That all goes out the window the night Mars, god of war, demands her grandfather abandon her and return to Olympus for the brewing war. Now Old Vulcan is racing around the world and across higher planes with Sehkmet to gather allies, leaving Linn and an old immortal friend to protect the farm and the very special litter. But even the best wards won't last forever, and when the farm goes up in flames, she is on the run with a daypack, a strange horse, a sword, and an armful of kittens. Linn needs to grow up fast and master her powers, before the war finds the unlikely refugees...

    "She died, rose, and nearly died again. She comes. The crows know her – the crows guide her. She follows the sound of a crying child. She follows the drag of un-kept promises on her heart." – Chessie – Hallowed Ground"They came in the night with their creak-wheeled wagons and patchwork tents, rolling down through the gulch and up the other side to pitch camp. In Rookwood, they called it 'Dead man's Gulch,' and in Rookwood, names were important. If you walked too far through that God-forsaken, dust-drowned ditch, you were bound to drag your boots through bones. If you felt something sharp dig into your heel, it could be a tooth taking a last bite of something hot and living. The Deacon stood in silent shadows watching their progress, occasionally glancing up into the pale, inadequate light of the waning moon."When a man known only as The Deacon set up camp outside Rookwood, a murder of crows took to unnatural, moonlit flight. The crows came to Rookwood; trouble soon to follow. Things were already strange in that God-forsaken town, but no one could have predicted the forces and fates about to meet in a dust-bowl clearing in the desert. A Preacher. A Demon. An Angel. A Gunslinger.A bargain with the darkness was signed in blood, and broken, and as such deals usually do, it went south. Now the fate of lost lovers, faith healers, ancient Gods and the Devil himself collide in a circle of wagons tended by the damaged and deformed, the saved and the shorn. There's a power come to Rookwood, and this one-horse town is about to be transformed. Such deals are only made and broken…on Hallowed Ground.From Steven Savile, International bestselling author of Silver, The Last Angel, and The Sufferer's Song, and David Niall Wilson, Bram Stoker Award-winner David Niall Wilson, author of Deep Blue, This is My Blood, & Heart of a Dragon, comes a tale of the old west, magic, enlightenment and damnation readers have said is like Stephen King's The Gunslinger meets Daniel Knauf's Carnivale.

    I was in sublime touch shooting off arrow after arrow. The targets were drifting across my vision and all it took was one aim and release; the arrows shot off with a swish only to hit the target where I intended it and killed the recipient of the shot. A few lefthanded shots depending on the angle of the shot where I could find the target best positioned for the shot; others right handed. The bow was drifting from one hand to the other flawlessly and the arrows were flowing out like spit from a cobra's mouth, both accurate and deadly. Before we realised there were hardly any leaders standing. By the time Jarasandha recovered, his leaders and his entire army had perished. Jarasandha gave a loud shout and invited us to come out in the open and fight like real warriors. By this time Balarama also came into the battlefield.Jarasandha did not turn back and run; he was livid and angry; he started challenging us to come down and fight like real warriors.Rama and I descended into battleground. Jarasandha was aghast to see Kids trying to defeat him. Jarasandha invited us for a duel. He said two versus one couldn't be fair in a war. Balarama moved ahead and chose mace as his weapon. He was adept at mace and Jarasandha was no less a mace warrior. The fight that took place was of a quality that I wouldn't witness for a long time to come. Jarasandha was more than accomplished. While Jarasandha unleashed himself upon Balarama with full force and vigour, Balarama was deftly defending himself. Mace was flying into Rama from all directions. Balarama was saving his energy for the future; if he could wear Jarasandha down, he could then unleash himself upon him. Balarama was not through and through defensive. There would be moments when he surprised Jarasandha by his speed and power.Rama's mace would start banging into Jarasandha with immense strength and speed. Before Jarasandha would recover from one bout of attack the second one would begin in a different style of attack. The lesson and practice with our Guru was paying results; I could see that in this bout. Jarasandha couldn't fathom the skill level of Rama. He had thought it would be child's play and he would crush Rama in no time and head for me. But this challenge was more than what he had imagined. The fact that his theory proved wrong gave him the mental agony which the real fight had not given. That agony was showing in his inconsistent fighting method. He would burst at Rama; Rama would easily read the move and defend himself; that would frustrate Jarasandha; he would change his move, which Rama easily anticipated and countered, Jarasandha would get more frustrated and soon he lost his mace to a vicious shot by Rama. Now it was Rama with his mace facing an unarmed Jarasandha.Rama shouted at me and said he wanted to finish this fight right away, and lifted his mace to hit Jarasandha. I stopped Rama, it's unfair to kill someone who is unarmed on a battlefield. I said another day would come and he had to let him go with honour.

    Early in the century a magnificent Sioux woman recorded from oral tradition the exploits of Iktomi the trickster, Eya the glutton, the Dragon Fly, the Blood Clot boy, and other magical and mysterious figures known to the Sioux.

    But sometime, the sun's glare got uncomfortably fierce, and Sanjna could not bear it. She devised the perfect cover for herself - Chhaya, her mirror image! Away from the blazing Surya, the lonely Sanjna pined for her beloved. Eventually, a way had to be found to ensure everyone's happiness.

    His life shaped by a fate that failed to be just—neglected by his own, stripped of his birthright—he was raised to be lost in an abyss of desires and disappointment.Cursed by his guru, hurt by the only woman he loved, ostracised from society for being the son of a suta. With his only armour—hope—he ventured on an unforgettable journey. Alone.This is Vasu’s tale of survival, of endurance, of abiding courage in the face of all adversities. And eventually, of blossoming into the greatest warrior of all time… KARNA.In an ultimate battle against his archenemy—the insidious, dishonourable and all-powerful, Jarasandha, for a title he knew he deserved.From a sutaputr to a leader of the people, this is a saga of betrayal, lost love, and glory.This is the story of the King of Anga.

    An attack by the terrorist group Invisible Hand has brutally eliminated the Indian Prime Minister and the union cabinet. As a national emergency is declared, chaos, destruction and terror reign supreme. From the ashes of this falling world, rises an unconventional hero – a vigilante known only as Kalki. Backed by a secret society called The Rudras, Kalki, along with Nushen, the Chinese superhuman spy, must do the impossible to save his country, and the world.But who is Kalki? A flesh-and-blood crusader with a mysterious past? Or the Messiah the world has been waiting for? The future of human survival depends on a single man. Will he become the living God prophesied as the last avatar of Lord Vishnu, or will he fade away as an outlaw?

    She is known as a lost river and seen as a singular goddess, never as part of a couple, such as Shiva-Parvati or Lakshmi-Narayan. In Sarasvati's Gift, Kavita Kane brings to light Sarasvati's story-the goddess of art, music and knowledge-told in the voices of nameless celestials, powerful gods and lesser mortals. The book explores her relationship with her Creator, Brahma, and their unusual marriage-a union of fiercely independent minds and the most non-conforming, unconventional of the Triumvirate couples. As these peripheral figures and silent catalysts take centre stage, we get a glimpse of an extraordinary woman and her remarkable story, obscured and buried under myths and legends.

    Then in Olympus at War, Emily is living on Mt. Olympus, but her father is being held by the CRU—so she makes a plan to sneak back to New York to save him. In The New Olympians, Emily, Joel, Paelen, Pegasus, and the sphinx Alexis return to Earth to investigate strange rumors surrounding an amazing racehorse called Tornado Warning. And in The Origins of Olympus, a deadly plague has struck Olympus, and Pegasus is slipping away. Determined to save him, Emily embarks on an investigation that takes her back in time to the origins of Olympus—and to the deadly battle between the Olympians and the Titans.

    One that could mean the end of not only Olympus, but the mortal world as well.Lana Cormier has never quite fit in her world. Found wandering the streets of New Orleans as a small child with no memories, her past is a mystery. Until one night she steps into the wrong alley and stumbles upon a world that belongs to myth and legend. One that may be the key to who she is and where she comes from.One thing is certain; the strangers she encounters in that alley are dangerous. One of them radiates something so dark, powerful, and terrifying, he would give the boogeyman nightmares. She knows she should run, but instead finds herself drawn to him as a darkness of her own begins to awaken. Now, she’s about to become a pawn in a long-prophesied war.When she learns the truth of both their pasts, will they be on opposite sides of the war?Will she choose to accept her destiny? Or embrace her fear and write a new one; defying fate, prophecy, and every power the gods possess?

    Without Vishnu, he was afraid, chaos would ensue. So he and his son Narada, the wandering sage, set in motion a plan to get Vishnu to return to earth.A talking anthill, an arrogant sage, an irate cowherd, and even the asura king Ravana, each have their parts to play in these stories that describe the founding of the Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati. Set amongst the lovely Tirumala hills, this temple to Lord Vishnu, is one of the most beautiful temples in the world. It is said that more than 50,000 people visit this shrine every day, to pray to Venkateshwara to wash away their sins.

    He had imprisoned them in the caverns of Mt. Hemil. They who ravaged the city of Kushlam...The golden capital... The Gods spoke of a Prophecy then... And now it has come to pass. The dark enemy of yore rises. Only an incarnation of Lord Vishnu has the power to defeat and destroy the enemy of Kushlam. A farmer from Bamiyan, unaware of what destiny has in store for him, is pushed into circumstances beyond his control. Will he accept that he is the prophesised Avatar? Will he save Kushlam from its enemies and free the world from the fear of the trapped monsters who have found a way out of their infallible trap?

    Kick butt. Hide my magic.People think I'm normal. They're wrong. I'm demon touched—filled with dark, deadly magic. Hiding my power is the only way to survive. Problem is, I'm about to start my first term at the best Academy of Magic in the world. So hiding is going to be a problem.When demons attack, the Academy calls on the lethally sexy gladiator Maximus. As the best tracker, I'm forced to work with Maximus to defend our kind. But his mage powers are strong, and he senses there's something wrong with my magic. He's powerful as hell, and he wants me. Despite his allure, I can't let him know the truth of what I am.My real mission? Kill the demons before they reveal my secret. As for Maximus? It'll take all my skills to keep my distance, especially since he looks like a god. Because if he learns exactly what I am, I'll never survive the Academy, much less tomorrow.This boxed set contains all five books in the Dragon's Gift: The Amazon series. They're fast-paced urban fantasy romances starring a kick butt heroine, a powerful hero, and otherworldly adventure.

    What is not so well known, however, is that the gentle, lovelorn Shakuntala immortalized by Kalidasa is very different from the original Shakuntala of the Mahabharata—a strong, fiery woman who stood up for her rights when she was spurned by her beloved.In this thoughtful retelling of the story of Shakuntala, Utkarsh Patel brings to the fore the original heroine, the bold and beautiful daughter of Menaka and Vishwamitra who fights to get herself and her son the recognition they deserve. She does not surrender to anyone, not even the king of Hastinapur. Retold to suit the modern-day context, Shakuntala: The Woman Wronged is a must-read to understand one of the most powerful yet underrated female characters of the Mahabharata.

    McLaughlin, in writing Myths and Legends of the Sioux, aimed to create a written account of the many oral myths and legends that have been passed down by the Sioux people for hundreds of years, in order to guard against their loss to history.Containing nearly 40 tales, McLaughlin has assembled a robust collection of Sioux legends. Most of these stories are quite brief, with some chalking in at less than two pages. As with all good fables, the majority of these stories contain a fairly simple message. There is the story The Rabbit and the Elk, a brief tale about an elk tricking a rabbit into thinking it had been caught, which is a classic "don't count your chickens until they've hatched" story. There is also the tale The Artichoke and the Muskrat, a story which carries the message of respecting the differences between people. The legends included in this collection all proceed in a similar fashion and carry similarly simple yet important messages about how best to live life and treat others.The myths and legends included in this collection do not serve only to teach life lessons, but also offer valuable insight into the beliefs and priorities of the Sioux people. A profound respect for nature and its creatures is apparent throughout McLaughlin's book, and one cannot help but admire this aspect of the Sioux.Whether being read to children as bedtime stories, or being examined by a scholar for insight into the Sioux people, Myths and Legends of the Sioux is a valuable collection. McLaughlin's book is enjoyable on a number of levels, and is thus highly recommended to all fans of myths, legends and fairy tales.