Fantasy - Urban & Magical Beings Genre

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Summary: 32 Stories 8 Authors All Genres Something for everyone · Abandoned at the abbey as a boy, Brother Silas holds a smoldering resentment of his fate. · Sailors often tell frightening tales of what they find at sea. No one warns you about the ships in the harbor. · A young man, tired of office-place bullying, is arrested for a murder that he didn’t commit -- but not for lack of trying. · Old buildings come with ghosts, and ghosts come with stories. Ghost stories are Emily’s favorite part of her job at Monmouth-Whitman Girls Academy. · A teen couple sneaks out into the woods at night, only to find they’re not alone. · A man struggles to find peace in a quantum world; where people are entangled; events are in superposition; and the uncertainty principle reigns. Welcome to Shelf 804! Under the Dewey Decimal System, Shelf 804 currently holds a designation of “not assigned, or no longer used” - naturally, we were only too happy to lay claim to this rare niche of unoccupied library real estate. Step into a literary treasure trove that brings together the creative prowess of eight authors, spanning genre and style, as we populate our very own Shelf 804 with the thirty-two short stories collected in this anthology. Each writer has engaged, in their own style, with four original prompts to inspire their writing. The result is an anthology as diverse as our imaginations. Join us on a journey that will transport you from a dueling piano bar in Denver, Colorado to the deck of a sailing ship worthy of Edgar Allan Poe; from the startling and unexpected world of ‘the innerverse’ to the gleaming, strangely quiet corridors of a moon colony. We are grateful for the support you’ve provided in purchasing a copy. Have fun discovering the hidden gems of Shelf 804.

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Summary: “Tell me a story Daddy.” Kikoi, xolos wrangler by night and King Talos’ snuggle monster by day, demanded. “What story do you want to hear tonight, baby boy?” Talos, Vampyr King and Supernatural Council Member, asked while he pulled Kikoi onto his lap. “I want to hear about when you met Daddy Bayne.” Almost three hundred years old and Kikoi would never get tired of story time. “Again?” Talos arched an eyebrow with amusement. “Yes! It’s a good one.” Kikoi beamed at Talos. Talos leaned against the headboard of their bed as Bayne, former assassin but still looked damn good in armor, joined them and began… The Age of Man has passed, and a new age is upon the Earth. An age of magic and technology ruled by the supernatural beings that once hid amongst humanity has begun. Bayne is thrust into a world he thinks he knows but quickly discovers his whole life has been built on lies. Talos, perfectly happy ruling his corner of the world, is faced with an unexpected and unwelcome change that comes with the mate chosen by Fate. Together they must discover how to live and, in the end, love one another. Fate has more in store for them than learning to love someone they should hate. Will they be open to all the possibilities Fate lays out for them? Bloodlines of Fate is a new urban fantasy series set in a world destroyed by humans and resurrected by supernatural beings. Fate has many plans for the vampires, unicorns, therianthropes, elves, and humans of this new world. While their mates may be fated, love isn't that easy. This book contains depictions of gladiatorial combat, snarky fem twinks who will cut you, kings in stilettos, and awkward heats with a pinch of daddy kink. Talos is part one of a two-part story arch that tells the love story of two triads (MMM). It does end in an HFN with a HEA tied into the second part. This is a type of omegaverse with mpreg.

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Summary: He came to this human hotel to disappear. Instead, he found a barista who makes espresso taste like home—and glitches no one else can solve. Adri Linari, overlooked tech mage and younger sibling of Niralen’s charismatic Crown Prince, is more comfortable with schematics than small talk. Overwhelmed by royal obligations, a sensory-frying engagement party, and the ache of always being the odd one out, he runs—straight to the Renversé Hotel in Princedelphia, Oregon. All he wants is quiet, a place to draw, and maybe fix a few circuits. He doesn’t expect the barista whose espresso tastes like the calm he radiates. Single trans dad Sam Walker thrives on structured chaos—managing Café Magnifique, co-parenting five incredible kids, and serving up caffeine and kindness to a revolving door of patrons. Falling for the mysterious, purple-skinned stranger who only ever orders espresso and somehow brightens his mornings? He doesn’t have time for that. But something’s wrong in the hotel’s west wing, and now they’re tangled in logic-defying glitches that even mess with Sam’s precious machines—and an attraction that won’t stop buzzing. “Tech Prince Troubles” is a spicy, slow-burn male/male urban fantasy romance full of mysterious glitches, coffee-fueled flirting, found family, single dad vibes, and an opinionated espresso machine named Gandalf. It’s book 6 in the Runaway Prince Hotel collab series, where magical royals find love over a cup of coffee. HEA guaranteed.

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Summary: Thomas East was meant to be the youngest Arch-Mage in history, a magical genius and a solver of problems. But he hadn’t expected quite so many problems -- not to mention the endless meetings, bureaucracy, and political negotiations. So he’s currently hiding in a sleepy California seaside town, working in an ice cream parlor and avoiding everyone he’s let down ... until a firebird in need of rescue crashes into his shop. Nicholas Incandesco has far too many problems. He’s a firebird, a shapeshifter, and a power source, and a lot of magicians could use someone with his gifts. He’s also technically a murder suspect with two magical bounty hunters on his trail. He just wants someplace safe to land, and the attractive witch behind the ice cream counter might offer a sweet refuge. This encounter might be exactly what both Nicholas and Tom need to find themselves ... and rescue each other.

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Summary: The Big Cinch embeds readers in a magic-laced St. Louis, once known as Mound City, home of the indigenous Americans’ Mississippian ancestors. Little evidence of their civilization survives in 1924, apart from the popular Piasa monster image, invoked to sell plows as well as ornament civic pageants. Sean Joye, a recent Irish immigrant, tried to avoid fae attention and ignore his magical abilities since childhood. A young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, he aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean life in America.  Sean helps a wealthy, powerful, magic-dabbling family—founders of the most exclusive club in town, the Piasa Lodge--with a discreet inquiry or two. Sexually involved with a secretive, high-society flapper, he falls hard for her fiancé, a Great War flying ace with a few secrets of his own. But Sean asks the wrong questions about a kidnapped toddler and missing Native American artifacts and becomes a suspect in his lover’s bludgeoning and a tycoon’s murder. Can he master the paranormal abilities he’s rejected for so long in time to protect the innocent and save his own skin?

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Summary: The world is changing quickly for Chris now that he’s part of the Immortal Community. With the events of his past finally behind him, he’s still having visions and true magic is gradually taking hold in our world. There are new challenges that the Immortals must face, but Chris is still new and has no real standing in the immortal community. Learning that nothing in the Immortal community is what Chris thought and now having to face new threats, how will his new world unfold? Old enemies must work together and longtime friends may not be trustworthy. Who is lurking in the shadows? Why are they here? What does this mean for witches, immortals and humans? Can Chris’ visions even be trusted given recent events, and how easily his mind is manipulated? With Juliet, Amanda, and Kirtus by his side they have to prevent the immortal and witch community from being exposed. Can they trust the local witches that are there to assist them? Can they trust their fellow Immortals? New friendships are made, and longtime alliances are called into question. How will The Called defeat these latest threats, and what does it mean for our world?

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Summary: Being a nobody isn’t Duncan Alexander’s life goal, but it’s worked for him. He has a nondescript job, a few good friends, and overall he’s content. That’s until one fateful trip to San Jose, California, where he is “Called” to meet the mysterious Juliet de Exter. Juliet is a beautiful, wealthy, powerful Immortal who is undertaking The Calling—a search for a human to join her world of Immortals. Inexplicably, Duncan’s calling is more dangerous than any of the Immortals, even Juliet, ever thought it would be. There is more to this nobody, this only child of long-deceased parents, than anyone thought. When Duncan experiences uncontrollable dreams of people he doesn’t know and places he hasn’t been, Juliet and the other Immortals worry. Soon, his visions point to a coven of long-dead witches. The dreams also lead Duncan to his one true love. How will Duncan navigate a forbidden romance with an outcast Immortal? How will he and the others keep the balance between the Light and Dark, survive vicious attacks, and keep the humans from learning who they truly are? More importantly, who is this implacable foe Duncan keeps seeing in his dreams?

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Summary: YOUR NEXT READ IS NOW BOARDING She can speak all languages. He can smell evil intent. They're enemies. They crave each other. With international settings, a conspiracy plot, star-crossed lovers, and sharp writing, The Demon in Business Class is a stunning debut novel spanning continents and genres. Zarabeth travels the world for a shady executive, laying the groundwork for global war. Gabriel offers a second chance to the criminals that a visionary leader sees in dreams. One rainy night in Scotland, they meet... Now, it's complicated. There's also the investigator, the witch, the playboy, the gangster, the cultist, the pre-school teacher, the two angels… And, the demon. Fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Michel Faber, and David Mitchell will love this stylish hybrid-genre novel. The Demon in Business Class is an international story of fantasy, intrigue, and love, on the uneasy ground where the human meets the divine.   "If William Gibson wrote paranormal .... weaves the dark worlds of the occult and big business into an intoxicating tale." – D. J. Butler, author of Witchy Eye "Creative spark? Anthony Dobranski ignites a creative bonfire ...A masterwork of invention." – Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of Man Alive! "... a swank cocktail of international intrigue, steeped in the supernatural, mixed with literary flair .... so sleek it flies off the page...." - Zach Powers, author of First Cosmic Velocity  

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Summary: A Slow Burn Meet Cute! Baker. Wizard. God of Space and Time. Cupcake enthusiast. How long will it take to fan the flames and enrage this gentle phoenix? Start counting. What's a wounded and lonely little cinnamon roll to do? Stripped of his psychic powers, Calico Winghorse flees his homeworld and travels to 19th century Earth via his inter-dimensional portal. As a mixed-blood phoenix trapped in human form, he opens a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area and quietly nurses his wounds. But the unique method of his arrival draws the unwanted attention of Infinity Corporation. Representing this angelic-run company is Agustin Chavez de la Cruz, the Demon Lord of California. Even though Agustin is IC's heir, he finds himself demoted from his duties to concentrate on his new assignment: take absolute control of Calico's portal. But Calico refuses to sell at any price. He is also very busy ensuring that the good people of the city are getting their fill of baked goods. Before Agustin can formulate a more gracious avenue of acquiring the gateway, the demanding head of IC interferes, further complicating matters. So as negotiations stumble along, Calico and Agustin come to realize they both want more than a stuffy business arrangement. However, due to Calico's injuries, the portal remains vulnerable to the darker forces that want it at any cost. Agustin will have to push both his angelic heritage, as well as his own psychic powers to the very limits to heal this sweet baker, who is also the portal world's God of Space and Time. The Demon Lord of California is the first book of an LGBTQ+ paranormal-fantasy series. You won't want to miss a first love found, hidden worlds, and a recovering workaholic grasping at his second chance. All centered around the control of an otherworldly portal. So curl up with your favorite beverage, and hang out with Cal and Gus for a while. You'll be happy you did!

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Summary: Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling? Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree-hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101. All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse. Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever. Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway.

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Summary: He was the shameful cause of his sister Elena’s death and he stole state papers from England, yet Adrian Hart is feted by the best of society in Rome, and boldly dubs himself ‘Iago’. Determined to avenge Elena, his unrequited love, Lieutenant Andrew Sullivan asks the advice of poet and Shakespearian John Keats, and his artist friend Severn. Soon Percy and Mary Shelley join them, then Lord Byron and his servant Fletcher. But how can the seven of them work against this man, when they can’t even agree what he is? The atheist Shelley insists that Hart is an ordinary man, while Byron becomes convinced he’s the Devil incarnate, and Keats flirts with the idea that he’s Dionysius… As death and despair follow in Hart’s wake, Sullivan knows he must do something to stop Hart before even Sullivan himself succumbs – but what…?

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Summary: Get Your Bad-Ass On! The rumble of a Harley... The gleam of black leather... The shine of polished chrome... The freedom of the open road.... Motorcycles meet magic and mayhem as Lance Cosain, the halfling leader of The Wild Hunt MC, protects his turf and his people from attacks ordered by Dair na Scath, the high king of the fae. Holding his own against rogue fae, redcaps, and pissed-off road gremlins, all Lance wants to do is settle down with his lady. Instead he goes toe-to-toe with the high king’s champion over an ancient dagger and his claim to the throne. Who will triumph? The king of the road or the king of the realm? Either way, the Hunt is on!

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Summary: The South is being invaded…by vampires. That’s nothing new, but Vlad Chemare isn’t some angst-filled paranormal hero longing for his soulmate, nor does he sparkle like stardust in the night. He’s up-to-date, travels by jet, and is seeking revenge. Armed with an unlimited credit card and a Kevlar vest, Vlad’s out for blood—specifically, Baslo Rigla’s—for burying him alive as punishment for leading a revolt back in the 15th century. With the vampires of Georgia and their American defiance of tyranny rallied around him, he not only has his army but the local werewolf population volunteers as his K-9 Corps. As the fight begins, with the city of Savannah the battleground and the entire world the prize, Vlad is faced with something he didn’t expect…his feelings for mortal Meredith Swanson. Will his love for Meredith get in the way? After all, a woman’s just a woman, but revenge is a dish best served cold, and six hundred years can make for some pretty chilly morsels.

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Summary: A young magic user who wants desperately to live. A jaded recluse who has forgotten what living means. They’re each other’s only chance. Toby’s wild magic is killing him. The mage guilds have given up on him, and it’s only a matter of time before he dies in a spectacular, catastrophic bang. His only hope is an exiled wizard who lives in seclusion—and is rumored to have lost his mind. The years alone on his hilltop estate have not been good for Darius Valstad. After the magical accident that disfigured him and nearly drowned Pittsburgh, he drifts through his days, a wraith trapped in memories and depression. Until a stricken young man collapses on his driveway, one who claims Darius is his last chance. For the first time in fifteen years, Darius must make a choice—leave this wild mage to his fate or take him in and try to teach him, which may kill them both. The old Darius, brash and commanding, wouldn’t have hesitated. Darius the exile isn’t sure he can find the energy to try.

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Summary: In 1915, gay men don't get married, they don't take care of children together, and if they do, they don't get caught. Gael and Jack are a lot of firsts to each other. Gael is the first other gay man Jack has ever met, kissed, or wanted. Jack is the first really decent man who only see an Irish gangster and whore  that Gael has ever known. Gael and Jack just work for each other. First love is fabulous, even if it's forbidden. Enduring love is hard, extra hard in the face of WWII, Prohibition, and a world that can't know them as they are.  The story is presented as a serial and is free to read.

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Summary: Sanderson always envied the townies, all smiling faces and holding hands at his performances. He wanted the happy ever after that came with real life, not the pretend one in the twinkling fairy lights of the Moonlight Market. So when the Weaver of Dreams conjured him a normal life, college classes instead of performances, a chance at a boyfriend instead of an audience, he ran for daylight. Now a year later, he’s learned that connecting with someone physically doesn’t always lead to a lasting relationship. To get closer to the man of his dreams, Sanderson offers to help Cory find his missing sister. This means navigating the twists and turns of the Moonlight Market, the disorienting world of performers and hawkers, bizarre sights, sounds—and dangers. The sinister Weaver of Dreams offers to forgive Sanderson’s obligation in return for a lost soul, for Cory, who is still grieving the death of his parents and the disappearance of his sister. Surrounded by both friends and enemies, Sanderson fights doubts about his budding relationship with Cory while guiding them ever closer to his ultimate dilemma. The debt is valid and the choice is clear–his lover, or his dreams. The Moonlight Market, a paranormal finalist for the 2017 Southern Magic Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, is a full-length new adult romance brimming with magical realism, fairy tale villains, and quirky characters. If you like your romance to send a shiver down your spine, you’ll love The Moonlight Market! Buy your copy now and enter a world of dark fantasy and magic!

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Summary: Alex Philothea thought life would be less complicated now that she was no longer the interim director of KHNM. She was wrong. The Keepers of the Holy and Noble Maat (KHNM) shield the mortal realm from the lethal chaos of the ancient Egyptian Gods. Under a crushing eviction deadline of midnight, the agency is being driven from its headquarters by ongoing litigation with the Gods. The agents of KHNM race against the clock to pack unstable supernatural artifacts they have guarded for centuries. With nowhere to go and only a menu of bad options to choose from, the agency shelves Alex’s plan to return a primordial book of magic to her ancestors in the lost oasis. If this due date isn’t met, the ancient water lore within will be lost forever—a deadly late fee humanity can’t afford to pay. As chaos swirls around her, an artifact stolen by a formidable immortal adversary sets Alex on a perilous quest. All the while whispers from the Gods calling for Alex’s death grow louder.

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Summary: WILL YOU BE ONE OF THE INVITED? A forbidden midnight market is coming to town. The Night Bazaar isn't new. In fact, it's as old as civilization. Its first recorded appearance was in Sana'a, around 700 B.C.E. with secretive merchants from the East who presented covered stalls of exotic goods and arcane services. Various mentions appear in obscure and controversial works from around the world. The only common element is that the market opens at midnight, closes before sunrise, and may appear for up to a week in the same city . . . Paris, 1796 . . . London, 1888 . . . Berlin, 1936 . . . San Francisco, 1906 . . . but never in the same venue each night. And never again in the same city. There's just one catch: In order to find it, you must be Invited. Tonight, The Night Bazaar opens in a parking garage somewhere in Manhattan. A whole subterranean city full of antique costumes, alchemical treatments, magical dentistry, palmistry, Tarot, tea leaf-reading, and water-, glass-, and crystal-gazing, oddities and objets d’art, medical curiosities and surgical instruments. Other lost arts and body alterations are offered in certain alcoves. Through the narrow aisles throng jongleurs, freaks, charlatans, mountebanks, faeries, prostitutes, and acrobats. The scents of opium, perfume, tobacco, greasepaint, incense, plastic explosive, alcohol, and sex permeate the air. But each object or service comes with a gift, a curse, or a haunting. (This is the summary of volume one. However, The Night Bazaar anthologies need not be read in any particular order; they are all designed to stand alone as well.) The Bazaar sells that which cannot be had elsewhere. Everything you’ve read about but thought had passed away, or perhaps never existed. How wrong you were! Your guide is Madame Vera, a tall, thin woman of uncertain age, ethnicity, and trustworthiness. The stories within are your invitation to join us. It seems you have already spotted something you desire . . . but don’t head off that way, not just yet. You have all night . . . but not a moment more.

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Summary: Welcome, Gentle Stranger. The Night Bazaar is open to you, once more. But this mysterious midnight gathering isn’t the usual marketplace. It’s a vendor's faire not constrained by geography or time. One week it appears in present-day New York, the next in . . . well, let’s say 14th century Venice, shall we? For this time, Madame Vera and the other peripatetic denizens of The Night Bazaar return to the Bazaar’s roots. Its origin story and inaugural appearance, as the exotic marketplace pitches its colorful tents in La Serenissima, the city of a hundred canals, host to fancy glassworks, masked revelries, and singing gondoliers. And – you guessed it. Unfortunately, in 1348, to the Black Death. The market's aisles are still crowded with vendors of the rare and unusual, exotic dancers, assorted faeries, jongleurs, acrobats, mountebanks, courtesans, and purveyors of curious objets d’art. Booths feature medical oddities and strange instruments of all sorts. Tents offer passersby unusual, uncanny services. But this time, the Plague threatens the complacent citizens of Venice. Who will survive, and at what cost? The Bazaar always sells that which cannot be had elsewhere, at any price. Everything you’ve read about, but thought had passed away, or perhaps never existed. How wrong you were! For Madame Vera and her staff can take you anywhere, and anytime. You need only be Invited . . . and now you have been. (Volumes of The Night Bazaar can be read in any order; each anthology is designed to stand alone as well. Time is relative, after all!)

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Summary: They said it was a suicide mission. Cora has only one question. When can they start? Cora’s world gets larger as she seeks out allies. The cost to find them leads her to once again cross the dragon, Lucius. The wheels of fate continue to turn. Are Cora and Lucius destined to fight to the death, or can the future be changed?