Showing results by narrator "Spencer Dillehay" in All Categories

"There’s nothing there." The words may as well have been a death sentence to young Declan. Without mana, there could be no studying at the sky-piercing Pinnacle Towers, there could be no great monster hunts, and there could be no following in his father’s legendary footsteps. He’d be a cripple. But when a terrible accident forces him to flee, Declan learns the true nature of his mana. Just because it doesn’t resonate at any known frequency doesn’t mean it isn’t magic. Just because he can’t cast the same spells as everyone else doesn’t mean he isn’t a mage.

The sleepy town of Lordsland is rocked by a baffling storm, leaving the residents mystified to its origins. As the day progresses, an insidious evil leaves the entire town scrambling in a battle against the newly awakened dead.

Death and destruction are taking over the world. The impact of the crack that's transforming ordinary people into blind, rage-filled monsters, are bringing every system down and forcing the survivors to fight for every breath.

The king is dead, and any dreams of conquest have died with him. Now the Teralian army can dedicate their focus towards hunting the man who brought it all about. Fugitives for treason, Declan and his friends must slip past the nation's borders into the treacherous wildlands beyond. Trapped in a world of Faeries and whispers and prophecies, they chart their course for the Seat of the Tempest and for whatever powerful entity demanded his presence.

Where do we go when we dream? Since the beginning of time, people have argued the meaning of dreams. Are they symbolic visions that hold great meaning and personal significance? Are they portals into other worlds? Or are they just a series of random events our mind shows us when we fall asleep? Whatever the case, this much is true—the mind can be a scary place to venture, even for a few hours. Never Wake is an anthology of dream horror, bringing you several mind-bending tales of nightmares, hallucinations, and phantasmagoria from some of the hottest talent in horror fiction.

They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark collects 13 chilling tales that weave through the shadows, exploring the nature of fear, powerlessness, and control.

Scattered and fighting for their lives, the survivors face whatever pain and darkness they hold in their heart, as the strange forces at work make their demons appear in flesh and blood. John, now blind, is fleeing through the sewers, hoping against all odds to find the person who started everything and maybe reverse things.

Jerry got caught up in a war he wanted no part of; one that left him paralyzed from the waist down on the day of Lee’s surrender. Now he stood the risk of losing his ranch if he wasn’t married by the deadline. But what woman wanted a man who may never walk again? Leanne was left destitute as the war raged. Her hometown was now taken over by a wealthy criminal…and he had his sights set on her.

Making It Big in Japan is your ultimate guide to living, working, and playing in Japan. The information you get about Japan from reading articles online in English only scratches the surface. Like an outdated textbook, the advice seems to be stuck in the 1980s without reflecting the real pace of change in Japan. There is a need for more clarity and explanations of information that is often only available in Japanese. To fill this gap, I have interviewed the people who influenced me, served as role models, or offered valuable perspectives along my seven-year journey in Japan.

A mysterious crack appears in the sky. Anyone who looks directly at it goes blind. What's worse, they also turn insane with a vicious urge to kill. As the crack grows bigger, more people are transformed into "blinders." The authorities struggle to keep things from spiraling.

Ren is a thief and a con man. There's just one rule: He doesn't kill people. Murder is rare in the walled city of Lenmar, thanks to the magic-eating Inquisitors that can sniff out any individual by their particular knack. So, when a serial killer starts killing the nobility, leaving no trace for the Inquisitors to follow, Ren becomes the prime suspect. All Ren wants to do is stop a serial killer, clear his name, and protect the people he cares about. To do that, he’ll have to pull one more high-stakes heist—and steal the proof he needs from the very people who want to catch him.

A mysterious crack appears in the sky. Anyone who looks directly at it goes blind. What's worse, they also turn insane, with a vicious urge to kill. As the crack grows bigger, more people are transformed into "blinders". The authorities struggle to keep things from spiraling.

A victim of misplaced affections, Leah Dearing dreams of starting over in Oregon where she can own land and put her past behind her. But as a single woman, she is refused a place in the wagon train, no matter that she’s more than capable of doing all she needs. Desperate to build a new life for herself, she is willing to do anything—including a marriage in name only. Stanley Keith has no intention of heading out West with a bride until he overhears Leah’s plight.

In the wake of the catastrophic event known as the breaking sky, the survivors find themselves facing horrors much greater than the blind, mindless monsters roaming the cities. Mark and John are trapped at the government facility, now in complete darkness. Only one of them seems to have the will to go on, but it will take a lot to make it out of there, through endless hallways and stairwells, in pitch blackness, with dozens of blind people lurking everywhere.

Todd elevates genre short fiction beyond entertainment. Whether it's the titular story of a haunted mug driving the new office hire mad, or a worrisome look at the near future where the guilty simply hire someone to do their prison time, these stories will challenge as much as engage.

Levi found out how much void a woman could fill in his heart. But the heartache and betrayal wasn’t worth it. He was better off alone…wasn’t he?

How does one record an extraordinary time? Confined to his Delhi apartment, Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee unravels the intimate paradoxes of the life he encounters in the first weeks of a global pandemic. His stories about local fish sellers, gardeners, barbers, and lovers merge with his concerns for the exodus of migrant labourers, the challenges faced by health workers, and a mother braving check posts to bring her son home.

A fallen angel and an assassin walk into a bar...For nearly 70 years, Murphy's had the worst luck any fallen could ever have. The Collector - a title Murphy never wanted - can't seem to do his job: Collect a soul. And after 70 years, Murphy's not so sure he wants to go back to the Below. Joy is a practitioner of one of the world's oldest professions. Murderer for hire, assassin, hitwoman - Joy's your lady if the money's right. Brought together by a job and dropped into the political machinations of the Above and Below, Murphy and Joy have to decide where their loyalties lie.

Two brothers. A childhood sweetheart. Life has never been easy for this trio, and especially not after the end of civilization as they knew it. Having had their formative years ripped from them, they were thrust into a shattered, savage world, a world where they only had each other. Weary travelers on the brink, there is a storm brewing, a turbulent tempest that has nothing to do with the weather. When tragedy strikes, everything changes in the blink of an eye—façades come undone, and loyalty is pushed to a breaking point.

Eighteen-year-old Scott Breckinridge just wants to be left alone to play combat games on his computer and rack up kills. His plans are drastically altered, however, when his great-grandfather Walter has to move in due to failing health. Appalled by Scott’s gruesome video games, Walter voices his extreme displeasure.