Angst Box Set 1

by David Pedersen

  And with that, Angst’s heart sank its last inch.

  8

  “I think it’s time for you to leave,” Queen Isabelle said thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a finger. “All of you.”

  Angst swallowed a bit of shock and confusion, wondering exactly what she meant by this proclamation. He stared at the queen, searching her face and form for a clue, but she gave nothing away. Even her clothes were carefully neutral. Her conservative, high-necked dark brown dress had long sleeves and only a bit of piping to accentuate the curves she wanted to share. The dress was not attractive, she was not attractive, but her outfit was smart and to the point. She looked every inch a queen whereas, after the events at the wake, he felt terribly silly wearing armor made for a hero in front of her.

  He looked over at his friends instead, only to find his surprise and disappointment mirrored in their faces as they toyed with the breakfast that really wasn’t a breakfast at all. A handful of yesterday’s pastries rested in the middle of the table, visibly drying before their eyes. Whatever frosting or filling once decorated their delicate crusts had sunk and spread into an oily mess. Tarness had stopped mid-chew at Isabelle’s announcement.

  Finally, Angst sought out Tyrell, who stood behind Isabelle’s left shoulder and nodded in agreement.

  “Once again, we need your help,” she said to everyone around the table.

  “Of course, Your Majesty,” Hector replied on their behalf with a deep bow of his head. “We are at your service.”

  Tyrell walked over to the nearby door, opened it, and ushered in the young man Victoria had been hanging on at the wake. He had blond hair with dark roots, a firm jaw, and alert blue eyes that took note of everything. The man was in his younger thirties, and thin enough that his cheeks sank in slightly. Angst did not see anything about him that was flirt-worthy and immediately distrusted his presence.

  “Cliffview is gone, and our friend Jaden was there at the time of its destruction,” Tyrell explained.

  Jaden looked at Angst for a long moment, apparently trying to understand the older man’s obvious annoyance at him. He avoided eye contact with Angst for the rest of the meeting as everyone else seemed more than appreciative of his presence. Angst closed his eyes and listened as Jaden began his tale.

  Something shook Jaden to reluctant consciousness. He felt numb, cold to the core, and did not want to budge. Another jarring movement made him open an eye. His long arms and legs were sprawled across the ground as though he rested on a down mattress. He lifted an arm that was wiry yet muscular, and ran his hand through his wavy blond hair. None of this made any sense; he could barely remember his name. Everything else was hazy. He bent his stiff neck from side to side to see who was trying to wake him.

  The frigid damp of the cobblestones beneath him seeped into his bones and joints, bringing with it the ache of old age or great exertion. It all hurt, he hurt, and he didn’t have a clue where he was or what he was doing there. Jaden pushed himself up slowly to all fours, making sure the numbness in his elbows and knees wasn’t damaging. There were eyes on him, and mumbles from a gathering crowd that watched from a distance.

  Jaden had been asleep, or passed out, in an alley. He hadn’t yet been asked, or forced, to leave—but despite the bitter cold, those passing by on the nearby road stopped to take notice. Jaden shivered and peered out the alley. Through the crowd, he glimpsed sea, or ocean. The ground shook violently. He rested his bare hands on the cold cobblestone and closed his eyes to concentrate for several moments.

  “Oh, this isn’t good at all,” he muttered to himself.

  Jaden worked his way onto his feet, forcing his muscles to move. Everything ached as though he were ill. There wasn’t time to be sick, though he fervently wished for time to find warmer clothes. The sleeveless leather armor he wore offered little protection against the wet and biting air, and he definitely didn’t have time to warm himself in other ways.

  Jaden slowly moved out of the alley, pressing past the curious to approach a sturdy iron guardrail. Even the weather couldn’t mar the view. He stood on the edge of a cliff and, far below, a body of water stretched forever into a gray horizon. On either side of him, along the u-shaped edges of the tall cliff, were rows and rows of buildings and houses. They surrounded the scenic view, built on levels carved into the side of the cliff like observers seated in a stadium, looking down on the ocean as though it was a mere show for their amusement. The buildings were high enough to be protected from the torrential onslaught of violent waters, yet close enough to hear the crash of the waves, the sounds of the sea. He breathed deep and took in the smell of sea air, thick and salty, and the cool dampness spread through his lungs, just as it seemed to cover the city.

  Jaden turned to face the crowd with growing worry. Everyone shuffled about nervously, but they seemed more concerned with his shoddy appearance and choice of campsite than the earthquakes. A dozen or so businessmen and guildies had joined the ranks peering at the spectacle.

  “You look lost, son,” a blacksmith in a heavy leather apron said.

  “Don’t you understand? Can’t you feel it? You’re all in danger!” Jaden burst out frantically.

  Another tremor made Jaden hold his hands out as though the very air would assist him in keeping balance. Several of the gatherers laughed.

  “It’s been doing this for weeks, young man. A bad winter storm, nothing else. Go have some more mead and sleep it off,” gruffed a surly overweight mason in patchwork clothes, waving Jaden off like a bug before walking away.

  Jaden shook his head frantically. He turned back to the spectacular view of the violent violent sea and leaned far over the iron railing. The ocean pounded the cliff base with nearly palpable hate and disdain. Massive tidal waves crashed into the foundation, pulled back, then attacked again. He stared in disbelief and awe. The waves looked like open hands, reaching for the cliff and ripping it away. His mouth hung open and he pointed at the watery hands, peering at the people and their dumbfounded looks.

  “This...this can’t be normal?”

  Tremor.

  “’Tis a bad storm is all, lad. Now move along. You’re scaring people,” stated a calm and resolute middle-aged woman.

  Jaden shook with frustration, or the ground shook with another tremor, or both happened at once. But this one was bigger yet, as the ocean continued to pound and dig away at the rock below. This time, the crowd looked at one another with surprise. A man who was too tall, standing a head higher than Jaden’s six feet, forced an unconvincing smile onto his gaunt face and aimed it at Jaden. The man looked to be a hundred, or no age at all, with his bald head and hairless face. His long brown robes flailed about wildly in the stormy wind.

  “What are you doing with your hands, son?” The ageless man nodded at Jaden’s hands, which were still held out before him as though to keep himself from falling.

  “My hands?” Jaden looked down at his hands, and guiltily pulled them back to his sides. “I... Nothing. I just—” His words were interrupted by a string of violent quakes, followed by a loud crack.

  Several in the crowd stumbled and fell while others dropped to their knees. The guardrail wrenched loudly. Jaden jumped away from the edge, landing by the man as a thin sliver of cliff behind him pulled away, dragging the railing down with it.

  “These tremors were never this bad, not until you arrived!” the ageless man accused loudly. He grabbed Jaden in a fierce grip and pointed at his hands. “What were you doing with your hands? Is this your magics?”

  At the end of town, several buildings resting along the edge of the cliff teetered, forward and back and forward once more, before giving way, yielding to the wrath of the angry sea. Houses and buildings and people fell to the watery darkness below, instantly consumed as storm and erosion washed away all signs of life. Within a held breath, they were gone, leaving nothing behind but naked stone.

  The ageless man with the awkward smile pulled Jaden close and rasped in his ear. “You probably have tim
e to save yourself,” he said. “Probably.”

  Jaden didn’t understand. He pulled himself free of the man’s grip and looked at the crowd. Anger and blame were quickly replacing the expressions of shock. Jaden could sense the emptiness behind him—with the safety of the guardrail gone, any of them could push him over the edge with little effort. The ground quaked and, as the crowd braced itself, Jaden dove through it.

  “Run,” he yelled back as he sprinted as fast as his stiff joints would allow.

  Ground crumbled beneath his feet and pulled away as he ran up the stairs to the next level of buildings. The screams he left behind were horrific as the sea claimed more lives. Jaden kept shouting his warnings, his heart racing in panic and exhaustion. He grabbed a broom handle leaning against a building and pounded on the doors he ran by, though there wasn’t enough time to see if his warnings did anything more than startle occupants. His path ahead was unknown, and he was being chased by chaos.

  “You have to leave now! You’re all in danger!” he pleaded as he leaped up the stairs to another level and sprinted along a crowded road.

  He passed people stunned by the utter devastation left in his wake. The city behind him was falling apart, and the fools stood and watched. Jaden was living a nightmare, unable to command anyone’s attention. As though he were running past statues of people already dead.

  Stone crumbled behind him as he struggled to find solid ground with each step. The cliff beneath him pulled away, forcing him to scramble on his hands and knees. With a final leap, he grasped an outcropping of stone and hung on the side of the cliff, his feet dangling freely beneath him. Jaden refused to look down at the ocean below even though the tremors had stopped. He heaved himself over the side and crawled away from the edge until he could no longer move. Jaden lay there for several minutes, shivering from the rush of fear and exhaustion.

  He felt as though he had almost drowned in the madness of it all. As though the sea had purposefully eaten the entire city, stopping only after licking its plate clean. All that remained was an empty horseshoe-shaped cliff overlooking a calm sea. Jaden sat up and stared in disbelief. The ocean was calm. Maybe he truly had gone mad. He stood shakily and took a deep breath.

  “Is anyone here?” Jaden yelled loudly. “Is anyone still alive?”

  “I spent hours walking back and forth along the edge of the cliff, searching for survivors, but found nothing. There were no signs of life, nor signs there ever had been life. All that remained was a spectacular view of calm waters from the edge of a tall cliff.” Jaden appeared visibly flustered by the retelling of his story.

  “I wasn’t able to save anyone. Though they accused me of everything that happened, they didn’t deserve to die. But I failed to convince any of them to escape to safety.” He stopped, on the verge of weeping.

  “It sounds like an awful disaster,” said Dallow. “You’re lucky to have made it out alive.”

  “It wasn’t natural,” Jaden said, swallowing hard. “After several hours, the crashing began again and there were more tremors.”

  “Were there more hands?” Angst asked in disbelief.

  “I wanted to look, but didn’t know how long the cliff would last,” Jaden said with a distant look in his eyes. “So I came here.”

  The room was silent for several moments as Angst and his friends looked at each other in consideration.

  “No offense, Jaden,” Hector said. “But has there been any confirmation of Cliffview being washed away?”

  “Yes,” Angst replied, surprising everyone. He peered at Jaden with distrust. “But I thought Alloria was the only survivor.”

  “I don’t know how I could have missed her,” Jaden said, his voice rising in frustration.

  “A disaster as terrible as this one can be a confusing time,” Queen Isabelle declared. “But their stories are similar.”

  “Most importantly, they both independently confirm what has happened, that the great cliff city is now gone,” Tyrell said firmly to get them back on track.

  “We need you, and your friends, to investigate, Mr. Angst,” the queen requested, though it obviously wasn’t a request.

  “Your Majesty, our resources are...limited,” Angst said apologetically, glancing over his empty shoulder. “It just isn’t the same since...well, you know.”

  “In spite of the loss of Chryslaenor, Angst, the queen feels that you and your friends’ abilities are still key to the defense of our kingdom.” Tyrell paused for a weighted moment to allow the significance of this statement to sink in. “You understand this stance is a major change for the crown.”

  And there it was. Any choice Angst and his friends had about accepting this “request” had been effectively whisked away.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Angst replied dryly. “We will head out at dawn.”

  The queen nodded in acceptance before looking at Tyrell.

  “That’s good, Angst. Be sure to plan accordingly as Jaden and Rook will be joining you,” Tyrell noted with finality.

  9

  “They should be here any minute,” Angst said apologetically to Heather.

  She tugged her drapey blouse over her pregnant belly and visibly struggled to put on a brave face. “Stop worrying, Angst. I’ll be fine,” she said, hugging him close.

  Angst leaned over awkwardly in his armor and held her as gently as he could. She smelled like fresh air, and he smiled at the gray hairs wrapped inside curly browns.

  “You’re still pretty cute,” Angst said, pulling back. “For an old pregnant lady.”

  Scar yipped several times before she could retort.

  “It sounds like they’re here,” she said, still eyeing him with mock bitterness for his backhanded compliment.

  “I would feel better if Scar stayed with you,” Angst offered one last time.

  “For a short trip like this? It’s good for him to get out. Maybe the fresh air will help him grow a little.”

  Heather looked at Scar, the eternal puppy. The lab’s tail wagged rapidly at the extra attention, and he circled himself several times, providing a full view of his namesake. Angst had used Chryslaenor to heal the dark spell of magic out of the lab pup, and the ugly scar still looked like a fresh wound.

  “If he does “grow,” the problem is big and this trip’s going to last more than a few days,” Angst warned.

  “They usually do,” Heather said with a sigh.

  “I left you plenty of gold on the mantle,” Angst said. “Don’t hesitate to use it.”

  “I won’t, and I know where there’s more, so stop worrying!” She squeezed his hand in understanding before letting go. “Now let’s get you on the road so I can get back to sleep.”

  Angst opened the door to find Hector, Dallow, Tarness, Rook, and Jaden standing on the threshold. Scar pushed his leg aside as he ran outside to greet the others, with absolutely no care or concern for the cold, damp air.

  “What happened to Rose?” Angst asked in surprise as he looked over the group.

  Hector, Tarness, and Dallow exchanged sidelong glances.

  “She isn’t coming,” Dallow said, disappointment plain in his voice.

  “Something about not feeling well,” Tarness said. His eyes begged Angst to believe him.

  “Sure,” Angst replied. “Well, we have more than enough people for a scouting mission.”

  “Hi.” Jaden approached Heather and offered his hand. “I’m Jaden.”

  She seemed pleased at this, taking a scant moment to appreciate the young man’s good looks before accepting his hand. “It’s a pleasure,” she said, blushing as he kissed her knuckles.

  “If you’re done with my wife’s hand, we should be leaving,” Angst said snippily. “Where’s your mount, Jaden?”

  “You aren’t going to believe this, Angst,” Tarness remarked.

  A beautiful orange and red marble gazelle appeared by Jaden’s side as he summoned his swifen.

  He chuckled at Angst’s surprised expression. “It’s my favorite,
but I can summon something different if this one isn’t to your liking,” Jaden offered with a cocky smile.

  “A different one?” Angst said, a bit bewildered. “No, um, that will be fine.”

  Dallow, Hector, and Tarness all gave Heather a quick hug, each of them looking forlorn as her mood inadvertently affected theirs. Rook waved awkwardly after seeing this and mounted his pinto as the others summoned their swifen. Angst gave her a final kiss before stepping aside to summon his ram. It took longer than it should have, and his nose was bleeding when he finally finished. He shook his head at Heather’s worried look, and sniffed in deep to dry his nose.

  “That’s, well, that’s a unique swifen,” Jaden remarked. “I can probably help with that little problem.”

  The sides of Angst’s swifen were once again a patchwork of metal, as though it were reverting to its original form. Angst sighed deeply, scooped up Scar, and noisily mounted the tall ram. It took several quiet steps forward, and Angst felt some relief that the rattle hadn’t returned, yet.

  “We’ll be fine,” Angst said, shooting down Jaden’s offer. “Let’s go.”

  “She talks about you a lot, you know,” Jaden said.

  Jaden spoke to Angst with such familiarity it felt as though Angst should know him, but his accent was unrecognizable, and his voice buzzed annoyingly in Angst’s ear. He gently petted Scar as they rode, trying not to let Jaden irritate him.

  “Who would that be?” Angst asked, as though he didn’t already know the answer. “Alloria?”

  “Well, no, I don’t speak with Alloria much,” Jaden said uncomfortably. “Though, she’s sort of young—”

  “To be talking to me?” Angst said defensively.

  “To be winking at you,” Jaden responded, just as pointedly.

  “I’ve found the secret to wooing young, attractive women,” Angst said, raising an eyebrow. “Get old, gain weight, and start losing hair. It does wonders.”