Myths and Magic: An Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Boxed Set

by K.N. Lee

  All I have to do is get some tumbler spikes and capture a couple of boss mobs I’ve already beat once.

  What could possibly go wrong?

  Shit. We’re not even two kilometers from Neissfold, but Kanaan and I have managed to stumble upon a wolf den. And not just regular wolves, either. That’d be too easy. These are corruptions, of course. They’re venomous.

  Thank goodness I have a pure healer with me. This could have gone sideways real quick had I brought Joz or Kimber.

  Venomous fangs snap at me from every direction. Patches of fur, matted with blood and filth, fly with every swing of my blades. My burst speed doesn’t help at all unless I’m the one doing the attacking. I can’t get any distance from any of them to rush them. Every time I kill one, two more take its place.

  Must be a big-ass den. They just keep coming.

  I haven’t even noticed the soft, blue glow surrounding me until it fades. Kanaan’s heals have stopped. What the hell?

  Every direction I turn is filled with mottled and mangy beasts.

  “Kanaan!”

  “Here! I’m over here!” A flash of Kanaan’s tan forearms coated in blue magic laced with lightning briefly appears between the shifting bodies of wolves between us.

  He’s fighting? Why the hell is he fighting?

  “Kan—”

  A wolf clamps onto my neck, interrupting me. I can’t tell him I need a heal. He can’t even see me to heal me.

  We’re going to die here, killed by minor mobs, on a collection quest.

  This can’t be the way I go out the first time.

  “Tier’an, help me!”

  Shit. Kanaan’s going to die. No, no, no… This can’t be happening.

  I close my eyes, squeezing the tears out, and search the shadows and the energy surrounding me. There’s brackish green energy all around me, but there’s also a soft blue glow just ahead. If I can at least reach Kanaan and get the mobs off of him, he can run. He can resurrect me once he’s safe.

  If I’m going to die like this, at least I can keep a little of my dignity by saving him.

  Please let me save him.

  I change up my tactics, slashing at limbs instead of going for the kill. If I can disable those surrounding me, they’ll be too weak to fight but they’ll block the progress of additional mobs. God knows, the last thing I need is a buttload of adds. Another buttload of adds.

  A giant of a wolf makes a low dive and latches onto my lower leg. Great, they’re intelligent and now they’re turning my own strategy against me. Double shit.

  Slashing at the wolf still hanging onto my neck, I finally manage to get him off me. I’m still dragging the wolf on my leg, and another has leapt onto my back. Their nails and teeth are raking across every inch of my arms and back and legs. From the sounds of yelping all around me, more wolves are fighting each other, probably trying to get to me.

  I can’t move under their combined weight. I can barely breathe.

  “Kanaan…” His name barely scrapes its way out of my throat.

  Pulling my elbows underneath me and pushing up as hard as I can, I make one last attempt at a yell. “Kan—”

  I can’t even push myself up for more than a second.

  The world around me is going gray. It’s like looking through one of those bug screens for windows. The ones with thousands of little squares. You can still see through them, but the world beyond is dark.

  My world is growing darker by the second. It’s almost over.

  Blue healing energy washes over me. I’ve never been so thankful for anything in all my life.

  “Tier’an, please fight. I’m right here, and I’ll keep us alive, just fight.”

  My arms are pinned beneath me, the weight of too many bodies crushing me. I can’t lift them, but if I could roll over…

  I use every ounce of strength I can summon to push up with one arm and leg. Icy hot pain shoots through my other arm. I’ve managed to turn over, but now I’m facing the dog pile and my other arm is twisted under me at a painfully awkward angle.

  Tears flood my vision, my whole body shaking in agony. Cool metal in my right palm calms my mind. My machete is in my hand, and the shadows have drawn near. All I have to do is get out of my own way.

  I close my eyes and give myself over to the shadows, swinging at anything that looks like greenish-blackish filthy water. All thoughts flee. Darkness consumes me. Not the darkness of encroaching death—the welcome familiarity of a dreamless sleep from which I never want to wake.

  When I do finally come around, I’m still shaking, but there are no more beasts on me. I’m standing, and waves of healing magic wash over me. To my left, Kanaan’s got my arm in his hands and is gently and slowly lifting and lowering it.

  “What are you doing?”

  He startled.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just sleepy.” For some odd reason, it really feels like I just woke up from a long nap.

  “It’s fine. I’m making sure your shoulder is healing properly. I had to push it back into place and I just want to make sure I did it right.”

  He’s avoiding looking directly at me.

  I don’t blame him. What kind of tank abandons her healer to the wolves? Literally. He’ll never trust me again.

  I open my mouth to apologize, to say something, but he speaks first.

  “There are a few clean wolves here. We should probably cut and salt some flank steaks to bring back to town.”

  “Good idea. And maybe a few thin strips for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

  He nods and looks around at the carnage surrounding us.

  It’s worse than I realized. I’ve never seen so many wolves in one place.

  Well, I say one place, but it’s more of a trail that covers quite a bit of ground. Kanaan must have panicked and tried run at some point and they chased him.

  I guess I could be mad about him trying to abandon me, but it’s my own fault. I never should have let those mobs get to him in the first place. His job is to keep me alive, but I’m supposed to keep the mobs off of him so he can do that. He must have been so scared when he realized I wasn’t beside him. My job is to protect him.

  I failed. Miserably.

  Maybe I’m not cut out for tanking. If I had any decency at all, I’d apologize. I can’t even bring myself to look at him, much less speak to him.

  We spend the rest of our daylight hours in silence, collecting wolf meat and branches for a fire. We’re not going after tumblers tonight. Honestly, I want nothing more than to crawl under my covers at home and sleep for days.

  I’ll settle for one uncomfortable night under the stars, tossing in fits and starts near our campfire.

  Despite everything going on in my life, I actually slept well last night. Under a bright, early-morning sky, yesterday’s near failure doesn’t look quite as damning as I’d thought. Good thing I didn’t try to apologize last night. As tired and discouraged as I was, I probably would have been defensive. Insensitive. Argumentative.

  Let’s face it, I’d have been an asshole, and Kanaan deserves an apology, not… whatever I would have turned it into.

  The sun’s still hiding behind the treeline, brightening the verdant scene around us but not yet glaring down upon us with its full force. Looks like it’s going to be a clear day, too. Which sucks for us because we didn’t get our tumbler spikes last night.

  I can’t quite bring myself to wake Kanaan. He looks so peaceful. His mouth is ajar and his soft snore reminds me of a song my dad used to hum. A pang of sorrow shoots into my heart, but time has strengthened my ability to focus more on the good feelings that come with it. The pain of loss is sharp, but it’s nothing compared to the love my dad left us with and the gratitude I will always feel for having known him. And if this cure works, I might get my dad back after all these years without him.

  Rustling leaves nearby remind me of where we are. After adding more wood to the fire, I’ll make the rounds in the shadows to ensure no beasties surprise
us. The last thing we need is a repeat of last night.

  By the time I return from scouting the woods surrounding our camp, Kanaan’s awake and frying thin strips of wolf flank on a cast iron pan over our fire.

  “Good morning,” he says, not looking up. Probably hates me.

  I hesitate for only a moment before sitting down across from him. “Good morning, Kanaan. I filled an extra skein of water so we can have tea.”

  He nods, flipping the flank strips one last time before setting the pan aside to let them cool.

  “Kanaan, look at me. I need to talk to you, and I’m not going to speak to the top of your head.” Although that might be easier.

  Looking up reveals his red-rimmed eyes. It’s a sucker punch to my gut. How badly have I failed him? I know I almost died last night, but I thought he was still doing pretty good. Maybe it was worse for him than I realized.

  “In a group with a tank and a healer, those two people have very specific jobs. I failed to do mine, and I almost got us both killed. I’m truly, deeply sorry.”

  As hard as it was to hold his eyes while apologizing, I managed. As I watched his face for signs of anger or forgiveness, all I saw was shock.

  Finally, he spoke. “Tier’an, I almost got us killed. The healer’s job is to heal—not to fight. When I lost sight of you, I just couldn’t think of what to do. I was trying to find you, but I had to fight through the wolves to do it. They turned on me, and I couldn’t… I just—”

  “Stop. That was not your fault. If I had kept the mobs off of you, if I’d stayed closer to you, we would have been fine. I got out of range of your heals. It was my fault you couldn’t heal me. I’m the one who should have kept those mobs off of you in the first place. If I had, you wouldn’t have had to fight.

  “Kanaan, what happened yesterday was my fault.”

  “But a healer’s job, my whole purpose, is to keep his tank alive. I almost failed you, Tier’an.”

  I can’t believe he’s feeling guilty. Thank goodness he doesn’t hate me. Still, I need him to understand this really wasn’t his fault.

  “It’s my job to keep you alive—and stay close enough to you—so you can do your job. You do understand that last night’s debacle was my fault, right?”

  I don’t care how long it takes, I’ll sit here all day and explain it to him a thousand times until he understands.

  Thankfully, that isn’t necessary.

  “I understand, but I don’t completely agree. We’re both to blame. We almost wiped yesterday because neither of us handled a surprise ambush how we should have.”

  “True. I guess we’ve learned a valuable lesson, then.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Okay, good. Now that that’s settled, let’s get breakfast out of the way so we can get our tumbler spikes.”

  “You’re not nervous we’ll have a repeat of last night?”

  “No, for several reasons. First, we’ll be doing the attacking. Second, even if we do get ambushed, we know now how to react.

  “Which actually gives me an idea for training scenarios. We’ve always trained as attackers, never as… I don’t know what to call it. Defenders, maybe? I’m going to suggest a training module that focuses on what to do in an ambush situation. If the corrupted questmasters in the south really are banding together, it’s just a matter of time before they bring the fight to us. I’d like us all to be ready.”

  “Good idea”

  “Thanks. Hey, speaking of good ideas, how sure are you about this cure?”

  Kanaan cleans his plate with a bit of water left over from the extra skein, then grabs my plate to clean it as well. Why is he stalling?

  “Kanaan?”

  “I’m not sure at all, Tier’an. We’ve only tried it on animals. On a human? It may kill them, at least temporarily, or it could corrupt them further.”

  Breakfast isn’t sitting well in my stomach all of a sudden.

  “That would have been good information to share at the meeting yesterday. Many more people might not have cast their vote in favor of experimenting. Eli…”

  He winces when I mention our friend’s name.

  “Kanaan, what aren’t you telling me right now?”

  Turning to store our pan and plates, he doesn’t immediately reply.

  “Answer me.” My patience, what little I have, is wearing thin.

  Keeping his hands busy and his eyes on his task, he blurts it out.

  “Eli knows about the cure, and that it might actually make things worse. That’s why he’s against it.”

  “Are you kidding me? Worse how?”

  Finally, he looks at me when he speaks. “We’re treating the corruption as venom, sort of, using samples gathered from corrupted creatures to create a sort of anti-venom. But we’re not sure if the ‘venom’ from animals is the same that’s in the humans. So instead of curing them of what’s infecting them, we might just be adding a new element of infection.”

  I can barely hear over the rushing in my ears. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to get these spikes and bring them to town. By then, Baezu should be back with Sorven. You are going to collect a sample from both a human and an animal and compare the two. When you’re sure you won’t make things worse—or as sure as you can be—then you can try your cure on him.”

  “Tier’an, it’s not up to you.”

  “That’s what you think. I will guard our fallen questmasters with my life, and if anyone—anyone—tries to get to them before I say they can, I will kill them myself.”

  I leave him to finish packing up our equipment, but I won’t go far. Just far enough so my balled-up fists don’t do any damage.

  Three tumblers wander out of their shallow den, which is nothing more than a hole dug into the ground at an angle. These things do a ridiculous amount of damage to property for as relatively small as they are. That’s a good thing for us, though. Judging by the massive amount of destruction on the ground in front of us, we’ve hit a gold mine in tumbler dens.

  “Stay close,” I tell Kanaan, but I keep him in my peripheral vision just in case.

  One of the tumblers stretches, lifting the exoskeleton on its back enough to expose a length of its vulnerable torso.

  With a flick of my wrist, a wicked dagger finds its way between the tumbler’s ribs.

  The poor creature squeals, sending the other two scurrying away and diving for cover.

  Even though we’re surrounded by tumbler dens, we don’t have to worry about these creatures ambushing us. Good thing, too. Those venomous spikes are nothing to play around with. Regular tumblers don’t have them, just a smooth shell-like covering over their bodies. They’re actually cute when they roll into little gray balls. Less so now that The Corruption has changed them and added spikes, but maybe we can cure the beasties, too.

  I really hope so. I kinda like tumblers.

  The tumbler I nailed quits struggling, but it’s still alive. Using the sharpest blade I own, I quickly end its suffering. Suffering brought on by me, but out of necessity. I’ll keep telling myself that until I’ve got eight tumbler spikes in my bag.

  I sure hope this cure works.

  Our collection quest complete, Kanaan and I head back to Neissfold before noon. Dannison is waiting for us near the northern guard tower. Whether he’s anxious to see us as soon as we get back or eager to put as much distance between himself and the southern border is anyone’s guess. In this moment, there’s only one thing I’m focused on and it’s not him.

  “Good morning, Tier’an. Kanaan.”

  “Good morning,” I reply but keep walking.

  “Ah, Tier’an? You can turn in those spikes to me now.”

  “No.” Still not stopping.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  I’m not sure where exactly they’ll be doing the experiments, so I have to pause to ask. “Is Baezu back with the corruption?”

  “N-no. Not yet. About the turn in—”

  “Where will he be taking Sorven when he re
turns with him?”

  “Tier’an Bai. Now, see here—”

  “No. You listen to me, and listen well. Until you test the animal corruptions against the human corruptions, you will not test this cure on them. Instead of rushing ahead and making things worse, stop for one freaking second and think about what you need to do. We’ve made more than enough mistakes already, don’t you think?

  “No, I will not turn in my spikes. Not until I’m certain you’re going to do this right. Now, where are you sending Sorven when he gets here?”

  I’ve never seen Dannison so still. I’ve also never noticed there are flecks of green in his brown eyes.

  Easing back a step or two, I give him enough distance to breathe comfortably and he visibly relaxes.

  “Building B, where the casters are already set up for training. We’ll be doing all testing and experimenting there.”

  “Thank you.” Kanaan and Dannison follow me past the courtyard and Building B to Building A, where the fighters are training.

  Benoit is running them through staff drills. As soon as one of his students sees me, they all turn to look my way. Some of them stare openly. Others look anywhere but at me.

  One of them runs out of the building. I can hear him retching just outside.

  I must look like hell.

  Benoit shakes his head. “That’s enough for today,” he says, dismissing his class and joining me.

  “What happened to you two?”

  “Ambushed by a pack of corrupted wolves. Had a butt load of adds.” I shrug, and it’s kind of strange now to feel so nonchalant about it. Last night, I was ready to throw in the towel. “Some new information has come to my attention. Kanaan?”

  My healer gives Benoit the same spiel he gave me this morning. Benoit looks as pissed as I was.

  “What do you plan to do, Tier’an?”

  “Seems to me they’re missing a step. I intend to make sure they don’t skip it.”

  I tell him about my plan to guard the corruptions with my life, and his reddened face cools considerably.