Being a citizen on United Earth doesn't guarantee a life one wants. For Lori Straford, born into the lowest caste of citizens-the pleasure arts strata of their society-it is an inescapable fate which she can only hope to better by enlisting as a spa attendant and masseuse on one of the luxury world colonies under the purview of Darvel Exploration Corporation. When she is talked into working on one of their mining planets for a year with the promise of a hefty bonus and to be transferred to her choice planet after more non-gratas can be sent over, it is too good of an opportunity to pass up. It will be tiring work but as long as she plays everything by the book then she will have everything she has ever dreamed of. Until everything goes wrong. Strange predators on the loose around the colony stationed on an inhospitable world is bad enough, but when a mining accident leaves Lori buried deep within the mines, she is vulnerable to the very real dangers that surround her in a hidden world. Her will to live is challenged and her ambitions tested when a monster of the depths takes her to be his and makes her question everything that she thought she knew and wanted. Slengral is a hunter, an unmated male forced to live a solo existence in the cave systems of the Algatha, separate from the female-ruled civilization of the shinara, he refused to submit to the females of his species as a breeding partner, unwilling to settle for less than a mate. When a wingless and tail-less alien female enters his territory, he doesn't hesitate to lay claim on her. He cannot protect her himself, however. Enlisting two rejected solitary males, Daskh and Kehtal, to aid in her care, they must learn to live a life different than they have ever known and risk losing it all when the human colony takes back the female that means more to them than life itself. Warning this book has graphic sex and violence that may not be suitable for all readers. Although this book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it is part one of a duet (this dealing with the conflict with the human colony while the second book, Serpents of the Night, releasing later this year deals with the shinara).

New York Times bestselling author Ian Douglas's virtuosic Star Corpsman series proves one thing: The Marines are still the toughest sons of guns in the galaxy. As Bravo Company defuses a hostage crisis on an orbiting mining station, Navy Corpsman Elliot "Doc" Carlyle not only saves the lives of a wounded Marine and two extraterrestrial friendlies—he averts a terrorist strike intended to kill billions. His reward? Deployment on a recon mission into the darkest depths known to man. Abyss Deep is a foreboding ocean planet torn by extremes: boiling storm world on one side, unbroken glacier on the other. Humans established a research colony there to study the planet's giant sea serpents—but the colony has gone ominously silent. When Carlyle's team arrives, they discover a vessel belonging to a warlike alien species hovering above the atmosphere. But below the ice lurks a mystery so chilling it will make even Elliot Carlyle's blood run cold.

"A certain king built himself a palace and summoned two persons to decorate it for him. The king divided his palace into two parts, putting one person in charge of one half and the second in charge of the other. One of the persons decorated his part of the palace with beautiful paintings of birds and animals. But the second person painted his half of the palace with black dye which was reflecting everything like a mirror. When the king came to judge the two decorations, everything he had seen in the first person's part he also saw in the second's part, since it was reflected in its black dye like in a mirror. Not only that, but even all the king could wish to put in the first half of his palace appeared in the second half. This found favor in the eyes of the king"--

Promotes a new understanding of the emergence of early Israel, founded on the previously ignored metallurgical background of ancient Yahwism.

In the future a united Earth, to deal with the problem of population control, divides its population into classes of citizen and non-gratis. To be born a non-gratis means a life of little freedoms and the constant possibility of being assigned to work on a colony. Lacking citizenship, every aspect of their life is controlled from where they live, down to marriage and childbearing regulations. The only possible escape from life as a non-gratis is to qualify for one of the limited slots available for entrance into the military. For most, however, it is the only life that they will ever know.Charlie has prepared all her life for the possibility of being shipped off to work in a colony, so when she is selected for part of the initialization phase colony laborers she is determined to make the best out of a new life on a very different and hostile planet. Assigned as a labor assistant in the exploratory lab seems like a step up in the right direction for her. Caring for the wildlife specimens is far preferable to working as a laborer preparing the first of the fields or in any of the common industries. That is, until a vaguely humanoid specimen is captured and brought in. The promise of death that clings to it is fulfilled when it breaks out from containment and she finds herself hostage to a being with a thirst for vengeance. Far away from the colony, Charlie is forced to carve out a new life for herself in a dangerous world, but will she be able to safeguard her heart from the biggest threat of them all?-A male who is determined to claim all of her.Warning: this book may contain possible triggers. Book contains graphic sex and violence.

Healing cannot happen unless you confront the demonic strongholds attacking you. After reading this book, you will discover the strategies of Python, and Leviathan; identify their primary targets; and learn how to defeat them. You will gain confidence and understanding to sever the strongholds gripping your life. Instead of being constricted by serpent spirits, you will walk free in the power of Christ. Jesus gave us the power to trample serpents and have authority of the power of the enemy in Luke 10:19. Isaiah 27:1-3 identifies Leviathan as a twisting, fleeing serpent. This spirit operates in relationships at all levels and twists people's words, shooting darts between people and causing division. Not only does it ruin relationships, but healing minister Katie Souza believes it ruins our health and our daily lives. The Serpent and the Soul shows you the many ways we allow the Leviathan (serpent) spirit into our lives and the impact it has on us. Python is another serpent spirit and it constricts our finances and causes lack and misalignment in our lives and our physical bodies. So many misunderstand or overlook the connection between idolatry, witchcraft, and these serpent spirits and the impact they have our bodies. Souza has seen this time and time again throughout her years of ministry. But there is good news. You can break the serpents' deadly grip through genuine repentance of pride, unforgiveness, and other doors these spirits use to gain access to your life. Your relationships can thrive again, and you can prosper and live in health and peace. This book will impart biblical understanding of Python, Leviathan, and other serpent spirits and provide you with powerful prayers and spiritual tools for breaking free from their control. God's healing, restoration, and prosperity are available to you when you break the connection of the serpent and the soul.

Stories about dragons, serpents, and their slayers make up a rich and varied tradition within ancient mythology and folklore. In this sourcebook, Daniel Ogden presents a comprehensive and easily accessible collection of dragon myths from Greek, Roman, and early Christian sources. Some of the dragons featured are well known: the Hydra, slain by Heracles; the Dragon of Colchis, the guardian of the golden fleece overcome by Jason and Medea; and the great sea-serpent from which Perseus rescues Andromeda. But the less well known dragons are often equally enthralling, like the Dragon of Thespiae, which Menestratus slays by feeding himself to it in armor covered in fish-hooks, or the lamias of Libya, who entice young men into their striking-range by wiggling their tails, shaped like beautiful women, at them. The texts are arranged in such a way as to allow readers to witness the continuity of and evolution in dragon stories between the Classical and Christian worlds, and to understand the genesis of saintly dragon-slaying stories of the sort now characteristically associated with St George, whose earliest dragon-fight concludes the volume. All texts, a considerable number of which have not previously been available in English, are offered in new translations and accompanied by lucid commentaries that place the source-passages into their mythical, folkloric, literary, and cultural contexts. A sampling of the ancient iconography of dragons and an appendix on dragon slaying myths from the ancient Near East and India, particularly those with a bearing upon the Greco-Roman material, are also included. This volume promises to be the most authoritative sourcebook on this perennially fascinating and influential body of ancient myth.