Short Stories
Melkart the Castaway
By MARK MELLON
When a powerful triton destroys his ship, the Phoenician giant Melkart washes up on a foreign shore-and is rudely welcomed by a tyrant who would enslave him!
Its Own Reward
By ROB FRANCIS
A pair of bounty hunters happen upon a large promissory note on their latest mark...enough to retire! But will the money prove more trouble than it's worth!?
The White Giant's Map
By RICHARD RUBIN
A fierce battle has annihilated the allies Fletcher has made on the alien world he now calls home! But a dying foe offers him a boon-a map to fabulous treasure!
The Chamber of Worms
By MATTHEW X. GOMEZ
Heinrick and Viona have been hired by a noble to retrieve a family heirloom from an abandoned manor house-but there's more to this job than meets the eye!
After the House of the Laughing God
By MICHAEL RAY
A gig to "rescue" a young magic user proves exceptionally fruitful for a merc who is up to his eyes in gambling debts! But will his success pay dividends or bring death?!
The Way He Should Go
By JOSHUA M. YOUNG
Rostam has spent many years studying under the monks of Uqbar and wandering the ruined world, but nothing could prepare him for discovering a precursor child!
Tilting the Wick
By J. COMER
Mankind's lost colony of Pendleton's World has been wracked by religious war-but a new discovery may either fan the flames of conflict or bring about a new era!
Slave or Die
By BENJAMIN COOPER
Convicted of a crime he has no memory of, prisoner T196-A3 has been sentenced to solitary labor on an automated penal installation where he must work or starve!
He Who Rides on the Clouds
By TREVOR R. DENNING
A cult has resurrected the worship of an ancient evil earth god! Can retired space cop Aleksis Leonard rescue the children being trafficked to feed the beast!?
To Rest Among the Stars
By SU-RA-U
It is the most dangerous job in the galaxy-hunting space dragons in the ether! But the humans who risk life and limb to do so are what make space travel possible!
Ecliptical Musings
By BILL SUBOSKI
A young woman is accosted by a group of thugs! Her rescuer, John Dellon, an eccen-tric billionaire and visionary, has a secret to share with her-if he finds her worthy!
Not Any Earthly Shade of Color
By DANNY NICHOLAS
One morning, Henry wakes up with a strange pattern of dots burned into his eyes! What could have caused them, and can he be rid of them before he's driven mad?!
In the Bowels of the Theatre
By MATT SPENCER
There is magic in the theatre, ancient and powerful-not just of the stage, but an elder and mighty god.... One which Sucunde would see freed and restored!
An Accumulation of Anguish
By JAMES LAM
It's Halloween Night-a time when ghosts, and ghouls, and monsters are afoot! But one young trick-or-treater may learn the hard way that some monsters are real!
The Horror of the Hills
By JUDE REID
Impatient to be the first to Meall Dearg's summit, a pair of climbers leave their partners behind...failing to return! What became of those who braved the peak?!
