Fantasy Short Stories

Talia As Northridge's fiercest warrior, I've spent five years building walls around my heart after losing my partner. The clan's tech specialist should be the last person to break through my defenses—especially when we're assigned to track dangerous rogues together. Lucas may not have the brute strength of other bear shifters, but there's unexpected power in his quiet confidence. As our mission forces us into isolation, I find myself drawn to him in ways I never anticipated. But opening my heart means risking everything I've protected myself from since that tragic night. Lucas Everyone ...

I was hanging out with some buddies, doing a little caving, when everything went south. When I woke up, I was in some kind of medieval dungeon. Totally naked and in the dark. Luckily, I had a neighbor in a cell near me. One with a decidedly sexy feminine voice. When she explained to me that she was due to be executed and I was in line to be brainwashed, there was only one thing to do. We had to escape.

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

When the end of the world is just another Tuesday... In the battle between destiny and disaster, sometimes all it takes is a reluctant hero with zero qualifications and even less enthusiasm. Meet Grongol, a goose with the extraordinary power to bring about Armageddon - if he ever lays that final, fateful egg. Follow his unwitting companion Pibblestone McTavish as he flees mayonnaise-obsessed villains and chicken cultists while accidentally preventing doomsday. Journey alongside Snarksteel the Insufferable, a sentient sword with three centuries of watching heroes die stupidly while ignoring ...

Everyone thinks I'm in control, but I've never wanted to surrender more. After hearing about my friend's adventure at a freeuse resort, I can't stop thinking about it. When I finally confess to my husband my secret fantasy to be freely used for others' pleasure, he's immediately supportive—especially when I suggest booking a weekend at an exclusive resort where colored wristbands signal my consent. While my husband watches men use me throughout the resort, I'm finally able to turn off my mind and embrace my inner goddess. I'm trading control for pleasure, multiple men at a time.

Years after a war that destroyed America, Sam Monson, the governor of the state of Deseret, negotiates a peace treaty with a woman out of his past - on behalf of the son he left behind.

This story is included in Orson Scott Card's collection The Folk of the Fringe.

Horror writer Michael Richards is disturbed from his daily grind by blood dripping from the ceiling, which steadily worsens. Soon, the blood becomes Michael's personal metaphor in a battle of denial. When a compulsive gambler is forced to seek out a loan shark rooted in myth, he discovers the dark saviour teaches more to his pupils than deliverance from debt. Trapped within a room of sinister dolls, an average man is forced to confront his very worst fears ... and quickly learns staring into the abyss does not grant you a reprieve from them. Interweaving horror into socially relevant ...

Katya deals in Authenticities, trading on nostalgia for a past long gone. But when she encounters a stranger who calls himself Johnny in the woods - even she can't say whether it's real or not.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption. One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.

I thought the last thing I would have expected while working at the mall during the holiday season was to meet a real elf woman. Then the blue-skinned ogre tore through the mall. The elf and I made a quick escape and ended up in a strange fantasy world. Now, I’m finding out that the elves have been in decline for centuries and are being hunted to extinction for their magical abilities. They need someone to help them. Someone to protect them. Someone with magical powers that could make elves strong like they used to be.

Only an act of pure love can shatter Shida the Silent's celestial bonds. Forged by divine hands to serve the whims of a powerful sultan, Shida the Silent, the enchanting genie, was endowed with unparalleled beauty and beguiling charm. Bestowed with the ability to satisfy every sexual desire of humans, Shida's only purpose is to infiltrate the ranks of the sultan's political adversaries, weaving her magical influence to sway their allegiances. Her mesmerizing presence becomes a formidable tool in the sultan's intricate game of diplomacy. However, amidst the intrigues of the court, Shida ...

"Sleeping Beauty" was first published in the April 1957 issue of Infinity Science Fiction.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Elyana is an elven adventurer devoted to helping innocents escape the madness of revolutionary Galt. Together with her band of bold human companions, she is a powerful force for freedom, and one that many Galtan leaders would happily see tied up at the bottom of a guillotine. When one of their allies is gravely injured, it's up to Elyana and the wizard Arcil to buy time by leading the enemy on a wild chase into the dark depths of the Verduran Forest.

On the island of Avalon, everyone has magical abilities. Except Selena Pearce. As if being the only nonmagical person on the island isn’t bad enough, her parents happen to be the king and queen of Avalon - and the most magical people alive. She’s never felt like she fit in on Avalon, but that all changes when she leaves the island and meets Julian - a mesmerizing, mysterious human.

Desiree just turned eighteen and wants to get a tattoo for her birthday. Her and her friend Alice go down to get one at the local tattoo parlor, but Desiree is too nervous to go through with it. Since an artist had been called on to take care of her, the two women go out for coffee instead. Desiree immediately likes Clarissa, but more so, starts to feel something that she has never felt before for a woman. Desiree desires the older tattoo artist and it finally pushes her to go back in with more courage. She asks Clarissa to give her the tattoo and when Clarissa puts her hands on her, it ...

In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders - where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks.

New York Times best seller, master-class alternate historian, and creator of the Ring of Fire saga Eric Flint delivers an explosion of tales filled with well-turned action, wit, and wonder.

Julian never thought that graduating from the Ironfist Academy would be the easy part. He returns to his ancestral manor and is greeted by crumbling walls, growing debts, and a father who’s conveniently disappeared. To top it all off, someone is intent on making his new role as lord of the estate as difficult as possible. Armed with magic and a purpose, Julian must juggle the ancient art of estate management. Luckily, he's not alone.