An elusive woman arrives at Criminy’s doorstep with a steamer trunk, begging for a position in the caravan to perform her unique new act. She opens her trunk to reveal a menagerie of brilliantly colored butterflies. The woman, who calls herself Madam Morpho, is on the run from a dark past in London, where she was forced to leave her equipment behind and abscond with only her tiny performers. Playing a hunch, Criminy hires Madam Morpho on the spot. Taking her down to meet Mr. Murdoch, the reclusive talented engineer who keeps the carnival’s clockworks running, Criminy instructs them to work together to design and build a groundbreaking new circus for the butterflies. Amid the magical ambiance of the circus and the hint of danger from Madam Morpho’s pursuers, she and Mr. Murdoch soon find that their scientific collaboration has produced chemistry of a more romantic kind.

    Learn how his actions set the plot in motion in The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy, a short teaser story from author Kady Cross’s Steampunk Chronicles. Jack Dandy didn’t become prince of the London underworld at barely twenty-one by being softhearted, even if a certain girl in a steel corset has wormed her way into his affections of late. He knows how to manipulate, charm and rob people blind.And if his criminal activities embarrass his aristocratic father, so much the better. So when a friend of Jack’s father hires him for an underhanded job, Jack is happy to oblige—for an outrageous fee, of course. Delivering a mysterious crate seems like aneasy task—until Jack realizes just what is inside...

    He’s the empire’s most notorious assassin. With bounties on their heads and soldiers hunting them, they’re not likely candidates for heroics. But when they unearth a plot against the military’s premier ice breaking ship, they may be the only ones who can thwart the saboteurs...if the soldiers don't kill them first.

    Saved at the last minute by his rival, Ivy scraped out a new life in Fool’s Cove…until Mad Machen finds her, forces her to accept a job that will create a monster, and reminds her that she still owes him the price of a journey…

    What is his real mission and will his Aunt Archangelica approve of his treatment of her cat?In this short story, New York Times Bestselling Author Gail Carriger uses her comedic voice to delve into the history of one of her most beloved characters. If you have ever wondered about Alexia's father, this will give you a glimpse into his adventures and character.This story was first published in The Book of the Dead, a Jurassic London anthology.

    But perfection comes at a price and not even the looms of Arras can manipulate away every problem in the fabric of life. Something Karoline Swander knows all too well. She has a respectable job, an important husband, and she's about to commit treason.

    Government doctors insist these seizures are punishment for Amy's bad behavior, but Daphne disagrees. Obsessed with finding out what lured her sister out there to the Edge to begin with, Daphne leads Judas, her betrothed, a young man with his own secrets, on an expedition near the Edge to reconstruct her sister's fateful event. But how close is too close?

    Francisco, a bustling city of English lords and Chinese ghettos. St. Francisco is a jewel in the Empire’s crown and as deeply embroiled in the conflict between the Arcane and Science as its sister city, London—a very dark and dangerous battle.Marcus Stenhill, Viscount of Westwood, stumbles upon that darkness when he encounters a pack of young bloods beating a man senseless. Westwood’s duty and honor demand he save the man, but he’s taken aback to discover the man is Robin Harris, a handsome young inventor indirectly responsible for the death of Marcus’s father.Living in the shadows following a failed coup, Robin devotes his life to easing others’ pain, even though his creations are considered mechanical abominations of magicks and science. Branded a deviant and a murderer, Robin expects the viscount to run as far as he can—and is amazed when Marcus reaches for him instead.

    Let the carriage to a royal ball wait. There is a story to be told: of a starless night, a mother and her sick son, and a mortal who falls in love with the snow god, and will do anything to have her...

    Determined to get himself and his sister out the rundown orphanage, Pete finds a solution in the seedy underbelly of London, a deadly place of scamps and thieves where survival is determined by cunning skill and bareknuckle bravery. But then one night, everything changes . . .In this dark reimagining of the original Lost Boy, Wendy Spinale weaves a stunning story of courage and heartbreak, loss and redemption as one boy is forced to face his past... and his future.

    Can Mage Meralda's newfangled flying coils ascend to heights even the Air Corps don't dare, and will her hastily-assembled flying machine hold together long enough to reach the Sammi?Join Meralda and Mug as they take flight, in this thrilling novella set in the world of the novel All the Paths of Shadow. Saving the Sammi is suitable for all ages. If you have a taste for fantasy with a dash of steampunk and a generous dollop of humor, climb aboard!

    Your bleach-white histories with lies. You walk sleeping. Wake senseless. Breathing deep of toxic blooms and forgetting all that has gone before.But I remember.I remember when two brothers waged bloody war over the right to sit in their father’s empty chair. I remember when orphaned twins faced each other across a field of crimson and steel, the fate of the Shima Shōgunate hanging in the poisoned sky between them.I remember when a blind boy stood before a court of storms and talons, armed only with a thin sword and a muttered prophecy and a desperate dream of saving the world.I remember when the skies above Shima were not red, but blue. Filled with thunder tigers.I remember when they left you.And I remember why.Let me tell you, monkey-child.

    When a rich teenage girl who spends her nights in the most desirable club and a smart, young inventor meet, they might have more in common than they know.April, niece to the dying city's cruel dictator, is Araby Worth's glittery and frivolous best friend. But she's more than she appears. And when she disappeared in Masque of the Red Death, where did she go? This short novella answers that question, taking us deep underneath the crumbling city, where April crosses paths with Kent, the serious young inventor who is key to rebellion. Glitter & Doom is a story of chilling action, of spies, and of surprising love. Can love be anything but doomed is a city that's burning down around its survivors?A dark, unnerving story about two of the most fascinating characters from Masque of the Red Death.

    This gritty novelette pits Marla and her magical cloak against a supernaturally-powerful serial killer targeting the city's magical elite, in an early tale featuring the heroine of the novel series that began with Blood Engines and continued with Poison Sleep, Dead Reign, Spell Games, Broken Mirrors, and Bone Shop. This also includes an afterword by the author about the evolution of the series and the character.

    A tale exploring Marjani's first steps beyond Qilar, when she is dismissed from her home for scandalous behaviour.Marjani's ship is stolen by pirates and, in order to save her own life, she pretends to know the location of great treasure.