Fairytales Slashed, Volume Five — Multiple Authors

Seven tales, familiar and new, where nothing and no one is precisely what it seems, and where it will take more than determination and magic to set all to rights again... Part of Your World (Jamie Sullivan) is the tale of a man adrift, his dreams of music all but lost, and his only solace found in taking his boat out to sea for a few hours. Deep beneath the water, the lonely Ren looks up at the surface he is not supposed to breach... In Beast (Jamie Sullivan), the very last thing Beau expects to land on his desk is the story of the year: the location of the missing scumbag rockstar Gabriel Fletcher. Eager for the chance at a story that could make his career, he heads off immediately for the remote mansion where Gabriel is rumored to be hiding. But the questions he seeks to ask bring answers he never could have expected ... The Heart of Evil (Sandra Bard) is the story of Kallum: depressed, broken, his magic burnt out. All he wants is to recover in peace and quiet, an opportunity he hopes he'll get when he agrees to look over his aunt, comatose for the past five years. But his first week in town, Kallum is pressed into service by Nathaniel, who needs his help fighting an evil wizard. And there's Ash, who seems to be anything but the harmless librarian he claims ... Matter of Perception (Sandra Bard) is the tale of Nathaniel, a young apprentice wizard still trying to get the hang of his powers, worried about his sister and jealous about the relationship between his master and his former brother-in-law. But all that is set aside when he falls into a magical garden from which there is no way out, and his only companion the garden's mysterious caretaker... In Memories Lost in Forgotten Time (Cate Enslin), a broken pocket watch and a shop full of junk are all that Colin has left of his lover, Quentin. Behind on the rent, tormented by his landlord, he knows he should sell everything and move on. But memories are not so easily discarded -- or trusted. The Power of a Wish (Sandra Bard) is the tale of a boy forbidden to cut or otherwise alter his hair until he turns twenty-five, on the orders of his strict grandmother. But when he returns home and reunites with an old friend, a seemingly harmless prank goes horribly awry... And in The Blind City (Diana Jean), Charley, a lowly librarian's assistant, never expected to be sent out on a quest with the most famous knight in the country. Sir Thaddeus Constantine is strong, honorable, a legend told in countless stories. To spend time with him is a dream come true, especially when Charley realizes that the man behind the knight is far more fascinating than stories...