A collection of a half-dozen fantasy short stories and novelettes. In “Songs for the Lost”, a young girl travels to the domain of the Lord of the Dead to reclaim the songs of her departed ancestors. In “Ghost Hands”, a young member of a holy order of warriors agrees to become the ultimate soldier--by being bonded with a demonic spirit. In “A Gambit of Pawns”, an infantry of eunuchs is called upon to fight an army of sirens. In “Prisons of Flesh and Stone”, a young girl makes an unholy bargain with an Ancient sorcerer to protect her sister. And in “To Sift the Sacred”, a magically gifted young undertaker seeks to compose a unique hymn of worship to his god: by arranging the bodies of the dead in the shapes of runes. These stories and more . . . a peek into a half-dozen different fantasy worlds.About the AuthorBrian Rappatta’s short fiction has appeared in various anthologies and magazines, both online and in print. His recent publications include Shock Totem #1, Steampunk Tales #1, the first venue for original short fiction designed exclusively for the iphone, and the anthology Zencore: Scriptus Innominatus (the 7th volume of the Nemonymous anthology series, which was shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Anthology). His novelette, “Tongues”, won 2nd place in the annual Writers of the Future competition in 2006. He is a graduate of the Odyssey Writers Workshop, where he studied with World Fantasy Award winner Jeanne Cavelos and #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin.