trying to save the world from a demonic horde. All with snark, flair, and heaping helpings of bloodshed and mayhem.

Stranded on a desert island, a young man yearns for objects from his past. A local from a small coastal town in England is found dead as the tide goes out. A Norwegian whaling ship is stranded in the Arctic, its crew threatened by mysterious forces. In the nineteenth century, a ship drifts in becalmed waters in the Indian Ocean, those on it haunted by their evil deeds. A surfer turned diver discovers there are things worse than drowning under the sea. Something from the sea is creating monsters on land.

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.

In this magic inspired short tale, Anthony struggles with family drama as ancient magical forces and traditions resurface. Before long, the ignorant and overwhelmed lad finds himself at the mercy of a pair of sorcerer bounty-hunters. Will Anthony finally get the acceptance that he desperately seeks from his parents? Or will he chart his own path and see the different personalities in his life for who they are?

There is a secret in the house of Ikari, a doll that can walk and talk made of porcelain and gold. She fulfills many roles, one for each family member. Will she manage to keep the family whole?

Unsightly and awkward, Aoife Finnegan has never been successful in love, only in attracting the indifference or hostility of every man she’s ever met. After partaking in an experiment, she finds her luck has drastically changed - but while on an exotic cruise for singles, she may find her stark reversal in fortune is actually the rudest curse of all.

Betrayal. Ambition. Violence. Magic. Stranded in a winter wilderness, a young girl fights to survive after the massacre of her family. Her motto is simple: Always create opportunity. It's not long before she runs into an old friend, but can she trust him? This majestic fantasy short story defies cliché and stirs the soul.

Valerie’s Tale is a story about a little girl with a heart filled with courage and strength, living in a world plagued with war and where magic is divided by clerics, who believe in using magic conservatively, and mages, who use it for whatever their heart’s desire.

A reluctant hero. Dick aka Devil Dog's world changes drastically when the EMP takes out the power grid. A homeless Marine veteran living in the abandoned tunnels beneath Chicago, he's far better prepared than most people. Devil Dog becomes the reluctant savior of women and children from the worst of the gangs that now rule topside. Doing the right thing makes him new enemies, driving him ever deeper into the tunnels that keep his charges safe - until he runs across a young woman who might be his daughter.

There are things in this world that men and women aren't meant to understand. We aren't supposed to know these things exist, much less how to fight them. The things that go bump in the night, the monsters in the closet, the shadow out of the corner of your eye - that's where I live.

The book is a rich cocktail of short stories that include macabre murders, fraud, love, self-improvement, hate, and laughter. These tongue-in-cheek tales have been created for enjoyment, entertainment, and pleasure.

Featuring stories from R.L. Stine and Madeleine Roux, this middle-grade horror anthology, curated by New York Times best-selling author and master of macabre Jonathan Maberry, is a chilling tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Flesh-hungry ogres? Brains full of spiders? Haunted houses you can’t escape? This collection of 35 terrifying stories from the Horror Writers Association has it all, including ghastly illustrations from Iris Compiet that will absolutely chill listeners to the bone.

From master anthologist Ellen Datlow comes an all-original of weird tales inspired by the strangeness of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Between the hallucinogenic, weird, imaginative wordplay and the brilliant mathematical puzzles and social satire, Alice has been enjoyed and savored by every generation since its publication. Datlow asked 18 of the most brilliant and acclaimed writers working today to dream up stories inspired by all the strange events and surreal characters found in Wonderland.