Search Worlds Without End

Cut off from Earth by alien conquerors, the human colony on Keiss was slowly building an underground resistance movement to stand against the Valtegan invaders. But for many of the colonists, it was already too late.

Her twin sister Elise captured by Valtegan soldiers, Carrie telepathically and empathically linked with Elise, experiencing all the pain and terror that her sister was suffering. Only Elise's death freed Carrie from torment, though it also left her completely alone in her own mind for the first time in her life.

But this mental void was unexpectedly filled when Kusac, a felinoid crewman of a crashed starship, touched her thoughts. Drawn to him by their shared Talent, Carrie hid the injured Kusac from the Valtegans and in so doing found a friend and an invaluable ally.

Yet though trust and understanding between Carrie and Kusac was soon unshakable, it would prove far more difficult to convince each of their races that their only hope of overthrowing the Valtegans was to band together against the common foe.

And even such an alliance offered no guarantee of success, for no one on any of the settled worlds had yet found a way to defeat this warrior race ready to lay waste to any civilization they could not conquer.

Empires rise and fall, but Sanctuary lives on!

Sanctuary, a lawless city governed by evil forces, powerful magic, and political intrigue.

The Age of the Rankin reign of Kadakithis, the occupation of the Beysib, and indeed the erstwhile Renaissance are all in the past. It is years later and the legendary figures of Jubal, Tempus, Shadowspawn, and the Stormchildren are now just memories, myth, and rumor.

But the city and its people live on. A new pantheon of personalities have moved in and are making their mark on this dark and dangerous city.

Meet these denizens of the city where just surviving is a full-time occupation.

Meet Halott the Necromancer, Latilla--daughter of the legendary artist Lalo the Limmer, Dysan the short and scrappy thief, Jake the rat, and a host of others.

Return to Sanctuary and let the games begin!

Contents:

• 13 - Introduction (Thieves' World: Turning Points) - essay by Lynn Abbey
• 23 - Home Is Where the Hate Is - novelette by Mickey Zucker Reichert
• 53 - Role Model - novella by Andrew J. Offutt [as by Andrew Offutt]
• 107 - The Prisoner in the Jewel - novelette by Diana L. Paxson
• 131 - Ritual Evolution - short story by Selina Rosen
• 151 - Duel - novelette by Dennis L. McKiernan
• 181 - Ring of Sea and Fire - novelette by Robin Wayne Bailey
• 217 - Doing the Gods' Work - novelette by Jody Lynn Nye
• 241 - The Red Lucky - novelette by Lynn Abbey
• 281 - Apocalypse Noun - short story by Jeff Grubb
• 301 - One to Go - short story by Raymond E. Feist
• 315 - Afterword (Thieves' World: Turning Points) - essay by Lynn Abbey

They came from the night sky, lighting the heavens like the promise of salvation. But they didn't bring deliverance... they brought something far, far worse. Something that turns people into mindless, cannibalistic monsters. And it's spreading. A reporter follows her story of unspeakable horror south of the border and finds it's worse than she imagined. A wounded fighter pilot finally gets his chance to return to duty but is faced with a mission that could cost him his wings, or his country its chance. A billionaire with dreams of space finds a crashed alien spacecraft unlike anything mankind has ever seen. A brilliant geneticist conducting outlawed research comes face to face with the nightmare consuming the world faster than anyone can comprehend... or stop in time. The government can't contain it. The military can't fight it. This is A Time To Die.

A month has passed since the Strain Delta plague was unleashed on Earth, and most of mankind has already succumbed. All animals are carriers, all food is suspect, and nowhere is safe. Yet small groups still struggle to survive. In Texas, Vance Cartwright and his band of survivalists try to ride out the swarm of infected while Colonel Cobb Pendleton and his men fight to cross 2,000 miles of badlands to reach safety. In the Pacific, Air Force Lieutenant Andrew Tobin is a helpless bystander aboard a flotilla of civilian and navy vessels as survivors try to hold together the last vestiges of civilization.

Food and fuel are running low, and more survivors join the group every day. Lieutenant Pearl Grange, commander of Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell, heads north, searching for a haven in which the flotilla survivors can find respite, only to find armed aggressors willing to do anything to stop her mission, including killing her if necessary. Just when all hope seems lost, a beacon shines forth.

The President of the United States is alive and stranded aboard an E-4 doomsday plane. She could unite the survivors and give them direction if they could save her... but how many lives is it worth to save the president, when so few remain? Mankind is on the ropes, fleeing from extinction. This is A Time To Run.

Civilization is gone, buried in the rubble and bodies of a thousand cities. The mindless zombie hordes number in the millions, roaming the earth, hunting, killing, looking for the last few survivors.

Off the coast of California, a group of survivors desperately clings to life in a small flotilla, which is slowly getting smaller as they are beset from the inside as well as out. Another squadron of ships seeks to rendezvous with them, but they are being hunted by a wolf pack of Russian submarines, and it is unlikely they will make it in time.

There are other groups trying to live as well. While most are trying to help each other, one is going in its own direction. They were prepared for the alien Strain Delta and have been working toward a secret goal all along.

Time is running out for humanity as the clock slowly ticks down to midnight. If we are to have any chance of surviving, we must decide if it is A Time to Live.