Rayne is bored with life until a new family moves in next door. Why do they look so happy? Rayne wants to know their secret. Rayne Shines is a humorous and thought-provoking picture book for ages 5-8. This second edition features humans instead of frogs and an updated story.
In a mythical world of shapeshifters, goddesses, swords, and sorcery, Con, a lone warrior, has spent generations protecting an ancient and deposed royal bloodline, but he’s always known that there would come a time when his protection would no longer be enough. That time has finally come. In a bid to restore the bloodline to the throne, and save mankind, he’ll have to take on Lilith, an evil queen whose dark magics have been allowed to spread their influence and control for far too long. It will take a very special kind of strength to stand against her, but Con is far from helpless. His soul has long been host to a separate entity, Vel, a powerfully magical creature who can manifest in times of need, becoming Convel, with the heart and mind of both and the body of huge black wolf. Their combined power and guile will soon be put to the ultimate test if they are to have any hope at all of stopping Lilith and saving humanity ... even while protecting a dark secret of their own—one that could easily destroy it all.
Full size image In a ruined world, where wealthy humans push health and longevity to extremes and surround themselves with a shining metal wall, privilege and security is predicated on the services of cloned Neandertals, and the exploitation of women in the shanty towns and wastelands beyond the fortress city. This is the frightening yet moving story of orphaned Alida and her younger sister Graycie, and their struggle for survival in the Demi-Settlements outside the wall. When the sisters are forced to enter the City by very different means they risk being separated forever. Cloned Neandertal officer, Shuqba is exiled to a security outpost in the Demi-Settlements when she fails to adhere to the impossible standards set for her species within the City. Will she offer a lifeline to Alida or betray her? The Shining Wall is at once a frightening parable of our unjust world of haves and have nots, a richly imagined yet thrilling story of technological control and the fight for survival, and a paean to female friendship and power. 'Gripping from the word GO. A fearlessly feminist imagining of the entire fractured human genus in a future none of us should ever have to face. The Shining Wall enshrines familiar relationships even as it destroys genre tropes about a woman's role in a ruined world. Leave it to a new voice like this to set the post-apocalyptic construction on its ear. A triumph of realistic science fiction.' — Meg Elison, author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife ‘Gritty and voicey, perhaps prescient, this is a gripping dystopia from a shining new voice.’ — Marlee Jane Ward, author of Welcome to Orphancorp and Psynode
Many people who visit Rayne to enjoy its charming murals and picturesque streets know the community as a quaint city along their vacation's journey. However, Rayne is more than just a pleasant stopover for tourists and passersby; it is a destination in its own rightA[a¬aa multicultural, historic community that has enjoyed a vibrant and interesting past. Rayne's People and Places provides insight into the heritage and cultural lifestyles of its citizensA[a¬alike some who jitterbugged at the old Hollywood Club, drank peach nectars at People's Drug Store, and ate biscuits at Paco'sA[a¬aby showing their families, homes, and workplaces.
"Lutrell Lutrell " Sir Charles Hardiman stood in the corridor of his steam yacht and bawled the name through a closed door. But no answer was returned from the other side of the door. He turned the handle and went in. The night was falling, but the cabin windows looked towards the north and the room was full of light and of a low and pleasant music. For the tide tinkled and chattered against the ship's planks and, in the gardens of the town across the harbour, bands were playing. The town was Stockholm in the year nineteen hundred and twelve, and on this afternoon, the Olympic games, that unfortunate effort to promote goodwill amongst the nations, which did little but increase rancours and disclose hatreds, had ended, never, it is to be hoped, to be resumed. "Luttrell," cried Hardiman again, but this time with perplexity in his voice. For Luttrell was there in the cabin in front of him, but sunk in so deep a contemplation of memories and prospects that the cabin might just as well have been empty. Sir Charles Hardiman touched him on the shoulder. "Wake up, old man " "That's what I am doing-waking up," said Luttrell, turning without any start. He was seated in front of the writing-desk, a young man, as the world went before the war, a few months short of twenty-eight. "The launch is waiting and everybody's on deck," continued Hardiman. "We shall lose our table at Hasselbacken if we don't get off." Then he caught sight of a telegram lying upon the writing-table. "Oh " and the impatience died out of his voice. "Is anything the matter?" Luttrell pushed the telegram towards his host. "Read it I have got to make up my mind-and now-before we start." Hardiman read the telegram. It was addressed to Captain Harry Luttrell, Yacht The Dragonfly, Stockholm, and it was sent from Cairo by the Adjutant-General of the Egyptian Army. "I can make room for you, but you must apply immediately to be transferred." Hardiman sat down in a chair by the side of the table against the wall, with his eyes on Luttrell's face. He was a big, softish, overfed man of forty-five, and the moment he began to relax from the upright position, his body went with a run; he collapsed rather than sat. The little veins were beginning to show like tiny scarlet threads across his nose and on the fullness of his cheeks; his face was the colour of wine; and the pupils of his pale eyes were ringed with so pronounced an arcus senilis that they commanded the attention like a disfigurement. But the eyes were shrewd and kindly enough as they dwelt upon the troubled face of his guest. "You have not answered this?" he asked. "No. But I must send an answer to-night."
It hadn’t seen such a peaceful time in nearly five centuries, but peace wasn’t always the best frame of mind for all of the creatures of the world. Doswarn, a man of shadows and lies had been lying in wait in the Shadowlands for decades waiting for a sign. Rayne DeSouza loved her younger sister with all of her heart, or what she could claim to have of a heart. She was the darkest gypsy a man could have the misfortune of meeting. When Doswarn arrived with an offer she had been waiting her entire life to hear, how could she refuse? Analysa DeSouza was as opposite from her sister as a girl could get. She was bright and fun-loving despite what her sister had raised her to believe, when the Shadowman arrived and whisked Rayne away into darkness Analysa was left with a terrible sense of foreboding and doom. Can Analysa unravel the mysteries of their past before Doswarn’s evil plot is completed? Could she pull her sister out of the Darkness, or would she have to embrace her destiny with the help of her most loyal companions?
The world is waiting for Lost. As a story consisting of gunshots, sword fi ghts, giant monsters, apocalyptic situations, back fl ips, airships, and superhuman action sequences, Solarius. is a novel presented by Benn Tilar Wuest to reignite the entertainment of pure literature. The novel took fi ve years of careful planning to deliver an overwhelming sense of excitement while taking the imagination on a visual rollercoaster from the fantastic creatures to beautiful landscapes. Ladies and gentlemen, we humbly welcome you to Iode.
What was once thought impossible has come to pass. A God-King is dead. In the wake of Tieran’s failed ascension, Tirzah, Green, and the rest of their companions are ready to put the nightmare of Kahral behind them. As the new co-leader of the Aru Si, Tirzah sets a path for the caravan to cross the deserts of Theia once again. This time, the thaumaturge has something she’s never had before: credible information that could lead to a long-awaited reunion with her eldest sister, Naomi. But the dangers of the waste are plentiful. Even if the Aru Si can survive the tribulations of the desert, Urizen–where Naomi was last seen–is a challenge unto itself. Word has escaped the city of God-King Bala-Rahzel’s erratic behavior, pitting the nobles against one another for her amusement. The Shadow Collective also lurks in the dark recesses of Urizen, carrying out their own agenda. Despite all of this, the secrets of Theia’s forgotten past, locked within the God-King’s volatile city, may prove the greatest trial of them all. Content Note: This work contains brief reference to torture, depictions of violence, blood, death and dying, drug use (both consensual and non), kidnapping, PTSD, and panic attacks. Please take care of yourself when reading.
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Summons" by A. E. W. Mason. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
Anavatan rests on the shore of shining Gol-Beyaz, the Silver Lake. The city and its outlying villages are surrounded by the God-Wall, a magical barrier that protects from both the nomadic human invaders that attack each year, and the hungry spirits which are drawn to the living energies of the Silver Lake. It is here in the heart of Gol-Beyaz that, long ago, the Gods were born. With the young God Hisar ready to stake his claim to a place in the pantheon of Anavatan, a long-prophesied time of chaos and change is fast approaching. Sworn enemies, Spar and Graize both had a part in Hisar’s creation and his growth. If they can overcome their hatred and distrust, perhaps they can help the young God to survive. Brax, the sworn champion of the Goddess Estavia, may be forced to do the unthinkable, and divide his allegiance to the Gods, a course of action that could destroy the warrior and shift the balance of power—and lead to the downfall of the Shining City....