FANTASTIC TRANSFORMATIONS: A COLLECTION OF FANTASY SHORT STORIES

by Jamie McNabb, Jacob Innes

Change and transformation are inevitable. Without them, life would be impossible. Without them you and I would both be impossible. You say you don't like change. Well, good luck with that one. "But . . . But . . . But . . . !" I hear you stammer in outrage. Sorry, but you may as well buckle up. This collection contains seven tales of change and transformation. They explore magic and mysticism, loyalty and betrayal, rebellion and liberation, hate and love. THE Danger fills the life of Jahnu, apprentice to Kazhaymir the Magnificent, court magician to His Imperial Majesty Fahim the Inscrutable. Under normal circumstances, Jahnu would bask in a life of reflected privilege; however, his master has fallen out of favor. Indeed, when a command performance falls flat, Kazhaymir and Jahnu quickly discover the price of failing to wow the Palace. THE RABBI, THE VAMPIRE, AND THE Simeon Black has an undeath or dead-death problem. A few nights ago, the ugliest woman imaginable attacked him on his way home. She sank her teeth into his neck. To make a long story short, he woke up in the morning a vampire. Better than a cockroach, but still.... Now Simeon must drink blood to live, well, to undie, but he is an observant Jew. The mitzvot forbid ingesting blood. They also forbid suicide, so that's no way out, either. In desperation, Simeon turns to Rabbi Michael Rosenbaum for help. Why Rabbi Rosenbaum? Because the good rabbi often works until after dark at his synagogue. CROSSING THE Between death and Eternity stands the ferryman. For the newly dead, bliss awaits on the other side of the river Acheron. No bridges span it. No one can swim across it. A dilapidated ferry makes the only connection. The ferryman demands cash. Basil Wainwright, however, has arrived without a dime to his name. Now he must figure out a way to earn his passage or face eternal annihilation. WHEN ELVES GO An old proverb among Oreques states, "Anything can happen when Elves go bad." When the Dark Elves appeared, the Oreques figured their mission had just turned rancid. They had the right of it. For their part, the Dark Elves, hired assassins, thought drinking Oreque blood would give them an edge. However, Oreques don't care about edges. They're more interested in victory, honor, and adding prestige to their names. BEATRICE FIND HER In every way that counts, Beatrice died years ago. She pushed her life away. She refused to embrace any of it. Now she has contracted acute ambulatory death. The condition has rendered her a walking corpse, destined to rot. Thus confronted by her mortality, she sets out to find a quiet place in which to embrace her impending oblivion. Life, however, has other plans for Beatrice. THE SEDAN Crushed rock for water. Empty fuel and water tanks. Rust and malignant rot. Her final owner's splendid ideas, overwhelmed by his exhausting work schedule. Memories of sunny anchorages, of fresh paint, and of laughter. This is a 570-word short short in which a "project boat" contemplates her past, her present, and what lays ahead. THE MAN WITH THE SILVER Nothing beats the smell of a burning witch. When a local witch-burner-in-chief decides to rid his town of its new high priestess, he organizes a raid on her coven's next Sabbat. However, the high priestess has laid plans of her own. In a twinkling, a run-of-the-mill witch-burning turns into a hot time in the moonlight, complete with gunfire and marshmallows. So if this looks like the kind of ride you'd like to take, snag of copy of this collection right away.

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011