Showing results by narrator "J. Arquin" in All Categories

The common people have become the currency, outlaws have shifted to mercenaries, and freedom is no more than a thought of the past. Fear, violence, slavery—throughout his adult life, Barloc has known no other way. A quarter of a century has passed since King Sclavus decreed slavery legal in the Kingdom of Kuldaire, certain it was the only way to keep the economy strong. When Barloc is sold to Lord Harbor, his new owner offers queer promises of freedom, promises only King Sclavus can honor after a thirty-day trial.

Martial arts master Lin Su Yoshimura is a force to be reckoned with. Now in the US after being shunned as a mixed-race Chinese-Japanese girl, then kidnapped as a teen and sold into the sex-trafficking trade, Lin Su is rescued from an abusive New York pimp by one of the city’s top-level cocaine dealers. Navigating both back alleys and opulent venues with lethal grace, Lin Su finds her way forward through the underbelly of the city, as she wrestles with the horrors of her past.

When strangers Jared Rund and Diane McKenney met on Mount Rainier in Washington state, neither of them knew where the next few days on one of the most dangerous peaks in North America would lead them. Caught in a blizzard and detached from the rest of their party, the two are forced to spend a bewildering and frightening night high on the 14,411-foot peak with nothing to save them except their own will and preparation. But sometimes, it is the toughest of times that lead to the best. And for Jared and Diane, if a mountain blizzard couldn't stop them, then nothing would.

Ethan has tracked down the sword Excalibur to an ancient tomb now controlled by the orc nation. They will let him see it, but he just has to do one simple task: Talk to a rampaging dragon! Did they forget to mention that the shamans they previously sent never returned? The companions must make it to the dragon's lair through the troll and giant infested forest while being harried by more fishmen. And there's the magic eating fairies to deal with! Supposedly, they can drain the Mana right out of a wizard!

Charles is a low level drug runner with a small crew. While taking a lunch break at a strip mall, they end up in a bizarre fight with their German Shepard morphing into a manbeast and the old lady at the pizza parlor opening a vortex to escape with one of his crewmembers. As he searches for answers he learns the organization he works for is run by aliens. When an extraction team shows up to save him from near death, he finds himself on a different planet; and the leader of an almost extinct race.

Lasadi doesn't like strangers on her ship, but she'll need a bigger crew if she's going to steal a mysterious artifact from a dead pirate's long-lost space station. She takes a chance on a charming grifter named Raj, along with a skilled hacker and her genius little brother. And it's...nice? If Lasadi isn't careful, she's going to start enjoying having a crew aboard. Raj's last bit of luck capsized right before he ran into Lasadi, and this job could finally get his life back on track—as long as Lasadi never learns the truth about his past.

Both sisters are trapped. Kate fights to escape a city with closing borders as the leaders desperately try to contain the outbreak. Betrayed by family and embroiled in the chaos of an organized crime syndicate, Alisa struggles to get out before she breaks under the unbearable strain. Even if she escapes, Kate still faces miles of lawless country with dangers even worse than the virus. Back home, Alisa can’t turn her back on the other trapped victims and is determined to find a way to save them all.

Madison only joined the Koyesta Online's early access because her brother begged her. Of course, the fact that they're awarding brand-new cryptocurrency to the early players for in-game actions might have something to do with it too. Thrust inside the world's most immersive fantasy VRMMORPG, Madison, her brother, and two cousins find themselves in some backwater little town. Determined to make the most of it, they set out on a series of adventures and stumble upon hidden ruins and a secret quest capable of reshaping the face of the game before it's even been officially released.

When Duncan MacGuire sets out to help a slave escape the Great Houses of the South, little does he know they'd send a demon to capture them. Set in the Boston Metaphysical Society alternate history universe, this short story is a prequel to the award winning novel, Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets and the popular graphic novel, Boston Metaphysical Society.

Gage Cross was a retired assassin from another world. A world he only vaguely remembered as Earth. Since being dropped onto this new world as a boy, he’d become one of the best assassins on this planet. He’d left the life of an assassin behind—given all of it up for a woman named Alani and his daughter, Shaunna. He was supposed to live a simple, peaceful life. Then his old life caught up with him. Assassins came. They burned down his house. They killed his wife and child. Now, Gage will find the person responsible and make them pay—and no one will stop him.

Six-hundred-twenty-seven convictions later, the career criminals Morty and Xiomber have seen the light and joined the good guys. Gareth must go undercover to stop his nemesis from unleashing another crimewave across the Accord of Souls. While the leaders of the Accord of Souls send an agent to Earth to stop its top scientist before he can open the way for the rest of humanity to flood into the galaxy.

For centuries, the wizards of the north have pretended to be gods. They call themselves Odin, Thor, and more but Gage knows they are only men—men with magic who oppress those without it. But that time is coming to an end.

Fired from his dream job and exiled among the misfits and mutants of the Undercity, Tak has gone from wunderkind to washed-out failure in record time. His last hope of reclaiming his life in the shining city above is to somehow prove his wild theories correct. In order to continue his research, Tak accepts a job at a shady underground laboratory, where he struggles to reconcile what he believes to be right with the things he must do to survive. But when a strange plague rips through the people of the Undercity, Tak’s knowledge becomes their only hope of survival.

What once was his downfall becomes their saving grace. Hard-fought skirmishes leave Captain James Henry and the Shadow Wolf limping into Lusitania’s port. Payday awaits once the undercover operative is safely delivered planet-side to brief authorities on the League of Sol’s activities within neutral territory. But Jim learned long ago never to take anything at face value.

Imagine waking up in a world where magic is real! One minute Ethan Gower was an average computer technician, playing online games with his friends. Now he’s been abducted and dropped into a strange world with others who have been taken from their homes. And magic and monsters are real. Now, Ethan is a wizard and must convince his new companions to band together in order to survive in this strange new world as they level up, gain abilities and try to unravel the mystery of why they were abducted and how to find a way home.

Captain James Henry has finally gained what he long desired - redemption. Yet not even his restored military honors and reputation can wipe away the bitter taste in his mouth after 15 years weighed down by guilt and shame. Before deep-seated betrayal sends Jim to the bottom of another whiskey bottle, the past again rears its ugly head when the Shadow Wolf’s first mate is kidnapped by an unholy enemy alliance. To rescue her from their clutches, Jim swallows his injured pride and accepts assistance from an unlikely source.

The gods of the Accord of Souls return to judge humanity itself, and they intend on simply eradicating the species to make the galaxy a safer place. Gareth finally confronts his old enemy again, as well as the very gods of the Accord itself. Nothing will ever be the same for anyone. Trial of the Star Dragon is the fifth and final Star Dragon story - science fiction written with a 1950s pulp flair - and completes the adventures of the Star Dragon and the Accord constabulary in the galaxy where the gods are real, and angry.

The Widow never rests. She takes the ship Dominion-427 across the galaxy to chase down her ex-husband and his friends. Athanasia and Glaxu duel on far-flung planets, and double-cross one another again and again, until someone dies. And Valentinian keeps running. Dominion-427 - the fourth novel in the Shadow of the Dominion series - puts friends in danger while continuing to explore this fascinating new galaxy of characters!

Valentinian and his friends never imagined being trapped underground with their worst enemies - the Widow and her crew. Above-ground, an entire tribe of sex-crazed cannibal mutants rampages, coming for their souls. Enemies must make deals with each other, planning for the inevitable double and triple-crosses, as well as ferreting out the secrets of the long-forgotten vessel known as Princess Rualoh. Princess Rualoh - the sixth novel in the Shadow of the Dominion series - forges new deals and trickery between enemies as well as friends.

Valentinian won a treasure map in a crooked card game. Its call brings him back to the planet Kryuome. There, he and the crew must outsmart the locals, the mutants, as well as the Widow aboard her new warship, in order to uncover a secret two thousand years in the making. Or die trying.