Showing results by author "Shawn Keys" in All Categories

This anthology contains action, adventure, spicy tales, and some swishing tails. A rare treat of compiled stories in one place. Enjoy!

Elves are the undisputed masters of the world. From the earliest time of his life, Ajax was granted the dubious honor to be trained as a "mud-knight", a human granted privileges and treated with small scraps of honor in exchange for helping defend his Elf King's realms from orcs and other monster invaders. But when he learns his King intends to unlock dangerous magic by killing a helpless soul, the knight casts aside his vows of servitude, steals away the enslaved soul, and becomes an errant roaming the land in hopes of setting that soul free.

The road to the Olympics is a long path. The challenges are varied. It takes money. It takes effort. Some luck. More than anything else, it takes belief. In yourself and those you care about. Which meant...he'd simply have to be ready for anything. Because the only absolute certainty was that he can't give up. He owed it to them. And to himself.

Kyle is directionless, languishing in a local community college trying to figure out what to do with his life. All around him, the world is getting stranger. A virus has rendered most of the male population in the world infertile. The fabric of society is stretching thin. People are scared of what might come next. Then, in a lightning strike of unexpected fortune, Kyle finds out he is one of the few.

Zahn’s life has been anything but ordinary. While hunting archaic relics infused with magic from continent to continent, his latest search brings him to Hollywood, and then face-to-face with a movie star he has idolized for years. Until now, he has only cared about the quest. But as lust and love break into his life, Zahn is caught up in a violent competition to retrieve one of the most powerful magical creations of all time from its ancient resting place.

The news was enough to blow Kyle’s mind. He had believed that nothing could cause a bigger stir than his revelation over network television that the Soldiers of Dawn, a group of eugenicists operating in secret, had not only infiltrated the government but also released Persterim, the disease crippling the fertility of the male portion of society. That was until an announcement came from the highest levels of government declaring that the corruption didn’t stop inside the lower ranks of various agencies. It went all the way to the top.

Kyle has evolved from the person he once was, but his purpose remains the same: to find himself in a world that seems ready to chew him up and spit him out. There are people who are intent on killing him - not only for what he knows, but for what he is. Even worse, the people who have tried to help Kyle, and who he has come to care about deeply, are equally in danger. He will never let them get hurt. Which means, he has to do something.

For the first time, Kyle and his family have the chance to take advantage of a weakness in the Dawn organization. But to seize that chance they will need support. As successful as they’ve been in staying alive, they are not capable of planning a large-scale attack against a hardened target.

Eager to use their freedom to best advantage, Kyle led his supporters on a search for everything they would need to survive in their new world. Medical support to ensure their children would be cared for. A place to call home. And perhaps most important of all, the equipment they would need to set up a lab so the scientists traveling with them could take a stab at finding a Persterim cure. The odds were long, but Kyle wasn’t going to give up on the hope that the chaos in the world might be reversed if only someone was willing to stand up and fight those who were trying to destroy it.

Chuck didn't expect to be retired by the time he was thirty. That was just how life had worked out. He'd had his fair share of adventures, put together a decent bankroll while working in the oil fields of northern Canada, and escaped with an injury that hadn't crippled him too badly. All he wants is to build a bit more money before buying himself a secluded cottage and deciding how to fulfill the rest of his life.

James Rearden knew what he was: A career officer dedicated to advancing in the Royal Australian Navy to the ranks of Command. He has already enjoyed his time in charge of a patrol ship, and believes himself well situated to take his place among the captains of the country's larger warships. But a political foe changes his destiny and diverts him to a duty for which he is ill-suited, hoping he will fail. James isn't one to accept failure. And as it turns out, the new assignment is both intellectually challenging and with an unexpectedly pleasant feature.

Zahn believed that magic existed. He even knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that leftover relics of magic existed in the world. He owned a few, after all. But he always considered himself a rational sort of guy. When he went on "relic-dives" to uncover lost magic, he did his research. He didn't believe fanciful myths. He scraped away the garbage and only went after magical items that had a good chance of actually existing.

For James Rearden, his dream of advancing his career in the Royal Australian Navy has been derailed in a way he could never possibly have imagined. A novel technology has cast him adrift in a multiverse of various dimensions: each one a version of Earth, and yet with differences that range from the minor to the inconvenient to the deadly. As he reinvents himself as an explorer as well as a warfighter, his best consolation is the people who are sharing the journey with him.

Daniel’s dreams for Olympic glory died when his nation’s team is found guilty of widespread performance enhancing drug abuse. It doesn’t matter that he is innocent. Faith has been lost, and he pays the price along with the rest of his team. After years of drifting, uncertain what the future can hold, Daniel finds what might be a new purpose: Coaching. Inspired by a vibrant, energetic athlete who doesn’t have the money to afford a professional coach, Daniel commits himself to helping her realize her own dreams.

Zahn's involvement in the hunt for ancient relics linked to the legends of Camelot had become his whole world. One of his new companions is the fabled beauty known as Guinevere. Along with his companions, they have made their home upon Avalon itself. None of that has made his life any safer. Those who want to possess the near-absolute power behind Merlin's Staff and the sword Excalibur will stop at nothing to achieve those goals. Some wish to ensure they remain out of the hands of dangerous people.

Ajax and his elven lovers have entered the Wyld. It is the original home of the elves. It is the land of the fae. Most importantly, it is the pathway to the elemental planes which then lead to the Gates of Creation. Ajax is burdened with carrying a spirit from the realm of creation, and he has sworn to take her home. Their path is uncertain. They are sure to be hunted if they are discovered. Worse, if the nature of their secret passenger is uncovered, there is nothing that the powerful fae wouldn't do to capture the creation spirit so as to steal her divine power.

Ajax was alive. That in itself was a wonder to him. Knowing that his elf companions had also been given new life by the angelic being known as Quala was a supreme joy. For that gift, he would sing Quala's praises to the new world upon which he now walked. His task was simple: To revive the faith in the old gods. In so doing, he could reconnect the peoples of the world with the beings who created them. The only issue is that this world is ruled by orcs dedicated to a different faith. A faith that rejects such ideas and is willing to eradicate any who oppose them.

There are key steps on the road to the Olympics. You need to prove to yourself that you can compete. Then, you need to prove it to those who will support you to wear their flag. Daniel’s team and their closest friends have found their paths. They won’t back down now that the path to their dreams has been laid out for them to follow. They won’t waver, even if the challenges they face are not always in the sports arena.