by Jay Boyce
SIPHON
Book One of the A TOUCH OF POWER Series
Written by Jay Boyce
© 2018 Mountaindale Press. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by US copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One – New
Chapter Two – Stats
Chapter Three – Assimilation
Chapter Four – Healer
Chapter Five – Altered
Chapter Six – Zombie
Chapter Seven – Invention
Chapter Eight – Rumors
Chapter Nine – Protein
Chapter Ten – Magic
Chapter Eleven – Interview
Chapter Twelve – Light
Chapter Thirteen – Monsters
Chapter Fourteen – Phoenix
Chapter Fifteen – Drained
Chapter Sixteen – Analysis
Chapter Seventeen – Titles
Chapter Eighteen – Royalty
Chapter Nineteen – View
Chapter Twenty – Schedule
Chapter Twenty-One – Bags
Chapter Twenty-Two – Shopping
Chapter Twenty-Three – Friends
Chapter Twenty-Four – Workshop
Chapter Twenty-Five – Overload
Chapter Twenty-Six – Consequences
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Accounting
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Cursive
Chapter Twenty-Nine – Mesmer
Chapter Thirty – Cancelled
Chapter Thirty-One – Bogeyman
Chapter Thirty-Two – Happy
Chapter Thirty-Three – Fishy
Chapter Thirty-Four – Trap
Chapter Thirty-Five – Creation
Chapter Thirty-Six – Path
Epilogue
Afterword
About Jay Boyce
About Mountaindale Press
Mountaindale Press Titles
GameLit and LitRPG
Fantasy
Appendix
People
Places
Magic
Known Beasts
Abbreviated Timeline of Events
Jade’s Music Selections
Jade’s Ability Descriptions
Acknowledgments
To those who helped with this project, I offer my most heartfelt thanks. To my amazing parents, who have always encouraged me in my love affair with books. To my brother Xander, who introduced me to the genre I came to love and has shared my ups and downs as we entered the industry together. To Kristin Richins, who without her push to start writing again, this book would not exist. To Sandara Tang, my amazing artist who squeezed me into her very busy schedule at the last minute. To Steven Novak, who did an amazing job on my typography. To all of my patrons and loyal readers on RRL, far too many to name, who gave me the courage and inspiration to keep writing, and who were my sanity check and sounding boards. To the GameLit Writer’s Society, who have provided me encouragement, advice, and insight into the world I’m now exploring.
I give my thanks to Dakota and Danielle Krout, who had the faith to offer a brand new author the chance to officially publish, and who have helped me so much in every way imaginable. Lastly, I thank God for making all of this possible, and making me the person that I am.
So to my readers, thank you! I could never have done all this alone.
Prologue
It wasn’t what I imagined it would be like. It’s cliché, but I guess you really should be careful what you wish for.
At some point in your life, I think everyone wishes they could be someone or something else. I was envious of what others could do, and I wished…I wished I could just have a fraction of their talent and energy. When you live most of your life in a hospital staring out a window, I’m told it’s pretty common to think about the ‘what ifs’ of life. What if I were healthy? What if I could run around? What if I could go to school? But I couldn’t. My life was just a countdown of being comfortable enough until I finally kicked it and died.
So what does any sane person do when they’re completely trapped in the cage we call a body? You lose yourself in the internet, duh. I mean, even normal people do that (or so I’m told). It’s an easy escape into a world of your own creation. So I played games, I read books, I talked to people…and I envied videos of people who were able to actually go out and do. As awesome as losing myself was…I still wished that just once…I could experience a normal life for myself.
Well, that brings us back to the start. You see, I’m pretty sure I died. I don’t actually remember kicking it, so I can’t be totally sure, but I think it happened. Why? Because when I woke up, it was to a pretty blue box covering my vision.
Chapter One – New
Day One
System Scan commencing.
Initializing Profile.
Traveler, welcome to Andara! You have been placed in the country of Caoi.
Good luck on your adventures!
Jade stared blankly at the floating blue box in front of her, trying to make sense of it. The room was eerily quiet, and she glanced around, startled. Gone was the constant hum of machines that were keeping her alive and measuring her vitals. In a panic, she swiped at the air to get rid of the boxes so that she could look around, only then noticing that she could wave her arms without obstruction.
Utterly flabbergasted, she paused, staring at the simple room that was revealed with the absence of the blue box hogging her vision. Gone was the sterilized white hospital room, and in its place was what resembled a dorm room…? It had a small bed with a nightstand, a bare desk, a small dresser, and two closed doors–one beside the bed and one across the room. That was it. No wires pumping anything into her arms or checking her pulse, no machines keeping her alive. Instead of the smell of disinfectant, the gentle hint of cedar and herbs filled her nose.
She stared in wonder at the pale arms she held in front of her. They were skinny, but they seemed completely healthy. Are these really my arms? She stared at her hands, turning them over and observing the play of light coming in from the window. With a thought, she pushed the blanket off of her legs and attempted to stand. She was uncoordinated at first, wobbling as she stood up and stumbled forward a few steps jubilantly.
Peering around again, she noticed a mirror that she’d missed before and stumbled over to it, mesmerized by the face staring back at her. Dark brown hair lightly curled over her shoulders and her jade green eyes appeared luminous. Her skin was pale and she was skinny, but stable. She studied her new body in awe. She might be small, but she was no longer just skin and bones or colored a sickly yellow tinge. Her eyes were even missing the customary red that she’d grown accustomed to seeing in the mirror.
She might not be strong…but she was healthy! Laughing out loud, she stumbled over to the window, still trying to get used to the fairly new sensation of walking entirely under her own power. With a giant grin on her face, she stared out at the new world.
From her window, she could see what seemed like a strange mix of the modern world and an ancient fantasy setting. The buildings and storefronts appeared like something she’d see in a small city on Earth, but the people… They were dressed in all sorts of vivid colors and armor, toting around weapons like what she’d imagined in the average fantasy setting. Laughing brig
htly, she stepped away and tried to spin, only to trip and fall flat on her face.
“Urgh…” She groaned and rubbed her nose, but then started snickering. What did it matter that her coordination wasn’t all that great right now? She was healthy! She could learn to run and jump and maybe swing one of those swords they were carrying out there! It was a whole new world to explore, and for the first time, she could truly go out and live!
Recalling the blue box she’d seen when she first woke up, she tried to remember what it’d said. Something about a scan and being welcomed to Andara. Was there more? Probably. Did she remember? Not at all. “Ugh, this is where one of those message log things would come in handy.” She muttered to herself, hoping the appropriate little blue box would pop up again.
No such luck.
“There’s gotta be something… System? Menu? Oiy, blue box! Appear! Map? Information? Status? Help?” She sat there, talking aloud and trying to get the blue box to appear again when she heard the doorknob turning on the far door, only for it to stop, proving it was locked. She could vaguely make out a voice from the other side.
“Locked? It was empty yesterday… Did someone else check in?”
“I don’t know, why don’t you try knocking?” She heard three sharp raps as someone called out more loudly, “Anyone in there?”
Scrambling to her feet, she called out, “I’m here, one sec!” She glanced down, registering what she was wearing for the first time. Bare feet, what looked like yoga pants and a t-shirt with no bra that clung to her skinny frame like a second skin… Oh well, it wasn’t like she had anything to hide. She smiled a little sourly, thinking that if she was going to be given a new life, the least whatever god put her here could have done was make her not as flat as a board again… She could hear whispers on the other side of the door, but they’d lowered their voices so she could no longer make out what they were saying.
She made it to the door, fumbling with the lock before she finally figured it out and swung it open, grinning joyfully as she chirped, “Hi!”
The two girls on the other side looked a little confused at her bright greeting, but they bobbed a small bow and greeted her in return. “Hello miss. Sorry for disturbing you, but we weren’t aware anyone had checked into this room yet. We were supposed to get it ready for the new students...” Her voice trailed off as she realized she might have said too much because Jade was just staring at her, thinking hard.
Well crap. What am I supposed to do? Is this supposed to be someone else’s room? But I need a place to stay. Do I tell them I’m from another world? Will they think I’m crazy and lock me up? Don’t transmigrators usually withhold the information that they’re from a different world? But they usually take over someone else’s life, and I didn’t, so I should be okay…right? What if they can help me, but not if I don’t tell them I need help? She’s staring at me like I’m crazy. Wait, did she ask me a question?
“I’m Jade. It’s nice to meet you.” Trying to mask her crazy inner dialogue, she stuck her hand out, hoping to diffuse the awkward silence that had descended. However, now the two girls were looking at her even more strangely, or, more pointedly, they were staring at her hand like it was a snake.
“Do you…need something?” The second girl asked, peering back up at her face with a flummoxed expression.
Taking her hand back like it had been lit on fire, she tried to make it a smooth transition to touching her hair and failed utterly, probably looking more like an awkward baby giraffe as she jerked it around. She laughed nervously, muttering, “Sorry, it’s a greeting where I’m from…”
“Oh!” The first girl looked like a light bulb had just gone off over her head. She was staring at Jade in an intensely creepy way now, and she unconsciously took a step back as girl one lowered her voice and asked with excitement, “Are you…a traveler?” Girl two was giving girl one an incredulous look, as if she had just asked an extremely stupid question.
Jade sighed. She was never going to be able to keep the fact that she was from a different world and totally ignorant about this one under wraps, so she shrugged helplessly and muttered, “If you mean, as far as I know, I’m in a new world as of twenty minutes ago, then yeah?” Some of her excitement about being able to move around for herself was wearing off. She was in a new world, and it was finally sinking in that she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do with her life, or even what the general situation of the world was. She’d been dumped here, albeit with a healthy body, and left to fend for herself. Was this even real, or was it just another dream?
“Ohmyheavens!” The girl one’s compressed squeal brought her back to reality. Now both of them were staring at her like she was an alien…which technically speaking, she supposed if this was real, she probably was? But the girl kept going, so she tried to pay attention. “I’ve never met a real traveler before! What’s it like?” Girl one’s eyes glittered with excitement and girl two still had a skeptical look in her eye, though curiosity was slowly taking over.
Girl one was looking hungrily at her like she was the last cookie on the plate and she was going to grab her before anyone else could. Warily and slightly wearily, Jade ran a hand through her hair as she confessed, “Honestly, it’s a bit confusing. I have no idea where I am or what’s going on.”
The two girls exchanged looks, finally seeming to take in how frail her appearance was for the first time. They glanced down the hall, and then, seeing no one else around, girl two spoke quietly. “Why don’t we come in and sit down for a few minutes? Maybe we can help explain some things for you.” She also looked like she wanted to learn more, but there was a gentleness there too.
Seeing the kind scrutiny on her face, Jade felt her guard dropping. She nodded gratefully and stepped back, allowing the two girls into the room. Seeing the small cart of cleaning supplies they brought in with them, she finally really noticed their matching uniforms of black pants and light beige shirts with a conspicuous coat of arms above their hearts. She closed the door behind them and stumbled back over to the bed to sit down, trying to take in their presence fully.
“Where to start…?” Girl one muttered to herself as she gazed around the room curiously.
“Uhm…maybe I can get your names?” It felt a bit weird in her head to keep calling them girl one and two. Her little interjection seemed to fluster the girls, and they had both turned slightly red.
“Right, sorry about that! I’m Kaylee, and this is Jessica.” Girl one spoke, and Jade mentally tried to replace girl one with Kaylee in her brain. She was a pale, tall, willowy type of girl. Her face was angular, her nose and lips were thin, though her crowning features were her expressive blue eyes and honey blond hair that came down to her elbows, held back in a low ponytail by a black ribbon. She too was lacking the curves Jade wished for, and she felt a kinship with her. Maybe her skinny figure wouldn’t stand out that much?
Jessica, on the other hand, had a fuller figure. She wouldn’t be called fat by any stretch of the imagination, but she still seemed to have some lingering baby fat on her rounded face and a chest Jade was slightly envious of. She had silky dark brown hair that was likewise tied back in a low ponytail, and her dark brown eyes were almond-shaped and matched her olive skin. Neither girl appeared to be much older than 15.
“It’s nice to meet you two.” Jade smiled tiredly at them. It felt like it might be a while before she got any useful information out of them, but she couldn’t really blame them. How did one explain your world to someone when you had no idea what their frame of reference was? She couldn’t help but attempt to prod them along to try and get to the useful stuff. “Can you just...explain the basic situation here? I literally know nothing about this world other than that I saw a blue box that welcomed me and that when I looked out the window people were carrying weapons.” Hopefully, they were still called weapons here... Surprisingly, she thought, she had no issue with the language, though it didn’t quite feel like she was speaking English. Well, whatever. If she co
uld communicate without a problem, that was the important part.
The two girls, Kaylee and Jessica, she reminded herself, exchanged looks again. They seemed to do that a lot. Finally, Jessica spoke. “Well, have you looked at your profile yet?”
“Profile?” And suddenly, she had figured out the magic word, because there in the corner of her vision was a little blinking blue dot, and when she focused on it, the blessed information screen finally appeared!
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 7.94
Dexterity: 8.23
Constitution: 7.82
Intelligence: 15.56
Magic: 11.22
Charisma: 8.98
Luck: 13.45
Special Abilities: Siphon
Skills: N/A
Chapter Two – Stats
Temporarily ignoring Kaylee and Jessica, Jade stared at the screen in front of her while they smiled knowingly and waited for her to return her attention to them. She frowned a little as she studied her stats, then glanced questioningly at the two of them. “Quick question… Am I right in thinking the average stat for a normal person is around, oh, say…ten?”
Kaylee looked surprised while Jessica smiled approvingly. “That’s right! How’d you know?”
“Oh… It was just a guess…” Well, it was that and years of watching DnD podcasts. An average human had a 10 in all stats, and she…she had four stats that were 1-2 points below that. Out of seven stats, she had three that were considered ‘above average.’ Granted, she was pretty happy with her intelligence stat. However, given that it was one of the few things that seemed unchanged from her old world, well… It was the only thing she’d genuinely had a chance to develop. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the luck stat though. Was it luck that she’d been bedridden for most of her life? But then again… She was here with a new body, wasn’t she? Maybe her luck had changed.
