Empowering tales of women who defy expectations. Hath No Fury features 21 stories and six essays about women who defy genre stereotypes. Here, it’s not the hero who acts while the heroine waits to be rescued; these women are champions, not damsels in distress. Whether they are strong, bold warriors, the silent but powerful type, or the timid who muster their courage to face down terrible evil, the women of Hath No Fury will make indelible marks upon readers and leave them breathless for more. Edited by speculative fiction writer Melanie R. Meadors , Hath No Fury features an introduction by Margaret Weis , a foreword by Robin Hobb , and all-new material from Seanan McGuire, Carol Berg, Lian Hearn, Elaine Cunningham, Gail Z. Martin, Nisi Shawl, William C. Dietz, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Elizabeth Vaughan, Dana Cameron, Philippa Ballantine, and several more. Hath No Fury By Melanie R. Meadors Outland Entertainment Copyright © 2018 their respective authors All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-945528-05-7 Contents FOREWORD – Robin Hobb, INTRODUCTION – Margaret Weis, RIDING EVER SOUTHWARD, IN THE COMPANY OF BEES – Seanan McGuire, SHE TORE – Nisi Shawl, THE SCION – S.R. Cambridge, HARRIET TUBMAN – Melanie R. Meadors, CASTING ON – Philippa Ballantine, FOR THE LOVE OF ETTA CANDY: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEMALE FRIEND – Shanna Germain, SOME ENCHANTED EVENING – Anton Strout, BURNING – Elaine Cunningham, IT AIN'T BAD TO GET MAD: THE ANGRY HEROINES OF SF/F – Sarah Kuhn, A DANCE WITH DEATH – Marc Turner, ADA LOVELACE – Melanie R. Meadors, PAX EGYPTICA – Dana Cameron, A WASTELAND OF MY GOD'S OWN MAKING – Bradley P. Beaulieu, ECHOES OF STONE – Elizabeth Vaughan, ANGER IS A FRIEND TO LOVE – Diana M. Pho, THE MARK OF A MOUNTAIN POPPY – Erin M. Evans, SNAKESKIN: A MUTANT FILES STORY – William C. Dietz, A SEED PLANTED – Carina Bissett, THE BOOK OF ROWE – Carol Berg, CHING SHIH – Melanie R. Meadors, SHE KEEPS CRAWLING BACK – Delilah S. Dawson, A HERO OF GRÜNJORD – Lucy A. Snyder, THE UNLIKELY TURNCOAT: A GENRENAUTS SHORT STORY – Michael R. Underwood CRAFT – Lian Hearn, RECONCILING MEMORY – Gail Z. Martin, THIS IS NOT ANOTHER "WHY REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT" ESSAY – Monica Valentinelli, TRENCH WITCH – M.L. Brennan, LAST OF THE RED RIDERS – Django Wexler, CHRISTINE JORGENSEN – Melanie R. Meadors, RISE OF THE BONECRUSHERS – Eloise J. Knapp, CHAPTER 1 RIDING EVER SOUTHWARD, IN THE COMPANY OF BEES SEANAN McGUIRE Honey for the baker, sweet and gentle on the tongue; Honey for the teacher, for the virtue of the young. Honey for the doctor, for the kindness of the bees, Honey for the lovers. May they do just as they please. Sunlight like honey on I-5 southbound, dribbling in thick streams, pooling at the center of the road, where it casts blacktop phantoms against the blistering sky. It lacks honey's sweetness, honey's forgiving nature, but the comparison is a natural one, especially in this season, especially on this road. Sunlight like honey, the rolling tires like the buzzing wings of bees, turning distance into dreams, turning the long haul into something that tastes a little bit like hope when it's balanced on the tongue. A little bit like freedom. A little bit like loss. The gas rations don't apply to us, not during pollination season: we roll in full glory, taking up the entire road. It's a parade rich in pomp and circumstance, and I hate it, because it paints a target on our backs the size of the central valley. When the roar of engines is audible from a mile away, people know what's coming. They know what we have. And yeah, there have been problems. There are always going to be problems when something familiar goes scarce, turns from common coal into dearest gold. Hell, we saw it happen with coal and gold themselves, when Kentucky burned, when all the gold in the world stopped being enough to buy an extra drink of water. They use gold in bee-shrines these days, decorate their plaster honeycomb with chains and coins and pray that somehow, their schoolyard alchemy will undo what man has done. Will turn the honey in the air into honey on the tongue; will bring back the bees. Oh, how they yearn for the bees. What once they swatted without thought has become a symbol of a better time, a better world, a better life for them and everyone that they care about. So we roll down the road like a traveling fortress, ever watching the hills around us, ever waiting for the attack. This is the honeycomb structure of our hive: At the front, the bikes, four of them, two riding point and two hanging back just enough to form a blunted V-shape. They clear the road for us, keeping things rolling smooth. Any one of them can call off the ride if they feel like things are going sour, and any one of them would die to keep that from happening. They know how important what we do is to the survival of the state, to the souls of the people who watch us from the hills as we roll by, gold