To Sift the Sacred, and Other Fantasy Stories — Brian Rappatta

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. As a bonus, the paperback includes the novelette, "The Unweeded Garden."