This short story is the beginning of Shadow's. It tells of the events that lead Sean to meeting his mentor, the man who trained Sean to be a better fighter and gave him a rigid code and set of ethics to live by. Who taught Sean that the gift he had been given was meant to be used. Whose teachings brought Sean a sense of peace and acceptance, being the first person to whom Sean had ever told the truth about him and his past. This short story takes place before Sean became Shadow, back when he was known more simply as 'The Jersey Devil', a mysterious killer who left no clues and was never caught. Warning: While there is no sex in this story, there is a fair amount of violence and what some may find to be troubling ethics.

    

    Char feels the severity of the situation and doesn’t know if she will be able to handle it and Rachel’s drama helps to solidify her doubts. Will Rondo be able to keep his promise to Char while being a good father to his son or will this be the end? Neala is patiently waiting for Zan to wake up, while she’s dealing with news that could either make or break them. She’s trying so hard to keep it together but when she finds out who was behind Zan’s shooting she’s pissed and ready for war, too bad she won’t be able to act on it. Ky is running around town like a maniac trying to find answers as to why his best friend is laying in a hospital bed and he is killing anyone in his path. While he’s out running the streets he forgets about the one person that means the most to him, Asta. Will he be able to balance his relationship and his need for revenge. In this last instalment relationships are tested and love is on the line. Will the ladies let the drama swallow them whole and walk away or will they RIDE HARD FOR A THUG?

    

    The device had the power to make anyone that it was aimed at do the bidding of the holder. What sounded like a unique opportunity for Dax actually becomes more trouble than he bargains for as people around him keep coming after him and the device.

    He soon finds out how unique the model is when after downloading his newest game he is transported into the system and expected to play through the role of his character without access to the real world, or any of the informationally packed strategy guides he is used to using. Handicapped by his own impatience to start playing, Sam is left to figure out the new world which he has fallen into. He has no weapons, no armor, no save points, and no way home. The only thing he has going in his favor is his experience, and his willingness to game more.

    

    

    But now, desperate for funds, the beautiful lady challenges him again ... and wins! Taking Lucien's money and fleeing into the night, the surprisingly sweet taste of his kiss still on her lips, Cassie is certain she's seen the last of him -- until an untimely carriage accident forces her to feign amnesia, and she hears the rogue call her his wife!Lucien is delighted to be able to call the bluff of the delectable vixen who bested him, no doubt through questionable methods. Whether she sticks to her "lost memory" charade or admits to a lie, Lucien will get his due! But the bewitching card shark is still holding several aces -- and her next sensuous gamble may just win the heart of an irresistible scoundrel.

    

    At 11, he looks big and strong for his age. His kind mother, Geeta is a rural Indian archetype: the overworked, stressed-out, barely-keeping-it- together single mother. His father is in prison for multiple robbery cases. The villagers are cold and overbearing, and his schooldays are made hellish by bullies. If this wasn’t enough, he has nightmares and uncanny callings from the age-old monstrous Peepal tree that lays on his way to school. The legend is a monster called Brahma Rakshas, living under this tree, for years unknown to people, lures kids with the black devil fruits and then makes them wrestle until one dies.And, one stormy night, the legend comes true when Brahma Rakshas meets Sarja. Set in a fictional village of Deogiri; a small haven of human civilization, away from the din of city life, this story is an adventure ride filled with riddles and monster wrestling.

    As a result of the Supreme Court upholding the McAlister Hate Speech and Hate Weapons Elimination Act, over half of America’s guns are turned over to the government. Though it is a felony to own a gun, over seventy million firearms are retained by Americans. A confidential memo goes viral on the internet revealing that the White House, mainstream media, the entertainment industry and many in Congress are in fact Marxists, actively changing their country from capitalism to Communism. Americans nervously watch the President to see what will happen next.Car bombs explode near federal buildings across the U.S. The President accuses religious and Tea Party zealots of trying to overthrow the government. A U.S. Senator learns from his brother, a CIA official, that the bombings were a ‘false flag’, concocted by the DHS as an excuse to arrest, imprison and re-educate conservatives, veterans and Christians. Pastors are arrested. Blood is shed.Patriots and veterans from across the country secretly organize are an armed attack on the White House to remove the President from office. At the same time, Russia and Iran move military equipment and troops to the northern border of Israel and covertly install nuclear devices in U.S. cities. Will the President honor America’s treaty obligation to defend Israel from attack? Are these events tomorrow's headlines? Will ancient prophecies of the fall of a rich, powerful and influential end times nation come to pass? WE'VE BEEN WARNED!

    Wealthy, talented and gifted with prodigious abilities, there is is little doubt that he is blessed. However, recent events appear to suggest otherwise. Verre is a vast place with daemons and cultivators aplenty. Their schemes and secrets are legion. Valerian finds himself skirting the fringes of some of the greatest his land has to offer and unfortunately for him, he is being inexorably drawn in. There is only one way to keep afloat; grow, train, survive!

    There’s no trick or treachery she hasn’t seen in her time as a wedding planner, and her Coco Cha-Spell bag of enchanted treats holds a solution for every one of them.Groom with cold feet? A little Heat of the Moment powder sprinkled in his shoes will take care of that.Overbearing mother of the bride? Nothing a few drops of Deception of Perfection potion in her champagne glass won't fix.Blabbering best man? Switch his bow tie out for a tongue tie—that’ll keep him quiet.But when an ancient family curse dooms a banshee bride’s beau to an early grave—on the day of the wedding, no less—Bailey might have finally stumbled into a situation even she can’t fix. She’s a witch, not a necromancer.Just when she’s about to hang up her hat and call it a night, she notices one devilish little detail that she can’t quite shake—the groom’s death doesn’t look like an accident. It looks like murder.