Showing results by narrator "Laura King" in All Categories

Delilah has always played it safe. Not that it was her choice. Her father, a formidable figure and power-hungry businessman, always seems to cast a long shadow over her decisions. No matter what she does, Delilah can never seem to escape her father's control. When Delilah's best friend Cora drags her out of her house to attend a costume party, she doesn't plan for what will happen next. Always the responsible one of the duo, Delilah spent her entire life living up to her father's name and keeping his business under the radar.

They are ours to do with as we please. Those are our direct orders: to make her, them, ours. And by the time we're done with them, they'll do anything and everything we ask. In twenty-four hours, Delilah's life took an unexpected turn. When she and her best friend Cora decided to have a night of fun with four hot masked men, they never expected what would come next. Now? The two women wake to everyone's worst nightmare. They're being held captive by the very men they met the night before.

I'm not someone my mother would be proud to have given her life for. I've killed. Maimed. Hurt people far beyond the scope of what the human mind can imagine. Because that's what I was told I was. Destruction. And that's all I was good for. That's all I want to do right now. Breaker is a complicated man with many dark secrets. He's the breaker of rules, of codes, of men... He's also the only one who dares to defy Fallon, the powerful man who raised him and his brothers. The same man who stands between Breaker and everything he's ever wanted.

Fiaa, the newly crowned Queen of Faerie is left with the destruction Sintus and the Darkens caused in their wake. Ryker, the King of Faerie finds himself in the clutches of their enemies, as Fiaa is left to defend their kingdom alone. Faerie and Faedom have already lost so much, can Fiaa end Sintus’s reign of tyranny?

Nine years ago, I killed my brother, and I’ve been running from my past ever since. I find a home in Darkwood, finally safe from those who hunt me. But no matter what I do, the darkness keeps pulling me in. I allow my shadow magic to edge closer to the surface to feel something, anything. But no matter how much I want to embrace the power, I can’t. My magic thirsts for violence but I won’t let it kill again. It remains dormant... until he shows up.

Five years since the realms were brought together. Three years of peace. The darkness the queen eradicated barely a whisper. But Malikye, General of the Shadows, feels an unease in the bridging kingdoms of Faedom. Malikye, General of her armies. Elijah, the royal guard to the queen, always acquaintances but nothing more until they cross paths on a night of feral desire. Chaos erupts when the Queen’s daughter is kidnapped. Malikye and Elijah rush to find the young princess before her absence is noticed.

When Fiaa turns 21, strange things begin to happen. A chance meeting with a stranger has her seemingly normal life spiraling out of control. This stranger, Ryker, Prince of Faerie, finds something magical and unique with this mortal girl. With one look she has entranced him, but with one touch she sees right through his glamour. Taken to another world, Fiaa's eyes are open to the magical realm of Faerie, where more secrets seem to loom.

We follow the story of Fiaa as she navigates a world that is foreign to her, full of unknown magic and untapped potential. She has the ability to break a long-withstanding curse, which comes at a great personal cost. The use of her magic to its extremes, paired with her recovery from extremely traumatic events, leaves her exhausted and feeling as if she lacks autonomy despite being a truly strong Faerie.

After narrowly escaping the devolved prison community of Ispville, the companions make their way on foot for the arduous 200-mile trek to the ruins of Chicago and the redoubt that holds the nearest known gateway, as winter sets in. This is only the first stage in their journey to the intended refuge of Ryan’s home ville of Front Royal, and hopefully a safe haven for the birth of Krysty’s child. To make matters worse, they’re the reluctant guardians of fellow former prisoners, a mother and three young daughters, none of whom possess the companions’ survival skills.

Ryan Cawdor has been narrowly rescued from a harrowing, uncontrolled plummet through the maelstrom of time, only to find himself stranded in a place outside of the reality he knows, his savior not quite the man he appears to be. At the Cawdor family home of Front Royal, the companions meet Ryan’s long-lost son, who is no longer who he once was. They learn Front Royal has fallen to invaders, forces under the command of a longtime bitter enemy and constant nemesis.

Cleveland Noir joins Columbus Noir as the Akashic Noir series continues its tour of Ohio and navigates the dregs of the North Shore.

Donna Bevan-Lee had a tough childhood. When her father was feeling playful, he roped her by the foot like a rodeo calf, yanking her to the ground every time the rope connected. In darker moods, he did far worse, his brutality excused by a complicit church. The abuse she suffered had profound and lasting consequences.

Suffering from writer's block for her new comic book series, Eliza struggles to balance the demands of her mother and her editor, both of whom phone frequently, trying to figure out what's wrong with Eliza. The sad thing is Eliza knows what's wrong: she's lonely. Ever since her girlfriend walked out, Eliza's been whiling away her evenings in the company of Netflix and cheap red wine.

After the liberation of Front Royal from the Magus’ tyranny, Ryan Cawdor and his companions grieve the heart-wrenching loss of loved ones, but must carry on. Ryan and his surviving friends assume leadership roles in Front Royal, contributing to the rebuilding of the ville and the struggle to carve out a future for the beleaguered community. Ryan must learn how to be a good father for his unique baby daughter, and with the support of his larger family do his best to help her navigate the treacherous future that is her destiny. 

Fleeing from the growing sinkhole that was once the Glory mines, Ryan Cawdor and his companions struggle to make their way east to Ryan’s home of Front Royal as a safe haven for delivering Krysty’s child. Along the way, they are welcomed into a Deathlands community based on the structure and devolved traditions of a 20th century Iowa State prison. One of the bizarre customs that has evolved is the tallying of victorious acts of violence as a way of achieving dominance. Through a misunderstanding, Doc Tanner is believed to have achieved 246 of such acts.

Following the events of Deathlands 133: Grim Choices, Ryan Cawdor and his companions find themselves far from their intended destination of the surviving redoubt on the outskirts of what once was the capital of a mighty nation. The gateway they’ve arrived through has planted them in the geographic middle of the Deathlands, and they soon find themselves in a violent struggle between multiple warring factions for the spoils of a legendary stockpile, buried in a former military installation somewhere in the region. 

After the events of Deathlands 131: Freak Pharm and the overthrow of the corrupt pseudo-medical theocracy there, Ryan Cawdor, Krysty Wroth, and their fellow companions had decided that the recovering community of Bomville would likely be the safest place to prepare for the eventual birth of Krysty’s child, rather than venturing out yet again into the unknown. Otherworldly circumstances soon convince Ryan and Krysty that the opposite is true. 

Having narrowly escaped with their lives from the redoubt near Cornerstone, the Deathlands survivors known as the Companions arrive via mat-trans at a destination they presume to be North Dakota, if the mysterious codes given them while in Cornerstone are accurate. That assumption is soon put in doubt as they discover a devastated city covered in continual ashfall, a sky perpetually obscured by black clouds illuminated only by sporadic lightning. The former metropolis is not deserted, however, but densely populated with ravening hordes of barely human creatures.

In pursuit of a hardened enemy — Magus — Ryan and the companions find themselves in a land more foreign than any they've encountered. After unwittingly slipping through a time hole, the group lands in 20th-century New York City, getting their first glimpse of predark civilization. And they're not sure they like it. Only Mildred and Doc can appreciate this strange metropolis, but Armageddon is just 72 hours away, and Magus will stop at nothing to make sure Ryan and his team are destroyed on Nuke Day....