Showing results by author "E.M." in All Categories

England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York. The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt - and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.

Easter, 1177. Canterbury Cathedral, home to the tomb of martyr Saint Thomas Becket, bears the wounds of a terrible fire. Benedict, prior of the great church, leads its rebuilding. But horror interrupts the work. One of the stonemasons is found viciously murdered, the dead man’s face disfigured by a shocking wound. When the king’s clerk Aelred Barling and his assistant Hugo Stanton arrive on pilgrimage to the tomb, the prior orders them to investigate the unholy crime.

On a small path leading to nowhere sits a looming cathedral, once-abandoned, now hosting the most dangerous of pleasures. And Stone Brice is the most dangerous of all: Lust. A former acrobat, Stone’s life was changed dramatically after an accident, and now he runs The Carnal Tower, a place where people can go to have their deepest and sometimes darkest fantasies realized.

Annowan might have finally joined my family, but our marriage doesn’t mean we can afford to slack off! My wives and I are on the trail of another of the Bitch Goddess’s missing generals. Our quest brings us to a desolate, cursed region, where we’ll have to contend with clockwork horrors, undead hordes, and my demonic grandmother-in-law. Things might look rough, but I swore to rescue my sweetheart from the Bitch’s clutches, and nothing will get in my way!

Based on over a hundred interviews and on secret records of White House-Kremlin contacts, Not One Inch shows how the United States successfully overcame Russian resistance in the 1990s to expand NATO to more than 900 million people. But it also reveals how Washington's hardball tactics transformed the era between the Cold War and the present day, undermining what could have become a lasting partnership.

The earth's surface is no longer habitable. All humanity is sequestered beneath the ground, couched in isolation and contentment. The Machine provides the needs of humanity. Mankind becomes subservient drones to the life-supporting Machine. But what happens when the Machine stops?

Beware of the night, for it shows no mercy. Anxieties run rampant as the last sprinklings of light twinkle out on the inky horizon. The shadows dance their choreography in the damp, dusky air. Night is taking over, and it knows how to keep a dark and deadly secret, for it allows no witnesses. And that screaming you hear nearby? Watch out, because you might be next. The Sinister Supernatural Stories series brings you delicious horror that focuses on elements of the supernatural. Pull up a chair and dig in, but never after dark—everyone knows bad things always happen after dark.

At Angelview Academy, secrets, lies, and betrayal always win. How do I know? I’m the girl whose future just went up in flames. The outsider from the wrong side of the tracks. The mortal who didn’t bow to Angelview’s resident god, Saint Angelle. He said he’d own me, and he did - every inch, from my mind, to my body, to my soul. Saint even promised to break me. That’s where he screwed up. Because every god should know you can’t break a girl that’s already broken. A girl who’s been shaped by secrets, lies, and betrayal since the day she was born.

At Angelview Academy, Saint Angelle is god. Trust me, I should know. I’m the girl who's watched him manipulate and ruin and break - the "nobody" he’s done all those things and so much more to. Saint swears he had his reasons. He vows that he’s not the enemy. He even promises to tear down kingdoms to keep me safe. To possess me. To keep me. I think he’s wrong.

My name is Mal, and ever since I was a boy, I've been treated as a malcontent because of my ability to see magic. For everyone else, magic is proof of the Goddess’ love. To me, it is just a colorful spread of enchantments, cantrips, blessings, and hexes. And any spell I can see, I can break. I had always expected to grow up to be a ditch-digger. Instead, I was dubbed a hero. Heroes are sent out in the wasteland, to slay monsters and to challenge the Demon Lord. It’s a suicide mission. But once I was exiled, I found that the outside world was different from what I had thought.

James "Scooter" Harney is good at two things and two things only: pitching and running away from his feelings. So, when he comes face to face with a high school baseball coach who gets under his skin like no one ever has before, James isn't quite sure what to do about it. After all, Ridley is smarmy, annoying, ridiculously good looking. And worst of all, straight. Then, James' world is turned upside down one evening when Ridley admits that he's been having thoughts. Thoughts about James. Thoughts that are making him question his own identity.

Christmas Eve, 1176. Brother Maurice, monk of Fairmore Abbey, awaits the night prayer bell. But there is only silence. Cursing his fellow brother Cuthbert’s idleness, he seeks him out—and in the darkness, finds him brutally murdered. Summoned from London to the isolated monastery on the Yorkshire Moors, Aelred Barling, clerk to the King’s justices, and his messenger Hugo Stanton, set about investigating the horrific crime. They quickly discover that this is far from a quiet monastic house.

West Balkany lived his life by one rule: make your own luck. And that means fighting his slum lord when his building starts falling apart, forcing himself to finish school no matter how much he wants to quit, and most importantly, never do something as stupid as falling in love. Unfortunately, that last part isn’t so easy when his gorgeous one-night-stand who dragged him into a bar supply closet and made him see god, keeps turning up everywhere he goes.

It’s a contest that has been brewing for centuries–immortal versus immortal! It’s a no-holds-barred war between me and my nemesis, The Widow. Our confrontation will determine the fate of parahumanity–and the entire world! But with my beautiful villainesses by my side, I know we will emerge triumphant. Our battles will take us across the globe, from Herald City to the Alps, and deep under London. Terrorist attacks, mad sorceresses, and doomsday plots–I’ll crush them all to see my vision for the future come to fruition.

Ever since the System invaded Earth, I had dreamt of becoming a powerful wizard. Sure, the manor I picked as my lair was a rundown, haunted dump, and a crazy cult had tried to murder me, but it all worked out in the end. I even picked up a few house guests–a sexy ghost, a Drow blacksmith, and a tricksy Arachne scholar We are settling into our new normal—home repairs, researching the dark past of my hometown, and delving into frigid dungeons—when we discover a thief draining mana from my lair. They’re threatening everything I built.

Traumatized by a complicated childhood and losing the love of his life, Sage Osbourne pours everything he’s got into keeping his routine and trying to avoid the not-dates he keeps getting set up on, content to be single and determined to keep it that way. He attempts to maintain that decision when a gorgeous newcomer opens up a new café just doors down from the tattoo shop. It doesn’t help that Will is not only perfect for him but seems to be interested in taking their relationship further than just friends.

Dr. Aziz is a young Muslim physician in the British Indian town of Chandrapore. One evening he comes across an English woman, Mrs. Moore, in the courtyard of a local mosque; she and her younger travelling companion Adela are disappointed by claustrophobic British colonial culture and wish to see something of the 'real' India. But when Aziz kindly offers to take them on a tour of the Marabar caves with his close friend Cyril Fielding, the trip results in a shocking accusation....

Conscription and death. That is the sword of Damocles hanging over every peasant's head. As the realm gets overrun by bloodthirsty Beasts, every family has to pitch in. And so, to spare his father and siblings, Ferren offers to be the one from their household to join the king's army. But during an escort mission, Ferren's convoy is attacked and his right arm ripped off by a ferocious monster.

At seventeen years of age, Renan Saneris was still waiting for a talent to come up. While everyone around him got a Class and could move on with their life, he was still waiting for Fate to finally tell him what would become of him. He tried his hand at Smithing, Sword Fighting, and even at being an Artisan, but he never got many results for his efforts. One day, however, when he’s messing around in his father’s forge, etching small symbols into a blade as a gift for his best friends Yana, the glyphs start glowing and awaken something in him.

Some secrets don’t stay buried. Three elaborately staged victims. No clues. A public verging on panic. FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to Kansas City to hunt another serial killer. But something about this case is all wrong. The three corpses lie posed. Face up. A glove laid to cover each right eye. The victims seem to be selected at random. Suburban. Upper middle class. Squeaky clean. It doesn’t make sense. A piece is missing from this puzzle.