The usurper king puts a geas on a sorceress and demands she give him the power to change the shape of the land. The geas makes her unable to refuse, but she finds a way to thwart him...a choice that comes with a terrible price. USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith calls Dayle A. Dermatis "one of the best writers working today," and this story shows just why!

"The Power to Change the Shape of the Land" originally appeared in Sword & Sorceress 16 (DAW, 1999) and was reprinted in Breaking Waves: An Anthology for Gulf Coast Relief (Book View Café, 2010).

DAYLE A. DERMATIS's short fantasy has been called "funny (and rather ingenious)," "something new and something fresh," and "really, really good!" Under various pseudonyms (and sometimes with coauthors), she's sold several novels and more than 100 short stories in multiple genres. She lives and works in California within scent of the ocean, and in her spare time follows Styx around the country and travels the world, all of which inspires her writing. To find out where she is today, check out DayleDermatis dot com.