The Keeper (The Endless Chronicles Book 1)

by Nikki Mccormack

  Perhaps she had the right of it after all. Why wait alone?

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was almost noon before Deynas untangled himself from Kaira. The crossbreed woman succeeded in making him forget just about everything with her seemingly boundless knowledge of how to please a man. There wasn’t much of anything to dislike about her body and her playful attitude kept him from brooding. While he didn’t have much reason to leave the room, he did get hungry eventually and decided it might be better to go to the food and take a chance to clear his head rather than have the food brought to them.

  She went to check in with the front desk while he ate alone in the hotel dining room and wondered if he had anything he could trade in order to buy her company for another night. Alone he would only brood after all.

  The meal was uninspiring, but it served its purpose. No longer distracted by hunger or Kaira, he decided to venture through the open wall between the bar and The Firelight to check out the gambling den. It was a gaudier, louder version of the hotel inside. The lights were turned low even in the daytime and imaged flames flickered high up the walls. Like the hotel, the floor was a reflective glossy black, only in the casino the high ceiling was the same, giving the visual effect of walking into a furnace. They kept it warm inside, to enhance the atmosphere, and a selection of scantily clad, primarily crossbreed women danced provocatively to loud music in glass-floored cages suspended above walkways woven through the numerous bars and gaming tables.

  Most of the tables were busy, as were the bars. Deynas avoided eye contact with dealers at the tables and the serving women carrying around precarious platters of drinks or emptied glasses. He wasn’t interested in joining the games or drinking just now. More than anything, he was curious and he needed to kill some time.

  He shifted out of the way of a crossbreed woman carrying empties and someone bumped into him from behind. He twisted around.

  The man behind him slapped a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back. “Watch where you’re going, asshole!”

  The rude individual appeared to be human, though his two burly companions looked like they had a shallow mix of some low demon in their blood. They grinned, confident in their superior size, and Deynas smirked back at them.

  “Perhaps you and your mongrels should take some of that advice.” Kochan would be so ashamed of him for that taunting remark, but Kochan wasn’t there and he was itching for something to ease the restlessness that had crept back in the absence of Kaira’s pleasant distractions.

  The man responded with a sneer and Deynas did a quick mental inventory of the position of his hands, the set of his legs, and the nearness of his two companions. When he threw the punch, Deynas was ready. He ducked to one side and grabbed the man’s wrist. One of the two crossbreed thugs lunged at him and he spun, swinging the man’s arm up over his head and around, twisting it in and up behind his back. The man cried out, bending forward and shrinking down in an effort to escape the pain.

  With a quick sidekick to the knee, Deynas took the first thug down. Then he swung back around, using the man for extra leverage to land a precise kick to the second crossbreed’s jaw, dropping him like a rock. As soon as both feet touched the ground again, he jabbed behind the man’s ear with a solid elbow strike. The impact rang out hollow and Deynas released him, letting him fall unconscious on top of his companions.

  Activity had ceased at the closest bar and surrounding game tables while the brief altercation was going on. As soon as it ended, most of them turned back to their business. A couple of bouncers were moving across the room toward them, grinning in a way that Deynas suspected meant they were either going to enjoy throwing him out or they were about to congratulate him.

  “Warlord Kato would like to speak with you.”

  Deynas spun toward the guttural voice. It had come from the fat centipede-looking creature now looming behind him. Its reddish pulsating flesh was semi-transparent, giving a glimpse of the shadows of organs within. Its many limbs and the various intimidating appendages around its mouth moved unceasingly. From looking, it was hard to tell just how the creature managed human speech at all, though he made a point not to look long. The demon was of a form commonly called hypnotists because their constant motion had hypnotic qualities that could mesmerize most any man. He didn’t care to find out how that worked first hand.

  Keeping his gaze turned to one side, he said, “I’m not sure I want to speak with him.”

  “Follow me.”

  The demon didn’t wait for him. It shifted around in a wave of nauseating motion and started toward the back of the gambling den, its myriad legs undulating along its thick sides. Deynas tossed a glance over his shoulder and one of the bouncers now standing over his downed opponents gestured toward the retreating demon with a jutting of his chin.

  “Ain’t never done no one no good to make Kato wait.”

  One fight for the day was probably enough. He glanced down on the three figures with the slightest twinge of guilt and then nodded and followed the hypnotist. The creature led him down a hallway at the back and up a long flight of stairs. At the top, they emerged in a big room made entirely of the polished black stone, only here the floor was transparent, giving a view of the tables and bars below. There was a bar along one wall and a long curved desk in the center, both gleaming black.

  A creature lay stretched across the top of the desk, vaguely cat-like at first glance, though covered in pointed scales rather than fur. Colors—red, orange, yellow and gold, even a glimmer of bronze—rippled along those scales when it breathed.

  Deynas stepped closer, captivated by the dancing colors. He was aware of the hypnotist heading back down the stairs behind him. Then the beast got up off the desk with feline grace, rising up tall on its hind legs to gaze down on him. It had wings, wings that lay camouflaged against its skin until it stretched them, spreading them out over half the width of the big room. The sharply angled gold eyes and pointed ears reminded him faintly of Kaira. It rolled its neck, audibly popping several vertebrae. When it stopped moving, the color of the scales settled to a burnished maroon.

  It grinned at Deynas. At least he hoped it was grinning, otherwise he was probably about to be eaten.

  “I am Warlord Kato.” The demon had a deep, disarmingly soothing voice with a hint of a purr in it. “It pleases me to make your acquaintance.” He offered a slight bow of his head.

  A demon who believed in social graces? Then again, Kato had ruled over part of the Undercity for as long as Deynas could remember. He was a warlord whose name had been whispered with awe and respect even back when the Endless required some level of compliance with the laws from the Undercity residents. This demon knew how to play at politics, something to keep in mind when dealing with him.

  Deynas gave a slight nod in return. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Warlord Kato, but I can’t say if meeting you pleases me yet or not.”

  The demon chuckled. “Caution is never amiss in the Undercity. I asked you here because recent evidence suggests that you are capable of handling yourself in a fight and I am freshly short one guard.”

  Asked him there? It hadn’t come across as a request. “I’m not planning to stay long in the city.”

  The demon shrugged, color rippling through the scales along its muscular shoulders. “Work for me for as long as you are here and your room and board will be provided free of charge. It’s less risky than wandering the streets and will give you a way to burn off excess energy while you wait for Naago.”

  Deynas felt the muscles pull tight up his spine and across his shoulders. “You know why I’m here?”

  “I know everything that transpires within my walls.”

  Kato walked toward the black bar. The ripple of color that moved through the scales over his legs and his long tail held Deynas rapt for a moment. Many people asserted that true demons were always ugly, crude beasts and he might have been inclined to agree before now. Kato was magnificent.

  “Would you care for
a drink?”

  No. It wouldn’t be right to let this creature to serve him. He couldn’t allow it.

  He took a step toward the bar, intending to suggest that he do the serving, then he noticed a faint scent in the air, sweet and savory, like a favorite meal. So soothing, like Kato’s voice and the play of colors…

  He shook his head hard to try to clear it and stepped back. “You’re manipulating me.”

  Kato chuckled and began to pour himself something. His long clawed hands moved with remarkable dexterity. “Good. You have some sense. You will do fine. I would like you to start by carrying out a personal favor for me. If you do so, I will also send Kaira to warm your bed again tonight.”

  Kaira. He grew hard at the thought and realized with a flush that the warlord was manipulating him in a multitude of ways. Still, it would solve the dilemma of how to pay her for another night. “What favor?”

  Kato reached under the bar and brought up a small package wrapped in unmarked gray paper. He set a clear message film on top of it. “Deliver this package and message to Dokkon’s rooms down in the ruin level. Go down the stairs across from those you came up to get here and turn left at the arena. Dokkon’s door is the last one on the right. He won’t be there right now, but you can walk in and leave the items on his desk.”

  “That doesn’t sound so hard.” Deynas walked up and took the package and message film, trying not to watch Kato’s colors dance as he raised his drink to his lips and downed it in one quick swallow.

  “I suggest you keep your weapons close down there.” Kato gestured with one long finger to the blade and the staff grip at his belt. “Some of the fighters haven’t learned to save their aggression for the arena.”

  The words sent a chill through him. It was one thing to take on a trio of overconfident bullies. Getting into a conflict with an arena fighter was more trouble than he needed. He touched the two weapons for reassurance as he left. Working for an Undercity warlord didn’t appeal to him, but Kato was right, it was probably a lot safer than wandering the Undercity streets in search of distraction and it wasn’t going to be for long.

  There was another set of stairs going down across the hall as Kato said. Deynas descended, moving his hand away from his weapons to avoid provoking anyone. At the bottom, he came to the back edge of the seats surrounding the ruin-level stadium. There was no one nearby, so he sidetracked through to the edge of the unlit arena and gazed across to where the far reaches disappeared in blackness. The arena was enormous. How many lives were thrown away upon that vast dirt floor?

  He shook his head and went back to the hall. Another hypnotist, or perhaps the same one, undulated down the hall. It bobbed its long neck in what appeared to be a greeting and continued on its way. A doorway on the left opened to a small sparring ring where two crossbreeds were fighting with staves. Deynas itched to join them, but he had a task and he meant to get it done with quickly.

  At the last door on the right, he turned the knob and walked in. The door, poorly balanced on its hinges, swung lazily closed behind him. The main room itself was simple with bare stone walls, floor, and ceiling like the huts in the village. An Endless tribe had built their settlement here ages before the city above had been so much as a thought in someone’s head. Some parts of that ruin, like the arena itself, were still in use beneath the Undercity. The furnishings here were modern and offensive to the eyes in garish bright red, violet and gold. A loud multicolored carpet lay upon the floor beneath the legs of a violet couch and a gold table. A matching gold desk sat by one wall with a red chair behind it.

  He walked over to the desk and set the package down. His gaze moved up to the wall where three gold arena champion trophies hung. Fighting ability and design sense apparently didn’t go together. Certainly not in this case.

  There was a soft hush of cautious footsteps moving up behind him. He spun around.

  A hulking crossbreed had entered from an adjacent room carrying a heavy axe in one hand. He had blue tinted skin and backswept horns above a blocky, but mostly human face. His jaw was oversized and teeth that didn’t quite fit in a human head garbled his voice when he spoke.

  “No one enters Dokkon’s rooms.”

  The arena champion might not be the brightest, but he still wasn’t someone with whom Deynas cared to pick a fight. He snatched the message film off the package and held it out to the glowering warrior.

  “I was told to bring this to you.”

  Dokkon narrowed his eyes, but he snatched the film and held it over a brand on his wrist. The corner of the film flashed in recognition and words appeared. The warrior leaned away, holding his axe blade up between them so Deynas couldn’t read the film. After a second, his lip lifted in a snarl. He let go of the film and it disintegrated before it hit the floor.

  Dokkon hefted his axe and swung it at Deynas. Despite his surprise, he managed to leap clear and the heavy blade cleaved the desk in two.

  “Wait.”

  The warrior twisted, swinging his axe about and Deynas leapt back over the gold table. He landed on his ass on the violet couch and shoved the table with his feet, sending it into Dokkon’s shins. The big crossbreed merely grunted and lunged into his path when he made a sprint for the door.

  Deynas held up his hands and backed away. “There’s been some misunderstanding.”

  Dokkon swept out with his other hand and Deynas caught the flash of a dagger at the last second. He leapt back. The tip cut shallow gash over his heart. Pain focused him. No more playing nice. This was about survival now.

  He drew his sword as he ducked another swing of the heavy axe. Then he lunged in before the swing was complete and thrust the blade deep in Dokkon’s chest, feeling the friction of the razor edge scraping bone. The axe and dagger both clattered to the floor. The warrior looked down at the blade in his chest and then at Deynas who met his eyes.

  “That’s how it’s supposed to be done.”

  He jerked the blade free and Dokkon fell over backwards. Someone threw the door open. The two he’d seen practicing stalled in the doorway, staring down wide-eyed at the fallen champion. Over their heads, the swaying head of the hypnotist rose up. It glanced down at Dokkon, then at Deynas. The insectile face was impossible to read.

  “The bastard tried to kill me.” Deynas stated, gesturing to the corpse with the point of his blade. “I only came to deliver a package.”

  The hypnotist bobbed its head. “Come. We must report this to Kato.” The two crossbreeds stepped back to let Deynas pass and the demon moved in, lowering its head to look each in the eye. “See that this door remains shut until I return.”

  They nodded and Deynas stepped between them to follow the hypnotist back up the stairs to Kato’s office, his nerves on fire with the burst of adrenaline and the fear of how the warlord would react to the loss of his champion.

  Kato waited with his back to the door. The hypnotist left Deynas there without a word. As soon as he was gone, the warlord turned in an elegant motion accentuated by the dance of color upon his scales. His gold eyes considered the sword Deynas still held, its blade streaked with Dokkon’s blood. Then he looked up at Deynas and smiled.

  “Is there a problem?”

  There was little point in hedging. “I’m afraid I killed your champion.”

  “Did you leave the package in the room?”

  Not the response he expected. “Yes. Dokkon was there. He read your message and promptly tried to kill me. I want to know what the hell is going on.”

  “I am pleased. The message served its intended purpose. I told Dokkon that his skills were no longer needed and that I sent you to kill him.”

  Deynas stared at him. The cut over his heart stung, the blood soaking into his shirt. The hand holding the sword hilt twitched.

  “This was the favor I required, for you to free me of Dokkon. I acknowledge that I wasn’t particularly up front about the details.”

  “You bastard,” Deynas breathed, fully aware that he might be taking on more than
he could handle by insulting the demon warlord, but far too outraged to hold his tongue.

  Kato gestured to the bar. “Would you care for a drink now?”

  Deynas tightened his grip on the sword hilt. “I would care for an explanation.”

  “Dokkon was difficult to manage and the audience was bored with him. I offered him generous compensation to throw a fight and step down as champion, but he would not take it. When my guards find the package of performance enhancing illegals you delivered, they’ll assume he got paranoid and attacked you out of fear that his drug use had been found out. Everyone will believe he was using the enhancers in the arena because how else could a normal man like you defeat Dokkon the Unstoppable. After a few months, they’ll even begin to say they knew it all along. Now I am free to initiate competition for a new champion. That will draw the bigger crowds back. It all works out quite satisfactorily.”

  “If he was such a great warrior, what made you think I could defeat him?”

  Kato smiled slyly, flashing the tips of his pointed incisors. “Because I knew that he, like most everyone else, would mistake you for a normal man, and you are no normal man, Endless.”

  Deynas knew he should deny it, but something in the shrewd demon’s gold eyes told him it would be pointless. “How did you know?”

  “I always watch the men Kaira takes an interest in. Her mother was attuned to the spirits of others. She was an Endless woman with the gift I believe your kind call spirit reading, umahk-ra-inra. Kaira possesses some of trace that gift and, because of it, she is attracted to stronger spirits like a moth to a flame. I found Naago out through her instant fascination with him. It was much the same with you.”