Search Worlds Without End

Nebula award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough brings together nine of her best short stories in Scarborough Fair and Other Stories. Her wit and wisdom are encapsulated in these stories that blend fantasy, history -- and that indefinable touch that only Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has -- into a magical journey through worlds that only she could create.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (2003) - essay by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Mummies of the Motorway - shortstory by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Final Vows - (1998) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Whirlwinds - (1998) - shortstory by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Worse Than the Curse - (2000) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Boon Companion - (2002) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Long Time Coming Home - (2002) - shortfiction by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Rick Reaser
• Mu Mao and the Court Oracle - (2001) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Don't Go Out in Holy Underwear or Victoria's Secret or Space Panties!!! - shortfiction by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• The Invisible Woman's Clever Disguise - (2000) - shortstory by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• A Rare Breed - (1995) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• Scarborough Fair - (1996) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

It was all that detestable djinn's doing. For Rasa Ulliovna, fierce third daughter of a tribal chieftan, being stolen away by a genie to be the bride of Aman Akbar, lord of the far-off land of Kharristan, was hardly a fate worse than death. Rasa could almost forgive her new husband's long and mysterious absences when she felt his sweet touch and looked into his deep, dark eyes...

A literary departure for acclaimed fantasy author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, The Healer's War draws on her personal experience as an army nurse in Da Nang to create a classic novel of the Vietnam War, enriched with a magical, mystical twist.

Lt. Kitty McCulley, a young and inexperienced nurse tossed into a stressful and chaotic situation, is having a difficult time reconciling her duty to help and heal with the indifference and overt racism of some of her colleagues, and with the horrendously damaged soldiers and Vietnamese civilians she encounters during her service at the China Beach medical facilities. She is unexpectedly helped by the mysterious and inexplicable properties of an amulet, given to her by one of her patients, an elderly, dying Vietnamese holy man, which allows her to see other people's "auras" and to understand more about them as a result. This eventually leads to a strange, almost surrealistic journey through the jungle, accompanied by a one-legged boy and a battle-seasoned but crazed soldier--as McCulley struggles to find herself and a way to survive through the madness and destruction.

As sheriff of Edinburgh, budding author Walter Scott must investigate a grisly discovery. Bones and bodies have been found on the banks of the loch. At first, Scott assumes it to be the work of grave robbers. But more potent and evil forces are at work - and it will take the courage of a young gypsy woman to help him find the answer...

Filled with adventure and wonder, Acorna's People continues the enthralling saga of Acorna, the beautiful, brave, and kindhearted creature known as the Unicorn Girl.

"Welcome Home, Linyaari Child!"

With the help of her "uncles" and the thousands of humans who love and admire her, Acorna has found her true people, the peaceful, telepathic Linyaari. But Acorna still has much to do before she can enjoy her new home. The legendary resting place of the lost Linyaari ancestors has yet to be found. And with the help of a rogue spacetrader and his feline sidekick, Acorna must strive to right an unspeakable wrong and defeat an enemy even crueler than the Khleevi. Along the way, she will at last uncover the Universe's most carefully guarded secret--the true nature of the ancient link between the Linyaari and the space-faring humans she has also come to think of as her "people."

Acorna, the "unicorn girl" has made peace with her Linyaari past, and aboard the interplanetary salvage vessel Condor she is finally free. But dread overtakes her when a distress signal summons Acorna and her companions to a nearby planet. For among the myraid wonders of this world of sentient plants and intoxicating perfumes are unmistakable signs that everythng Acorna holds dear is in peril. A promise of world-shattering devastation is in the celestial winds-and impending catastrophe at the claws of the cold-blooded insectile race that seeks to eradicate all Linyaari and human life from the galaxy...the Khleevi!

The homeworld Acorna has never known was horribly scarred in the brutal attack by the cold-blooded Khleevi, but the Linyaari -- the unicorn girl's gentle, spiritual race -- live on. Now is the time for healing and rebuilding, for restoring the natural beauty corrupted by the savage insectile oppressors. But Acorna's Linyaari friends and colleagues begin mysteriously disappearing soon after work gets under way, among them her beloved Aari. And her desperate search for answers will lead courageous Acorna to a shocking discovery beneath the surface of her people's world -- and deep into the realms of limitless space, where the truth of the origin of everything awaits.

Acorna's people, the Linyaari, have begun reclaiming their homeworld from the ravages of the brutal Khleevi. But the first wave of explorers has unlocked a larger mystery about the origins of the Linyaari -- one that has led Aari, Acorna's beloved lifemate, on a dangerous journey from which he may never return.

Setting off on a quest to find Aari, Acorna and her friends -- Captain Becker, Mac, Nadhari, and RK -- are forced to crash land on the beautiful and barbaric exotic jungle world of Makahomia, home of the mysterious Temple Cats. But an evil scheme threatens to destroy the sacred felines. To save the cats, Acorna will lead a band of rebels on a journey into Makahomia's temples and hidden sanctuaries.

And there, within one sacred shrine, she will discover shocking information that could lead to Aari... or to disaster.

Aari has returned! Now he and his lifemate, the brave and beautiful Acorna, can finish rebuilding their once-decimated homeworld. Yet Aari's travels through time have left him oddly changed, and he barely remembers Acorna or their love. And as Aari's actions turn more sinister, Acorna must shift her attention to stopping the destruction of innocents by a vicious criminal. It is precisely the sort of weakness and confusion the dreaded Khleevi have been hoping for, as the brutal insectile oppressors set in motion their final invasion and the total destruction of the Linyaari and the conquest of their world. Though Acorna's heart is wounded, her courage and determination must remain strong in this dark time -- for only then will she be able to rescue the Aari she knows and adores, and halt the bloodthirsty alien menace for good and for all.

Beloved by millions of readers, Anne McCaffrey is one of science fiction's favorite authors. Writing with award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, she has created the bestselling Acorna series focusing on the adventures of the brave unicorn girl.

Now the exciting saga of the next generation begins.

First Warning

Khorii, daughter of the near-mythic Acorna and her lifemate, Aari, must contend with an overwhelming legacy to forge a path of her own through a universe filled with new adversaries and adventures.

A simple journey home to visit her parents turns into a race against time when Khorii happens upon a derelict spacecraft drifting in space, its crew dead in their seats. But this gruesome discovery is only a dread harbinger—a deadly plague is spreading across the universe and not even the healing powers of the Linyaari can slow its horrific advance. Khorii, one of the few unaffected by the outbreak, must find the nefarious perpetrators and a cure before the disease consumes all in its path—including her beloved parents.

It is difficult growing up in the shadow of heroes revered throughout the galaxy. But that is the lot of young Khorii—daughter of the legendary Acorna and her lifemate, Aari—who must now follow her own destiny through a fantastic universe of wonders and perils.

Khorii became a hero in her own right as she fought to save the universe from a mysterious, deadly plague that not even the healing powers of the Linyaari could stop.

Now, confined with the rest of the survivors on Paloduro, the home planet of the disease, it seems as if the danger may be fading, and Khorii and her friends may be able to stem the tide of death and disease... until ominous signs indicate that the perpetrators are near and that the epidemic is only beginning. As old enemies reemerge and a shocking family secret is revealed, Khorii must unlock the malevolent mysteries of the deadly pestilence with the aid of her android "brother" before their unknown foes complete their covert mission to cripple the entire star system.

The dramatic conclusion to the breathtaking saga of the children of Acorna and Aari.

Khorii, the rebellious daughter of Acorna, the near-mythic heroine of her people, has tried to follow in her mother's footsteps in this time of plague and terror. But the pressure on the courageous young woman to succeed is tremendous, and the legacy she is expected to fulfill is overwhelming.

The insidious enemy that has ravaged countless known worlds has left Khorii's illustrious parents too weak to oppose it. Now, as the deadly foe prepares to launch its devastating final assault, it falls to Acorna's children—Khorii and her newly discovered sister, Ariin—to halt the brutal attack once and for all. But victory may prove too difficult, elusive, and ultimately fragile—and even time itself may be conspiring against the daughters in their desperate battle to save their family . . . and their universe.

In a world where unemployment is obliterated by putting all jobless people in the military to maintain the endless ongoing warfare, Warrant Officer Viveka Vanachek finds herself in a weirder place yet. Captured, raped, and interrogated she is finally exiled to a remote snow-bound prison camp where she is placed in solitary confinement. It seems like the end of the world when she also becomes too sick to eat and starts seeing ghosts and hearing mysterious chanting within the noises of the camp. But her dreams tell her there is more to her prison than there seems to be and soon her delusions and reality start trading places.

From a Nebula Award-winning author comes the moving sequel to the fantasy bestseller Nothing Sacred - a thoughtful exploration of the nature of war and its aftermath. Outside a secret prison camp hidden in the Himalayas, the effects of nuclear fire have dissipated, but now a new tragedy has arisen. Infants - presumed safe within the walls of Shangri-La - are being born without souls.

It was a world of ice and snow - a planet that just supported life and that had been terraformed from frozen uninhabitable rock.The people of Petaybee were hardy, self-reliant, friendly - and also very secretive.

Major Yana Maddock, medically discharged from the service, was shipped to Petaybee in the hope that her burnt-out lungs might just recover in the icy air.And at the last moment, she was given a special commission.Unauthorized life-forms had been seen on the planet and, more seriously, geologic survey teams had vanished into nowhere, the odd survivor being discovered abandoned and insane.It was Yana's task to infiltrate Petaybee society and find out who - or what - was causing the eerie events on the planet.

She discovered a primitive ice-bound community of extraordinary people - people who possessed some mysterious quality of surviving - and people who Yana discovered she both liked and revered as she found herself becoming one of them.

The miraculous and mysterious world of Petaybee was to be investigated. No-one - no-one outside Petaybee, that is - could believe that the planet was a living, breathing sentient entity, that every plant and animal was in symbiotic communication with the spirit of the Petaybean world. Matthew Luzon was one of the investigators, an arrogant, wily, manipulative man who didn't believe there was anything in the universe that couldn't be controlled by hard scientific methods. His plan was to crush Petaybee, strip it of its mineral assets, and subdue or destroy the inhabitants.

Major Yanaba Maddock - who had been sent to Petaybee to die, but who now understood its secretive curative powers - with the help of Sean Shongili, Clodagh, and all the gifted ones of Kilcoole, was determined to fight for their world.

It was a battle in which every human, every plant, and every secretive telepathic creature - most especially the famous orange felines of Petaybee - was to be put at risk. Luzon was determined to destroy them - whatever the cost.

At last the living, breathing, sentient world of Petaybee was about to become a recognized and independent planet. Colonel Yana Maddock, now married to Sean Shongili, was bidden to the meeting on Gal Three to give testimony and discuss the future of the miracle snow and ice world where every human, animal, and plant lived in harmony with the entity that was Petaybee itself.

But their arch-enemy, Matthew Luzon, who had been humiliated and nearly destroyed when Petaybee took her revenge on him, had still not given up his designs on the rich, varied, and unusual world. He was determined to destroy its chances of autonomy.

And so Petaybee found itself swamped with visitors, hunters eager to kill the wildlife, merchants and scientists ready to strip the land, and religious malcontents wanting to 'talk' to the planet. And then Yana - pregnant with her first child - was kidnapped by the infamous and enigmatic pirate, Onidi Louchard - and Yana's ransom was to be the world of Petaybee itself.

Power Play is the third in the sequence of novels about the world of Petaybee, the first two volumes being Powers That Be and Power Lines.

Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientist--ship's cat? All are essential to the well-staffed space vessel. Since the early days of interstellar travel, when Tuxedo Thomas, a Maine coon cat, showed what a cat could do for a ship and its crew, the so-called Barque Cats have become highly prized crew members. Thomas's carefully bred progeny, ably assisted by humans--Cat Persons--with whom they share a deep and loving bond, now travel the galaxy, responsible for keeping spacecraft free of vermin, for alerting human crews to potential environmental hazards, and for acting as morale officers.

Even among Barque Cats, Chessie is something special. Her pedigree, skills, and intelligence, as well as the close rapport she has with her human, Janina, make her the most valuable crew member aboard the Molly Daise. And the litter of kittens in her belly only adds to her value.

Then the unthinkable happens. Chessie is kidnapped--er, catnapped--from Dr. Jared Vlast's vet clinic at Hood Station by a grizzled spacer named Carl Poindexter. But Chessie's newborn kittens turn out to be even more extraordinary than their mother. For while Chessie's connection to Janina is close and intuitive, the bond that the kitten Chester forms with Carl's son, Jubal, is downright telepathic. And when Chester is sent into space to learn his trade, neither he nor Jubal will rest until they're reunited.

But the announcement of a widespread epidemic affecting livestock on numerous planets throws their future into doubt. Suddenly the galactic government announces a plan to impound and possibly destroy all exposed animals. Not even the Barque Cats will be spared.

With the clock racing against them, Janina, Jubal, Dr. Vlast, and a handful of very special kittens will join forces with the mysterious Pshaw-Ra--an alien-looking cat with a hidden agenda--to save the Barque Cats, other animals, and quite possibly the universe as they know it from total destruction.

The spacefaring Barque Cats are valued members of every vessel's crew, thanks to their special bond with humans. Then Pshaw-Ra, a mysterious cat with highly advanced knowledge, gives the felines the power of telepathy. When panic over a virulent plague drives the government to exterminate animals, Pshaw-Ra guides the cats and humans of the starship Ranzo to safety on his home planet, Mau.

But Pshaw-Ra has a hidden agenda. His ultimate goal? Mate the Barque Cats with their godlike counterparts who rule on Mau and create a superior race to conquer the universe. His plans, however, may be doomed by his daughters' battle royal to become queen, by a suspicious Barque Cat with an equally curious human friend--and by something stirring deep beneath the city with a hunger to devour all life... and an undying hatred for cats.

In Powers That Be, Power Lines and Power Play bestselling authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough told the story of a sentient planet, Petaybee. In Changelings, the first of a new series of novels, they return to Petaybee. Ronan Born for Water Shongili and Murel Monster Slayer Shongili are the twin son and daughter of Yana Maddock and Sean Shongili. Born on Petyabee, their destiny is deeply intertwined with the sentient planet that is their home. For Ronan and Murel are more than human. Like their father, each can transform into a seal and converse telepathically with the planet's creatures - such as the friendly otter whose life they save one day from a pack of ravenous wolves.

But the twins' bravery has unforeseen results when a visiting scientist witnesses their startling metamorphosis and becomes obsessed with their capture. To protect their children, Sean and Yana send them to stay with a powerful family friend on an orbiting space station. But no one realizes how curious Ronan and Murel are to discover the origins of their shape-shifting talent - and that their search for knowledge will place them squarely in the path of peril.

Meanwhile Petaybee is changing - and much faster than an ordinary planet's natural evolution. It appears that portions of the sea are heating up and a landmass is suddenly rising from the depths. To investigate the startling occurrence, Sean heads out to the open water in his seal form. But the newly unstable region holds untold mysteries - and the potential for disaster.

The Shongili twins, Ronan and Murel, accompany their friend Marmie on her luxury space craft Piaf to rescue their friend Ke-ola's family from an uninhabitable planet. They arrive to find the planet in the midst of a terrible meteor storm and when they go down to the surface find that the survivors have taken refuge under ground. Ronan and Murel change into seal form and find the survivors and their totem animals or aumakua, the giant turtles, or Honu, and the sharks.

Back on Petaybee the twins, in their seal form, escort the Honus to their new home in the middle of the ocean. They also want to warn the otters and seals about the sharks. It is a long journey and Murel falls asleep and gets separated from the rest. She is surrounded by a pod of Orcas who, thinking she is a normal seal, try to eat her. Before they can do so she is caught up in a whirlpool caused by the volcanic activity in the area, as is Ronan, who had swum back to try to rescue her.

They are rescued from the whirlpool by the mysterious deep sea otters and taken into their shielded city on the ocean floor. While their leader, Kushtaka, is talking to them her son Jeel sees the sharks and goes to inspect them, Murel races after him but is too late and Jeel is killed.

Meanwhile Marmie and her crew are arrested on trumped up charges of kidnapping Ke-ola's family and taken to Gwinnett Incarceration Colony, along with most of the survivors they rescued.

When Murel and Ronan return to their family and discover that Marmie has been arrested and the Piaf impounded they realize they need to get off the planet and go to her rescue. While staying with Kushtaka they were told that the deep sea otters were not just otters but beings from outer space who had hidden in the depths of Petaybee's oceans for years. Now that they have been discovered they plan to leave, the twins persuade Kushtaka to take them with her and to help them rescue Marmie.

In Deluge the selkie twins, Ronan and Murel, leave Petaybee on a mission to help rescue their friend Marmie, who has been falsely arrested on the orders of a corrupt Colonel. However, the Colonel has more power in the Company than they realized and they end up being imprisoned themselves and taken to the Gwinnet Incarceration Colony. There they have to try to evade the clutches of their old adversary Dr Mabu, an unscrupulous scientist who wants to study their unusual shape-changing ability, and doesn't care how much pain her experiments cause them.

Meanwhile, the powerful and avaricious Company is making another attempt to take over the world of Petaybee for its resources, and the twins parents, Yana and Sean, along with the entire planet, must fight for the independence of their sentient world once and for all...

Determined to become an author of western penny dreadful novels like her idol, Ned Buntline, a young San Francisco newspaper editor christens herself Valentine Lovelace (after a floozie acquaintance of her father's) and heads east for the Wild West.

She finds it in spades in the Texas Big Bend when she is kidnapped from a mule train by Comanches and ends up the guest of a ruthless comanchero, a sort of wild west warlord, after the Comanches are distracted by a... dragon?

Fort Draco, as the comanchero fort is known, is as full of intrigue and nighttime carryings-on as a modern day romantic novel, but Frank Drake, the owner, is no hero. If Valentine wants to save herself and the less-guilty if not entirely innocent folks who live there, she must defeat heat stroke, gunslingers, a couple of fake rainmakers and their camel, hostile Indians, the voice haunting her dreams (not in a good way) and a dragon who not only is gobbling all the livestock and transportation in the area but is guarding the only water hole in fifty miles of drought-ridden desert. And she must do it all while taking good notes, of course.

This is a western but not as we know it and a fantasy set where we're not used to it.

THE MYSTERY OF THE KLONDIKE COUNT

Valentine Lovelace loves nothing more than a good adventure. so when her poor, dearly-departed daddy's ex-mistress invites her on a journey to the Yukon at the peak of Gold Fever, she jumps at the opportunity. Val is sure she'll find a mother-lode of great stories just waiting to be told and quite a few interesting people along the way...

In fact it's not long before she finds both in Vasily Vladovitch Bledinoff. He's distinguished, educated, incredibly suave - and he's a vampire! Val finds herself up to her neck in trouble - literally. Now, to top it off, Bledinoff wants to make her a member of his clan... and the trouble is that the nights go on for months this far north!