Magic and Mayhem: A Collection of 21 Fantasy Novels Read online

  Magic and Mayhem

  A Fantasy Collection from 21 New York Times, USA Today and International Bestselling Authors

  Contents

  Magic & Mayhem

  Copyright

  About this Box Set

  Magic & Mayhem Authors

  About the Books

  Jasmine Walt

  Burned by Magic

  Emily Goodwin

  Unbound

  Margo Bond Collins

  Legally Undead

  J.A. Cipriano

  Wardbreaker

  Dima Zales & Anna Zaires

  The Sorcery Code

  D.K. Holmberg

  Chased by Fire

  Thea Atkinson

  Water Witch

  Emma L. Adams

  Adamant

  S C Green

  The Sunken

  Jack Conner

  The Atomic Sea

  Gwynn White

  Rebel’s Honor

  Lindsey Fairleigh

  Echo in TIme

  Rebecca Hamilton

  Come the Dark

  Susan Stec

  They’re so Vein

  K. De Long

  Chameleon

  Tom Shutt

  Brooding City

  Erin Hayes

  Death is But a Dream

  Calinda B

  Power Shift

  N. R. Larry

  Silenced

  Laxmi Hariharan

  Bound by Destiny

  K. N. Lee

  Netherworld

  Magic & Mayhem

  21 Fantasy Novels Packed with Action,Adventure, Magic, Mystery and More!

  Magic & Mayhem © copyright 2016 Jasmine Walt

  Individual stories copyright by their respective authors

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Created with Vellum

  About this Box Set

  Magic & Mayhem

  Get ready to be swept off into lands filled with magic, mystery, action, adventure and even romance with these 21 full-length fantasy novels!

  With over one-million words packed with witches, dragons, pirates, shape shifters, mercenaries, gods and more, these stories will introduce you to some of the most memorable characters and exotic worlds that exist in fantasy today.

  22 NY Times, USA Today and International Bestselling authors have banded together to bring you this incredible boxed set.

  Magic & Mayhem Authors

  Jasmine Walt

  Emily Goodwin

  Margo Bond Collins

  J.A. Cipriano

  Dima Zales & Anna Zaires

  DK Holmberg

  Thea Atkinson

  Emma L. Adams

  S.C. Green

  Jack Conner

  Gwynn White

  Lindsey Fairleigh

  Rebecca Hamilton

  Susan Stec

  K. De Long

  Tom Shutt

  Erin Hayes

  Calinda B

  N. R. Larry

  Laxmi Hariharan

  K. N. Lee

  About the Books

  Burned by Magic - Jasmine Walt

  A shifter-mage hybrid must master her powers in order to catch the serial killer who murdered her mentor, before she ends up dead herself.

  Unbound - Emily Goodwin

  The world of ghosts and spirits is nothing new to Anora, but when a group of bounty hunters are sent after her, she realizes she is more than a medium.

  Legally Undead - Margo Bond Collins

  When she discovers her lawyer fiancé being turned by a vampire, history grad-student Elle Dupree becomes a reluctant hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

  Wardbreaker - J.A. Cipriano

  Former demon hunter Lillim Callina must decide if staying hidden is more important than saving her new home from the largest vampire infestation she has ever seen.

  The Sorcery Code - Dima Zales & Anna Zaires

  Blaise's magical creation is not an object of sorcery, but rather a beautiful woman who's unlike anything their world has ever seen.

  Chased by Fire - D.K. Holmberg

  An ancient artifact that must be found, terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin, and long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world.

  Waterwitch - Thea Atkinson

  A beautiful and formidable water witch must find the courage to defy the men who control her if she hopes to gain her freedom and protect the ones she loves.

  Adamant - Emma L. Adams

  A sorceress from another universe blamed for a murder she never committed must join forces with the guard who arrested her, before they become the next targets.

  The Sunken - S.C. Green

  In an alternate Gerogian London where dinosaurs still walk the earth, Nicholas and his friend – the brilliant engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – must stop the king's plot to bathe London in innocent blood.

  The Atomic Sea - Jack Conner

  In a time of world war, one man will be pressed to unlock the secrets of the Atomic Sea, or the whole world will be plunged into nightmare.

  Rebel's Honor - Gwynn White

  Forced into an arranged marriage, warrior princess Lynx is on a crusade to destroy her betrothed, his all-powerful guardsmen, and his evil empire, little realizing that he has magic on his side, which could easily end up destroying her.

  Echo in Time - Lindsey Fairleigh

  When an ancient mystery leads an archaeologist to a millennia-old war between god-like beings, she must choose between the father she's never met and the man she's fated to love.

  Come, the Dark - Rebecca Hamilton

  Even if Cordovae can banish the spirits in time to return home to her daughter, there’s still one problem: she’s falling in love with a man who can’t return with her.

  They're So Vein - Susan Stec

  There are rules and a hierarchy for immortal beings, and as five senior women go from depends to thongs, and dentures to newly acquired fangs they tromp stilettos all over them.

  Chameleon - K. De Long

  When demonic intrigue forces a shifter to hide out as a dog, the woman who "adopts" him will be forced to confront her family's sorcerous past to have a hope of protecting him.

  Brooding City - Tom Shutt

  Detective Brennan has hung up his hat as a Sleeper, but when a violent drug lord threatens his city, the shadows of Brennan's past catch up to him—and they're looking for blood.

  Death is but a Dream - Erin Hayes

  In order to be brought back to life, recently-deceased detective Callie Saunders makes a deal with the Greek god Hades to find out who is trying to
kill his son.

  Power Shift – Calinda B

  Haunted by ghosts, tortured by a vampire, Chia Petit intends to save the town shifters, even if it means death – or death to her desires for bounty hunter Hung Durand.

  Silenced – N. R. Larry

  As a Siren, Pike Richards is used to having women beg him to kill them. What he isn’t used to is refusing to do the act. Tasked with retrieving the cure for a virus that will deprive him of his magic, Pike must choose between saving humankind and killing himself, or silencing them forever.

  Bound by Destiny – Laxmi Hariharan

  When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to retrieve the Isthmus from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself.

  Netherworld – K. N. Lee

  Angels protect us, demons seek to destroy the balance, and one half-blood vampire is torn between the two worlds.

  Burned by Magic

  The Baine Chronicles, Book One

  Jasmine Walt

  Burned by Magic © copyright 2015 Jasmine Walt

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Created with Vellum

  About the Book

  Burned by Magic

  A shifter-mage hybrid must overcome her hatred of magic to catch a killer.

  In the city of Solantha, mages rule absolute, with shifters considered second-class citizens and humans something in between. No one outside the mage families are allowed to have magic, and anyone born with it must agree to have it stripped from them to avoid execution.

  Sunaya Baine, a shifter-mage hybrid, has managed to keep her unruly magic under wraps for the last twenty-four years. But while chasing down a shifter-hunting serial killer, she loses control of her magic in front of witnesses, drawing the attention of the dangerous and enigmatic Chief Mage.

  Locked up in the Chief Mage’s castle and reduced to little more than a lab rat, Sunaya resists his attempts to analyze and control her at every turn. But she soon realizes that to regain her freedom and catch the killer, she must overcome her hatred of mages and win the most powerful mage in the city to her side.

  1

  “Hey, shifter girl!” a human with sandy hair shouted as he leaned over the bar counter. He waved his hand as though I were a cab he was trying to flag down. “Can I get another whiskey over here?”

  “Coming right up.” Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I grabbed a glass from beneath the counter and the requisite bottle of liquor. Strobe lights bounced off the dark walls of the club as I splashed a generous amount into the shot glass and slid it across the glossy countertop. The place was in full swing tonight, shifters, humans and mages all clamoring for their shot of liquid courage so they could go rub their bodies all over each other on the dance floor and hopefully take someone home with them tonight.

  “Thanks.” The human threw back his shot in one go. His pale cheeks turned bright red, and his wheezing cough told me taking shots was a new pastime.

  “Another,” he gasped, slamming his glass down on the counter.

  I arched a brow. “Don’t you think you should take it easy?”

  The human grimaced. “I need it if I’m going to ask that girl over there for a kiss.”

  He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, where a brunette in a skin-tight red dress leaned against the wall, her dark orange gaze scanning the crowd. The lack of whites in her eyes combined with the dark orange color of her irises told me she was a tiger shifter, likely here searching for a male to help her get through heat.

  “Why her?” I glanced back at the human, taking in his white polo shirt and short, neatly trimmed hair, which was so different from the loud clothing and hairstyles the residents of Rowanville boasted. This boy was from Maintown, the section of Solantha reserved specifically for humans, and I doubted he’d ever set foot into the melting pot of Rowanville in his life.

  The boy bit his lip. “I lost a bet, and now I have to get a shifter girl to kiss me. Unless you’d rather do the honors?”

  “Ugh. No thanks.” The kid looked all of nineteen years old; at twenty-four I had some pride.

  “Aww, c’mon.” The kid leaned forward, desperation in his eyes. “The guys are watching me from across the room right now. If I did it right now I could get out of here.”

  “Save it, kid.” I curled my lip, exposing the fangs sliding out behind my gum line. The kid blanched. “I’m not getting involved. My advice, you hightail it outta here and go tell your mother. That girl over in the corner is looking for a lot more than just a kiss. She’ll tear you apart if you lead her on and then try to ditch her later.”

  “Fine.” The boy slumped back down into his barstool and gave me a sullen glare. “Just give me the shot.”

  Why did I even bother?

  “Suit yourself.” I poured him another and watched him down it. He wasn’t the first to come in here on a bet. Most of the human customers were regulars who knew the deal – so long as you were within these walls you treated everyone with the same amount of respect regardless if they were shifter, human or mage. That’s how it was supposed to be in Rowanville – the only neighborhood in Solantha where shifters, humans and mages lived together. But every once in a while someone from one of the segregated neighborhoods wandered in to cause trouble. Usually they got more than they bargained for.

  “Thanks.” The kid slapped a coin down on the bar. “Wish me luck.”

  Yeah, right. I shook my head as he disappeared into the crowd, then turned back to my work. Tempted as I was to watch the tigress wipe the floor with him, I had a bar to tend, and it was nearly as packed as the dance floor.

  I reached for the coin the kid had left for me on the counter, intending to pocket it. But as soon as I touched it, searing pain shot straight through my fingers.

  “Oww!” I dropped the coin like it was a hot coal, and shook my smoking hand. Fucking Maintowner. Didn’t he know shifters were allergic to silver? The little bastard had probably left it there on purpose. I had half a mind to drag him back out of the crowd so I could beat on him myself.

  “I’ll trade that for you.” Cray, the other bartender, offered. He pocketed the coin, then handed me a pandanum coin of the same value. He was a black-skinned human, and didn’t have any issue handling the silver.

  “Thanks.” I smiled at him and tucked the coin into one of my pouches. Most of the humans around here were pretty decent.

  “Hey. Can I get a glass of teca with a twist of lime?” a woman with ice-blue shifter eyes asked. My nose told me she was a wolf.

  “Coming right up.” I ducked beneath the bar to grab the bottle of liquor. I could use a little teca myself – it was one of the few substances that could actually get shifters drunk. On another night, I could have been that wolf shifter, standing at the bar asking for a drink after a long day chasing bounties. Instead I was here serving them up.

  As I reached for the liquor bottle, the inside of my forearm brushed against the crescent knives strapped to my leather-clad thigh. A familiar longing seared the inside of my chest, and I sighed.

  All it would take is one blowjob, and you’d be out of here and back to your real job.

  I fought the urge to shove my hands into my mass of curly hair and ya
nk on it until I’d come to my senses again. There was no way I was wrapping my lips around that dick’s… well, dick. I’d much rather stay here at The Twilight, even if that did mean dealing with snotty little shits like that Maintowner.

  Still, being stuck behind the counter like this sucked. Yeah, I could mix a decent drink, but I wasn’t meant to be a bartender. As a black panther shifter I was a natural hunter, much better suited to chasing down criminals and turning them in like every other licensed Enforcer in the city. That’s what we do – we clean the riffraff off the streets so the mages don’t have to get off their entitled asses and do it themselves. And since we get paid per head, most of us are pretty motivated about the whole affair.