Magic Underground Anthology
The Complete Collection
Melinda Kucsera
Raven Oak
Joynell Schultz
Anela Deen
Lee French
Erik Kort
William C. Cronk
C. S. Johnson
S. Wallace
A. R. Johnston
Devorah Fox
Barbara Letson
C. K. Rieke
Gwendolyn Woodschild
H. B. Lyne
H. M. Jones
Toasha Jiordano
Tiffany Shand
Leah W. Van Dinther
Majanka Verstraete
Alesha Escobar
Contents
Hidden Magic
A Veil is Parted
Anela Deen
The Greatest Sin
A Sacrifice of Blood
Lee French and Erik Kort
The Mail-Order Witch
Joynell Schultz
Great Sun Trilogy, Part I
Bands of Gold
William C. Cronk
The Ones Who See
C. S. Johnson
Six Hooves
S. Wallace
Spell of Wings & Glass
Melinda Kucsera
Weather Witch Way
A. R. Johnston
The Mouth of the Dragon
Rumors
Devorah Fox
Aamira
The Littlest Angel
Barbara Letson
Parallel Princess
The Siege
C. K. Rieke
The Catch
Gwendolyn Woodschild
The Hunter
H. B. Lyne
Ariana’s Hope
H. M. Jones
The Runes of Valonde
Toasha Jiordano
The Druid’s Heir
Tiffany Shand
The Amethyst Window
Leah W. Van Dinther
The Mark of the Red God
Majanka Verstraete
Amaskan
Raven Oak
Shaman Rising
Alesha Escobar
Wayward Magic
No Sanctuary
Tiffany Shand
Pretty Poison
Raven Oak
Ariana’s Choice
H. M. Jones
Weather Witch Worries
A. R. Johnston
The Lair of the Red God
Majanka Verstraete
Portals of Valond
Toasha Jiordano
Better the Devil You Know
S. Wallace
The Deh’anin Unveiled
Alesha Escobar
Parallel Princess
Return to the Fae
C. K. Rieke
The Mouth of The Dragon
Rules
Devorah Fox
Spirit Gambit
Leah W. Van Dinther
Aamira
Healer
Barbara Letson
The Ones Who Fight
C. S. Johnson
The Mail-Order Witch
Episode II
Joynell Schultz
The Rebellion
Gwendolyn Woodschild
The Watcher
H. B. Lyne
Great Sun Trilogy, Part II
Bands of Brass
William C. Cronk
Spell of Bone & Ash
Melinda Kucsera
When Day Fades into Night
Anela Deen
The Greatest Sin
A Sacrifice of Body
Lee French & Erik Kort
Forgotten Magic
The Rebellion
Gwendolyn Woodschild
Bound by Darkness
Tiffany Shand
Spell of Scales & Steel
Melinda Kucsera
Through a Valley of White Mist
Anela Deen
Honor After All
Raven Oak
The Mouth of the Dragon
Revelations
Devorah Fox
The Secret of the Red God
Majanka Verstraete
The Fort and the Fair
Leah W. Van Dinther
The Ones Who Choose
C. S. Johnson
The Prodigal Son
S. Wallace
Ariana’s Gift
H. M. Jones
The Forgotten
H. B. Lyne
Aamira
Letting Go
Barbara Letson
Weather Witch Weapon
A. R. Johnston
The Great Return
Alesha Escobar
Parallel Princess
The Wizard and the Demon
C. K. Rieke
Great Sun Trilogy, Part III
Bands of Iron
William C. Cronk
The Greatest Sin
A Sacrifice of Soul
Lee French & Erik Kort
The Mail-Order Witch
Episode Three
Joynell Schultz
Acknowledgments
About Magical Mayhem Press
Hidden Magic, Wayward Magic, and Forgotten Magic are multi-author collections. Copyright © 2020 by Magical Mayhem Press. All authors retain the individual copyrights to their works.
A Veil Is Parted © 2020 by Anela Deen.
The Greatest Sin: A Sacrifice of Blood © 2020 by Lee French & Erik Kort
The Mail-Order Witch, Episode 1 © 2020 by Joynell Schultz
Bands of Gold © 2020 by William C. Cronk
The Ones Who See © 2020 by C. S. Johnson
Six Hooves © 2020 by S. Wallace
Spell of Wings & Glass © 2020 by Melinda Kucsera
Weather Witch Way © 2020 by AR Johnston
The Mouth of the Dragon: Rumors © 2020 by Devorah Fox
Fatal Origins: Shyronn © 2020 by L.C. Ireland
Aamira: The Littlest Angel © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
Parallel Princess: The Siege © 2020 by C.K. Rieke
The Catch © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Hunter © 2020 by H.B. Lyne
Ariana’s Hope © 2020 by H.M. Jones
Runes of Valonde © 2020 by Toasha Jiordano
The Druid's Heir © 2020 by Tiffany Shand
The Amethyst Window © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Mark of the Red God © 2020 by Majanka Verstraete
Amaskan © 2020 by Raven Oak
Shaman Rising © 2020 by Alesha Escobar
No Sanctuary © 2020 by Tiffany Shand
Pretty Poison © 2020 by Raven Oak
Ariana’s Choice © 2020 by H.M. Jones
Weather Witch Worries © 2020 by AR Johsnton
The Mark of the Red God © 2020 by Majanka Verstraete
Portals of Valonde © 2020 by Toasha Jiordano
Better the Devil You Know © 2020 by S. Wallace
The Deh’anin Unveiled © 2020 by Alesha Escobar
Parallel Princess: Return to the Fae © 2020 by C.K. Rieke
The Mouth of the Dragon: Rules © 2020 by Devorah Fox
Spirit Gambit © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
Aamira: Healer © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Ones Who Fight © 2020 by C. S. Johnson
The Mail-Order Witch © 2020 by Joynell Schultz
The Rebellion © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Watcher © 2020 by H.B. Lyne
Bands of Brass © 2020 by William C. Cronk
Spell of Bone & Ash © 2020 by Melinda Kucsera
When Day Fades into Night © 2020 by Anela Deen
The Greatest Sin: A Sacrifice of Body © 2020 by Lee French & Erik Kort
Dreams Of Valonde © 2020 by Toasha Jiordano
The Rebellion © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
Bound By Darkness © 2020 by Tiffany Shand
Spell of Scales & Steel © 2020 Melinda Kucsera
Through a Valley of White Mist © 2020 by Anela Deen
Honor After All © 2020 by Raven Oak
The Mouth of the Dragon: Revelations © 2020 by Devorah Fox
The Secret of the Red God © 2020 by Majanka Verstraete
The Fort and the Fair © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
The Ones Who Choose © 2020 by C.S. Johnson
The Prodigal Son © 2020 by S. Wallace
Ariana’s Choice © 2020 by H.M. Jones
The Forgotten © 2020 by H.B. Lyne
Aamira: Letting Go © 2020 by Ghost Stalkers
Weather Witch Weapon © 2020 by AR Johnston
The Great Return © 2020 by Alesha Escobar
Parallel Princess: The Wizard and the Demon © 2020 by C.K. Rieke
Bands of Iron © 2020 by William C. Cronk
The Greatest Sin: A Sacrifice of Soul © 2020 by Lee French & Erik Kort
The Mail-Order Witch, Episode 3 © 2020 by Joynell Schultz
Cover Art Designs © 2020 by Melinda Kucsera.
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
No part of these books may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. These books are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of these copyrighted works is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Hidden Magic
Introduction to Book I
Welcome to a one-of-a-kind fantasy trilogy, Magic Underground. Hidden Magic is the first anthology in the trilogy followed by Wayward Magic and Forgotten Magic.
How did this project come about?
A call went out a year ago on Facebook, and twenty-three authors answered it. Three were lost along the trail as the real world invaded, but the rest girded their loins for a battle of words and magic. The spells flew. Keyboards rattled. Our brave authors stormed castles, escaped from prisons, pursued deadly threats both large and small, all to capture the best stories they could in 20,000 words or less.
The challenge?
Write three, addictively awesome, interconnected stories in any fantasy sub-genre. Be it high fantasy or sword & sorcery, epic or urban or paranormal fantasy, it’s all here.
We have portals and modern witches side by side with fantastical creatures living in places you won’t find on any map. Fans of Patricia Briggs and Tamsyn Muir will love Hidden Magic and its sequels. (1-click the rest of the trilogy now at https://magicalmayhempress.com/!
The goal?
To bring you the best fantasy adventures from the fantasy world. It’s a task our brave authors have excelled in as they wove crafty plots, faced the dark night of the soul, and came out the other side brandishing shiny new stories to delight you.
What does that mean for you, dear reader?
Twenty Times the Trouble. Twenty times the trials and tribulations. And, twenty times the triumphs!
No matter the world, life can be dangerous. Be they wizards and shamans, assassins, or everyday people, Hidden Magic tells their stories about escape, consequences, and most of all, magic. From Earth cities and fantastical new worlds comes twenty stories where heroes grapple with the seen and unseen in order to save themselves, their families, and often the world. Hidden Magic features:
Elderly antiques experts interacting with souls
Shamans growing outlawed magic
Baby chimeras battling for their lives
Children sprouting fluffy tails
A king’s boat thrown off-course
A perfect life coming at a not-so-perfect cost
Vikings defending a village against the unseen
A lone shifter atoning for his past mistakes
Trolls and pixies tumbling through the doorway to another world
And more!
Before we let you experience all the drama and excitement waiting for you in the pages of Hidden Magic, meet the twenty authors who answered the call for magical mayhem and find out what drew them to this epic challenge.
Anela Deen: Contributing to an anthology was on my author bucket list. When I saw this project offered the chance to be in an anthology trilogy, turning the novellas into a three-book serial, I couldn't pass it up. Such a creative idea that only the indie world can pull off. Plus, magic!
Lee French, USA Today Bestseller: T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K is the way forward. We're all trying so hard to do this on our own, but when we work together, we're all stronger and more successful for it.
Joynell Shultz, USA Today Bestselling author: The idea of a series of connected anthologies was fresh and different—exactly what I love. Plus, the gorgeous covers caught my eye.
William C. Cronk: Barb [Barbara Letson] asked me if I was interested in taking my writing to the next level. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I wanted to try. The chance to work with professionals solidified my choice, and here I am. Thank you to the readers. Without them, we would be nothing more than dreamers in our workrooms. That’s what I have been for forty years—a dreamer in his workroom.
C. S. Johnson: There's a special kind of magic that comes out when people work together and put their best work forward. It's nice to see that writing is not just a writer against her own world, but there are others along the way who are familiar and eager for the journeys we take, too.
S. Wallace: Getting published is something I always wanted to do but never tried as hard as I could to accomplish. I couldn't continue, “simply going through the motions.” I had to do something. This provided an excellent opportunity to not only step forward and finally get published but to learn from those who are more experienced and lean on their superior knowledge. In short, it seemed like the perfect opener.
Melinda Kucsera, USA Today Bestseller & publisher of Hidden Magic: I started recruiting for the Magic Underground trilogy of anthologies because I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday with twenty-one authors and help advance their careers while connecting them to readers. Hidden Magic launches on my 40th birthday. Working with these amazing authors gave me something to keep the winter blues at bay and an opportunity to work with them on an exciting project unlike any other. I’m truly grateful to all who made this set possible.
A. R. Johnston, International Bestseller: I was talking with Melinda about an anthology we were part of together. After she showed me what it was all about, I was instantly intrigued and knew I wanted to be involved. I write urban fantasy with paranormal romance elements and knew this would be up my alley for sure. There was no way I was missing out on such a great project idea. I love that I get to work with such amazing people!
Devorah Fox: I couldn’t pass up the chance to have my work in an anthology with awesome writers like Alesha Escobar, Holly Lyne, Raven Oak, Hannah Mariezle Jones, or the chance to work with Melinda Kucsera.
Barbara Letson: Writers gravitate toward other writers. We understand each other's need to tell our tales, share our enthusiasm, and improve our skills. My dear old friend and wr
iting buddy, S. Wallace, told me that his friend, established author Melinda Kucsera, was looking for short stories for a series of anthologies with a magical theme. (Magic? What's not to love?) I reached out in turn (okay, I was bouncing with excitement) and Gwendolyn Woodschild, Leah W. Van Dinther, and William C. Cronk responded. How could we resist? Melinda, you started something huge. And it's going to be great.
C. K. Rieke: I’d written two completed fantasy series of novels, but when the idea came up to write a short story with other authors, I didn’t know if I’d have the time with my other projects, but it had been a goal of mine, so I decided to do it! I thought it would be a good way to help others get exposure with some of my fans and vice versa. Also, magic is one of my favorite things to write about in my stories!
Gwendolyn Woodschild: Barbara Letson found out about the opportunity to be in the anthology, so she came to Leah W. Van Dinther and me. We talked about it, discussed the time crunch of getting everything done, and decided that we really wanted the opportunity to get officially published (because all of us are first-time authors) and to get our setting, Ghost Stalkers, off the ground. The opportunity to learn more about the process of publishing, getting our names out there, and to challenge ourselves appealed to all three of us.
Magic Underground: The Complete Collection (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 4) Page 1