Stories

In the east are monsters. In the north is the witch. In the south is the capital. To the west is the waste. The land is called Xin. Life has been nothing but cruel to the children soldiers Sumi and Harakin. They were not expected to survive as long as they have. In the north, a child with shadows ventures to the witch's lair. In the south, an organic mechanic is expelled from her guild.

How will these different individuals from a distant land connect to the events in Books One & Two? And what will happen with the monsters?

A year has passed since the events of "The Mantis Variant - Book One" and the clash between the underground and the tower. A group of Biological Shifts has started slaughtering Messiahs in Teshon City. To find the culprits, the Principal Messiah establishes a task force to investigate the murders. Meanwhile, the mystic and his husband with their group of friends convince Dozi to take a trip. They help a child while away, but when they return to Teshon City, the streets become a battleground. Who will survive this new confrontation and what will be left of them?

In the dark future, an unlikely trio in a rundown metropolis are set on a path of unexpected heroism through horrifying trials. For Agrell, Dozi, and Ilya, the harrowing events bring growth through sacrifice and redemption. However, bizarre rituals and arcane arts are commonplace in the world of "The Mantis Variant," and tragedy and death are always close at hand.

Lee isn't a queer. Audrey doesn't drink. Andrew is having a tough time. Joyce loves her son.

Jacob Mendel, the school outcast, didn't expect to be thrown into a world of dark secrets and madness when Robert Fenwick asked him to be his math tutor.

Christopher Cordes was never able to celebrate Halloween because his mom thought it was devil worship. She would tell her son the story about several boys who'd gone missing on Halloween when she was younger, so when Chris was older, he decided to find out if that story was true. He started his own investigation, but what did he find? Was the story true, or had she just made it all up. Chris was shocked by what he discovered.

Amnor Sen and Jeremy are out to save the world. Traveling to the Worldwound far to the north, they are delayed by the discovery of a runaway slave in the undead land of Geb. Now the two must deal with the slave, while continuing on their way north.

Jakun is a cat on the run. Forced by his master to commit the most heinous of crimes, he flees, only to be caught by a paladin and a cleric. Will he be returned to his master? Or can his captors free him from his evil owner?

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A Mysterious Book of Messages that...🕯️📜✒️

Blake is on the pursuit of the solution of his problems. This lead him to a strange manor, a strange Lord and an even stranger deal. It contains acts of mutilation.

Three boys have turned the old MacBriar house into a clubhouse,and they spend Hallowe'en night. The house is not as deserted as it appears. This story is based on the third 2006 anthology theme "Hallowe'en".