by Quil Carter
THE FALLOCAUST SERIES
Book Three
The Suicide King
Volume 1 of 2
By Quil Carter
© 2015 Quil Carter
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or in any means – by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission.
Also in The Fallocaust Series
Fallocaust Book 1
Breaking Jade - A Companion Book to Fallocaust Book 1
Fallocaust Book 2 - The Ghost and the Darkness Vol. 1
Fallocaust Book 2 - The Ghost and the Darkness Vol. 2
Severing Sanguine – A Companion Book to Fallocaust Book 2
This book is dedicated to Jon and Kristie. Jon, it’s because of you finally deciding to read my half-finished The Gods’ Games and A God Among Insects six years ago that got me back into writing, thank you. And Kristie, your continued support and friendship has been a light in my life, thank you for not just being an awesome beta reader, but an awesome friend as well.
‘All that you love will be carried away’ – Stephen King – Everything’s Eventual.
Prologue
Drakonius Dekker chewed on the edge of his biscuit and walked down the paved sidewalks of Skyland. He was grinning and waving at everyone who recognized him, and had even picked up a chocolate bar and a donut, which had both been quickly devoured.
It was dark out and balmy that evening, one of the first warm nights that Skyfall had seen in the year 232 A.F. The temperatures tonight promised a warm spring and summer, which was exciting enough for the orange-eyed cicaro. Drake was so thrilled with the evening in front of him, he had decided to wander around for a while to see where his feet were going to take him.
And why not? Master Silas was gone and Master Elish as well, even Sanguine was busy taking care of things and had told Drake to just do whatever he wanted. He had taken brother Sangy’s words seriously and was doing precisely that: whatever he wanted.
What do I want to do tonight…? Drake glanced around and saw Big Shot looking into a shop with bright lights that illuminated televisions for sale. The half-raver had a surprised look on his face, and his eyes were wide and rather impressed. Drake liked Big Shot because Big Shot treated him nicely, he had convinced him to leave Jade and go and have fun. It had taken three thien guards, Luca, and a locked door behind him, to convince Big Shot to go, but it was worth it.
“Haven’t you seen television before?” Drake asked as he walked up to Big Shot and looked into the shop too. The TV was playing a show about a man with black hair throwing spices on food and then going–
“BAM!” Big Shot said loudly after the TV man had exclaimed the same. He looked at Drake and smiled, though it was a crooked smile since his face was messed up from him being a raver for so long. He had a grey callous on the side of his cheek that stretched down to his jawline and a scar that split his eyebrow in half.
Drake laughed and nodded. “He’s making food from China called chinese food. I can get the sengils to make us that. Do you want us to make that?”
Big Shot’s eyes widened further. “China food? What about…” Big Shot’s brows met as he tried to find the words. “Hamburgers? Jade liked hamburgers. Ketchup… King Jade got us to find him ketchup for the ground-up people. He was happy, smiled all the time when he had ketchup.”
Drake snorted through his laugh and he looked behind his shoulder. There was an abandoned building behind them, boarded up and without anyone inside, but it was on the corner of a street and further down that street was a bar.
“We can get hamburgers with cheese on them. I can go in there and tell them what I want and I get it just like that.” Drake snapped his fingers. “I can ask for anything extra and they give it to me too.”
Drake hooked his arm under Big Shot’s own and started walking right into the street. Big Shot swore and pivoted his feet as headlights and screeching tires suddenly filled the warm air but Drake seemed unfazed.
“They won’t hit me. If they hit me they die,” Drake said in his same cheerful voice. He squinted as the headlights shone into his eyes, but a moment later all of the car lights turned off. “And they know to shut off their damn lights too.” Drake raised his middle finger at both cars that he had just walked in front of, and carried on with Big Shot to the other end of the street.
Big Shot looked behind him as the cars turned their headlights back on and continued on their way, though he was once again pulled by the arm down the street. “This place is owned by my brother Sanguine. I love Sanguine. This bar is called Sharky’s and he has another bar called The Penguin which is our nickname for him because he’s Sanguine the Penguin especially now ‘cause he likes to wear fancy suits and stuff,” Drake said happily. “We can get whatever we want. Do you want bacon? We can have bacon and we can have drinks and it’s all for free ‘cause of this.” Drake reached into a small leather bag he was carrying, the same one that had his chocolate bar and pulled out a black wallet that looked to be made out of snake skin. He handed a black card to Big Shot.
Big Shot took it and stared at it, then his green eyes, now completely clear of their milky white film, travelled up to Drake. “This makes things free?” Big Shot smelled the card and licked it before his face scrunched. “Tastes bad.”
Drake, of course, laughed at this. “No, read. See what it says? The silver writing right there and the chimera logo. See?”
Big Shot shook his head. “Brain still recovering. Master Elish says to me that eventually maybe brain heals and read again, write again, but for now, no, no, raver head.”
“Oh, right,” Drake said with a nod. He took the card back and looked down at it. “It says Drakonius Fennec Dekker which is my full name. This is a black card and it gives me whatever I want. Do you think you’ll get one, one day?”
Big Shot shook his head. “I’m not chimera just King Jade’s guard. He go, I go. He says he’s…” Big Shot’s eyes widened again. “He says I’m family. Maybe I will get card?”
“Maybe!” Drake said, his tone brimming with excitement over the prospect. He smiled at a bouncer standing with his arms crossed, the bouncer nodded back and held the door open for the two. “Do you have a real name or have you always just been Big Shot?” He asked as the two of them walked inside the bustling and noisy bar.
Big Shot looked around the bar and his mouth dropped open. He paused for a brief moment to take in the busy atmosphere around him, before Drake pulled him towards a booth with blue fabric seats. Still though, even when he was sitting, Big Shot continued to look around with a shocked expression on his face. There was a long wooden bar by the far wall with many liquor bottles sitting on glass shelves, glowing from a backdrop of blue-tinged LED lighting. Behind that bar was a handsome gentlemen with black hair that had blond tips. He was talking casually to several men sitting in booths with drinks in front of them.
And around Big Shot were many more tables, most filled with patrons and people behind and in front of him too. They were talking and eating food that had filled the entire bar with the smell of fried things, an aroma that made the half-raver’s mouth water.
“Incredible,” Big Shot said under his breath. He held out his hand as a waiter walked by with food and grabbed onto his apron. “You… what’s that?”
The waiter took one look at Big Shot and his nose curled. He snatched his apron away from Big Shot. “We don’t let diseased–” Then his eyes travelled to Drake and his sneering expression suddenly cha
nged into a smile. It happened so quickly it was as if a channel on a TV had been changed.
“Prince Drake, how–”
“Finish your sentence,” Drake said, his tone dropping several octaves. “We don’t let diseased…? Go on, tell my best friend-in-the-whole-entire-world what you were going to say.”
The waiter’s smile remained plastered on his face like cheap gyprock, but his eyes were terrified and his pupils little specks. He looked at Drake then slowly those same eyes went back to Big Shot.
“Prince Drake… I was going to say we – we –” The waiter started stammering when he saw Drake reach into his leather bag and pull out a small rectangular object made out of smooth metal and plastic. Drake pressed a silver button on the side and a sharp but narrow blade shot out of it with a shink.
The chimera’s orange eyes flickered up to the waiter and they flared with a dangerous glint, one that the waiter wilted under. “– we… we have crazy bread. Do you want a big plate of crazy bread with extra cheese and garlic, and butter dipping sauce?”
Drake’s eyes lit up, erasing all hostility seen just moments ago, and he looked at Big Shot with a wide and beaming grin. “They have crazy bread! They have crazy bread! I WANT THAT! GET THAT! NOW!”
The waiter, looking visibly relieved, nodded. And while he had the chance, he turned around and disappeared.
“I could kill him if I wanted, in front of everyone,” Drake said with a smug smile. “You can too now since Jade says you’re family. I’m not sure if King Silas will be okay with that, sometimes King Silas is happy but sometimes he’s really mean.”
Big Shot nodded understandably. “King Jade the same. I the same when led the ravers. Good when good, bad when bad. I like being bad, seeing people scared… I like that. Jade liked that. I miss Jade. I hope head gets better.”
Big Shot looked behind Drake when there was the sound of a tipping glass in the booth behind him. Big Shot scowled as a man with red hair swore and started cleaning up the mess with a clean dish towel provided to all patrons in lieu of napkins. Big Shot started at him for several more moments, but eventually when Drake started to speak, his attention turned back to him.
“I miss him too,” Drake said with a sad nod, “and I miss King Silas and Master Elish and the others. Do you know me and Sanguine and Jade are the only chimeras in Skyfall right now? Isn’t that neat? Sanguine is king right now. King Sangy. He’d be a good king but he’s too sadistic to be king for long. He’s kinda crazy sometimes he goes all…” Drake curled his fingers into claws and growled. “Like that.”
Big Shot laughed before his eyes lit up once again when a new waiter, looking rather nervous, came over holding a large plate of bread sticks, heaping with cheese and garlic and all centered around a bowl of yellowy oil.
“Bring hamburgers too,” Drake said, both of his hands now holding breadsticks which, moments later, got dunked simultaneously into the butter. “With cheese, lots of…” Drake’s eyes went glassy when another waiter appeared with two tall drinks and hamburgers and potato fries.
“They really know how to kiss up,” Drake said as he rubbed his hands together. “Eat as much as you want, even if your stomach hurts. I can show you a neat trick that I was taught. You can make yourself throw up and then you can eat all over again!” Drake grinned at this, even when Big Shot gave him a horrified look back.
“Make… yourself…? On purpose?” Big Shot asked.
Drake nodded vigorously. “I’m not allowed. I’m forbidden actually by Master Silas, but he’s gone and Sanguine’s king and Sanguine said I can do whatever I want. So I’m going to eat until I puke! Then eat MORE!” And at this Drake started shoving one of the breadsticks into his mouth as Big Shot watched him; the half-raver looking rather alarmed.
“I see why you need keeper,” Big Shot said, his brow knitting and his face growing grave and serious. “You not allowed out alone often? Without master to tell you no?”
Drake looked up, his cheeks stuffed with food. He smiled and shook his head back and forth before grabbing a large handful of potato fries. Even with a mouth puffed out with food, he pushed more in and started chewing happily.
Then Drake stopped. He stared at Big Shot with an odd expression on his face… then he spat the food back onto the plate and put a hand up to his throat.
Big Shot stared at him as Drake clutched his neck and started taking in sharp gasps, then a moment later, he started banging on the table.
“Are you dying?” Big Shot asked. He glanced to the side and waved a hand. “Waiter? Chimera dying?” He looked back at Drake who was grasping the table cloth with a tense hand; he was starting to turn blue and his orange eyes were bulging with fear.
“You come back, right?” Big Shot looked around and waved his hand again, a look of unease now on his face. “You-you’re one of the forever ones, yes? Um… chimera dying? Hello?”
The bartender looked over and immediately his mouth fell open. He dropped the glass he’d been cleaning and sprinted over. “Again, Drakey?” he hissed when he reached the table; his hasty running alerting the entire bar to the scene playing out in front of them. “Drake, get up. Get up!”
Drake, still clutching the table cloth with his eyes protruding from their sockets, gave the bartender a stricken look. The bartender grabbed onto the collar the cicaro always wore, and tried to pull him to his feet; but Drake only stood for a moment before he fell to the red-carpeted floor. Immediately the bartender started banging on Drake’s back but after several minutes of thumping he stopped and swore loudly. The reason why was obvious – Drake was dead.
“Shit… too late…” the bartender said. He looked around and put a hand on his forehead, then turned to where a cluster of waiters had gathered. “Pat… run to the precinct and see if you can reach Ellis, or at the very least, one of the half-chimeras.”
Big Shot shook his head and picked up a bread stick. “Not here,” he said as he chewed on the end of it. “All chimeras gone but red-eyed one, sick Jade, and dead one.”
The bartender looked at him as he rolled Drake onto his back. The cicaro’s orange eyes were staring off into nothing, and his face was now blue with froth all around his pale lips. “All of them? Why?” Then suddenly he held up both hands. “Actually don’t answer that. Please, please, don’t answer that…” He looked behind him again. “Pat, go to Alegria then and tell a thien to get Sanguine. If they’re all out of Skyfall besides Sanguine, Jade, and Drake… that means Jack isn’t going to be coming for him.” Then he looked back to Big Shot. “You’re not a chimera, obviously. Are you okay getting home yourself?”
Big Shot waved a hand in a dismissive manner, still gnawing on the bread stick. “I’m from greywastes. I protect Jade. I need no keeper; that’s truth.” He then pointed to the rest of the food. “Put in bag, yes? I eat outside, too noisy here.”
The bartender waved one of the waiters over, coincidentally the one who Drake had threatened with the knife. The waiter, without making eye contact, took the food and disappeared into the back.
When he came back with the bag, Big Shot nodded towards him. “Drake… comes here a lot, then?”
The waiter paused and let out a nervous laugh. “Uh… yeah… he – he does. Um, sorry about earlier.”
Big Shot got up with the bag. “It’s okay. I called worse.” He stepped over Drake and looked down at him. “You know him well? It is true everyone has to do what chimera says?”
Another nervous laugh; the waiter looking like he’d rather be getting threatened with a knife again than talking about Drake and the other chimeras. “Y-yeah, but we know how to make him happy. He kinda… once you know how to make him happy, it’s okay. He’s Drake, all of Skyfall loves him. He’s an angel compared…” The waiter paused before swallowing down his next comment. “I better get back to work. You’re welcome here anytime.”
“Okay.” Big Shot took one last look at Drake before leaving with a shake of his head. “Chimera all crazy, make raver look normal. Thro
w up food and eat until die? We eat until bursting but we keep it down. Why throw up good meat?”
The half-raver walked back into the warm night, food in hand, and started heading to Olympus. Eventually he opened up the bag of hamburgers, potato fries, and breadsticks (minus the food that Drake spat up on) and started eating the fries.
“Hey…”
Big Shot stopped and turned around as a man jogged up to him. A sickly-looking man with a hollow appearance and unhealthy red hair that fell over grey eyes.
“Hey… can I talk to you for a moment?” the man asked.
Big Shot looked behind his shoulder to see who the man was addressing, but it was just him and several people walking down the sidewalk. It looked like the man was wanting to talk to him.
Weird, Big Shot said to himself, then shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “Talk about… food? Ketchup is nice. My favourite, I think, is liver. What is your favourite?”
The red-haired man gave Big Shot a confused look, then shook his head. “No, not about food.” His movements were odd, jerking and fidgeting. Big Shot found himself taking a step back. “I wanted to ask you… what’s wrong with Jade?”
“Jade?” Big Shot’s brow furrowed. “Brain attack fucking up mind. Why ask?”
The man stared at Big Shot before saying back to himself. “Brain attack? You mean…” Then his tone dropped, his face twisting as if he had trouble processing information.
Maybe he half-raver too? Big Shot cocked his head to the side at this prospect and kept watching him.
Then the man with the red hair nodded to himself, as if the information had finally hit the right spots inside of his troubled mind. “That… the things he can do with his mind, is hurting his head?”
Big Shot nodded. “King Jade bad head. Almost died, now won’t wake up. Now all chimeras gone. I protect him, no one comes near him with me. Why ask? What wrong with your mind?”