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?