This is Nick Armbrister's first collection of short stories, written from the late 90's to the present day. They cover several topics, like his poems, but in much more depth-from satanic actions by people worshipping an evil god ('Loss of the Ice Queen') to warriors of the sky using man's most powerful weapons in anger ('Final Flight'), to an attempt to control fate ('Spell to Find Amelia Earhart'), and to a post-nuclear townscape ('Second History', set in Oldham). Two of the stories are fragments of larger uncompleted/lost work that deserve inclusion here. One day these projects may well see the light of day, but for now, the author hopes the reader will enjoy his 'dark work'-in time he hopes to do a follow-up. These stories span his entire writing career. Though he prefers poetry as a means of incisive, concentrated power of expression, he loves short stories for their fun; even those that give one a glimpse into the dark side that lurks beneath the surface of life