Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  She convulsed suddenly, and then her body slumped. The animaru shook her head and then stood up straight again. Aeden had to hand it to her, she was regal in the face of enemies who were about to destroy her.

  She said something in her own language. Aeden looked to Tere Chizzit.

  “She said something about a human. Izhrod Benzal. He brought her here, as part of some agreement with her god, S’ru. She is S’ru’s high priestess, it seems. S’ru can’t come to this world because there is so much life and light. She was to prepare the way for him.”

  “And she would do that by slaughtering every living thing in our world?” Aeden said. Tere fumbled for the words for a moment, but it seemed the animaru understood him and responded.

  “She says it is not unlike the warfare that is constant on her world. The defeated are weakened for a time but then recuperate to wage warfare again…” The blind man’s mouth dropped open as he listened. “Oh,” was all he could say.

  “What is it?” Aeden asked. “What did she say?”

  “She is saying that the animaru never die. At least, they never did before. They are all thousands of years old. If they are defeated, they are weakened, like she said, but they continue to live. She doesn’t really understand how we can destroy the animaru so that they don’t live again. It saddens her to think of them gone forever.”

  Tere spoke haltingly to the blue woman. As he did, Aeden looked her over. He could see it, there, in her bearing. It was easy to believe she was a high priestess. The way she held herself, even bound and facing death, a death she didn’t really comprehend, and the way she acted. She was used to command, comfortable with it.

  As Tere continued, those pale blue eyes grew wider and she leaned toward him, focusing on his mouth, listening carefully to every word. She began to speak then, words rapid and chopped. If she hadn’t been restrained, Aeden had no doubt that she would be gesturing wildly with her hands as well. The blind tracker put his hands up and gestured for her to slow down, motioning as if he was pushing something downward. He said a few words as he did so, and the animaru slowed her speech so Tere could understand her. She was still breathless, though.

  “I just explained to her that we are not reborn, or respawned, as some of them are, the ones with a talent she calls the twinkling. Those are the ones that disappear when they’re killed. They reappear at their birthplace on their world. I told her how when someone takes our life, we are dead, gone forever, we cease to exist. You can see the horror she feels over that from her expression.”

  She continued to rattle off words in her own language, Tere stopping her and saying things of his own. When he was done, he turned toward the others.

  “She had no idea, believing that those she killed would be weakened and then try again later. That’s one of the reasons she tried to push so hard. Time is limited if you have to fight the same enemies over and over again. The ending of existence, though, was something new to her. She was horrified by it. She says that surely her god would not require this service of her. He is a strict and vengeful god, but he is not petty. He respects others’ right to exist. It may be, she said, that she has misunderstood her orders as relayed through Izhrod Benzal. She has never trusted the man.”

  “So, what,” Urun said, “we’re just supposed to trust that it was all a big misunderstanding and let her go free?”

  “Not exactly,” Tere Chizzit said. “She wants to join us.”

  Chapter 58

  “She what?” Urun Chinowa said.

  “You heard me,” Tere told his old friend. “She wants to help us to prevent the destruction of all life on our world.”

  “You have to be kidding us,” Aila chimed in.

  “Not at all,” Tere said. “Her confusion and dismay are genuine, believe me. Magic runs through her body, and I can read its signature. She truly didn’t know that we were being killed permanently. She believed that to take the life out of us would make us like them, lifeless but existing still. I think she is sincere in wanting to help, too.”

  “Why would you say that, Tere?” Aeden asked.

  “She is very religious, obviously. She’s a high priestess. She interprets the will of her god from what he has shown her over the last several thousand years. She believes that if he knew that permanent destruction was being brought upon the humans, he would not order his followers to participate. Lacking direct contact with this S’ru, her interpretations of what he would want are law to her. She will search out Benzal by herself and kill him, eliminating any animaru along the way who insist on killing. It’s not just my opinion. I can read her magical signature, her aura. I believe she was a pawn in this. A very powerful pawn, but still being controlled by others.”

  Aeden stepped closer to the animaru. She stood head and shoulders above him. As he moved, her glowing eyes followed him and drilled into his when he stopped. He made a show of looking her over, from her sandal-clad feet all the way up to her tufted gray-blue hair.

  “Aeden,” he said, pointing to himself.

  “Gneisprumay,” she said as she pointed toward him. A small smile formed on her lips, looking a little awkward below the barest hint of a nose, almost just slits in her face for nostrils. She pointed toward herself and thumped a fist to her chest. “Khrazhti.”

  Aeden had Urun release the binding on the animaru, after arguing with the priest for several minutes.

  “Tere,” Aeden said. “Ask her to swear that what she is saying is the truth, that she will aid us in protecting Dizhelim from the other animaru, and that she will accept my leadership, in the name of her god S’ru. Will that bind her to the purpose, do you think?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Explain it to her, please.”

  Tere began to talk to her in her own language, or at least in the Alaqotim he knew. He stopped and looked toward Aeden. “I can’t for the life of me remember how to say ‘swear’.”

  Aeden swore.

  “Not that type,” Tere said, “The other type.”

  “Iurare,” Raki said. “That one always stuck with me for some reason.”

  “Oh, yes, that’s it,” Tere said. “Thank you.”

  After his explanation, Khrazhti nodded and looked at Aeden, seeming to speak more formally than earlier. Both Tere and Raki listened to her carefully, and the others watched her, Urun with no less intensity than any of the others. As she finished speaking, Khrazhti made that salute again, thumping her chest. Apparently the heart was something by which the animaru swore by as well. Interesting.

  Aeden returned the gesture and Khrazhti smiled a full smile. Her teeth, white and straight, were a shock to Aeden. For some reason he had been expecting fangs.

  “What do you think?” Aeden asked Urun Chinowa. The priest was still looking at the blue-skinned animaru, but now his expression wasn’t distrust or disgust but curiosity.

  “I could actually see the magic swirl and settle upon her when she swore,” he said. “She will keep to her vow, though I’m still not sure if it was the right thing to do.”

  “Time will tell, I imagine,” Aeden said. “For now, we should probably get our gear and leave before the other animaru return. I don’t think they will share Khrazhti’s sentiments about ending human lives. We have work yet to do if Izhrod Benzal is still out there selling our world to another.”

  They left the fortress, traveling south and west, planning on swinging north again toward the Hero Academy. Aeden hoped they didn’t run into the main force of animaru. He knew he would have to deal with them eventually, but for now, it was enough to regroup and decide what they would do next. Looking at the tall, pale blue creature from another world walking beside him, he wondered what the future held. Despite having an ending of sorts, he had a feeling his quest had just begun.

  The End

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  Glossary

  Following is a list of unfamiliar terms. Included are brief descriptions of the wo
rds as well as pronunciation. For the most part, pronunciation is depicted using common words or sounds in English, not IPA phonetic characters. Please note that the diphthong ai has the sound like the English word Aye. The zh sound, very common in the language Alaqotim, is listed as being equivalent to sh, but in reality, it is spoken with more of a buzz, such as szh. Other pronunciations should be intuitive.

  Abyssum (a·BIS·um) – the world of the dead, Percipius’s realm.

  Aeden Tannoch (AY·den TAN·ahkh) – a boy who was trained to be a highland clan warrior but found that life had other things in store for him. The hero of the story.

  Aesculus (AY·skyoo·lus) – the god of water and the seas.

  Agypten (a·GIP·ten) – an ancient nation, no longer in existence.

  Aila Ven (AI·la ven) – a woman of small stature who joins the party and lends her skills in stealth and combat to their cause.

  Alain (a·LAYN) – the god of language. The ancient language of magic, Alaqotim, is named after him.

  Alaqotim (ah·la·KOTE·eem) – the ancient language of magic. It is not spoken currently by any but those who practice magic.

  Animaru (ah·nee·MAR·oo) – dark creatures from the world Aruzhelim. The name means “dark creatures” or “dark animals.”

  Arcus (ARK·us) – the god of blacksmithing and devices.

  Arlden Tannoch (AR·li·den) – a warrior of Clan Tannoch, Sartan’s friend.

  Aruzhelim (ah·ROO·shel·eem) – the world from which the animaru come. The name means “dark world,” “dark universe,” or “dark dimension.” Aruzhelim is a planet physically removed from Dizhelim.

  Bhagant (bog·AHNT) – the shortened form of the name for the Song of Prophecy, in the language Dantogyptain.

  Bhavisyaganant (bah·VIS·ya·gahn·ahnt) – The full name for the Song of Prophecy in Dantogyptain. It means “the song of foretelling of the end,” loosely translated.

  Braitharlan (brah·EE·thar·lan) – the buddy assigned in the clan training to become a warrior. It means “blade brother” in Chorain.

  Brausprech (BROW·sprekh) – a small town on the northwest edge of the Grundenwald forest, in the nation of Rhaltzheim. It is the hometown of Urun Chinowa.

  Broken Reach – a rugged, unforgiving land to the southeast of the Grundenwald. There are ruins of old fortifications there.

  Chorain (KHAW·rin) – the ancestral language of the highland clans of the Cridheargla.

  Clavian Knights (CLAY·vee·en) – the fighting force of the Grand Enclave, the finest heavy cavalry in Dizhelim.

  Codaghan (COD·ah·ghan) – the god of war.

  Cridheargla (cree·ARG·la) – the lands of the highland clans. The word is a contraction of Crionna Crodhearg Fiacla in Chorain.

  Crionna Crodhearg Fiacla (cree·OWN·na CROW·arg FEE·cla) ) – the land of the highland clans. It means “old blood-red teeth” in Chorain, referring to the hills and mountains that abound in the area and the warlike nature of its people.

  Croagh Aet Brech (CROWGH ET BREKH) – the name of the highland clans in Chorain. It means, roughly, “blood warriors.” The clans sometimes refer to themselves simply as Croagh, from which their nickname “crows” sprang, foreigners not pronouncing their language correctly.

  Dannel Powfrey – a graduate of the Hero Academy at Sitor-Kanda. He is a scholar who meets Aeden on his journey.

  Danta (DAHN·ta) – the goddess of music and song. The language Dantogyptain is named after her.

  Dantogyptain (DAHN·toe·gip·TAY·in) – the ancestral language of the Gypta people.

  Daodh Gnath (DOWGH GHRAY) – the Croagh Ritual of Death, the cutting off of someone from the clans. The name means simply “death ceremony.”

  Darun Achaya (dah·ROON ah·CHAI·ah) – father of Fahtin, head of the family of Gypta that adopts Aeden.

  Dizhelim (DEESH·ay·leem) – the world in which the story happens. The name means “center universe” in the ancient magical language Alaqotim.

  Dreigan (DRAY·gun) – a mythical beast, a reptile that resembles a monstrous snake with four legs attached to its sides like a lizard. The slightly smaller cousin to the mythical dragons.

  Drugancairn (DROO·gan·cayrn) – a small town on the southwest edge of the Grundenwald Forest.

  Dubhach (DOO·akh) – the old tattoo artist for Clan Tannoch. His name means “gloomy” or “dark.”

  Erent Caahs (ERR·ent CAWS) – the most famous of the contemporary heroes. He disappeared twenty years before the story takes place, and is suspected to be dead, though his body was never found.

  Fahtin Achaya (FAH·teen ah·CHAI·ah) – a young Gypta girl in the family that adopted Aeden. She and Aeden grew as close as brother and sister in the four years he spent with the family.

  Gentason (jen·TAY·sun) – an ancient nation, enemy of Salamus. It no longer exists.

  Gneisprumay (gNAYS·proo·may) – first (or most important) enemy. The name for the Malatirsay in the animaru dialect of Alaqotim.

  Great Enclave – a nation to the west of the Kanton Sea and the Hero Academy.

  Greimich Tannoch (GRAY·mikh TAN·ahkh) – Aeden’s close friend, his braitharlan, during his training with the clans.

  Grundenwald Forest (GROON·den·vahld) – the enormous forest in the northeastern part of the main continent of Promistala. It is said to be the home of magic and beasts beyond belief.

  Gypta (GIP·tah) – the traveling people, a nomadic group that lives in wagons, homes on wheels, and move about, never settling down into towns or villages.

  Heaven’s Teeth – the range of mountains to the east of the Kanton sea, in between that body of water and the Grundenwald Forest.

  Ianthra (ee·ANTH·rah) – the goddess of love and beauty.

  Izhrod Benzal (EESH·rod ben·ZAHL) – a powerful magic-user, one who has learned to make portals between Aruzhelim and Dizhelim. The dark god S’ru has an agreement with him so he is second to none in authority over the animaru on Dizhelim.

  Jehira Sinde (jay·HEER·ah SINDH) – Raki’s grandmother (nani) and soothsayer for the family of Gypta that adopts Aeden.

  Kanton Sea (KAN·tahn) – an inland sea in which the island of Munsahtiz, home of the Hero Academy, sits.

  Khrazhti (KHRASH·tee) – the High Priestess to the dark god S’ru and leader of the animaru forces on Dizhelim, only second in authority to Izhrod Benzal, by order of her god.

  Koixus (KOYK· sus) – an animaru, one of two assassins utilized by Khrazhti to try to kill the Gneisprumay.

  Krukestan (KROO·kes·stahn) – a small nation due south of the highland clan lands of Cridheargla.

  Maenat (MAY·nat) – an animaru, one of the two assassins utilized by Khrazhti to try to kill the Gneisprumay.

  Malatirsay (Mahl·ah·TEER·say) – the hero who will defeat the animaru and save Dizhelim from the darkness, according to prophecy. The name means “chosen warrior” or “special warrior” in Alaqotim.

  Manandantan (mahn·ahn·DAHN·tahn) – the festival to celebrate the goddess Danta, goddess of song.

  Mellaine (meh·LAYN) – goddess of nature and growing things.

  Miera Tannoch (MEERA TAN·ahkh) – Aeden’s mother, wife of Sartan.

  Munsahtiz (moon·SAW·teez) – the island in the Kanton sea on which the Hero Academy Sitor-Kanda resides.

  Osulin (AWE·soo·lin) – goddess of nature. She is the daughter of Mellaine and the human hero Trikus Phen.

  Pach (PAHKH) – in Dantogyptain, it means five. As a proper noun, it refers to the festival of Manandantan that occurs every fifth year, a special celebration in which the Song of Prophecy is sung in full.

  Percipius (pare·SIP·ee·us) – god of the dead and of the underworld.

  Promistala (prome·ees·TAHL·ah) – the main continent in Dizhelim. In Alaqotim, the name means “first (or most important) land.”

  Raibrech (RAI·brekh) – the clan magic of the highland clans. In Chorain, it means “bloodfire.”

  Raisor Tannoch (RAI·sore TAN·ahkh) – a famous warrior o
f Clan Tannoch, companion of the hero Erent Caahs.

  Raki Sinde (ROCK·ee SINDH) – grandson of Jehira Sinde, friend and training partner of Aeden.

  Rhaltzheim (RALTZ·haim) – the nation to the northeast of the Grundenwald Forest. The people of the land are called Rhaltzen.

  Ritma Achaya (REET·mah ah·CHAI·ah) – Fahtin’s mother, wife of the Gypta family leader Darun.

  Ruthrin (ROOTH·rin) – the common tongue of Dizhelim, the language virtually everyone in the world speaks in addition to their own national languages.

  Salamus (sah·LAHM·oos) – an ancient nation in which the legendary hero Trikus Phen resided. It no longer exists.

  Sartan Tannoch (SAR·tan TAN·ahkh) – Aeden’s father, clan chief of the Tannoch clan of Craogh.

  Slizhk (SLISHK) – one of Khrazhti’s generals.

  Solon (SEW·lahn) – one of the masters in Clan Tannoch, responsible for training young warriors how to use the clan magic, the Raibrech.

  Srantorna (sran·TORN·ah) – the abode of the gods, a place where humans cannot go.

  S’ru (SROO) – the dark god of the animaru, supreme power in Aruzhelim.

  Surus (SOO·roos) – king of the gods.

  Tere Chizzit (TEER CHIZ·it) – a blind archer and tracker with the ability to see despite having no working eyes. He is Aeden’s companion in the story.

  Trikus Phen (TRY·kus FEN) – a legendary hero who battled Codaghan, the god of war, himself, and sired Osulin by the goddess Mellaine.

  Tsosin Ruus (TSO·sin ROOS) – the Prophet, the seer and magic-user who penned the Song of Prophecy and founded Sitor-Kanda, the Hero Academy.

  Tuach (TOO·akh) – one of the masters in Clan Tannoch, responsible for teaching the young warriors the art of physical combat.

  Urun Chinowa (OO·run CHIN·oh·wah) – the High Priest of the goddess Osulin, a nature priest.

  Vanda (VAN·dah) – a modern god, claimed by his followers to be the only true god. It is said he is many gods in one, having different manifestations. The Church of Vanda is very large and very powerful in Dizhelim.