Showing results by narrator "Lauren Harris" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

When Jessica volunteered as tribute to a sorcerer's court, she knew that sex would be part of her job. However, she did not expect Lord Azrael to “feed” her to his pet incubus on her first day at work. She’s shocked that the incubus - a shape-shifting panther - can take the form of a man. She’s shocked that they have an audience. She’s even more shocked that she likes it. When the show is over, Jessica is sent off to new adventures, but she can’t stop thinking about him.

Mal and Jessica have spent four glorious months abroad, traveling to exotic places, enjoying other people and each other. However, they're tired of traveling, and they both miss Azrael more than they expected. When the sorcerer shows up on their doorstep, they're excited to see him. However, Azrael hasn't come on a social call. He needs Mal's magic for a difficult task. Mal isn't willing to wear Azrael's collar again for free, no matter how he feels about him. Mal's price: "You. No wards. Anything I want. And Jessica gets to watch." Jessica has deep misgivings.

In this collection of short stories from the world of Panamindorah, Padmay meets Gus, Silas wins his fortune as an airship captain, and Elizabet makes the difficult decision to leave the Great Islands and marry into the tiny kingdom of Holovarus. Mouse walks away from the only family he has ever known, Percy finally gets what he wants from Silas, and Felbane learns that even broken wings can heal.

Rudi Mackenzie has been abducted by the forces of the Portland Protective Association, whose forces have pushed the Bearkillers and Mackenzie’s to the edge of defeat. Will aid arrive in time or will Mike Havel and his family be defeated by Norman Arminger and his mad grab for power? What of the secret plan now afoot between the Mackenzie’s and the forces at Mount Angel? Will the Abbot Dmwoski and his forces be able to break the siege of their monastery in time to come to the aid of Lady Juniper and her Witch Army?

The demon Lucrecia accompanies her mistress to a remote castle to evaluate a powerful duke. He is suspected of dark magic and may be plotting to steal his brother’s throne. Lucy is shocked to discover that the duke has hired her erstwhile lover, the sorcerer Jacob, to vouch for his purity. Both Lucy and Jacob have agendas of their own at the duke's castle. They may need to put past quarrels aside if they want to leave alive.

Anaroo is an airship slave, destined to spend her days running on a treadmill, winding the great springs of the Scarlet Albatross. When a storm threatens to sink the ship, Anaroo and her fellow slaves seize the opportunity to escape. Now, at last, she can go home. However, the airship nearly sank for a reason - violent unrest among the island kingdoms below. The world is changing, and the surviving inhabitants of the Scarlet Albatross will need to cooperate to survive.

Once upon a time, a dark evil crept into my kingdom, stealing my loved ones and the happy life I knew. The world turned against me, and I swore to become stronger, to keep myself safe. Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, hair dark as ebony, skin as pure as the freshly driven snow, and I became the only one who stood between him and death.

From sorcerous bridges that link worlds to the simple traditions of country folk; from the mysterious natures of twins to the dangerous powers of obligation and contract. Laden with perils for both the adventurous and the unsuspecting, magic is ultimately a contradiction: endlessly powerful but never without consequence, and rigidly defined by rules of its own making. Award-winning Jonathan Strahan brings together some of the most exciting and popular writers working in fantasy today to dig into that contradiction.

While the crew of the Scarlet Albatross struggles to survive her harrowing voyage, Gerard is busy keeping his promise to his father. He and Silveo return to Holovarus for a brief farewell visit. However, chaos is threatening to overwhelm the Great Islands, and even little Holovarus will not be spared. Gerard's father and brother are facing difficult decisions, and they need help. Gerard feels torn between his old kingdom and his new family.

In this collection of short stories from the world of Panamindorah, Silveo meets Basil, Silas meets Percy, Anaroo meets Gwain, Gus meets Silas, and Gerard prepares to meet Thessalyn. Dakar and Theseus are tiny children, caught up in the machinations of others; Glossy makes impossibly difficult decisions for herself and her child; and Marlie struggles with the ghosts of her past and present. All of them will find their places in the world, often far from where they started. For the moment, however, they are doing everything for the first time.

The Great War of Haven ended 13 years ago, but Alisa Dalcome is about to discover that the war did not end for her. Placed on Earth as a sleeper agent, Alisa had one objective - protect the portal keys at all costs. Alisa wasn't thinking about herself when she left Haven, she was thinking about her children, Sam and Sarah. Sam's world has turned upside down after discovering magic is real. Can Sam uncover the truth in time, or will his mother's past collide with the present, placing them all in grave danger?

The murder of Millroad Catholic Academy's resident genius Aaron Nguyen shuts down student life at the boarding school in rural North Carolina... for about a week. With the resilience of youth, the student body bounces back, and the memory of murder is nothing but a streamer of caution tape fluttering in the breeze. Unfortunately for them, Aaron's spirit has some resilience as well. The school priest's exorcism fails, and before long Aaron is breathing chills down the students' necks and hurling Bunsen burners at nuns.

Sam Dalcome thinks he is so completely average that no one ever notices him. Until he discovers a mysterious stranger outside his home. Bewildered, he tries to uncover the stranger's intentions. But Sam is sidetracked when he and his friend Travis discover a secret passageway deep in the town's quarry that leads to a hidden cavern. What they uncover next will not only change their lives forever, but will uncover the first clue to a deadly Dalcome family secret.