War of Kings and Monsters

by Christopher Keene

  Nathan grinned. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  Although Michael was protective of him, Nathan suspected his friend had other motives for joining his quest. In his youth, Michael’s father had been known to travel far and wide, and for all Nathan knew, Michael wanted to surpass his father’s epic tales with an adventure of his own. There was no one Nathan thought more likely to achieve such a feat.

  They made their way steadily down the hill toward the rise down which Talis Lake ran. Left of the lake were the hills covered by the Kydian Wood, and for some reason unknown to Nathan, Michael was leading them toward it.

  “We’re after some royal from Avatasc, right? With most royals living in the Avatasc Castle, heading there is naturally our best shot at finding them—though, how we plan on sneaking in seems to be a ‘we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’ sort of thing. Even so, wouldn’t the quickest direction to Avatasc be straight ahead? It’s just across the Solvena Plains, after all.”

  “That’s true, little buddy. But you’re the clever one here. Would it really be smart to cross the border of two previously warring countries out in the open? Countries that have barely been able to create a peace treaty as it is?” Michael raised a finger toward the thick forest. “Our best bet is to find this royal with the other key-half either by consorting, or more likely, threatening Avatasc nobles. Then we can combine the two halves to stop the Melkai from escaping and return home without starting a war, right?”

  “I never pegged you for a naive optimist.”

  “Well, if we do it my way, we should accomplish all this before the month is up and without being found out. Therefore, our path is not through the war zone but around it, through the Kydian Wood.”

  Nathan shivered: a vanguard of soldiers had gone missing in the forest only a week back.

  “What about the Melkai?” he asked. “Being clever won’t help us hide from monsters that can follow our scent . . .” He sniffed Michael and screwed up his face. “Particularly yours.”

  “I’ve faced Melkai before,” Michael said, raising his palms. “It shouldn’t be any problem. Besides, my manly musk will more likely frighten them off.”

  “Is that what you call it?” Nathan shook his head in amusement. “Those were first-circle, Michael. Most of them would have known from your size alone that they couldn’t have beaten you, and the king told us that Melkai of the second circle would slip through the barrier first. Second-circle Melkai vary in size a lot more than first-circle ones. Some of them would tower over you!”

  Michael frowned down at him. “You should know by now that size isn’t everything.”

  Nathan crossed his arms, still unconvinced.

  “Trust me, we’d much rather take a chance with the Melkai than fight with other soldiers. And if it’s true what Morrow and Father said about them not getting here until the moon turns fully red, I think that if we get through fast enough, we won’t even have to worry about them.”

  Although Nathan was still hesitant, Michael had managed to convince him. It would be better to go through the forest than to reheat the flame on the border. Besides, if they journeyed straight ahead, a confrontation was a certainty. By cutting through the forest, they had a chance to go around it uninterrupted.

  Nathan looked down and confessed, “I—I can’t move as fast as you.”

  Michael smiled and ruffled his hair. “Would you like me to piggyback you like I used to?”

  Nathan shoved his hand away. “I’m quite alright, thank you. Fine, I see your point,” he grudgingly admitted. “But take a bath in the lake before we enter the forest. If not for my sake, at least so the Melkai won’t smell you as easily.”

  “Out here, the smell of soap stands out more to monsters than body odor.” Michael tapped his temple. “I’ve learned from experience, little buddy. There’s a method to my madness.”

  Nathan winced. “And a stench to it too.”

  Nathan surveyed the fields as Taiba did likewise from his perch atop Nathan’s shoulder. Feeling a little nervous about being out in the open, Nathan found another reason why traversing the forest was the smarter option. It would at least stop them from being spotted by any flying Melkai.

  Sensing there was no immediate danger, Taiba basked in the sun’s rays on Nathan’s shoulder. If Nathan wasn’t a caller they could have traveled on horseback, but it was a well-known fact that Melkai of any kind frightened horses. It was for this reason that many callers used Melkai for mounts. Nathan figured Michael expected him to summon something stronger than Taiba on their journey, and that’s why they hadn’t just left his little friend behind. However, after nearly being killed the last time he had tried, the prospect terrified him.

  Instead of entering the Valley of the Two Kings, Michael veered left, leading them uphill toward the tree-covered horizon. Nathan scrambled to keep up with Michael’s brisk strides. Each hill they climbed rose higher than the last, leaving Nathan out of breath, but also increasing his view of the forest border in the distance. He kept his eyes glued to the trees as though he could summon them to himself and save them the time walking. It didn’t work.

  While watching the ever-distant trees, Nathan started measuring distances in his head. If they sighted the Talis Lake before noon, they would be able to get there by nightfall at this pace. Nathan resisted the urge to watch the sun’s progress across the sky. He didn’t want Michael to offer him a piggyback ride again.

  Less than an hour later, they were stopped by a terrible smell. Nathan didn’t recognize it, but Michael seemed immediately on edge. He stepped in front of Nathan, standing sidelong with a hand out to stop him, his wide eyes darting about their surroundings.

  “What is that?” Nathan asked.

  “Death,” Michael said. He moved slowly forward, hand on his sword hilt. When he found what he was looking for, he called Nathan forward. “It’s alright. He’s been dead a while. We’re not in any immediate danger.”

  Nathan approached the body slowly. The first thing he saw was the blood. It was everywhere. The body looked to have been torn apart. Underneath the blood, Nathan could just make out the armor-plated form of a Terratheist soldier. Taiba retreated back into his hood as Michael studied the corpse.

  “No man could have done this. I didn’t believe Melkai could get this powerful.” Michael wavered for a moment but then stood sharply. “It happened earlier this week. It appears he’s one of the soldiers that never made it back from the search party.”

  “Dragon’s breath! So, this is what a Melkai of the second circle can do to a man . . .” Nathan had to reswallow his breakfast. This was his first experience with the horrors of the outside world, and it made his stomach churn. “It’s awful, but . . . I bet you’ve seen worse before, right?”

  Michael’s gaze met his, and he forced his face into a nervous smile. “Of course . . .” He nodded unconvincingly. “A lot worse.”

  Michael was a terrible liar.

  “Should we go back and get help?” Nathan asked.

  Michael swallowed and frowned. “No. We have to keep going. We can’t afford to waste time out in the open like this.”

  Michael started striding uphill as though he wanted to find the Melkai who had killed the soldier and exact revenge. Nathan shook his head and quickly followed, hoping that Michael knew what he was doing better than the soldier they had found.

  They continued up the hill in silence. It took a few minutes to get far enough away from the smell that Nathan could stop focusing all his attention on keeping his breakfast down. As soon as he started to relax, he noticed Taiba was trembling. Taiba was usually full of energy when the sun came fully up, but now he was hiding inside his hood like the sun itself was a predator. From long experience with his little friend, Nathan knew Taiba only trembled when he sensed another Melkai nearby.

  Nathan wished he could say to Michael, “Just draw your sword already and put us both at ease!” but to say that was to say t
hat they were in danger, and that was something he didn’t want to admit just yet; so he remained silent as Taiba continued to give his unheeded warning.

  Michael tried to humor him. “Once we get to the top, it should be all downhill to the lake. I’m sure we can stop there for lunch or . . .”

  Nathan followed Michael’s gaze up and saw it too: a shadow at the top of the hill. A bear? No, it couldn’t be a bear. What bear has horns and stands upright like that? It must be a . . . Suddenly it turned and lumbered over to a jagged outcropping on the crest of the rise.

  “There it is!” the prince hissed as he finally drew his sword and lowered himself to the ground.

  Nathan knelt down next to him. “What do we do?”

  “You can’t summon anything else yet, anything powerful, can you?”

  Nathan shook his head and pointed to his hood. “No, only Taiba.”

  “Then I guess it’s up to me.” He looked left and then right.

  Although only twenty, Michael was a full-grown giant compared to him; yet, Nathan was sure the Melkai was bigger still. Luckily for him, Michael didn’t just have a reputation for his size, but also for how he wielded a blade.

  He turned to Nathan, his breathing already quickening. “You see that ridge over there?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I want you to go up and wait there for me. I can’t have you getting in my way.”

  Shows how much my help is worth.

  Nathan bit his lower lip, fearing Michael was trying to show off in front of him, covering up his fear with rashness. After what had been done to the soldier, Nathan didn’t think rashness was their best option. Overconfidence could easily lead them to become just another bloody mess on the valley floor. Michael wasn’t just his best friend, but his protector and navigator also, and without him, he would be lost.

  Nevertheless, Michael had more experience fighting Melkai, and Nathan had to trust him. He sprinted up the hill in the direction Michael had mentioned as the prince readied himself to charged up the hill toward the Melkai.

  When Nathan came to the ridge, he scanned the summit for threats. He saw none and was just about to continue on when he heard the sound of footsteps on the dirt behind him.

  He spun about. The Melkai was large, second-circle by its size. Its front legs were more like human arms than anything else, but it lumbered toward him on all fours. The glowing red eyes in its caprine face were fixed on Nathan, and the drooling mouth opened to reveal pointed teeth.

  Nathan couldn’t make his feet move.

  It raised one of its front legs, reaching out with its palm facing upward like a beggar. From the deep caverns of its lungs, it groaned, “Give it to me.”

  Nathan had never heard of a Melkai that could talk. He didn’t know Melkai could form words at all.

  Never mind that! What does it want from me?

  It drew closer, still on three legs, still with its front hand up, its long, pointed claws gesturing. “Give it to me!”

  Nathan was still frozen.

  “Yah!” Michael dropped from the rise above them onto the Melkai’s back, stabbing his sword into its shoulder. Blue blood streamed in a river down its back as it wrenched Michael from side to side, flinging him off. He landed disarmed next to Nathan. The Melkai grabbed the sword and roared, pulling it free of its shoulder and throwing it into a nearby bush.

  The Melkai began to advance on Nathan.

  Michael jumped up from where the Melkai had flung him. “Nathan! I need my sword! I’ll distract it. Go!”

  Without giving Nathan enough time to respond to him, Michael grabbed some stones and threw them at the Melkai. The stones hit the Melkai in the head, and it snarled and turned toward Michael, who began waving his arms and screaming, “You like that, you stupid overgrown goat? Well, I got a lot more for you than that so come and get it!”

  He ran up the rise as the Melkai growled and chased after him. Nathan snapped out of his trance as soon as the Melkai lumbered away and ran toward the bush where the sword had been thrown.

  “Come on, come on! Where are you?” he groaned as he rummaged through the branches. “There!”

  He grabbed the large weapon and turned back, but both Michael and the Melkai were gone. Michael is fighting a second-circle alone without a proper weapon! Nathan rested the flat of the blade on his shoulder and sprinted in the direction Michael had run.

  He climbed to the top of the hill where a veil of trees outlined the clay rise. The shadows covered him, and silence pervaded the path. He moved as cautiously as possible between the trees. As he crept under the foliage, the lack of movement or sound from anything but him made his situation even worse, and he jumped at every bird that flew by and every stick that snapped under his boots. He felt Taiba trembling on his shoulder.

  His first thought was that if there was something out there, he wished it would just come out and face him. This was proven wrong as a sudden groan behind him made him freeze in terror.

  “Give it to me!”

  Nathan didn’t have enough time to turn before the points of the Melkai’s claws jabbed into the skin on his midsection. The large hand wrapped tightly around his body before lifting him up off the ground. He was brought around by the large arm so that he was face to face with the massive Melkai, the red eyes peering into his own. Hands shaking, he dropped the sword, and felt the Melkai’s strong grip tightening around his waist.

  He struggled desperately, trying to wriggle free. If he wasn’t in the belly of the beast yet, he soon would be if he didn’t act quickly. He hoped the cold sweat running down his back might make him slippery, but he couldn’t budge an inch within the Melkai’s grasp.

  The Melkai brought him close enough that he could feel the warmth of its breath against his face. “Give it to me now!”

  What does it want?

  He would have tried to fight or even answer that he didn’t know what it was talking about, but once again, he was frozen. The fear constricted him more than the Melkai’s claws.

  The hand tightened further, and he cried out in pain.

  “Now!” it demanded.

  Something small dashed out from his hood.

  “Taiba, no!” he gasped.

  The quick little creature ran onto the Melkai’s hand. Taiba sunk its tiny teeth into the large forefinger, but the massive monster didn’t even flinch. The Melkai rose up onto its hind legs, bringing Nathan further up into the air, and swatted at the small lizard with its other hand.

  Taiba fell to the grass and bared its teeth. This rocked Nathan from his paralysis, and anger flooded him to the point of madness. Pulling one arm free, he frantically searched the small rucksack he had been given before leaving. He drew out a small dagger and stabbed it into the Melkai’s eye. Blood squirted and ran down its face as the huge beast roared and threw Nathan to the ground.

  He landed and called out, “Michael!” at the top of his lungs.

  A moment passed as the Melkai arched upward, screaming in agony. Michael appeared from the shadows and quickly knelt down beside Nathan.

  “Nathan, are you okay, little buddy?”

  Nathan pointed toward where he had dropped his weapon, his innards feeling like they had been crushed. “The sword,” he wheezed.

  Michael spotted it and quickly got to his feet, snatching it up as he ran. He closed in on the Melkai and struck down on it, but having gotten over the pain of its wound, the Melkai caught the sword mid-slash. Michael flinched, his sword overpowered by the monster. It raised the blade up slowly in one bloody claw, bringing the prince with it.

  “Michael!” Nathan shouted, uncertain whether he should step in to help or not, not seeing how he could help if he did in his injured state.

  Michael’s struggle appeared fruitless, and Nathan hesitantly rose to assist him.

  “No, Nathan! Stay back!” Michael growled through bared teeth as he fought to keep his footing. “I’ll handle this!”

  Nathan ha
lted, but not because of Michael. The monster was coughing up blood. The thick blue liquid ran from its jaws and suddenly its hind legs gave way under it and it fell back. Michael returned to his feet, and ignoring his stroke of luck, he regained control of his weapon. He planted his feet and thrust it down in a stabbing motion.

  “Die, monster!” he screamed.

  At first, the beast struggled, but as the blade drew closer to the Melkai’s chest, it looked up at the prince and sneered. “You think . . . I’ll die that easily?”

  The blade suddenly glowed a deep red as Michael stabbed through its chest and into the thing’s heart, killing it in an instant.

  Silence filled the hilltop. Nathan exhaled the breath he had been holding as he watched the Melkai thump to the ground. Michael stood over it, panting, knuckles white from clenching his sword’s hilt. Clutching his side, Nathan staggered over to Taiba who licked his finger to show that he was okay. They rushed to the prince’s side. He was looking down on the massive monster he had slain.

  Seeing the Melkai’s corpse, Nathan’s shoulders slumped, and his head lowered as relief washed over him. The adrenaline from his fear eased, making him exhausted and light-headed. He wanted to lie down, to take a nap, but Michael’s condition was more important.

  “Y-you did it,” he uttered in the eerie silence.

  Michael’s voice was breathless as he whispered, “Not quite.”

  He collapsed onto the grass, unconscious.

  Chapter 3: Pact Item

  The Avatasc guards towered over Laine as they opened up the large doors to the throne room. She straightened her shoulders and entered the massive green hall where King Kissick, dubbed the Snake King by his scornful subjects, sat high on a dais between two golden columns. The top of his face was draped in shadow, and his right hand grasped a long green scepter.

  She strode over the padded green throw rug until she reached the platform where two golden serpent statues hung down from the high ceiling. As she halted before the king, she did not bow. She did not need to. She merely suppressed her scowl.