The Kingdom of Luka is controlled by the decrees of God-King Eliezer. Break one and become a twisted monster or serve forever, loyal to the crown. From the author of Frith Chronicles and Star Marque Rising, comes a new fantasy epic.
When God-King Eliezer utters a decree, it’s the law of the land, no matter how subtle or outrageous. Those who break the decrees suffer the god-king’s curse—their bodies twist into nightmarish monsters of devastation and hunger, forever a blight upon humanity.
The magic knows when a decree is violated, the moment it happens.
There are no exceptions. No loopholes. No escape.
Artemisia, a mysterious girl on the run from God-King Eliezer’s Holy Guard, is cursed and doesn’t know why. Fortunately, she has yet to change into a fell beast, but that isn’t a comfort. She could transform at any moment, and the resulting monster would destroy everything she cares for.
Desperate and fearful, Artemisia finds herself captured by a group of monster hunters led by Rylion Nasos, a man of superhuman strength and skill. When Artemisia displays magic of her own—magic that threatens God-King Eliezer’s rule—an agreement is made to confront the crown, despite the horrors it could unleash.
Cursed be the man who disobeys the god-king’s direct command.
When I awoke, it was to the glorious crackle of fire.
I loved the brilliant glow brought about by the flames. Fire had a special meaning to me. No force compared to the heat and radiance, and while fire could be a tool, no man could conquer it. Sure, it could be snuffed, but the blaze of the sun reminded us that it would never be beaten.
I stared at the stone hearth. The small flames licked at the black logs, a gentle glow brought about by their dance. The sofa I rested on creaked with my movements as I turned to get a better look. I sat up and examined my new blanket—a woven cloth of moons and stars, perhaps a child’s aid to learning the night sky.
“You’re awake.”
I flinched and held the blanket close. I hadn’t bothered to examine the rest of the room, and I cursed myself for such folly.
“It’s all right. You’re safe here.”
Shaken and confused, I stared at the man standing by the far wall. He was tall and gaunt, but wiry. He had curly chestnut hair, but the curls were so small and tight, they clung close to his head. I would have guessed his age at eighteen, maybe nineteen, and he offered a smile. I pressed myself against the armrest of the sofa. He wasn’t the man who had carried me off the streets. He sounded different.
“My name is Wulfric,” he said, his voice boisterous.
He walked over to the sofa with excited energy in each step. My grip tightened on the blanket, my nails indenting my palms through the fabric. I offered him a glower and nothing more, my heart beating hard against my ribs.
Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction, with several best-selling novels under her belt. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.
Title: The Finest Lies Author: David J Naiman Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism
High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn’t hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in predicament far worse than anything she’s experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.
Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.
This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who’d rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.
The old TV sputtered and a fuzzy image of a peculiar man appeared on the screen. His eyes widened and sparkled. “Would you like a brand new brother?” a voice-over boomed. “Call now!” Above his head, the words CALL NOW flashed in golden lettering. At the bottom of the screen, a phone number scrolled.
Maybe I should call, Nicole thought. A brand new brother sounds perfect.
“That’s it. New and improved! Call now.”
Nicole smiled, sensing a personal connection as though this commercial spoke directly to her. She cradled her phone in her hands. A fingertip flicked across the screen without her even needing to concentrate. Her phone had long ago become an appendage, as integral as a foot or a kidney.
After Nicole entered the number, her finger hovered above the dial icon. Something held her back, but she couldn’t imagine what it could be. She might have guessed self-preservation had she any means to gauge the lurking danger. Had she any inkling her impetuous nature would fix her on a chaotic course beyond her control.
She did want a new brother. As long as he wasn’t like Jay, who always said things to upset her and never did what she wanted him to do. She thrust aside her unease and tapped the icon. Instead of a ring, Nicole heard more of a choking sound, a gasp as if someone strangled.
“Hello, Nicole. Are you ready to change your life?”
The voice on her phone was identical to the voice-over in the commercial. Nicole figured this guy must own the company or something. “Maybe,” she said. The man on the TV screen stared at her while she spoke. Nicole leaned to the left and right, and the man’s face tracked her each time. She hesitated. “How much does it cost?”
“Do you mean money? Oh, no. It won’t cost you any money. Not one cent. But there is a cost.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, my dear. Nothing at all. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.”
“That seems fair. Wait, I thought you said—”
“Now, now. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll simply replace your brother with a better one. This offer doesn’t come around every day. It is, to be candid, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The man on the TV winked but not subtly. His head dipped so low that his oversized hat nearly slid off. “Decide quickly. Supplies are running out.”
The words CALL NOW lit up in a sickly yellow, casting a jaundiced glow across the face of the eccentric man with the whimsical hat and sparkling eyes.
“Then yes! What do I have to do?”
The man lifted his head. His lips gave a twitch. The voice answered, “Nothing more, nothing more. You’ve done it! Congratulations, my dear. Call the same number if your new brother malfunctions, and I’ll send an attendant straight away.” When he disconnected, the TV flicked itself off and Nicole heard her father’s voice.
“Nic, come downstairs, please. Jay has something he wishes to say.”
When Nicole arrived, she sagged with disappointment. Her brother looked the same. Same broad chest. Same confident grin. Stupid, worthless commercial. At least it didn’t cost her any money.
“I’m sorry, Nic,” Jay said. “I only wanted to use the new TV to kick you out. That was wrong of me. Please take the remote and accept my apology.”
Nicole stared open-mouthed. Jay appeared the same, his voice sounded the same, but this was not her brother. Sweet.
“Thanks,” she said.
He handed her the remote, flashed the kindest smile she had seen from him in years, and left the room. Nicole watched her videos in utter bliss. Once she was caught up, she decided to check on this new brother of hers. If he was going to be awesome, she might as well be friendlier. As she made her way upstairs, she thought about the number on her phone and doubted she would ever need to call it again.
Her brother’s door was ajar. Walking closer, she heard him chewing on something, maybe granola given all the crunching. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Robot Jay took another bite of his phone and looked up at her. Metal and plastic bits ground together. He chewed slowly, savoring every morsel.
“Everything all right, my wonderful sister?” When she didn’t answer, he popped the rest of the device in his mouth and licked his fingers clean. “Sure,” Nicole said, backing out of his room. “What could possibly be wrong?”
High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn’t hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in predicament far worse than anything she’s experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.
Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.
This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who’d rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.
Lionel, a necromancer and consultant for the Brunswick Police Department, wants nothing to do with immortals. Specifically, he wants nothing to do with Lucifer, who shows up on his doorstep one day with a ridiculous proposal. Lucifer, also known as the Devil, wants Lionel to be his pretend boyfriend. Except the pretend part is something the Devil doesn’t really seem to care for.
Lucifer has read enough romance novels to know that a good dose of forced proximity might be just the thing to get the stubborn necromancer he desires into his bed. The Devil’s plans are soon complicated when Lionel proves more uncooperative and oblivious to love than Lucifer could ever anticipate.
While the Devil wants to claim Lionel, all Lionel wants is to get away from Lucifer. Meanwhile, magic users are being murdered in the city. Lionel cannot escape the implications of those murders for long, and the case soon takes a different turn. Will Lionel be able to escape the Devil’s thrall, or will the necromancer fall for the immortal seducer?
Publisher’s Note: The Devil’s Necromancer contains scenes involving dubious consent that some readers may find offensive.
I had been asleep in my bed. Sleeping in for once was a luxury I had intended to savor. When I got home last night — or this morning, depending on one’s preferred world view — I’d even remembered to pull the curtains closed. It was as close to bliss as I got these days.
Lucifer had rung my doorbell, and in typical Devil style, he hadn’t fucking stopped, just like those religion mongers who go door-to-door too early in the fucking a.m. That perfect cocktail of annoyance was how I knew it was him waking me when I reluctantly crawled out from under the sheets.
Uncaffeinated, I stumbled toward the door of my loft apartment on bare feet, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. I’d closed the curtains, but they weren’t very good curtains if what you went for was a darkened room, and so there was enough light to see by without getting too blinded by it.
My black Converse shoes lay where I’d pulled them off after a trip to the morgue late last night, and because my eyes were on strike, the shoes almost made me faceplant into the floor, but I narrowly managed to regain my footing by gripping one of the four mismatched chairs around my office slash dining table. It skidded and screeched a little, but I remained about ninety percent upright.
After cursing the Devil at my door, I opened said door, and before I could even tell the Devil to fuck right off and only come back with coffee, he handed me a white poodle with a determined shove. I knew that poodle. I’d given it to the Devil a year ago, not ideal, but better than the alternatives. It occurred to me that I should really learn to lock my door chain and buy ear plugs.
“What the fuck is this?” I asked.
“What does it look like, Nelly? I’m giving you your Soul back, and you owe me a favor in return.”
He had to be kidding. Granted, with his looks, sapphire eyes, alabaster skin, ink black hair, and a smile that made people urgently reach for fig leaves, he could get away with a lot, but I had given him the damn cursed poodle to be fucking rid of it. There was just no way in hell I was going to take the canine back.
“And how does that follow? Walk me through it, Lucy. All logic-like.” The dapper Devil shrugged. “Tiamat is dropping by for a visit, and I need you to be my human necromancer boyfriend. She likes it when we mingle. With humans. She says it keeps the immortal mind humble, and I don’t know a better human to keep me humble than you.”
Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. Alexa loves writing stories that make her readers laugh and fall in love with the characters in them.
