title: A Dark and Deadly Valley
author: Mort Castle
description: Most theme anthologies go flat quicker than a six-buck bottle of champagne. The bad ones veer off into self-parody long before the reader hits the last page, and even some of the good ones wear out their welcome before the final tale is spun. But I'm happy to report that isn't the case with A DARK AND DEADLY VALLEY. This collection of weird World War II tales delivers both the heat of battle and the bitter cold of its aftermath. It's front-loaded (for Nazi swine), tough in the ranks, with a B-24 Liberator (and a real live warbird) coming in strong at the end. If you're looking for stories with the power to both wound and thrill, and writers who'll give you at various turns action, drama, and a straight, unflinching look at the human animal... well, look no further. This one's for you. --Norman Partridge, Stoker Award winner and author of DARK HARVEST
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  ![](images/00001.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Perfect Shadow
  
  
  A Night Angel Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  Brent Weeks
  
  
  
  
  
    
    
  
  
  ![alt](images/00002.jpg)
  
  
  [www.orbitbooks.net](http://www.orbitbooks.net)
  
  
  
  
  
  [www.orbitshortfiction.com](http://www.orbitshortfiction.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](images/00003.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Begin Reading](dummy_split_003.html#filepos2039)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Meet the Author](dummy_split_004.html#filepos136639)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Bonus Material](dummy_split_008.html#filepos138314)
  
  
  
  
  
  [About Orbit Short Fiction](dummy_split_011.html#filepos164844)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Perfect Shadow](dummy_split_002.html#filepos1285)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chateau Shayon is supposed to be impregnable. I love it when they say that.
  Crushing a bare rock just offshore with their weight, the chateau’s sheer
  walls ring the entire island, actually overhanging the waters of Lac Shayon in
  places.
  
  
  This was to be my first kill for hire. It’s good to start with the impossible.
  Make a name for myself. Enter with a sp