BREAKER: MONSTER TAMER BOOK ONE

by Hooke, Isaac

  He sensed something closer. A wolf or coyote, he thought. Sure enough, a moment later he spotted a coyote fleeing into the woods from the edge of the trail, frightened by the obviously larger iguanid.

  An orange glow came from up ahead. He was suddenly happy: no doubt he had spotted the merchant caravan’s camp.

  “Found you!” he said under breath.

  He spurred Bounder onward.

  Distant howls and high-pitched yips filled the night air. He thought it was coyotes howling at the sky, as they often did at night to maintain contact with other coyotes in the area. City people often felt a tingle of primitive fear when they heard such cries, but to Malem, a seasoned outdoorsman, the calls evoked a sense of calm. The coyotes were the nightingales of the forest, their yips its nighttime song.

  But then the howling became more aggressive, becoming deep, rabid barking and growling.

  He heard a scream. A terrible, gurgling affair that was suddenly cut off, as of a man whose windpipe had been crushed.

  Malem smelt it then: the sickly odor of burning flesh.

  This was no campfire.

  He drew his sword and slowed Bounder’s pace: he was not so eager to ride into death.

  Felipe squeezed inside the collar of his jacket and turned around so that only his head was protruding from behind Malem’s neck. It was uncomfortable as hell. He was going to order the animal out, but there really wasn’t anywhere else for Felipe to go.

  He could sense Bounder’s fear and trepidation as well. The iguanid wanted to turn around and run; the only reason he was going forward was because of his devotion to Malem. He wanted to please his Breaker.

  “That’s a good boy,” Malem whispered softly. He tried to transfer as much courage as he could into the animal, but that was dependent on his own courage, which he wasn’t really feeling all that much of at the moment, to be honest.

  The main road turned west, but the glow continued beyond the trees ahead. A smaller path led that way; a sign nailed to a pine showed a picture of a campfire, indicating one of the rest areas that were set aside along the route for weary travelers.

  He continued onto the smaller path.

  Ahead, he could finally make out the fire between the trees. In the clearing that composed the rest area, three wagons were aflame. He tried not to look directly at the flames—doing so would kick him out of his night vision.

  As Bounder approached, he made out even more of the scene: wolves were attacking the defending mercenaries, some of whom were on horseback. There was no sign of the merchant, nor of Abigail.

  A group of the animals had surrounded one hapless soldier, who was hacking down frantically at the animals with his sword. The horse was also fighting back, kicking and biting at the attackers as it whirled about. It wasn’t exactly an experienced warhorse, as far as he could tell, but one of its bites did cause a wolf to squeal in retreat.

  With his night vision he spotted a larger form slinking among the wolves that had surrounded the man, a form roving along the outer edges of the attackers. It lurched forward with a burst of speed that startled even Malem, and tore the mercenary from the steed in a blur. The rider-less animal promptly bolted, ripping through the wolves to race into the forest beyond. A couple of wolves diverted to chase it.

  Meanwhile, the huge creature in front of the burning wagon remained standing at its full height, chewing on the body of the mercenary. It had the shape of a wolf, but it was no ordinary variant, coming in at the size of a horse. A dire wolf.

  Bounder came to a halt, lowing softly, clearly frightened. Malem felt movement behind his neck, and he knew Felipe had covered his eyes.

  The dire wolf finished chewing, swallowed the man in two quick gulps, and then turned toward the smaller wolves, following their howling, searching for its next prey.

  Before the big creature could attack somebody else, it was hit by a streaking ball of fire and engulfed by flames.

  Malem followed the afterimage of that streak, which overlaid his night vision, to its source.

  In front of the central burning wagon stood Abigail, her arms steeped to the elbows in flames. Her bonnet was gone: instead, locks of fire wavered about her head in place of her hair, blown outward by an unnatural wind he could not feel, at least not from here. A mask no longer covered the lower part of her face, and now that he could see her full features, she was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. In the blink of an eye his mind processed perfect cheekbones chiseled on either side of an exquisite nose, full lips with a slight pucker that reminded him of a strawberry, and a jaw with an aristocratic curve typical of the nobility.

  It was too bad that at the present moment, she looked like some fiery demon awakened from the underworld.

  Around her were piles of dead wolves, bodies smoldering, some on fire. A man clad in silver chainmail stood at her side. He wielded a longsword, and didn’t look like a mercenary—his armor was too bright, and too new, for that. As Malem watched, the man hewed down a wolf that tried to jump at Abigail from behind, and the blood that sprayed his armor flowed off almost immediately, unable to stain the burnished metal. Even his surcoat, which bore the emblem of a talon on fire, seemed untouched by the splattered blood. He wore a tight-fitting helm that extended from his face almost like a beak. The visor was open, revealing a bold nose and determined eyes.

  Abigail shot out her right arm, launching a fireball at another leaping wolf. She stepped aside to allow the flaming mass of the creature to pass unhindered, and it slammed into the wagon behind her, sending up fiery sparks. She pointed with her left hand, launching a long stream of flame that she swept over other incoming beasts, igniting them in turn, along with portions of the surrounding forest. The stricken wolves raced around in agony, blinded by the flames that engulfed them, and setting fire to everything they touched. The wolves had probably lit up the wagons in this way. The surrounding woods soon glowed with flames.

  The brightness of the resulting conflagration killed Malem’s night vision, but there was nothing he could do about that.

  A lumbering form drew Malem’s attention to the far side of the caravan. The stricken dire wolf arose from the ground; the flames had gone out, but its hide still smoldered. The fur had blackened all over, with large ashen patches marring the surface throughout. Those eyes glowed a deep, angry red as it stalked Abigail, who so far hadn’t noticed its presence. She was concentrating her attacks on the barrage of wolves assaulting from the front. The animals had toppled a pile of dead bodies and were pushing on through toward her.

  A part of Malem wanted to stay back, and didn’t want to get involved. Magic users were trouble. Not that he’d ever associated with any. But that didn’t discount all the rumors he’d heard about them.

  Still, he wasn’t going to stand about idly and let her die.

  Malem doubted he would be able to penetrate the mind of the dire wolf, so he reached out to the two ordinary wolves approaching with it. It was better to physically subdue an animal first, because usually that weakened their will—though sometimes that backfired, and the reverse happened.

  He found the presences of the smaller wolves immediately. He’d have to release Bounder and Felipe from his control to proceed further, as he could only dominate two animals at once: the mental constraints on his mind wouldn’t allow him any more than that. But Bounder and Felipe were sufficiently trained that he wouldn’t have to worry about losing them.

  He released the pair and returned his attention to the wolves; he mentally infiltrated the bundles of instinct and bloodlust that represented their beings. He wrapped his will around those bundles like a vise, and squeezed. The beasts struggled, trying to break his hold or seep through it, but he tightened his grip and held them firmly.

  The two beasts physically halted beside the dire wolf. Malem grinned. He had them.

  Bounder suddenly reared and threw Malem from the saddle.

  So much for Bounder being sufficiently trained…

/>   Malem landed among the foliage and clambered to his feet. He’d lost the vantage of his mount, and couldn’t see as well through the foliage. That didn’t matter. He could see through the wolves.

  Bounder abruptly dashed away through the trees. Malem let him go, for now. The iguanid wouldn’t travel far. He never did.

  Meanwhile, Felipe cowered tightly against Malem’s neck.

  Malem directed his two new charges to attack. The first leaped onto the neck of the dire wolf, attempting to wrap its jaws around the thick mass. The second dove underneath the dire wolf, and tore into its vulnerable belly.

  The dire wolf turned its head in annoyance and bit into the body of the beast that clung to its neck, easily tearing the animal away and opening a gory wound in its flank. It swiped a huge paw at said wolf, cutting a three-pronged slash into its side, further enlarging the lesion.

  A madness induced by pain overruled Malem’s control of the creature, and the beast ran away.

  The dire wolf shifted to deal with the creature underneath it, pressing a paw down into the animal, crushing its body to the ground. The dire wolf bit into its exposed neck, tearing open its throat. Malem’s connection to the animal abruptly severed.

  Well, so much for that.

  Malem clambered partway up a tree beside him to get a better view of the battle. Abigail and her protector were still occupied by the other wolves on the far side of the camp. No other mercenaries remained standing, and the merchant was nowhere in sight.

  The dire wolf stalked forward, switching to a gallop. It obviously intended to bowl into her.

  In a desperate attempt, Malem reached for the bundle representing the creature’s mind, and tried to wrap his will around it. But the beast was too slippery, and broke free. Physically, the animal shook its head, and continued its gallop.

  Malem tried again, frantically trying to grab the entity with his mind. He put all of his being into the attempt, but it was no use.

  The brightly armored fighter beside Abigail shouted, and she spun in time to face the dire wolf. She released a ball of flame and dodged to the side.

  The blow hit the wolf square in the chest, and the fiery animal landed on the fighter. Apparently unaffected by the flames that now engulfed it, the dire wolf tore at the helm of the man pinned below, and removed the protective armor with its big maw. The huge creature tossed the empty helm aside, and was about to bite off the man’s head entirely when a huge fireball struck it in the flank and the creature rolled off him.

  More fireballs came in, forcing the stunned creature back.

  But then other wolves attacked Abigail, using the distraction to assault her in full force.

  The dire wolf, still on fire, shook its head a few times, and then rose to its full height. It curled its wolfish lips back in a snarl as it prepared to strike. It obviously didn’t care that its hide was burning away, and that it would probably die from the wounds it had taken. It seemed to want to bring her down with it.

  Now that the animal was physically weakened, Malem reached out once again. He wrapped his will around the mental bundle and squeezed. This time the creature couldn’t slip from his clutches. Even so, his grip was tenuous: he couldn’t precisely control the dire wolf. But the animal had frozen in place while it struggled to break free of his will, and that was good enough.

  While still concentrating on keeping that bundle restrained, Malem reached out with another part of his mind and found Bounder. He clamped down on the animal’s will and summoned him.

  Bounder returned shortly, and Malem leaped from the tree, landing in the saddle as the iguanid raced by. He steered the animal through the trees and dead bodies, some of which were still on fire, and headed directly for the dire wolf. He passed Abigail, who was still occupied by the last remaining wolves.

  By the time he reached the dire wolf, the flames had died down enough for Malem to leap onto its back. He drew his sword in midair, and when he landed, he plunged his blade into the back of the neck.

  The blade penetrated only a handbreadth before the thick hide halted its advance. The beast stiffened at the blow, and fought against his will: Malem nearly lost his grip on its mind.

  He put all of his weight on the hilt, trying to force the weapon in, but it only sank a little farther.

  He withdrew the weapon and leaped down to try another tactic.

  He positioned himself directly in front of the animal and pointed the tip of his sword at its right eye. The creature’s struggle against his mental hold intensified, and Malem knew it would break free in a few seconds.

  He slammed the weapon home. The blade penetrated the eye, its socket, and the brain lying behind it, stopping only when it struck the inside of the skull on the far side.

  The huge wolf collapsed. The tight fist of Malem’s will abruptly caved shut—it no longer had anything to support its weight, and was squeezing only empty air.

  He withdrew the blade, drawing with it a stream of black blood and brain tissue. He grimaced at the sight and quickly turned toward Abigail. He was ready to assume control of one of the wolves that surrounded her.

  But she had already dispatched the last of them. Blood dripped from slashes that marred her red dress, marking where the wolves had struck her.

  She turned toward him now, the flaming hair rising about her head like a halo of doom, and Malem flinched before her terrible majesty. He was ready to leap to the ground, knowing she might very well throw a fireball his way.

  Despite his fear, he couldn’t help but notice that up close, she had such flawless, immaculate skin. As the tense seconds ticked past, his eyes drifted to her heaving chest, where a small rip had opened up a portion of her bodice, revealing the milky white bosom underneath. So tender, so...

  He snapped his eyes back to her face, reminding himself that she could kill him with a single motion of her hand if he wasn’t paying attention.

  Coughing, coming from the ground beside him, broke the tense moment.

  Abigail turned towards its source, and immediately the flames vanished from her hair and arms.

  “Sir Matthew!” she said and dashed to the fallen fighter.

  “My lady!” Sir Matthew said. His face was blackened, scorched by the fireball that had torn the wolf off his body. “I’m sorry. I—”

  He coughed again, blood oozing from his lips, and then his eyes rolled back.

  Abigail slumped over his body.

  Malem could see part of his surcoat, which was caved, and he understood immediately what had happened. When the dire wolf had struck Sir Matthew’s chest, and thereafter put all of its weight on the man’s body, it had crushed his chest. Not even the chainmail could protect him.

  Malem left Abigail to weep, and mounted Bounder to survey the battlefield. The flaming trees, the smoldering piles of fallen wolves.

  Lovely.

  He reached out, searching for other wolves in the area, but found none.

  He resumed control of Felipe, if only to calm down the poor monkey, and then checked the burned husks of the wagons for survivors. There were none.

  He found the body of the stout merchant. The man had leaped down from one of the wagons in an attempt to flee, but a wolf had gotten to him. Wasn’t pretty.

  Most of the horses had gotten away, thankfully. Though when he reached out he couldn’t find any nearby. They were long gone.

  He guided Bounder back toward Abigail.

  I should go now. I should turn around and flee into these woods.

  Flee.

  As I have done my entire life.

  The thought somehow sickened him.

  He glanced her way. He couldn’t leave her like this, without a mount, completely undefended.

  Yeah, that latter part isn’t really true. She’s defended all right.

  With a sigh, he went to her.

  5

  The surrounding flames had died down to a mere flicker by then, giving off only a dim illumination as Malem reached Abigail.

  He remaine
d on his mount. He liked the air of superiority it lent him, physically towering over her like that. But when she noticed him, and stood to her feet, the imperious expression she wore somehow made him feel like she was the one towering over him. Even so, the grief was still there, lending a certain sadness to her eyes.

  He tried to sense her, but she was still locking him out.

  “That man, he called you My Lady…” Malem said.

  “As all those in my employ should,” Abigail said.

  “Who are you?” Malem asked.

  She looked away. “No one.”

  “If you want me to help you, I have to know what I’m dealing with,” Malem said.

  “I don’t need your help.” She gestured toward the piles of dead bodies around her. “As you can see.”

  “You’re a fire mage?” Malem said.

  She grinned mockingly. “My, but you’re good at putting two and two together.”

  “Is that why I could sense you, when we first met?” he said.

  She raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t feel it,” Malem said. “I know you sensed me inside your head. Because you forcibly shut me out.”

  He didn’t want to tell her, but he’d never felt that from any other magic user he’d encountered. Admittedly, he’d only observed them from afar. Still, he probably should have had at least some weak awareness of them, judging by his existing sense range. Maybe this was a new ability he had recently developed.

  She nodded slowly. “No mere Breaker should be able to do that. Then again, what you did to that dire wolf is not something a Breaker could do, either.”

  Malem smirked. “I didn’t think you’d noticed...”

  “Oh, I noticed all right,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I want your help.”

  Malem looked her up and down. “You have no mount, and you say you don’t need help. So what, are you planning on walking all the way to your destination? Or maybe hitching a ride along the way? No one is going to stop for you, not while you look like that. You might have a pretty face, but all that blood offsets it. You look like some forest witch.”