Beware #15

In "The Crystal of Time," a palaeographer uncovers an ancient crystal that whiskes him to the lost city of Atlantis, where he finds himself drawn into a desperate struggle to aid a queen and her people against a looming threat. The story unfolds with a quiet mystery that quickly deepens into a tense, otherworldly adventure.

Lou Taber, a desperate professional gambler who's lost everything, accepts a fortune teller's dark bargain: thirteen days of guaranteed wins connected to the number 13, followed by a lifetime of bad luck if he ever encounters that number again. Over two weeks of spectacular success at the casino, racetrack, and stock market, Taber amasses a fortune and falls in love with a beautiful woman, carefully avoiding his now-cursed number at every turn—until his wedding night reveals a secret that could unravel everything he's built.

In the grim Scottish Highlands, a tenant farmer named Steenie finds himself in debt after delivering his yearly rent to Sir Robert Murdock—only to discover the laird has mysteriously vanished along with the payment. When a supernatural encounter in Pitmurkie Wood offers Steenie a chance to settle his account, he must navigate a bewildering bargain struck in a castle that shouldn't exist, armed only with his wits and the cryptic warning of a ghostly ally. A tale of debts unpaid and secrets buried where the line between the living and the dead grows dangerously thin.