Most monsters were merely inconveniences.

A few displaced socks or a pair of missing tennis shoes hardly ruined entire days. But that didn’t apply to the loss of souls on any regular night.

If there was one thing all monsters liked, it was sweets. Typically cookies or some odd mixture of caramel, honey, and tree nuts. _That _was the best way to draw in every soul sucker within ten miles. They ...

It began with whistling. They tore my trees down while doing so. The felling of ancient willows was not something I would easily forget—or forgive.

He knew that as well as I did.

The sigh that escaped his mouth was drawn out as he dipped his head to me. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, shall we? You and I both know we’re not here for small talk.” The war god jerked his head to the wolves prowling...

The gentle singing of the strings was perhaps the only sound for several hundred yards—well, aside from the cheerful clicks and chirps of countless woodland birds. He would find me here, he always did.

There were a few miles between here and the dark lines of scorched earth where blade met blade and fire to fire. We had been warring for years, perhaps more, though none could name the date it beg...