Stories

The siege is over. The city is theirs. But for Darien Haskal and his feral Vanguard, the real war has just begun. Raymond of Toulouse has seized the Holy Lance and declared himself God's chosen commander. Baldwin of Edessa plots from the north, hungry for revenge. And somewhere in the Sultan's tent, a prince's back is being carved open to pay for Antioch's fall. The Vanguard marches south alone—extorting coastal cities, hunting spies in the hills, and building a sanctuary for outcasts. Jerusalem waits. But the road is paved with fanatics, betrayal, and the corpses of kings.

Colt's temper got him expelled. Now he's starting over in a small town where he meets Noah, a quiet, bookish boy next door hiding a terrible secret. As their friendship deepens into first love, Colt discovers that Noah's stepfather has been abusing him for years. Desperate to protect the boy he loves, Colt agrees to a dangerous plan. But the guilt of his choices and the friends he's made over the summer may be the only things that can save them both.

A washed-up captain steals an alien saucer, crashes it into a pre-spaceflight civilization, and accidentally abducts a terrified teenage local. Now he's stranded with a hostile hostage, a sarcastic AI, and a teleporter that turns livestock inside out. To make things worse, his estranged husband is tracking him across the galaxy—and the real owners of the ship want everyone dead. A chaotic sci-fi romp about bad decisions, found family, and learning that running from your problems just creates bigger ones.

Robert, a contract assassin, is asked to kill Senator Elias Hutchinson but refuses, wanting to leave his violent life behind. When another killer is hired for the job, Robert turns against his former employers, battling rival assassins, Chinese hitmen, a persistent Homeland Security agent, and a mysterious newcomer. As the threat from the organization’s leader, Mehment, grows, Robert races to identify and stop his replacement before it’s too late.

Ash is a modern cowboy on a large cattle ranch in Oklahoma. He lives a fairly simple life and has found his place on Nasser Ranch, along with his friends and fellow cowboys (and girl). Things begin to change soon after their new hands arrive. And one of those new hands turns Ash's world upside down.

Life is filled with surprises. We are constantly reminded that we are at the mercy of the universe; from the people we meet, to the events that shape us, to the places we find ourselves in. If we are among the lucky ones we will find our place in the world, and someone to share it with, and life will be sweet. But even then, everything is subject to change, and we either roll with the flow, or find ourselves fighting against the tide, because you just never know what might come at you from out of the blue.

"You can never trust a Crawley." Those were Albert Cooley's words to his sons, spoken every chance he got, and August did his best to do what was expected of him after his ma passed. The Crawleys and the Cooleys were ranching families, and they didn't mix, not ever, but more and more, August had a problem with letting his father decide everything for him. Was Fletcher really his enemy? Could he trust the man he'd butted heads with over and over, one he'd known pretty much his whole life? All he knew for certain was he was tired of all the conflict, and needed his life to change before he exploded. That's where his Gran came in.

The ambition of courtier Gesi Ajai threatens the Empire of Lyra. Skilled general Raithion Maenaer meets Azula, a blacksmith, but their connection is cut short. Years later, Basileus Dio has thwarted Gesi's ambition, but Gesi now plans to take the throne by any means. Raithion and Azula must bring Gesi down and navigate treacherous court politics. Will they succeed?

An alpha without a pack is like a house without a roof.

Theodore Pembroke has lived for years with only vengeance in his heart. As the last of his kind, he knows the dark forces that destroyed his pack will come for him one day—and when they do, he’ll be ready.

But even the best-laid plans will often go awry. The enemy he’s been preparing for turns out to be an unexpected ally, and a sudden and fragile spark of hope makes a mess of everything.

(Full summary inside)

Cwtch is a Welsh word, translated into English it means a hug, but the meaning is deeper and more profound than a simple hug. When you give someone a cwtch you also give them a safe place and this is what twenty something Londoner Harry gives Welsh farmboy Aled. The story tells how two souls find each other, and recognise one another immediately. It is attraction, but also love at first sight, although true love is never easy.

This story is also published under the title Eighteen Years by E K Stokes.