Urban City

In Tokyo—one of the world's largest megacities—a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways. But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers—from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo's denizens, drawing them ever closer.

Fortunetellers. Demotivational speakers. Disillusioned shapeshifters. You never know quite who—or what—you'll run into in Psychic City, but that's what makes life interesting for a PsyOps agent.

"Warum hast du mich hergeholt?" "Weil wir einen Helden brauchen, der uns rettet. Weil ich einen Helden brauche..." Ich bin Andrew. Mitte zwanzig, Computernerd und mit meiner Nickelbrille und dem hageren Body bestimmt kein Supermodel. Auch kein Superheld, aber für diesen Zweck habe ich ja meine virtuellen Spiel-Charaktere. Mein Leben war ein ruhiger, gemütlicher Trott – bis zu dem Tag, als ich in ein verrücktes Paralleluniversum geriet. Ich rate euch eins: Lauft nie einem weißen Hasen hinterher.

When the FBI uses an anti-magic law to arrest and torture Riley's boyfriend, they have no idea what hell they are about to unleash. If Riley can't rescue Clay before he breaks, the result will be a disaster of epic proportions. With time running out, Riley and her family must rely on two people more likely to stab them in the back than actually help. And, even if Riley manages the rescue, she's still got to deal with two kidnappings and the return of her dad from the dead-the same dad who'd been willing to see her dead to protect his secrets.

Magical tracking expert Riley Hollis is on a mission to save five teenagers lost inside a mountain. But nothing is what it seems, and soon Riley finds herself bruised, bloodied, and embroiled in a battle to bring down a sadistic criminal dealing in human souls and the darkest of magic. Her only hope may be to swallow her pride and ask for help from her not-quite-ex-boyfriend and his notorious brother - Tyet criminal boss, Gregg Touray.

Even the most powerful tracers can't track you if the magical trace you leave behind is too old. But I can track almost anything, even dead trace. That makes me a unicorn, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Loch Ness Monster all rolled into one. In a word, I am unique. A very special snowflake. And if anyone ever finds out, I'll be dead or a slave to one of the Tyet criminal factions. Riley Hollis has quietly traced kidnapped children and quietly tipped the cops to their whereabouts one too many times.

Finding the perfect dress can be hell...especially when a stranger tries to gun you down in broad daylight. Void agent and magical baker extraordinaire, Willow Rhoswen has been anticipating her first date with Talisen Kavanagh since she was sixteen. After eight years of waiting, there are only two things that can stand in her way--an assassination attempt and a new game-changing drug. Talisen's invented a new elixir that creates superhumans, ones that can rival vampire strength, and everyone wants it. Including the vampires.

Magic City's future hangs on the roll of the dice, or the turn of a card. Will fortune favor Ruby Achera, or turn against her? All the threads of criminal activity in Magic City are weaving together to form a dangerous web. The anti-human movement and the Drow who leads it have found common cause with the troublemaker in the Council. The PDA is the wildcard. Will they help her or turn against her?

The Paranormal Defense Agency is after her. There's a mysterious figure whipping up anti-human sentiment in town. And, behind it all, an old nemesis plots and plans. Can Ruby Achera handle this triple-headed threat? The self-declared defender of Magic City has a lot on her plate. First it was just Gabriel "The Nightmare" Sloane, but now problems are coming from every direction. The PDA has put a false bounty out on the city's protectors, and now bounty hunters are in the mix. Do they know they're aiming at the wrong guy?

In the middle of Colette and Rome’s much-needed break from the problems of Mayfield, things take a dark turn. Though mating between humans and vampires isn’t supposed to be possible, Colette is about to learn that when it comes to Rome, even the oldest rules were made to be broken. When danger comes for them, crashing their fragile connection, Colette knows she must get to the bottom of who is behind these attacks, or she will never be able to rest again.

When the city she loves threatens to destroy itself in her absence, Colette knows she will have to return to the fight. Hiding in the woods seemed like the only option when threats of abduction could not be ignored any longer. But when the vampire mating bond begins to take unfortunate turns, Colette isn’t sure she will survive the changes. The only way to cure her is for Rome to come back and fix the bond he broke. But if he cannot forget his affection for Colette, their forbidden love just might be the thing that tears the city apart.

Urban fantasy offers a diverse playground for some extremely powerful stories. Professional writer and editor Kerrie L. Hughes pulled some fantastic tales out of 14 top writers for this fifth installment of Fiction River. Set in urban lands from modern Portland, to a future Detroit, to a wild Washington, D.C., and ending the tour in London, these top writers take the idea of "Hex" and stretch and twist it into stories with a magickal grip on the imagination.

When Rodney Mason, an ex-con drug dealer from Newark's rough South Ward, was shot and paralyzed, he vowed to turn his life around. A former high-school pitching ace with a 93-mph fastball, Mason decided to form a Little League team to help boys avoid the street life that had claimed his youth and mobility. Predictably, the players struggle but through the fists and tears, lopsided losses and rare victories, this bunch of misfits becomes a team, and in doing so gives the community something to root for.

One phone call. Two lives. Their darkest secrets. Lana needs to sell a holiday, fast. Stuck in Tenerife, in a dead end job, she never expected a response quite like Liam’s. Thousands of miles away a phone rings. Liam never intended to pick up - he’s too busy choosing the quickest way to die. But at least someone should know the truth before he goes, even if that someone is a stranger. As time runs out both are drawn to the other, expressing thoughts they never imagined they would share. When you’re about to die, will your secrets even matter?

Nichelle Tramble's first novel, The Dying Ground, was named a Best Book of 2001 by the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. In this follow-up work, Maceo returns home after drifting for two years. He finds his friends tangled up in a murder case, and he must act fast to save them.

Meet Louis Ives: well-groomed, romantic, and as captivating as an F. Scott Fitzgerald hero. Only this hero has a penchant for ladies clothes, and he's lost his teaching post at Princeton's Pretty Brook Day School after an unfortunate incident involving a colleague's brassiere.

For Veronica “Roni” Ryder, the journey to becoming leader of the Parallel Society has been tough. She has fought people and monsters, experienced magic and mayhem, traveled the Earth and universes beyond. But one creature, one vile monstrosity, has been her most daunting rival–Yal-hara.

Alix Hiboux, better known as Owl, international antiquities thief for hire, is settling in to her new contract job for Vegas mogul Mr. Kurosawa, a red dragon with a penchant for ancient, supernatural artifacts. And now he has his sights set on some treasures of the mysterious Syrian City of the Dead that are sitting in a recluse's private collection. There's just one wrinkle.

When the vampires are tired of being tolerated instead of accepted, tensions between the two races begin to boil over. With her life at stake, Colette has to decide if staying in Mayfield is worth the toll it will take on her family and her heart. Escaping the violence of Mayfield seems to be the only option, but there is no telling if all she has fought for will be worth the sacrifice in the end. If the city cannot reclaim the best parts of itself, Colette is prepared to leave the city to its ruin, and turn her back on everyone she has fought to save.

Once upon a time, Elise Sutton had been a powerful witch and paranormal enforcer. Once she'd been madly in love with Fae lord Aidan Greene. But when Aidan had considered his duties more important than their relationship, the love affair ended badly. Shortly after, while on the hunt for a rogue demon, Elise was brutalized and almost killed. Months later, she gave birth to a baby girl. To protect her child, and her heart, Elise decided to live a nonmagical life - - until she meets Aidan again....