The Kingdoms of Evil

by Daniel Bensen

  Freetrick imagined her there, in a chateau in a swamp in Sangboire. Moss-covered stone walls closing around her again. The red flash of her lacy dress like a spot of blood against the mildewed gray of ancient furniture and rotting books. The red flash of her blood on those stones? Or would Bloodbyrn commit suicide the way her mother had, by attacking her father? Except DeMacabre had been a mere duke, and Freetrick was Ultimate Fiend. If Bloodbyrn wanted to make him kill her, she would have to come at the head of an army. Yes, of course she would.

  "Tempest above!" Freetrick ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell am I supposed to do with---"

  "Fiend!" Skystarke burst into the office, followed closely by Istain and the Kaimeera. "Fiend! News from beyond the walls of Castle Clouds-Ga-thah!"

  "I know!" said Freetrick, "I know about my…" he glanced at Bloodbyrn and his heart clenched, "friend. I know about my striking mother coming back---"

  "Yes yes, Zathara and the scary lady. Who do you think we were just talking to?" said Istain. "Free, this is bigger news."

  "What?" said Freetrick. Bloodbyrn would attack him, forcing him to kill her... but only if she had the opportunity.

  The Kaimeera slid through the door behind Istain. "There's an army closing on the city, Fiend."

  "And Free," said Istain, "they're being led by Kendrick."

  Freetrick sat back in his chair, staring at his advisors. His mind was entirely blank.

  "My lord." Bloodbyrn said into the silence. "Let me go."

  "Free," said Istain. "The army?"

  "And when the dark stars have aligned themselves properly for the rising of the black bile of instruction as to the intentions of the most Maleficent Monarch of Mourning, it shall rain, cacophonous, into the ears of this humble excrescence…"

  "No."

  "What?" Bloodbyrn turned back to face Freetrick, one hand pushing open the door away from his study. "My lord---"

  "Bloodbyrn," said Freetrick. "We have defeated our enemies. We've survived how many assassination attempts. We have…finally begun to fix the Kingdoms of Evil. Bloodbyrn, we've won. Stay with me."

  She lowered her eyes. "I cannot." And she turned to walk out of the room.

  Lightning flashed in Freetrick's eyes. "That wasn't a request." Freetrick stood, and reached out with his necromancy.

  Bloodbyrn spun, mouth opened in rage, which turned to surprise as she kept spinning, rising off the ground, trailing streamers of black mist.

  "Take her apartments. Write the runes of binding on her door." Freetrick's voice rumbled into the whirling cloud of necromancy. "The Duchess DeMacabre will not escape." He lowered his hand, and Bloodbyrn, cocooned in his spell, thudded into Skystarke's waiting arms. "Not even into death."

  Istain opened his mouth. Then Freetrick looked at him, and he closed it.

  Mr. Skree's wrinkled mouth pinched, and then he, and everyone else in the room, turned to look at Freetrick. What would the Ultimate Fiend do next?

  Wonderful. Freetrick's fists clenched. Another day in Skrea. He took a deep breath.

  "Mr. Skree," he said, "Istain, you will arrange a full debriefing from Zathara and my mom. Then see to your duties. Skystarke," he turned to the monster, who was still holding up the immobilized Bloodbyrn. "Did you not hear my orders?"

  Skystarke looked at Mr. Skree, who wheezed. "Oh great…" he said, then closed his eyes, "Feerborg. You should accompany your woman to her rooms."

  Freetrick stared for a moment, utterly shocked. But then shook his head. "Later," he said, "later. After I purge the government, fight off an invasion, and meet my long-lost mother…after that, I'll try to convince a woman to sleep with her father's murderer. One thing at a time, Mr. Skree?"

  The lightning in his eyes flickered, then blazed back again. The Despot of Skrea stalked across his office, dark energy billowing off him like a wind-tossed cloak. "All right, people, let's go ward off death for another day."

  Dear Reader,

  Like all books, and especially first ones, Kingdoms of Evil was an experiment. It answered two questions. First, can I put one word in front of another until I have told a story? Yes. Second, can I get that story published? Uh...no.

  I still think Kingdoms of Evil is a good story (and if you've read this far, presumably you do too), but even I have to admit that when I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I've learned a lot about the skills and conventions of writing, and if I had the whole thing to do over again, it might stand a better chance of getting the attention of agents and publishers.

  But I don't want to spend my life writing the same story over and over again. I wrote this one, I learned from it, and now I'm moving on to write other stories (and hopefully do a better job of it). On the other hand, I like Kingdoms of Evil. I like Freetrick, and I didn't want to just mummify him and his world in my hard drive. So I put them on the web, where they can flourish or perish on their own merits.

  And so here comes the third experiment. Do I have to publish an old-fashioned book at all? Would an e-book or a website work better? That's the question you, dear reader, are helping to answer.

  But one thing I promise. You will hear more from Freetrick.

  The next book in the series will be called The Ultimate Fiend.

  Thank you for reading,

  Daniel Bensen

  -Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2011

  Acknowledgements

  Strike it out, writing is hard. I spent nearly five years putting this book together, and it still would have been utter nonsense without a whole bunch of other people.

  Pavlina Borisova-Bensen, who graciously allowed me to sometimes write. She also listened to me read this story out loud, chapter by chapter. Then she read the whole thing again, after I got to the end. Without her encouragement, I probably never would have finished this gargantuan project. And without her advice at every stage of planning, writing, and re-writing, the Kingdoms of Evil would be a lot less interesting and intelligent. Also less gooshy.

  Ben Poulsen, of the Deviant Art sobriquet Whalewithlegs, read the whole thing, giving detailed comments on everything from story to magical system to the promotional artwork and illustrations I made. All for the dubious honor of being mentioned here. And because he's a good person, probably. See the Kingdoms of Evil website and Deviant Art for more of his excellent work.

  Emil Minchev, illustrious author of Kuli ot Kamyk i Kost and Neogranichen Dostyp (check your Bulgarian bookstores) and translator of many more, bent his editorial talent to make sure my manuscript was readable.

  Paul Jenkins, also illustrious playwright of such plays as First Person Shooter, actor, and (most importantly) fellow English teacher, actually sat down with me and Pavlina and read through Kingdoms of Evil, out-loud, with voices. Paul does a superb Mr. Skree.

  Catarina Leal helped design the cover, and Adrien-Troy Bacchi-Marobin donated his server space for the webpage.

  Thanks also to Peter Bensen, Rachel Westfall, and the community at Baen's Bar, who provided valuable critiques and editing.

  And finally, a shout out to the Bowdoin College Taiko Club, the inspiration for all of this. Oyasumi nasai, and thank you, everyone.