Witch King 1

by Nick Harrow

  In a single, ecstatic moment, everything changed.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I WOKE TO AN AUDIENCE gathered around me, and their concerned faces almost convinced me that I was a dead man.

  “I’m fine.” I sat up, and found myself in a large, round bed in a cozy, wood-paneled room. Tall, narrow windows let the light in, and golden bars fell across the heavy blanket that covered my legs and stomach. “Where the fuck are we?”

  “My home,” the witch said with a faint smile. “Surely you did not think I lived in the sanctum or the nexus?”

  Ayo and Aja tittered at that, then eased onto the bed on either side of me. Their hands closed over mine, and they planted kisses on my cheeks. They’d changed clothes while I slept, replacing the armor we’d scavenged from the Deepways with simple white gowns that clung to their curves in all the right ways. For the first time since I’d met them, they looked relaxed and at peace. Their easy smiles lit up my heart.

  “What happened?” I had a vague memory of fucking the witch, an even vaguer memory of touching the nexus, and then...

  Nothing.

  “You cleansed the nexus,” Aja said.

  A glimmer of something came back to me. Power pulsing through the four of us like a blast of lightning that wouldn't stop. A flare of light so bright it put the stars to shame. And then...

  Fuck. Nothing after that.

  “Why’d I get knocked the fuck out, and the rest of you are just fine?” I leaned against the wall behind the bed.

  “Not all of us advanced.” The witch smiled at me, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “And not all of us became a king.”

  The spirits giggled and turned their faces aside at that. The witch’s eyes, though, stayed fixed on me.

  “You’re fucking with me,” I said, casting a quick look at my core. Well, fuck me running, it had advanced to skybound. Still, that didn’t mean everything the snake witch said was true.

  “As much as I’d like a repeat performance of yesterday’s activities, I’m afraid I’m still a little too sore for that.” The witch leaned past Aja to kiss my forehead. “And you most certainly are a king.”

  “That makes no fucking sense.” My thoughts whirled and I tried to remember any scrap of what had happened after the flash of light. If they made you a king, surely there’d be something to remember. A ceremony, someone putting a crown on your head, or some fucking thing.

  “Come with me.” The witch offered her hand and helped me out of bed. My legs were still a little wobbly, which was annoying. If I’d been in bed all day, my fancy new core should have patched up whatever damage the Midnight Emperor had done to me.

  Unless I’d been a hell of a lot closer to the grave than I’d thought.

  The witch led me through a narrow door, and the spirits followed behind us. A vivid memory of her anatomy rose through the murk surrounding my memories, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether she was more like a snake or a human in other regards. That was a puzzle whose depths I’d have to plumb more thoroughly at a later date.

  I was surprised to find the passage from her living quarters passed through the sanctum. We entered the ruined chamber from the east, and I was positive I hadn’t seen a door there before. I looked behind us, and didn’t see a door then, either.

  She was a witch, I reminded myself. Invisible doors were clearly witch shit of one sort or another.

  “We’ll fix this place up,” I promised. It seemed the least I could do after the witch and her spirits had saved my life. Though, to be fair, I’d saved their lives first, which should count for something, right?

  “I am quite sure we will,” the witch said, and the spirits giggled again.

  “What’s so fucking funny?” I growled. The constant snickering was starting to get on my nerves.

  “You,” the witch said, honestly. “You still do not know what you have become.”

  “Someone could explain it,” I grumbled.

  “Come, see,” the witch said and slithered through the temple’s door.

  I followed her through the doorway, down the steps past the rubble, and onto the soggy ground.

  Only it was no longer soggy.

  And the sun was bright and gold as a freshly minted coin in the sky.

  The mist was gone.

  “What happened?” I couldn’t believe it. Since I’d come down from Mount Shiki, I’d been forced to breathe swampy air that smelled like the inside of a dead rat’s asshole.

  Now, though, the air was clean and clear, the only moisture what blew in off the lake.

  “You happened,” Aja said. She took my hand and pressed my knuckles to her lips. “You did this, Kyr. You cleansed the nexus. You healed the land.”

  “That’s it?” I asked, dumbfounded. “The corruption is gone after one round of hide the sausage with a witch?”

  If someone had told me saving the world was that easy, I’d have taken on the job with a lot more enthusiasm.

  The witch rose up on her tail and circled around me. She draped her arms over my neck and kissed me, long and deep, eyes open and burning with magenta fire. The kiss went on until we both needed a breath, and when we parted a smile quirked her lips.

  “You have won a battle, and it was a great victory, but the war is far from over, shaman.” She turned and guided me toward the shore to the west. In that direction, the lake was divided neatly in half by an invisible line. The north side of the lake was dappled with the sun’s rays, the waters clean and clear, the air free of the cloying mist.

  The south side, though, was still wreathed in shadow. Perpetual twilight ruled there, and the fog churned against the invisible barrier, eager to spread out and corrupt the area I’d just cleaned up.

  “Fuck,” I groaned. “I only saved one chunk of the world.”

  “A sizeable chunk,” the witch said with a good-natured laugh. “The entirety of the territory that was once known as the Moonsilver Bat Kingdom. What is now your territory to name as you please.”

  My head throbbed and my jaw dropped. I wasn’t fit to rule over a chicken coop, much less an entire kingdom.

  “No, no way.” I shook my head vehemently. “What the fuck would I do with a kingdom?”

  “Defend it,” Ayo said. “You’ve done a great thing, Kyr. Thanks to you, this area is now purified of the taint. Practitioners can draw energy from the land again. They can use the dream meridians without being driven mad or destroyed.”

  “But...” There was always a fucking but.

  “But you have made powerful enemies,” Aja said. “The White Tigers will take some time to recover from the reaming you gave them, but they’ll be back.”

  “And the Midnight Emperor will not forgive you for what you did to him,” the witch continued. “His wounds are most grievous thanks to you, and his plan has been set back by your actions here.”

  “I didn’t want to start a war, and I don’t want to be fucking king.” I shrugged and pointed at the witch. “I quit. You’re the queen now.”

  The witch’s face darkened, and her eyebrows knitted together in a concerned scowl.

  “Take it back,” she hissed.

  “I don’t—”

  “Take it back.” Her words slammed into me, panic and rage wound through each syllable.

  “Okay, fuck, I was just kidding around.” I sighed and my shoulders sagged. “I’m still the goddamned king. Though I have no idea why.”

  “Oh, oh,” Ayo said. “I know. Can I tell him?”

  The witch nodded, her features shifting into a genuinely pleasant smile. I didn’t know exactly what I’d done to set her off but made a silent promise to myself to never do it again. The snake lady was downright scary when she was mad.

  “In the time before man,” Ayo began, obviously reciting a bit of history she’d memorized, “the seven sacred beasts ruled over the great continent. They divided their territories as was their wont, and their subjects lived in peace within those boundaries.”

  “And then human
s showed up and fucked up everything,” Aja interjected. “They don’t know how to follow rules.”

  “Yes.” Ayo shot an annoyed glare at the other spirit and continued. “When men came to the great continent, the sacred beasts knew their age had come to an end. They were no match for the speed and cunning of humans—”

  “Or for the way they’d breed themselves into an army,” Aja said.

  “—and so they decided they would retreat to the sacred hunting grounds where they could live in peace.”

  My heart ached at the mention of the crimson bear’s home. I missed her more than I’d thought possible.

  Save the world. Find the bear.

  Fucking priorities, Kyr. Don’t be an idiot.

  “But the sacred beasts didn’t want just any humans to rule over their former dominion.” Ayo pursed her lips and glanced at the witch. “And so they created scions, who would watch over their lands and set forth divine tests for those who would be king.”

  I’d known each of the kingdoms in the Sevenfold Empire had been named after one of the sacred beasts.

  The rest of this story, though, was new to me

  “You could have fucking told me your mistress was in charge of handing out crowns,” I grumbled to the spirits. “That could have smoothed out a lot of rough patches.”

  “How?” Aja asked.

  “It would have been a lot easier to hire a riverboat for starters.”

  “You’d have told one of those cutthroats who our mistress really was?” Aja shook her head. “Come on, Kyr. You’re smarter than that.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that but didn’t see any reason to correct the spirit’s appraisal of my abilities.

  “Also, I forbade them to speak of this until we found a suitable replacement for the king who was lost,” the witch said, her magenta eyes sparkling. “Which I now have.”

  “I’m not a goddamned—”

  “I am Ryasina, the Wave Serpent, guardian of the Moonsilver Bat throne,” the witch said in a voice that rang across the waters as loud and clear as a temple bell. “You have proven yourself worthy, and by my hand are you crowned Lord of the Northern Reach, king of the lands of the Moonsilver Bat.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I don’t even have a—”

  A light weight settled on my brow.

  The spirits laughed, and the Wave Serpent wrapped her tail tightly around my legs, her bare breasts against my back. She gave me a hug and kissed my ear.

  “Welcome home, my king,” she whispered.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  DAYS AFTER I BECAME king, I was still wobbly. The Wave Serpent insisted it was just the aftereffects of my battle with the Midnight Emperor.

  I knew better.

  My techniques were still in place, and more powerful than ever. My Crimson Claws were so sharp they could cut stone with a single swipe, and Yata couldn’t dig its claws through the Bear’s Mantle no matter how hard it tried. Even my Earthen Darts were so powerful I was sure they’d punch right through the next Jade Seeker who got in my way.

  No, the weakness wasn’t something that had been done to me, it was something I’d brought on myself.

  My core ached where I’d severed my bond to the crimson bear. The pain was always with me, a hole in my soul. Even the connection I now had with Ryasina couldn’t heal it. Only time, the one thing I never had enough of, would bring me back to full strength.

  “Boat coming,” Yata croaked.

  “A little late on the warning,” I said sarcastically. The boat the raven had warned me about was less than twenty feet from shore. By the time I’d raised my war club and stood up, the sampan was already sliding across the rocky shore.

  “You motherfucking piece of shit cocksucker,” Jaga shouted as she leapt off the boat. It skidded to a stop behind her as she charged up the beach toward me, fist raised like she wanted to punch my head off my neck.

  “That’s King Motherfucking Piece of Shit Cocksucker, peasant,” I said, and snatched her fist out of the air before it could land across my jaw. “Glad to see you’re all right too, Jaga.”

  “Fuck you, asshole!” She tried to yank her hand free, but she wasn’t nearly strong enough for that. Wobbly or not, I was far stronger than a normal human since my advancement.

  “What did I do?” I asked.

  “You ruined my cargo, you cum-slurping gutter whore!” She twisted her body around her imprisoned wrist and tried to use her feet to lever herself free.

  “Oh, my apologies. I had to save the world. So sorry your shitty tainted-senjin trafficking project got fucked up.” I gave Jaga a shake and slapped her ass with my free hand. “I’m going to let you go, but if you try to punch me again, I’ll let Yata pull out one of your eyes.”

  “Seriously?” Jaga asked in a quiet, much calmer voice. “I was just fucking with you, Kyr. Don’t do that.”

  “Gods, you’re infuriating,” I growled and swept her up a tight hug. I squeezed her until she yelped and kissed her until she pushed away to gasp for air. “I’m really glad you’re not dead.”

  “It was a close thing,” she said. “A storm kicked up not long after I left. Damnedest thing. I had to pull onto shore until it passed.”

  “That was probably when I was fighting the Midnight Emperor,” I said. “I kicked his ass.”

  “You are so full of shit.” Jaga kissed me again, her hands roaming across my back, her mouth hot and hungry against me. “But, as the second-best fuck I’ve ever had, I am also glad you’re not dead. What’s this king shit, anyway?”

  “Long story.” I lowered her to the ground and hugged her again. I was surprised at how much I’d missed the ornery pilot. “Come on, let me introduce you to my new girlfriend.”

  “Oh, shit, I almost forgot!” Jaga pulled away from me and dug her hand into the pouch at her belt. “Some dirty chick with blonde hair and a bad attitude came to the sampan during the storm begging for a place to stay. Nice tits, I guess, as long as you weren’t comparing them to mine. Anyway, she knew you. Asked me to give you this.”

  Jaga handed me a gold necklace with a medallion hanging from it. It was warm to the touch, and the simple coin shifted and twisted in my hand. A moment later, the disk had become a stylized bear’s head.

  “Neat trick,” the pilot said. “Just how many women are you fucking? Seems like a new one pops up every time I turn my back on you.”

  “Just four, now.” The medallion had a bold inscription hacked into its back. The letters were thick and crudely formed, and my eyes stung with unshed tears when I read them. “Used to be five.”

  “Is that four including me?” Jaga asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Only if you think you can keep up,” I said. “Last time you punked out on me. So frustrating.”

  “Fuck you,” she muttered.

  “Later.” I took her hand and pulled her toward the temple. My heart was lighter than it had been since I’d left Mount Shiki. Despite everything, my life was looking up. “Come on, I’ve got people for you to meet.”

  At the temple’s entrance, I introduced Jaga to Ryasina, and was surprised when the two of them seemed to get along like bees and honey. I had no doubt they’d be plotting against me in no time.

  Aja joined me at the temple door, her eyes shifting to the necklace in my hand.

  “What’s that?” she asked. “Jaga trying to buy you with trinkets?”

  “Shaman shit,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Mm-hmm.” Aja kissed me. “Be that way, then.”

  I turned and looked north, beyond the hills, searching for Mount Shiki. My thumb rolled over the letters on the back of the bear’s head, and I straightened my shoulders and puffed out my chest as I felt each of them in turn.

  The message was pure and clear, just what I needed when I needed it most.

  Don’t be a pussy.

  A cool breeze ruffled my hair and tickled my ears. I could have been lying to myself, but I swear I heard the crimson bear laugh.

  Book
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  Looking for more harem adventure from Nick Harrow, and need it right this minute? Check out Dungeon Bringer 1. Or keep reading to take a sneak peek.

  CONSTRUCT YOUR DUNGEON. Summon your monster girls. Slaughter your foes.

  When the Inkolana Cartel's experimental computer network comes under attack, they give white-hat hacker Clay Knight two hours to fix the problem.

  If he succeeds, he'll be rich beyond his wildest dreams.

  If he fails, he's a dead man.

  But when Clay hacks the hackers, he stumbles into an ancient ritual that summons him to the dusty, forgotten world of Soketra. In this strange new land, Clay finds dungeons, monsters, and a fierce pride of beautiful cat women who believe he is the reincarnation of the ancient Dungeon Lord Rathokhetra. With a band of bloodthirsty dungeon raiders on his doorstep, Clay must master his new abilities and gather guardians for his territory to save himself and his army of warrior women from a fate darker than death.

  Chapter 1: Meltdown