
Part of Series
As winter's deadly cold threatens those who dwell on and around Merovingen's dank waterways and dark, twisting byways, the various forces seeking to wrest or retain control of the city are busily plotting new and desperate plans of treacherous betrayal. And seeking a weapon with which to blackmail Thomas Mondragon into doing his bidding, Chance Magruder - ambassador, spy, master assassin, and chief strategist for the fantastical Sword of God - has seized the opportunity to kidnap Altair Jones. But what Magruder doesn't know is that by imprisoning Jones he and his allies in crime, the slavers of Megary, may have unleashed a new force in the power games of Merovingen, a force which, its anger once roused, may prove completely unstoppable in its quest for revenge! Includes: "Troubled Waters" essay by C.J. Cherryh "A Tangled Web We Weave" novella by Mercedes Lackey "By a Woman's Hand" novelette by Nancy Asire "Strange Bedfellows" novelette by Lynn Abbey "Nessus' Shirt" novelette by Roberta Rogow "Treading the Maze" novelette by Leslie Fish Afterword: "Epilogue (Troubled Waters)" essay by C.J. Cherryh "Raj's Letters (Troubled Waters)" essay by uncredited "The Prisoner" novelette by Janet Morris "Saying Yes to Drugs" novelette by Chris Morris "Merovingian Pharmacology 103, or, Poison in Jest" essay by uncredited Merovingian Songs: "Partners" poem by Mercedes Lackey and C.J. Cherryh Merovingian Songs: "A Song for Marina" short fiction by Mercedes Lackey and C.J. Cherryh
Authors


Leslie Fish is a filk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. In addition to her work as a filk artist, Fish is also well-known within the Star Trek fan community for her works of fan fiction, which include "Shelter" (1976), one of the first Kirk/Spock stories ever published, and the fan-published Star Trek novel The Weight. "In Textual Poachers, his landmark study of fan communities, MIT's Henry Jenkins described Fish's anarchist-feminist Star Trek novel The Weight as a 'compelling narrative' that's 'remarkable in the scope and complexity of its conception, the precision of its execution, and the explicitness of its political orientation.'" She has also written original novels and short stories, both alone and in collaboration with C. J. Cherryh and others. Her song, "Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three," inspired a collection of short stories with the same title, edited by Don Sakers and featuring stories by Anne McCaffrey and C. J. Cherryh. She is an avid roleplaying gamer, especially in regard to LARPing. She has also been a member in the Society for Creative Anachronism since the 1970s. In recent years, she has been the driving force behind in the establishment of Fan Haven, a 230-acre (0.93 km2) private park in Arizona meant to serve as a safe space for LARPers, Pagans, naturists, SCAdians, and other marginalized groups associated with fandom. However, the Federal government has disputed the validity of the mining claim that she proposed to use to establish ownership. While Fish rarely discusses her private life, she had been in a romantic relationship with anarchist political activist Mary Frohman "from the late '60s through the early '80s." Together they were part of the "Dehorn Crew", the house band for the IWW. Leslie has often asserted that bisexuality is the human norm, and that the pervasive sexual repression she sees in current society causes many of the current social ills. She briefly worked as a dominatrix in San Francisco during the 1980s, and has since been (at times) a defender of the rights of sex workers. She was recently married to long-time friend, Robert "Rasty Bob" Ralston.

Lynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson. In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights. Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.