Showing results for "The Holiday" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Jack Calloway is the pumpkin-headed boogeyman of Hallow Hill. As the legend goes, he was a man of wicked tastes, devilish allure, and had a knack for dark magic. He and his lover—my ancestor—were tried as witches and burned at the stake at the edge of Hallow Hill’s pumpkin patch. Some say he made a deal with the devil to spare his lover’s soul and haunts the pumpkin patch to this day, waiting for her return. “Don’t go near the pumpkin patch on Halloween,” they’ve always warned the women in my family. “Jack might get you.”

Pamela loves her job on Risda III—as cook to Lord and Lady va'Rin, she is responsible for creating delicious meals. What better way to show her appreciation for her new life than a Thanksgiving feast? Alien guardsman Toghar has adored Pamela in silence for years now. Is today the day to speak up? Or should he wait until she stops shoving her hand into that dead bird on the counter? Will the holidays bring these two together? (The answer is yes, of course.)

On Tessa’s planet, humans coexist with a savage race of aliens known as the Kyrzons. As one of the lucky humans who is not fated to be sold as a bride to an alien warrior, Tessa is perfectly content to live out her days in Human Territory. But all of that changes when she is captured by a Kyrzon slaver. Tessa finds herself presented as a holiday gift to Chief Borrik, an imposing alien leader with a love of curvy Earth women. Borrik isn’t expecting to take in a human for the holidays, but one look at Tessa, scared and shivering, and he knows he can’t send her out into the cold.