Showing results by narrator "John Rayner" in All Categories

A thousand years ago, Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Eoria to save her dying sister. She called upon anyone who would listen, not expecting a monster far worse than any nightmare to answer. Now she does what Kaden asks, even if that means securing an ancient relic from the very creatures that hunt her.

It has a dark past—one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks.

It's the moment Kieran and Lexi have been preparing for. The Magical Summit. Ready or not, they will take their assembled team into the belly of the beast. The stakes couldn't be higher. If the powers that be don't approve of Kieran, he will not earn the official title of the Demigod of San Francisco. The real danger concerns Lexi, however. With Kieran away in meetings, she must brave the treacherous halls of the Summit with just her crew and her wards, fighting for social placement and status, open to attack from all angles.

After a disappointing return from the basajaunak lands, it's clear that Jessie and her crew need to form an alliance and fast! A massive battle is materializing, targeting Kingsley. Without more help, they'll never be enough to save Austin's brother from total annihilation.

Reagan's trip down to the underworld was never going to remain a mystery. And now Lucifer is actively looking for the woman and her vampire cohort that raised hell in his domain. When a band of demons come to the surface with a note asking after Lucifer's heir, the truth of Reagan's true lineage can no longer be hidden. The problem is, the elves remember Lucifer's past heir, and how he nearly took down the Realm. This time, they do not intend to stand by while Lucifer finds his heir and raises her to power. This time, they'll cut the problem out at the root.

The signs are unmistakable, Momar isn't just targeting Austin's brother. When one of Momar's grunts breaks into Austin's territory looking to grab Jessie for questioning, Jessie and her crew realize they are under fire. In order to protect themselves, it becomes obvious they need backup. Thankfully, the basajaun's people have invited Jessie and her crew into the basajaunak lands. This is their golden opportunity to seek their help. The problem is, a host of mages and mercenaries are following them. Once they take Jessie this time it won't be just for questioning, and she won't be coming back.

Charity hasn't had it easy. Growing up in a bad part of Chicago, left by her mother at sixteen, she's a survivor. So when she gets a scholarship to a good college out in California, she thinks all her dreams have come true. Instead, she falls head-first into a nightmare. At a posh party she doesn't belong, she gets the shock of her life: vampires and shifters are real! Magic is real. And she is anything but a mundane poor kid just trying to make it. Warrior runs in her blood. If only she knew how to use it.

The knight was supposed to be a man. Not me, Sophie MacKnight, a marketing associate from California. This must be a practical joke that the Scots play on visiting Americans. Because otherwise I’ve inherited a haunted castle in Scotland, along with one irritatingly sexy Scotsman. Frankly, I thought I would fly here, sell the heap of bricks, and head back home to a life that I…well, I was comfortable with at the very least. Instead, the people of Loren Brae are in trouble, and it appears that as the new owner of the castle, I’m next in line to reinstate the magickal Order of Caledonia.

It's time for a magical battle Jessie isn't sure she's prepared for. Elliot Graves has been a thorn in Jessie's side since before she agreed to take the house magic. He has constantly brought the fight to her doorstep. Not this time. With the help of Austin's shifters, the Ivy house crew will meet Elliot Graves in one of the most dangerous places imaginable—his home turf. But not before another creature joins the circle.

By day, Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shape-shifter with some unusual talents, Mercy’s found herself maintaining a tenuous harmony between the human and the not-so-human on more than one occasion. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.”

One thing has become perfectly clear: The Mages’ Guild won’t stop coming for me until I am either under their control, or dead. So rather than wait to be cornered…I’m going to take the fight to them. But Emery and I can’t do it alone. We have to assemble enough power in the magical world to rip the Guild off of their high horse. And to do that, we’ll need the shifters as well as the vampires. Except, shifters and vampires would rather kill each other than work together. And after a surprise run-in with a strangely powerful goblin, my world is slapped sideways.

On the moon, Ronin Hayashi trains to protect the colonies from the inevitable invasion of the machines. While he prepares to stand his ground, Sergeant Tadhg Walsh is planning an escape mission to deliver a weapon to the resistance on Earth. At Neptune Station, Captain Akira Hayashi and Shadow Squad have returned from a deadly journey into enemy territory where they learn the machines are building an army at an astonishing rate. After continued attempts to contact the Lunar Defense Corps for help, Shadow Squad accepts the hard truth—the LDC isn’t coming.

With Lucifer wanting revenge and the elves desperate to hold onto their power, a battle is inevitable. The question is, which side will Reagan choose? The elves have treated her and her friends badly. Lucifer held her captive. Will she claim revenge…or will she seek to help balance the worlds? Is that even possible? Regardless, she’s not one to back away from trouble. As the worlds heat up and fates are realized, Regan’s future is anything but decided.

Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads, or exposure to sunlight. By the year 12,090 A.D. vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world.

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can't normally be stolen. Like a ghost's clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. He even stole his current identity. Who was he originally? Now, that would be telling. One thing's for sure though, he's not the bad guy. The people he steals from always have it coming. Gideon's planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. To get past his security, he's going to need a crew who can do the impossible....

As sleepy as Buffalo Peak's been, legendary marshal, Elwood "Firestick" McQueen, and his deputies "Beartooth" Skinner and "Moosejaw" Hendricks never expected a couple of drifters to wake it up—by kidnapping two lovely ladies in town. Hardly the sharpest quills on a cactus, these dim drifters call it courtin'. Firestick doesn't see it that way. Now the woman snatchers are heading for West Texas with their reluctant brides-to-be—and unwittingly plunging trackers Firestick and Moosejaw headlong into a rescue.

The necromantic armies are on the warpath and nowhere is safe—even the sanctuary of the flying dungeon has been threatened. The leadership of nearly all the sentient races has been wiped out, and only the people most suited to repelling the advancing darkness have an intact monarchy. Cal learns quickly that the primary threat is not the far-off war, but the actions of those entrusted with protecting the population. As it turns out, the idea of using a flying dungeon as a war machine is very tempting indeed.

The world watches the sky with trepidation. The insanity of Xenocide knew no bounds, and all will soon suffer the effects he had planned for a millennium. Though none know what is to come, they all know it isn’t going to be easy to survive. The Master has a plan, one that can give the world at large a way to escape the onrushing desolation. It may be on the bleeding edge of morality and what he needs might prove too difficult to secure, but The Master asks for trust. Cal and Dale both have their role to play as the world hurtles toward destruction.

Bethany Anne is going stir crazy after more than a decade of having to be 'The Empress.' Now, her advisors have to deal with an Empress who is determined to be on the front line. The Ixtali's come to the Etheric Empire, hat in hand. Nathan decides that the best way to handle soft intelligence, is to create a new company. What they name the new company should give a clue what it is about. The Skaine are able to finally get Ranger Tabitha's group right were their missiles can attack. The problem is, who is sucking whom into a trap?