To keep the lands free from vampires, the Order has always crushed new Vampire Lords as soon as they appeared, using excessive force whenever possible. But this time, the Order has acknowledged the right of one man to handle matters in their place. Some things go beyond law or policy. Mardon will settle this alone.In her youth Brenda found the family home at the foot of the Adelaide Hills stiflingly quiet. She fled to the coast and city life. Now, much older, she relishes the quiet life and shares the rambling family home with her elderly mother. Both women are widows and their constant companion is a little West Highland terrier dog called Diddum. While Brenda’s mother is away for a few days, Brenda spends a quiet day at home. During the course of the day, both at home and out walking the dog, Brenda experiences a range of distinct weather conditions: a crisp early morning frost; clear blue skies and warm sunshine; swirling windswept autumn leaves; flowers in bloom and a brewing storm at the end of the day. She remembers various poignant moments from her life, from the summers of childhood through to the loss of her husband to cancer during a long, cold winter.

A new Vampire Lord is rising, but the organization made to destroy him chooses to watch another man face him alone. A house owned by an hapless inventor is possessed by a spirit that succeeds where his inventions failed. A selfless female magi is approached by a beast who should be a man – is this the karma of magic? And finally, the Lord of Thyme threatens us all: unless Gertrude can stop him!A new Vampire Lord is attempting to rise, but the organization founded to destroy his kind chooses to watch while another man destroys him alone. A house owned by an unsuccessful inventor is possessed by a spirit that does what his inventions failed to achieve – with inhuman perfection. A selfless female magi is approached by a beast who is supposed to be a man – is this the karma of magic? And, perhaps most desperate and dramatic of all, Dr. Loonatik, former professional botanist, has snapped and will take over the world with his mutated thyme plants – unless the Hero(ine) Who Can Stop Thyme with his (or her) Chrome Weed Whacker of Dest-in-ee can save the day! Four tales, broadly different, perhaps linked only by their superb quality, have grouped together, combining their powers in order to make you say, 'this was a good book!'. Resist if you can.

The food is perfect, but nobody cooks it. It knows what you want, but nobody told it. It knows how many guests and who they are – even when you don't. Who is right and who is wrong, who is trustworthy and who is not, it always knows all of these things. Nobody knows how. Cook, mother, matchmaker and deal broker - The Cooking House has been many things, and this is its tale.In this short story, Thomas Wingefeld comes face to face with the horror of his existence as a result of betraying his good friend Arthur. He never meant to be a liar, a monster, a heathen, but that is what he became. And with each passing day, with each lie piled on top of the other, he can only hope to die. Not for himself, but for Arthur, his angel and savior. Arthur is the sole content of absolute truth, which starkly contrasts the half and eighth and forty-elevenths truths Wingefeld and all the other beasts tell themselves to justify their sins from so long ago. And the only way to heal, to find forgiveness, is to die. He must give of himself what he forced Arthur to surrender thirty-two years ago. That way he can truly say "I'm sorry."