Malachi Whitticur- Monster Hunter Extraordinaire Read online

  How can such slums exist if magic is abundant in Lile? Simple, Lile doesn't enforce the use of magic. Wait, let me be more specific. The Order doesn't enforce the use of magic. If it's not to their benefit, it's not allowed. If it's not sanctioned by them, it's not allowed. And then when maniac witches and sorcerers decide to destroy everything in their path they wonder why. What a bunch of jackasses.

  Magic isn't a thing to be suppressed. Sure, it needs to be regulated, but that doesn't mean they should set out on a campaign to put all magicals in a box. If they keep this up, Lile will one day end up like Xann. A lost cause. A place where normals have a tyrannical rule over magicals and monsters. Even Poter tried to set things right over there and failed. And to me, that sends a freaking strong message. 'Normals are not to be fucked with'.

  The thing that makes Xann so untouchable is not only the fact that they have some truly brilliant minds over there, a couple of Assiz from Ces I hear, but also because of one thing. Fear. The fear of being dominated by a superior entity. One day The Order will push too hard. On the eve of that day, Lile will be plunged into chaos.

  I banish my thoughts of a magical uprising. Partly because the idea frightens me. The other reason being I was standing face to chest with the ugliest bastard Nyzan has ever crapped. The Gorgor snorts disapprovingly. At that moment I wonder if it is the sole reason that this alley smells like every possible excrement mixed together and then baked in an oven. The scent rising and stinging the back of your throat. Its scaly face grimaces at me, completely ignoring Caitlyn. I think it's because he likes her. Gorgors often eat what they like.

  With a civility level of 4.8, they almost reached the benchmark to be considered reformable. But every hunter with decent instincts knew better than to try to approach one with reason. Or without an enchanted blade. I see Caitlyn slowly shifting her hand to hers. I would tell her not to, but she always had better instincts than me. At a height of seven and a half feet, Gorgors easily towered over the average man. An added advantage for splitting a head with an ax.

  I can easily see why Carlia switched to Gorgors. They were tough, strong, and fierce. They also couldn't be bought or turned. They had no love for coin and were resistant to certain poisons. But they weren't that smart, they were irritable, which often lead to unnecessary bloodshed, and they were a bit slow.

  It stares at me expectantly with those hooded dark eyes. Its huge nose folded in scrutiny. Or maybe in constipation. It was hard to tell exactly what Gorgors were feeling. It seems Nyzan was having a rough day and set their faces just like his. But to their misfortune, their faces were set like that forever. Or maybe it was fortunate, for scaring the shit out of you at least.

  I decide this Gorgor is taking up too much of my face time and I say the password, "Adrior Cardi".

  I expect the Gorgor to step aside and let me pass but instead, an ax ascends to the sky and then comes back down for my head.

  Caitlyn is in front of me before I even notice. One sword deflects the ax while the other strikes for the beast's torso. Instead of trying to dodge, the Gorgor takes the hit. The sword goes about an inch into the Gorgor and stops there. The ax comes swinging in from the right. Now it's my turn to move fast, but sadly I'm not as fast as Caitlyn.

  My sword makes it between the ax and Caitlyn's body, but just barely. Metal rings as they clash, the sound signals Caitlyn that she has won a second. She jumps back just as the ax breaks past my blade. It swipes free of her torso but catches her left sword and sends it clattering across the alley.

  My senses tell me to look to my left and as my head turns the sharpened steel of an ax tries to kiss me. How the hell did I miss that Gorgor standing there? He must've been hiding. I jerk my head back out of the way, the small space between the blade and my nose seems to thin as it passes. My blade is up slashing before I notice. It slices a line through the beast’s tunic and skims its hide. Sparks fly and the hide hisses as it burns slightly. That obviously pisses the Gorgor off as he backhands me.

  I go spinning off backward, almost taking flight, and hit something solid and cold. For a moment I thought it was the alley wall, but the growl announced it was Caitlyn's Gorgor. The backhand made me stumble into it and then it stumbled into Caitlyn. She pushes the beast back — which is a considerable feat in itself, I think we should be gym buddies. Her push sends me back to my Gorgor who already has an ax aimed at my neck.

  I duck, and with the momentum from the push, twirl around the beast. I slash across its back. It growls at the pain of fire eating at its hide though the fire doesn't take fully. With my superior mental prowess, I assessed the situation and came up with the ultimate strategy. Run!

  Three hunters could kill a Gorgor if they fought well enough, but a single person versus a Gorgor was nearly impossible. So, I saw no use in sticking around. The front door to Carlia's base was clear. I barge through it like a drunkard coming home.

  I thought I would see the witch herself but instead, I see double doors, flanked by a Gorgor on the left and right. Damn this witch was paranoid. At the sight of me, the Gorgors charge. I hear heavy footsteps and immediately know it's the Gorgor I tried to leave outside. I spin to its direction quickly and just beyond it I see Caitlyn. The Gorgor was battering away at her swords. She crosses them overhead defensively but the Gorgor keeps smashing them down. It won't be long before her strength leaves her, and her head is split in half.

  I have a decision to make. It's easy, but costly. There are four Gorgors. I could take two of them if I make this decision, the one blocking the front door and the one intent on killing Caitlyn. After that, we would flee, and I would come back another day to confront this witch about her warm hospitality. I might end up half-dead at the end of it but there was no other choice.

  I tighten my grip on the cursed blade, "Elios Dai—"

  Hinges creak, "Teem."

  The Gorgor outside freezes. So does the one blocking the front door. I look at the double doors and found them wide open. A teenage boy with near silver-blonde hair stood in the opening, a dark-haired woman beside him.

  "Anden," the woman says.

  The Gorgors are back in motion but they aren't attacking. Instead, they're taking their previous positions. Caitlyn is almost to her knees. The silver-haired boy rushes past. His hair turning a reddish-brown as he does. There's an odd mark on his hand but he covers it before I can make it out fully. It looks like a circle on the back of his hand with a winding tail going around the arm. I know there's something off about the boy, but I can't focus on that now, this witch is my main priority. She matches my glare with a soft gaze. I worry about that.

  "Adonna," she said without breaking her gaze, "help her."

  A girl with similar dark hair and straight face rushes past me and goes to aid Caitlyn. The woman steps back and then disappears. I'm right behind her. As I enter she sits, still staring at me.

  "What the hell was that, Carlia?" I say. " I used the right code."

  "Adrior Cardi?"

  "Yeah."

  "I just wanted to show Caitlyn the kind of man you are," She says. "Always leaving the woman behind to fight your battles for you."

  My teeth clench, my eyebrows narrow to a ‘V’. A scene of blood, flesh, and red lips flashes across my vision.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

  "Save it," I say, trying to push back the memories that were starting to surface. At one time I could see her face. Now all I saw was blood and body parts.

  Caitlyn finally makes it in. The girl finds a seat for her. Just before Adonna leaves, she gives me an odd stare. It wasn't hate. Which was what I expected. It wasn't lust. That'd only get me killed. It was more of a pleading look.

  I'd be lying if I said this girl was giving me a silent message to save her. She didn't need saving. Her mother was powerful beyond just magic; she almost had an entire district under her control. Wave her name around just once and doors don't just fly open for you, they seem to never serve any purpose in the first place. Carlia Adess was informally the Duchess of Drey and her daughter, Adonna, was not unfamiliar with the power that position held. I would ask her what was up, but as I said, I have priorities.

  "Tell me why you had your Gorgors attack me."

  She crosses one leg over the other and sighs, "You always manage to make things about you, now don't you, Malachi. I changed the code recently."

  "Why?"

  It wasn't odd that Carlia changed the access codes. She'd be stupid if she didn't. Those codes were changed daily. But my code was special. It was never meant to change.

  "Possners," She says. "They're back."

  My eyes widen, "What? How did they escape Halswel?"

  "I don't know. But with the imposters back I don't know who to trust."

  I understand her paranoia now. The Possners were a group of four that could take the form of anyone. The last time they were loose they caused a lot of trouble.

  "I need some answers," I say after a while.

  "All answers come at a price."

  "You owe me. Big."

  "I paid that debt already Malachi," she said, "it's on your hip there."

  "I don't think you understand what would've happened if I had stood back and let The Order take you to Halswel."

  "I know exactly," she said. "Torture. Pain. Being stripped of my magic. I know."

  "Then there's no way you can ever tell me your debt is paid."

  She stares at me for a while. Her dark eyes seem to pull me into a place I remember too well.

  "Three questions. That's all you get."

  "Four."

  "Three."

  "Four"

  "Three."

  "Three and a half."

  "A half?" She and Caitlyn say at the same time.

  "First, who was that boy?" I know it seems like a waste of a perfectly good question, but curiosity often got the better of me.

  "No one."

  "You don't personally escort a nobody out the door. The truth."

  The woman waited a bit, "He's a dragon."

  "Dragon?" I search her for deceit. None.

  Caitlyn shakes her head, "Impossible. All the Dragons are dead."

  "He's the last one."

  "He came all the way from Ashtere?" I ask.

  "He wasn't in Ashtere. He was here in Lile. And that's all I'll say about the matter."

  "But you can't just let him walk around like that," Caitlyn says.

  "So what, I should have him on a leash?" Carlia stares her down. "Besides, he'll be dead soon."

  "You're going to kill him?" I ask, "was that a death curse I saw on his hand."

  The woman squinted, almost a grimace. I've come to know that look means she doesn't want anyone learning her plans.

  "Next question."

  "I want to know who attacked me today."

  "And how am I supposed to know that?"

  I take out my kitchen fork, "Demon blood is on it."

  She took the fork and examined it.

  "Then you answered your question yourself. A demon attacked you."

  "Don't cheat. You know what I mean."

  She gets up out of her chair and goes through the curtain that was behind her. I follow her with Caitlyn tailing. Carlia gets a bowl, some powder, a jar of something I can't make out, and then a jar of blue liquid. She pours the blue liquid in the bowl first, then the powder followed by something out of the jar that looks like it belongs to a reptile. I absently wonder if she turned on one of her Gorgors. She mixes the batch smoothly and as she whispers something under her breath she drops the fork in the bowl.

  The blue liquid glows. Then the top of it is on fire. Two seconds later the bowl shatters, smoke rises, and ashes fall to the table. The ash settles orderly and I step closer to see what it makes out.

  One word. One name. One I know.

  Ragnar.

  Chapter Four

  Okay, you're going to be the only one I tell this, so promise me that you won't tell anyone else. I barely know you but I'm already telling you my life story. What for? I don't know, maybe you're a shrink and you can help me with my demons. But be advised, those demons will rip your heart out if you don't actually take notes instead of doodling ugly SpongeBob drawings all across your notepad. Don't lie, I know you shrinks pull that shit at every two-hundred-dollar session. If that's what I wanted I would've just gone to my three-year-old niece with all my problems. And I bet she'd be a lot more helpful.

  Well here's what I'm going to tell you. There are only two things in this world that I'm afraid of. Kittens and creepy teenage girls. Unfortunately, both of them have been terrorizing me for the past hour. The furry one has been constantly trying to rub against my leg. I think it's trying to test how tender my flesh is before it decides to eat me alive. Have you ever seen a grown man run from a kitten? Trust me, it's not pretty.

  Wait, I know what you're gonna say, "But Malachi, kittens can't eat you. They're harmless. I mean look at how cute they are. They're even popular on YouTube."

  Firstly, yes, I do know what YouTube is, I'm not that old. Twenty-seven isn't that old, is it? Secondly, it's the cuteness that's used to lure you into their devious traps. I mean, don't you see that anything that's cute is cute for a bad reason. A way to cover up whatever malevolence they have hidden. I mean look at babies. They're cute as hell. But they end up peeing in your face when you're changing them and then they laugh, which just adds to the cuteness. I think their laughing is like their venom. It stuns you from taking action and makes you forget how evil they truly are. Goo-goo gaga my ass. They know what they're doing.

  But my other fear is the real problem. She just sits there staring at me as I drink my tea. Carlia had invited me to stay for a bit while she gathered some more information, but she didn't tell me her daughter was going to be her watchdog. So now I'm in a small living room area. I had one of her servants make some jaswilt tea, a habit Emily engraved deep within me. Its aroma is as sweet as its taste and with the dilemma, I now face I need it to keep me relaxed.

  I know I said I would find out what's bothering Adonna, but that was before I realized that I had a Ragnar problem. And I know that whatever Adonna wants is going to be big and take up a lot of my time. Time I don't have because I need to takeout Ragnar, but that's after he pays for the lunch that his demons ruined. How he managed to escape Halswel? I have no idea. But I know that he'll be praying to go back there once I find him.

  I've stopped drinking my tea for half an hour to do something way more productive. Stare down match with Adonna. I'm wondering if this girl is the freaking Olympic champion of stare downs. She hasn't even twitched once while my eyelids have been acting like they're having a seizure. Doesn't this girl have a county to conquer in her mother's name or something? But I know better. Adonna's like her mother, persistent as hell. So, it'd be better if I asked her now than have good tea go to waste. Emily was the first to make me appreciate tea.

  "Okay fine, you win," I say. "What is it?"

  She bats those long dark eyelashes, "I want to come with you?"

  I look at her oddly, "Come with me where?"

  "Anywhere. Wherever you go I want to go too."

  I take a hard slow swallow; I can't believe this is really happening. Well actually, I kinda can. I'm a catch. I mean which monster hunter you see as handsome as me doesn't have the ladies chasing after him. Like mother like daughter.

  "I don't think you're the right age to make commitments like that. Not for me at least."

  She gives me her own weird look and then laughs, "No, Kai, I don't mean it like that," I've never told her to call me Kai, but I guess she just picked it up once she heard her mother use it. The annoying initiative of Adess women. "I mean I wanna be a hunter too. My mom always tells me about the adventures you go on, about the awesome monsters you fight. It sounds amazing."

  I take a sip of my tea, "Your mom's still pining for me, eh? When is she going to finally get over me?" I set the cup down. "Look, what I do is not as pretty as you make it sound. It's dangerous work. Serious work. One mistake and you're dead, and as far as I can tell, Carlia can't reanimate a corpse. But she can certainly make one out of me."

  "I don't want to do this anymore, Kai," she says, "I can barely go anywhere and when she does let me out I'm surrounded by ten walls of bodyguards. How am I supposed to make friends when I can't even talk to anyone else?"

  "You can force them to be your friend. Hell, you won't even have to, everyone wants to be in Carlia's favor."

  "I'm not kidding, Kai."

  "And I'm not either. Carlia would go mad if I ever took you with me," I say. "How come I don't hear your brother whining about this too?"

  "Because he loves this kind of stuff," she says, "the power and status that comes with who mom is. He wants to be the Duke of the Drey one day."

  "But your mom has you set for Duchess," I say, and she looks away. "But you don't want to be Duchess?"

  "Why would I want to be a crime boss of a goddamn District?" She says. "I'm not against what she does, but I just don't want to take up her mantle. I want to do something else. Something I know I'll be good at."

  "And you think hunting monsters is what you'd be good at."

  She only nods. I know why she thinks she will be good. And it's not a good reason either. Such is the impact fathers have on their children.

  "Then why don't you join The Order?"

  After I ask that, I realize it's a stupid question. I swallow my stupidity with a sip of tea, hoping she doesn't bash me for it.

  "The Order of Guardians wouldn't even let me a mile near their headquarters," she says. "They know who my mother is and what she does. Besides they hate my kind. They don't even accept magicals."

  "There's always Poter," I say.

  "The Protectors of the Realm are a lot more skeptical about who they let in. You have to go through their academies to even be considered for entry. And their base is in Whirlshire, a separate continent."