Dark Universe

Riley is lithe and fast, her tongue every bit as sharp as her sword. She's a new-age knight pledged to keep her King and countrymen safe. Riley's hearing rumors about a dark mage in the north. He's amassing a ruthless army and practicing twisted magic. His evil past intertwines with Riley's kingdom...and he's coming to claim it. With the kingdom at stake, Riley embarks on a collision course with this mage...and with her own mortality. Will Riley's fighting prowess prove enough to vanquish the dark mage and his legion?

The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe? Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope.

After years of compulsory training to become an elite warrior, 16-year-old Aenya plans to run away with her friend Lewin. However, her plans crumble when she is chosen to be Elriyon’s new figurehead and wife to the future ruler, Rieve. But Aenya has a secret: She is a Darcara - one chosen by elusive dragon-like beings, the Dargun, to receive the wisdom that once governed her people.

Cursed to be eternally forgotten, Cabernet grew up walking a dangerous, lonely line between the world of mankind and the world of fairy. Now known only by a faceless reputation as a rogue and fairy aficionado, he wanders ceaselessly with the cat Maugrim as company. Then, the king dares order him to eliminate a magical foe in northern waters, and threatens to attack fairy lands if Cabernet refuses.

Joyful and blessed are Voice-bearers, for the Heavens have set them apart. As Whisperers gifted with the Voice, Betka and her people are enslaved. Only they can control the dangerous spirits that haunt the waters, but they are forced to serve under cruel taskmasters. Betka has little hope of freedom from her service or her own bitterness. A powerful water spirit terrorizes the castle where Betka’s sister is serving. Betka is assigned to the crew sailing to face the foe, and she fears for the only family she has left.

When a sudden storm slams Katy’s boat into the shore, she’s forced to enter the lawless wasteland she’d avoided since the world ended. The horror she discovers among the ruins is far worse than she could have imagined. The masked warriors of the Venganza clan chase Katy through the post-apocalyptic landscape, forcing her to decide between her past or the survivors’ future - a decision that could determine the fate of the human race.

In the year 2255, Ellie Ovis finds herself in the unenviable position of being loved by Woden, the Nephilim prince of the New York region, staring lovingly into her eyes. A member of the Creed, Ellie wants nothing to do with this being, whom she considers demon spawn. But the upcoming annual Balance ritual and an incomprehensible prophecy declares that a stubborn Scarred Woman will bring disruption to the Nephilim community. There is no one more stubborn or scarred than Ellie. But could she really be the one who is fated to save the various humanoid populations of Earth?

Bandit, duelist, hero--Jack had been many things in his life. When failure to stop a crazed cultist allowed eldritch nightmares to attack his home, Jack escaped with as many people as he could save, even though it meant leaving a friend. Now Jack’s come back to right that wrong and find out what happened to his home, a place where warlords, monsters, and cosmic terrors now battle for dominance. Thrown into a post-apocalyptic kingdom he blames himself for creating, Jack will come face-to-face with true darkness.

With all hope of peace shattered beyond redemption, Donatello Vanici is waging his most violent, bloody war yet. And caught in the heart of the carnage is Willow Stepanova, the adopted daughter of his dangerous enemy and the girl who once adored him to the depths of her soul. Torn between her loyalty to her family and her volatile connection to Donatello, Willow quickly realizes that it’s not just her life at stake in this vicious battle.

On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the universe that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive only to visible light. In Chandra's Cosmos, Wallace H. Tucker uses a series of short, connected stories to describe the telescope's exploration of the hot, high-energy face of the universe.

A decade of blood stained his hands. None of his victims had ever weighed down his conscience. He was merely the tool, the living weapon wielded by his employers. His victims had begged for their lives, had cursed him with their dying breath, and stared in uncomprehending disbelief. But none had ever been calm in their final moments. None had ever stared up at him with such serenity.

When Abigail Taylor has frightening visions, she struggles to find her place between hallucination and reality. After waking up in several random places with no recollection of how she got there, she notices that the same man is among the onlooking witnesses. Isaac Nelson has a secret he can’t escape, instincts he can’t ignore, and a bad habit of disappearing at night. When visions and instincts bring them together, they must learn to survive in a place where there is no mercy for the strange.