Occult Fantasy

Framed for a casino massacre, Harmony and Jessie are on the run - in the real world and in their own. From the seedy casinos of Atlantic City to the steamy bayous of Louisiana and the imposing facades of Washington, DC, there's not a soul on earth they can trust. The only way they can clear their names is to take down the conspiracy from within and uncover the truth behind a secret that both the government and the powers of hell want to keep buried.

From astronauts in deep space to the ghosts of the Civil War, New York Times best-selling author Alethea Kontis creates worlds of wonder and delight, of weirdness and despair, of whimsy and darkness. Here are 20 stories and poems that will transport you to the magical dangerous worlds you've always known should exist, but have never quite been able to find.

There is no light at the end of some tunnels.... The New York subway system has:656 miles of track... 468 stations... 31 thousand turnstiles... and 1.64 BILLION fares yearly.

For six of those fares, the trip is going to be one they will never forget.

Six strangers will board a subway. But this subway is unlike the others.

This subway doesn't take you where you want or where you need. It takes you where you fear.

This subway...is Darkbound.

In late 15th century England, two young princes are given over by Merlin to the protection of their uncle, King Richard III. They soon vanish from sight, igniting tales of their demise at Richard’s hand and breeding unrest throughout the land. Nathanial Garrett, also known as Hellequin, is sent to London to decipher fact from rumor and uncovers a plot to replace the king. But his investigation quickly becomes personal when he learns that an old nemesis is involved.

Cassandra Collins is forced to make a choice. She can do what she's told and have a safe, protected life. Or she can strike out on her own and make her own way. Cassandra chooses the easy path and regrets it her whole life. Until she dies and wakes up in her 18-year-old body, on the cusp of that same decision.

A young woman is murdered in Middle Falls, Oregon in 1952. The police never make an arrest, but the town convicts Ned Summers of the crime anyway. He banishes himself to a small house in the woods where he lives alone for the rest of his life. When he dies, he opens his eyes back in 1952, just a few days before the murder occurred. Can Ned Summers stop the murder and save his friend?

In the darkest part of the solar system lies a wormhole. Nether. Astrophysicist Cammie Skoura has joined the first research team traveling to the Nether anomaly, eager to understand the mechanics of the wormhole and to explore its possibilities as a shortcut to Alpha Centauri. But another race of ancient beings has already been here—an impossibly long time ago—leaving remnants of their vast complexes and gigantic temples built for horrific beings beyond comprehension.

They say no good deed goes unpunished, and Cain is living proof of it. His quest to help the gorgon Dusa and his favorite bartender, Aura, went terribly right and horrifically wrong. Now, the sword Soultaker has claimed two more souls and added them to its undead army. Zeus and Mars tell Cain to fix the situation, or they'll erase him permanently along with everyone he cares about. To free souls from Soultaker, Cain needs information from the original Thanatos, Greek god of death.

Eli Gac has been ten moves ahead of Doc since beginning his deadly game of cat and mouse, with Tucker’s life as the prize. Doc is willing to go as far as is needed to save his friend, including sacrificing his own life. But as the battle of wits leaves Doc with no other options, will he be ready to do the unthinkable?

When Lily arrives at an antique jewelry fair, her bargain sensors go off left and right - but she also picks up a faint vibration of magic. Could the hard-bargaining merchant Griselda be a fellow practitioner? It certainly seems that way when a sudden fire sends panic through the crowd, and Lily discovers Griselda murdered in a way that nods to an old-fashioned witch hunt. A crime that hits close to home turns into an unwelcome flash from the past when the police bring in their lead suspect - Lily's estranged father.

Lily would like nothing better than to relax, enjoy her friends, and take care of business at her store, which is booming thanks to San Francisco's upcoming Summer of Love Festival. But as the unofficial witchy consultant to the SFPD, she is pulled into yet another case.

The Enchanted Village is abuzz when the old Tavistock house finally goes up for sale. Darcy's friend, Curecrafter Cherise Goodwin, is hoping she will have the winning bid on the home, but Darcy can't shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen - and her magical instincts are usually right.

There is never a good time for a witch to lose her powers. But to lose your magic just when you and your friends need it to survive might be the worst timing of all. But even in her despair, Torie Bliss has noticed some strange goings-on in Singing Falls. The supernatural community seems to be at war with itself, and the human inhabitants of the community are not exactly acting like normal humans. Without her powers Torie is at a loss as to how she can help them. But there is one person who may be able to help her.

To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South. Despite being powerless herself, of course. Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content.

When Lord Henry Baltimore awakens the wrath of a vampire on the hellish battlefields of World War I, the world is forever changed. For a virulent plague has been unleashed—a plague that even death cannot end.

Cassandra is a dhamphir - the offspring of a vampire and mortal woman - and a thief of occult relics. Aimee is a full-blood witch that is bound to a powerful vampire who traffics in the slavery of supernatural beings. Both are powerful, lonely, and trapped in the dangerous world of the vampires. When Cassandra steals a relic from Aimee’s vampire master, he targets her as his next acquisition.

While on routine patrol in the tinder-dry Topanga Canyon, environmental scientist Rafael Salazar expects to find animal poachers, not a dilapidated antique steamer trunk. Inside the peculiar case, he discovers a journal, written by the renowned Robert Louis Stevenson, which divulges ominous particulars about his creation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It also promises to reveal a terrible secret - the identity of Jack the Ripper.

From the outside, Rebecca Wright had an enviable life, and she enjoyed that envy. She had a beautiful house, handsome husband, and a no-limit credit card. What she didn't have was empathy. But, it's never too late in Middle Falls. A lesson that isn't learned in one lifetime can be learned in the next, or the next. Rebecca may need every chance she can get.

Humans know that immortals live among them, and the world is forever changed....

Seyonne, the slave-turned-savior of the acclaimed Revelation and Transformation, returns to fight evil and tame the demons within him - in the third novel in this "thoroughly original" (Starburst) epic saga.