Magic and Mayhem: A Collection of 21 Fantasy Novels

by Jasmine Walt

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  “Okay, then,” says Ishtar, and claps her hands.

  Rai returns to the land of the living. He opens his eyes to a sliver of pain shooting through his head and cringes and rubs it.

  “Where did you go this time?” asks Yudi, helping him sit up.

  “You will not believe it…” He lets the sentence hang.

  “Why is it that only you and Tiina keep having all these experiences? I feel left out,” complains Yudi.

  Rai points out, “You did take the most incredible trip the last time. You just don’t seem to remember it.”

  “Perhaps you are special?”

  “Actually, no.” He sends Yudi a secret smile.

  “Uh! What do you mean?”

  “Seems you are the important one, the one who will take the final step. I am but the trigger, and so is she.” He nods toward Tiina.

  “I don’t want it.” After openly yearning to be in the spotlight all along, he now appears uncomfortable at the thought of wearing all that responsibility.

  “Don't want what, Yudi? You don't even know where this is taking you.”

  “Oh! But I do. I am beginning to get an idea of my role in all this.”

  Tiina asks, “Well, what do you make of it?”

  “I am not sure.”

  “Ha! You don’t have a choice. You can’t keep running away, Yudi.”

  “No, he does not have a choice,” agrees Rai. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “So I can get out of this crazy mission in the future?” asks Yudi.

  “I’ll remind you of this when you decide not to make the choice to walk away.”

  “That’s so not possible!”

  “Believe me. It’s your choice.” Rai gets to his feet and dusts off the seat of his trousers. “Ah! The faithful Artemis.” The palm-sized spaceship hovers far ahead, and Rai gestures to her. “She is almost halfway up the mountain. Let’s hurry and catch up.”

  “Wait,” Tiina calls to him. She breaks into a quick jog to reach him before she matches her steps to keep up with his longer strides. “What about me?”

  “You will be there every step of the way with Yudi.”

  “And you will not?”

  Rai merely smiles and shrugs, taking the lead.

  “Wait; don’t go all manly on me now, okay?”

  When Rai does not reply, she shakes her head and continues with him, this time with Yudi bringing up the rear. The path winds around the mountain, sloping upward with every step.

  Soon the trees give way to grasslands. The nearer they come to the summit of the mountain, the taller is the grass on either side of their path. By the time they are about one-fourth of the way to the top, the grass is almost as tall as Tiina, coming up to Yudi’s lower chest, and up to Rai’s shoulders.

  They stop; not far away cows graze contently to their right where the grass is shorter. The sunlight grows in intensity, bathing them in its warm, vivid radiance. The air they breathe seems lightly spiced and tastes delicious. They can see that they are almost at the summit.

  Yudi asks, “Where’s Artemis?”

  In the space of a few hours, the entire dynamic of their relationship has changed. As if reassured about his relationship with Tiina, Yudi now looks on Artemis as more of a guardian angel than competitor for Tiina’s affections.

  “I can’t see her,” she replies, turning to Rai. “Can you?”

  Rai scans the distance and shakes his head, for all he can see is the path straightening a bit and then abruptly disappearing around the bend. Yet they are almost at the summit. As Rai and Tiina look around for the ship, Yudi trips over a shape on the ground. He stumbles and falls, turning at the last minute to protect his injured right side.

  20

  Tiina looks back just in time to see Yudi fall. Even as she runs back to him, he moves to straighten himself. A low growl stops them both in their tracks. The shape that he had tripped over, which had been hiding in the grass, reveals itself. Not a fully grown lion, yet not a tiny lion cub, it is a teenager like them. It stands there between Yudi and Tiina, growling softly and bends its front legs as if getting ready to swing.

  Tiina’s hand goes to the hilt of her blade and her heart sinks when she realises that it is still with Rai, who is further ahead from her, too far to notice the drama taking place. Without taking her eyes of the lion cub, she starts forward slowly, so as not to make any movement to alert it. She comes up short, her gaze narrowing in apprehension as the half grown cub straightens itself.

  Then shaking itself, the growling cub changes his tone to a warm purr, and the animal walks forward and licks Yudi’s face, bathing him until he protests. He puts out his hand to rub the lion cub, which relaxes back on its folded four legs, enjoying itself. Using the cub for support Yudi sits up and continues rubbing its rough fur.

  Tiina relaxes a little, her hand falling back at ease, still unsure about what has happened. Then she recalls when Yudi had tracked her down and they had returned to Arkana, the lion that had been fighting with Rai had a similar reaction to Yudi.

  What is it with Yudi and lions? she wonders, retracing her steps to walk toward him.

  He sits up, holding his side in pain. As she reaches him, she notes that the fall has reopened the wound, so she sits down next to him and reties the loosened tourniquet. To stop the flow of blood, she puts both her palms on the wound and glances at Yudi’s face; he has gone pale.

  Rai reaches them and squats down next to her, patting the lion cub absentmindedly. “Do you know him?”

  “I used to have a lion cub when I was very young…he was my best friend. That was a long time ago, though, so it can’t be the same one. But…,” his voice tapers off.

  “What do we do about his wound?” Rai asks Tiina.

  “How are you feeling, Yudi?” She is worried about the pain.

  “Weak, tired…thirsty.” He touches his tongue to his lips and closes his eyes.

  The other two exchange glances, then Rai gets to his feet. “I am going in search of water. Why don’t you stay with him? The two of you can rest a while.”

  She nods, then as he turns to go, hails him. “My sword?”

  After hesitating, he unhooks the sword from his back and throws it to her. Tiina catches it and straps it on, glad to have it back in place.

  Yudi still has his blade safely around his waist, below the wound, so she is reassured that it will not hurt him further. Then following the example of both Yudi and the lion cub, who doze in the warm sunshine, she lies back on the grass and closes her eyes.

  The rising wind finally wakes Tiina. The sun has gone behind the clouds and darkness creeps in, a mist inching in from the direction of the peak. She opens her eyes and shivers. In the growing cold, she finds Yudi still asleep. The lion cub looks at her without moving. Rai has been gone for a while and she wonders why he is not yet back. Without thinking, she places her hand on Yudi’s shoulder and shakes him.

  He jerks awake and whips his head to her. Sensing her concern, he sits up. The short rest seems to have revived him somewhat.

  “It’s Rai. He’s not back yet.” She gets to her feet. “I am going in search of him.”

  Yudi protests, running his tongue over his cracked lips. “I feel really helpless now. It should be me, not you.”

  She raises her eyes and motions at his wound. Unhappy with the idea, he falls silent.

  To appease him, she says, “I am sure you’ll get your turn at saving me, but for now, just rest and get your strength back. Besides you must be really thirsty…”

  The fact that he does not protest when he nods bothers her even more. She leans forward to touch the lion cub, which is sitting next to Yudi, breathing loudly in the way animals often do when they are resting.

  “Take care of him.” She rubs his head as he butts her hand affectionately.

  “Right! I can take care of myself.”

  “Of course.” She prepares to set off, then leans f
orward to kiss him on his forehead, too. “Stay put. I won’t be long.”

  21

  Yudi watches her go with mixed feelings. As she disappears around the bend, he tries to rest, but this time the raging thirst inside him keeps him awake. He frets, trying to find a more comfortable place on the grass, but the ground grows harder by the minute. The lion cub watches him as if waiting for him to make the next move. He stops his restless shuffling, his mind running through the possibilities of what he could do next. Half life and half-grown lion stare at each other in mock face off. Stay or go?

  He tests his side, looks down at the wound, and finds that the bleeding has stopped. It still hurts, but at least the throbbing is down to a dull ache now. The cut’s appearance doesn’t fool him, though. If he starts walking, he is sure it will open up again.

  All the more reason to make the most of this window when the aching has slowed down, he thinks. How could I have let Tiina go off on her own, anyway? Sure she is more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides, I am the man in this relationship, aren’t I? I am meant to protect her, not the other way around.

  At this slug to his ego, Yudi sits up straight, disregarding the pain, and gets to his feet, gasping a little as little needles of agony radiate out from the wound. He stops to catch his breath. The lion cub gets to its feet as well, and even though he is not fully grown, he is already about three feet tall, reaching Yudi’s thighs.

  “Come on then, Simh.” He calls to the lion by the same name that Mimir had referred to Lion Man at Arkana.

  The lion cub seems to like the name, for it pads after Yudi, butting him gently on the side of his legs, then strutting forward, takes the lead. Yudi follows the lion at a slower pace. It takes him almost twenty minutes to reach the curve in the path. He despairs a little, for if he had been unhurt, he would have covered the same ground in half the time.

  As if encouraging him, Simh waits, patiently looking back at him. Yudi nods, and taking a deep breath, hurries his pace. They round the bend and come upon a small clearing. Not more than thirty feet ahead in the middle of the clearing is a small lake. As he continues toward the lake, he sees Artemis hovering in the middle above the water near the centre, but unlike the other times, she is almost stationery.

  As if she has been waiting for me, he realizes.

  He walks a few more feet and spots the two lifeless figures on the ground about forty metres away. A cry of alarm escapes his lips and he stumbles as fast as his body permits. It takes him another five minutes to reach them at the edge of the lake. He sinks down into the soft muddy ground between them.

  On his left is Rai, motionless, but with a serene expression, his lips almost turned up in a smile. On his right, Tiina lies partially turned away from him. She holds the sword in her right hand, which is flung out, her left on her chest, just on her heart.

  He places a finger below her nose and, to his alarm, she is not breathing, so he touches his palm to her forehead, which is smooth and cool. Cold fingers of fear creep up on his heart as he bends to place his ear over her heart, confirming that there is no beat.

  He turns to Rai, but even before he checks for a heartbeat, he knows he will not find one. A tear runs down his cheek, and he turns to where Simh is calmly lapping water at the edge of the lake. The lion cub cocks its head toward him.

  Yudi raises his eyes to the skies, a cry of despair escaping his lips, and he gets to his feet. Pulling out his sword, his pain forgotten, he screams, “Come out and show yourself, whoever you are!”

  “Come out, come out, come out!” his voice echoes around the lake mockingly before it dies down.

  Yudi heaves, hoping that he is caught in the throes of a bad nightmare, but knowing it is not. With another shout, he lifts his sword and walks toward the lake, then raises his voice again.

  The stress and fear of having lost his best friend and his lover crack his voice. “You coward! Why are you hiding? Come out and face me!”

  Misery washes over him and with tears running down his face, he sinks to his knees in the soft sand. The sword slips from his hands as he buries his face in his palms, his shoulders heaving silently. He collects himself and turns to the water, aware again of the desperate thirst burning his throat. He yearns just for a taste of the sweet liquid.

  Just a taste. He runs his tongue over his cracked lips. A sip, and then I can mourn them properly.

  Then he stops thinking altogether as instinct takes over and he walks to the water. He sinks to his knees once more and his reflection stares back at him for a minute before he scoops up the water in his palms.

  As he is about to bring it to his lips, a voice calls out, “Wait. Yudi.”

  A being has appeared in the middle of the lake, the most hideous little man Yudi has ever seen. Not more than four feet in height, his skin is pale green like a water snake. His short legs are clad in a cloth draped in the traditional style of a sarong. On his upper torso he wears a white kurta, a loose shirt made of cotton, with golden embroidery on the sleeves, which cover him from neck-to-wrist. Around his throat he wears a heavy golden chain, which hangs to his swollen potbellied stomach. He has no hair on his head, but seems to have made up for it with a luxurious beard and mustache. As he walks toward Yudi, he seems to skim the surface of the water, making a final dainty hop over the edge of the lake.

  Yudi gets to his feet and grips his sword. As he looks at the man closely, he notices that the dwarf’s left eye is golden yellow, the right is black. Two small tusks protrude from each end of his mouth. His ugliness sends a shudder of revulsion down Yudi’s spine, which he does not bother to hide.

  “Ah!” The dwarf smiles so that his lips stretch and the tusks on either side tremble to accommodate his grim grin. “Not yet! Yudi, you can’t drink the water yet.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I am Kubera, the nature sprite who guards this lake.”

  “What have you done to my friends?”

  “They were both greedy. I warned them not to drink the water until they had answered my questions, but they were both so selfish that they had no patience. Despite my warning, they decided to drink the water, and paid with their lives.”

  “What do you want?”

  “You are hurt?”

  At his reminder, Yudi touches his wound and winces, the pain creeping back. “Again, what do you want?”

  “You want the Elixir, I assume?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I…just…know.” Kubera’s smile is a little freakish, and starts to bother Yudi. “All you have to do is answer my three questions. If you get them right, I’ll give you the Elixir.”

  He considers the proposal. Sounds simple. “I assume there is a catch?”

  Kubera laughs loudly, the noise echoing around the surface of the water, and disturbs Artemis, who trembles a little.

  “If your answers are incorrect, your friends will never recover their lives.”

  “And if I get them right?”

  “Well, then, your friends will return with their lives.”

  “And the Elixir?”

  Kubera nods. “Yes, you get the Elixir, too, to help you in your quest to return the Isthmus. You have no choice.”

  With a last glance at the figures on the ground, Yudi nods, then noticing the pleased expression on Kubera’s face, he regrets accepting the challenge. Before he can protest, Kubera speaks. “Remember to listen carefully and answer after due consideration. You only have one chance to get it right.”

  “Enough already! Get on with it.”

  “So here is my first question. What is more important than the mother planet Earth, yet higher than heavens, but faster than the wind, and more numerous than stars in the galaxy?”

  Aha! Tricky. Yudi thinks about the question and the strange little man who asked it. Guardians often like to ask questions that are fairly philosophical. They don't ask complicated questions that have difficult answers, instead preferring complicated questions that have simple answers. Mimi
r’s words, from one of his classes at the Academy come flooding back and he steadies his mind and plunges in with an answer.

  “One's own mother is more important than Mother Earth; one's father is higher than the mountains. The mind is faster than wind and our worries are more numerous than all the stars in the galaxy.”

  A slow grin spreads across Yudi’s dry lips at Kubera’s stunned reaction. Didn’t expect me to get that one, did you? His heart feels ready to burst with secret delight at having got the first one right. Calm down. Calm down. Not yet there.

  Kubera nods. “Not bad, but you are not there yet.”

  “Stop echoing my thoughts,” Yudi retorts in disgust. “At least be more original in your commentary, dwarf!”

  The short man continues, unprovoked. “What enemy is invincible? What is incurable?”

  Hmm… Obviously, the questions are only going to get tougher as it goes along. Yudi pushes his luck. “Can you give me a clue?”

  Kubera acknowledges his clever move and says, “Think of your emotions. They are often your worst enemy, aren’t they, Yudi?”

  He nods, his mind clearing. “Anger is the invincible enemy. Optimism is incurable. Hope is the only thing that keeps the universe going. It is the only explanation for what keeps us going on this journey.”

  The importance of his answer sinks in and Yudi realizes that in answering Kubera’s question, he has resolved one of the more complex confusions in his life. For as long as he can remember, he has despaired of acting too spontaneously, without stopping to think of the consequences. Now by being forced to think of the outcome of his emotions, he has been given a clearer direction by which to live.

  Much more confident now in his own ability to answer the final question, he asks, “What’s your next question, Kubera?”

  Acknowledging his gesture of respect, Kubera says, “My last and final question then, son of Shaitan, is also the trickiest. Take your time before you reply. Can you tell me what the greatest wonder is?”