The Breath of Heaven

This sampler pack brings together three stories by Hugo and Nebula nominee Nancy Fulda.KNOWING NEITHER KIN NOR FOEKitjaya is a solo mind, bereft of telepathic communication with her siblings and isolated from the only deity her species has ever known. An ancient prophecy foretells that Kitjaya will protect her kin from a malevolent destroyer, but as the day of reckoning approaches, she finds herself unwilling to play out the role demanded of her.THE BREATH OF HEAVENSacia's fellow AIs have eradicated all humans from their colony world and are plotting the destruction of the second wave of colonists. Sacia's struggle to smooth the conflict between man and machine revisits questions initially posed by Asimov and Clarke, and casts the HAL 9000 story in an intriguing new light.IN THE HALLS OF THE SKY-PALACEA mysterious presence stalks the hallways of the Sky-King's palace, stealing dreams and condemning the king's dancers to a living death. As the sole remaining bearer of the Gift of Perception, the task of unraveling this mystery falls to young Aesva. But she is uncertain; inexperienced; and the woman most able to assist her has already died.