LUKA: I was created to be the perfect weapon with forty-eight confirmed eliminations and counting. I'm the best in the business. But my newest target is threatening to destroy everything. Who puts a hit out on a therapist? His biggest crime is talking to his plants every morning. Now, instead of taking the shot, I've broken my contract to protect him and every Ferryman in North America is out to claim the bounty on my head. We've got one chance at survival, and it means fa...

I ain't afraid of no ghost . . . But tentacle monsters are another story.For the last year, I've been living with an invisible monster who steals my snacks, turns off my electricity, and runs off all my dates. As annoying as that is, he's my only companion, and the only one I trust with my deepest, darkest secret.I'm not human.Then again, neither is my new roommate, and he and ESCU have history. Not the good kind either. But since he seems to think ...

They say time heals all wounds. Well, I'm not getting any younger.My disciplinary file at ESCU is almost as thick as my personnel file, which is saying something since I've been working for them for more than twenty years. I do the jobs no one else wants, go places no one is supposed to go to deal with monsters that don't exist. After a while, you get a feel for how a mission's going to go, and I have a feeling this next one is going to be fifty shades of FUBAR.

We were supposed to protect the world from monsters, not become them.All I've ever wanted was to protect the people I love. That's why I joined the military's Elite Specimen Containment Unit. When I learned they were experimenting on sentient monsters, however, everything changed.Now, I have a new mission: protect a scaly winged monster named Bud and escort him to somewhere he'll be safe from my superiors.Yet, Bud's so sweet and perfect, I can't hel...

Some wounds, only a monster can heal.I've always hated Christmas. With a name like Chris Kringle, it's hard not to. It's only gotten worse since I've been back from the war. Christmas is supposed to be jolly, but for me, it's a grim reminder of past failures. I need to get away from it. To be somewhere quiet. To heal.When I wake up in the South Pole after an accident to a Krampus tending my wounds, it feels like the perfect opportunity to get some much-need...

Forgive me, Father, for I'm about to sin . . .My life is a country song. I lost my abuela, my wife, my house, and my religion. After helping my two best friends find love, I'm broke, out of shape, and lonelier than ever.Until I find an injured winged monster in the church basement I'm remodeling. He's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Hurt and alone, he needs my help to find his missing halo. He also seems to think I'm destined to be his mate....

Save a dragon, ride a cowboy is about to become my new motto.After hearing about a dragon ranch and monster haven out in Wyoming, I set off on a road trip with my roommates and two goals: pet a dragon and live out my cowboy riding fantasy.There's just one problem: Hopper Meadows, the monstrous owner of the Jackalope Ranch. He's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas and seems to have it out for me in particular. Sparks fly the moment we meet, and not ...

LORENZOI was built to kill—flawless, heartless, and loyal only to the man who made me. Now he's my next target. When a rare Judas Coin forces me to hunt Dionysus, I need his son: Rafael. A fallen priest I marked with my teeth years ago.I don't need a partner. I don't need a conscience. But I'm stuck with both. And every moment we spend together reminds me what it feels like to want something I was never meant to have.RAFAELI...

Spanning serene woodlands to bustling foreign lands, this anthology recounts profound moments and adventurous encounters, capturing life's whimsy and wonder. From childhood bonds to travels in distant lands, every vignette celebrates humanity's resilience and the search for belonging. Whether it's the thrill of a baseball game or the solemnity of a courtroom, the narratives explore camaraderie, justice, and the eternal human odyssey, proving that joy, beauty, and wisdom can be found in the...

The Pantheon gave me a reason to kill. He gave me a reason to live.JASPEROnce, I was the youngest Director in Pantheon history. I knew exactly who I was and what I was worth. Then I walked away with one secret and I've been burning the evidence ever since. Diego Reyes was supposed to be temporary, just a warm body on a cold night in Brussels. Instead, he's become the best mistake I've ever made. And the riskiest. Now Achilles—the son Zeus always passed over for me—...

Danger. Evil. Death. Heroes can face it all, but they cannot do it alone.Throughout history, creatures both big and small have stood alongside heroes and helped them through trying times, whether on the battlefield or in their laps. In these brand-new stories, seventeen bestselling authors regale us with adventures of animal companions and how they often are the ones rescuing the rescuer.New stories by / in the world ofJim Butcher – from

A "stinging indictment" of US foreign policy and covert operations in the Middle East from a former military attaché and CIA operative ( The Christian Science Monitor).After the close of World War II, former army intelligence agent Wilbur Crane Eveland trained as a military attaché, specializing in the new focal point of global concern: the Middle East. In the decades that followed, he personally witness...