Urban Short Stories

Alec Bailey knows a thing or two about the supernatural world and its dangers. When the local news crew shows up to do a piece on his hotel, he knows he should send them away…especially with that unchecked demon lurking on the property perimeter. Supernatural protocol dictates he call in Jacquelyn, McCall’s own demon hunter, but he isn’t ready to say goodbye to the beautiful crew member who reminds of a time in his life long past.

A young girl is haunted by a Death God. Her only hope is a rum-drinking, bar-fighting paranormal investigator with a bad attitude...After dropping out of Harvard, Kana Cold started a business as a paranormal investigator. Most of her cases were hoaxes, much to Kana’s disappointment, until one case involving a little girl and her powerful demon - a Death God - opened the door to the real Paranormal Underground...changing Kana’s life forever.

He's touching the front of his coat, feeling the shape of the gun. Should have got rid of it. On any other night, any other job, he would. This isn't any other job. This, he intends, will be his last... It begins with two deaths: a money-man and a grass. Deaths that offer a unique opportunity to a man like Calum MacLean. A man who has finally had enough of killing. Meanwhile two of Glasgow's biggest criminal organisations are at quiet, deadly war with one another. And as Detective Michael Fisher knows, the biggest - and bloodiest - manoeuvres are yet to come...

Iraq - The Americans are fighting a drawn out war against ISIS. With public support for the war draining, they find themselves under pressure to discover new ways of waging war against the enemy. At an isolated American air base, one scientist has come up with an ingenious idea - use zombies to defeat the Islamic State. The only problem is, the virus isn't ready and top brass are running out of patience. How can they deliver "the package" to where it's needed - straight to ISIS leadership? And meanwhile, at the air base, who is the mysterious man under the hood?

Here we find Max settling in with the realities of the world around him, becoming more relaxed with the Magical and Ethereal communities. The Balance has occurred, and the regular world is now aware that everything that goes bump in the night, for the most part, is real. In this short story, Max, well...Max is about to learn a valuable lesson about making bets at the bar with a stranger.

Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales is the third volume of Night Shade Books' five volume "Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman." This volume is made up of eight novella length stories. It includes Wellman's "Judge Pursivant" and "Sergeant Jaeger" stories, as well as a lost classic from Strange Stories (1939).

Genie and Serena are just a normal couple of girls...just kidding. As a dormant mermaid (she hasn't activated her genetic abilities yet), Genie is actually kind of normal - except for being kind of sheltered. At least, she is compared to her cousin, the millennia-old siren Serena. But, as different as they are, the cousins are bound together by their mutual affection for each other - and their love of solving mysteries. Together, Genie and Serena form a paranormal investigation business to celebrate Genie's first time in the real world.

Satori in the Slipstream is a collection of dark flash fiction and short stories. Many of the stories are set in Japan and deal with challenges young adults face. There are also several stories about soldiers dealing with the aftermath of war. Homeless and the brutality of living on the streets is also a major theme in this collection.

A chilling short story featuring DS Sean Corrigan from Luke Delaney, ex-Met detective and author of Cold Killing. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride. Five women have been murdered.... All prostitutes. All with dark, straight hair. Snatched from the shadows of London's red-light districts, their mutilated bodies left out in the pouring rain. Enter DS Sean Corrigan. He's been drafted in to assist the Streatham Police Department - much to the displeasure of the existing DI.

Four bestselling Vampire for Hire short stories, including "Teeth" - Fang's very bloody and tragic backstory; "Vampire Nights" - Samantha Moon meets someone unexpected on a late night trip to Denny's, someone who seems to know all her secrets and has all the answers.; "Vampire Blues" - Samantha Moon is about to discover that not all men are created equal....; "Vampire Dreams" - Samantha Moon sets out to find the answer to a mysterious, haunting dream... a dream in which sees a young woman die, over and over again.

Farmer Eben Smith heads off to the big city to trade his wagonload of produce. But he barters a lot more than goods after he stumbles across a strange crossroads in time, bargains with different cultures in alternate realities, and accidentally wreaks havoc and chaos in each.

Penny never had a structured life growing up, so she has lived her whole adulthood according to her life goals and plans. She makes decisions based on thought-out reasoning, and she never ventures out of her comfort zone. All of that changes when she meets Jeremy. Jeremy is rebellious and wild but makes her feel free. She begins to fall for him before finding out that he is a billionaire rockstar.

Davie was lost and presumed dead. With no choice but to move on without her, Bron, Mallory, and Mickey are forced to prepare for a war they appear incapable of winning. When a young street urchin shows up claiming to have critical information, they may have found salvation. Will they risk everything on the fantasies of a homeless orphan boy? Dragon Oracle Omnibus: Volume 2 contains books 4-6 in the Dragon Oracle urban fantasy series.

Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now you can, too. A constellation of the brightest lights in the science fiction and fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.

Kylie Porter needs a break. Novacore VR's Eternal Night is it - the VR vampire game that her editor wants her to write about. But she's not a gamer, so she's going to have to learn to fake it for her article. With a little help. Johnathan Masters is that help. An old friend who is doing her a favour, he's a lot more confident and good looking in the game, even if they've both touched themselves up. But she's a professional and this is just a game.

Black clouds of xenophobia gather over Radvadur, the western province of the Empire. The political climate is strained and fragile. A surge of Nymph refugees has stirred widespread hostility towards non-humans. When the investigation of a gruesome triple murder linked to the refugee camp ensues, it takes Inspector Käyru Skaer and his lover, Count Ellydhar Finn-Jánn, along an unusual path, at the end of which a precious gift awaits. Käyru and Elly are worlds apart in social standing, but they have found common ground in the bedroom - up against the wall and the stable doors, too.

At puberty, they’d called it. I, Naz Beauchene, was the first, official family dud. Born into a long line of illustrious shifters of the feline variety, my family fully expected me to blossom into a panther or maybe even a cherished lioness. They got neither. Not even one spark of magic stirred my blood. But then one day, a handsome Nether Reach Keeper crashed through the door where I worked as an imp trainer...and everything changed.

Art is a scientist who has developed DNA-splicing technology to end disease and heal the sick. Things take a turn for the worse when an ancient alien race tries to get their hands on his technology. They kill his wife. They kidnap his daughter. And force him to splice together DNA between a human and alien body. Their goal? Create a host shell for an evil Locrylian demon. He plans to find a body, overrun the planet, and enslave mankind.

Geschichten machen die Welt zu einem besseren Ort. New York im April 2020. Während des ersten Lockdowns wird das Dach ihres Mietshauses für die Bewohner zur überraschenden Zuflucht vor der Isolation. Jeden Abend treffen sie sich dort und erzählen einander ihre ungewöhnlichen, spannenden, komischen und bewegenden Geschichten. Jeder Mieter und jede Mieterin steuert eine bei (wahr oder zumindest gut erfunden), und ein neues Decamerone für unsere Zeit nimmt seinen Anfang. Allmählich findet die Runde zu einer unerwarteten Gemeinschaft und Anteilnahme füreinander.

Penniless, homeless, and virtually lifeless, the vagrant “Doughface” Jack is about to discover that where medical marvels meet the mysteries of the human mind, amazing things happen. The Tramp acquires a capability beyond his imagination and without equal on Earth. Riding the rails, Jack runs afoul of a local sheriff and ends up with a crushed skull. He’s as good as dead until a savvy country doctor performs a bit of medical magic.