The Malevolent Witch: The Book of Khayin Volume 1

by Matt Gross

  A girl sat behind a desk looking at one of those boxes and clicking a board with letters on it in front of her. The magic she felt was definitely radiating from this girl.

  Finally, a woman of real power! Is the world I’m in now run by men?

  The magic woman’s hair was blonde and she wore it in side tails. Her make-up was heavy, with dark eyes and red lips. The sweater she wore covered the top half of her torso, leaving her stomach bare. Kira couldn't see through the desk, so she had no idea what this girl-woman wore below the waist. She was chattering quickly into a small black box, and there was no indication that she noticed them.

  “No, Mom. I told him he needed to come back with the money. I don't do charity cases. He gave me some sob story about a sick wife. Which was a lie, cause he hits on me every time he sees me. No, he might have a wife. I just find it hard to believe he cares for her if he is hitting on me. And as soon as I told him that, he switched gears and said it was a sick mother. I told him that he told me his mother was dead. And we went in circles for a while, but when he finally realized I wasn't buying his shit he pulled a weapon on me. ME! Can you believe it? So, I kicked his ass out. And had Huey and Dewy rough him up a little for good measure. I can't have people thinking they can get away with pulling weapons on me, like he would've been able to get close enough to use it anyway,” she said in one breath.

  The rapid speech surprised Kira. She was grateful she understood the language spoken, but disheartened that she still couldn't decipher it on account of how tightly the words were strung together. She looked at Khayin who was smiling at the girl with the blonde hair.

  Codex suddenly snapped to attention. “Look, Mommy. I gotta go, bye,” she said looking at Khayin. “Snuggly Bear!” She jumped up and over the desk, then wrapped her arms around the bounty hunter.

  Kira could clearly see the girl now. She was about her height and wore a pleated skirt that stopped mid-thigh. She had knee high stockings and she wore canvas shoes with rubber soles. Kira looked at Khayin, confused. Men were slaves. Servants. This felt so foreign to her and made her all the more homesick.

  “OMG! How was your trip? Was it fun? It's always fun, otherwise you wouldn't be doin’ what you're doin’. Right? How was Mexico City? I heard the cartel has gotten a lot stronger there. Fernando Sanchez runs a tight ship. He's got a lot bigger army than the government down there, but that isn't sayin’ much. The government went to shit after the Cataclysm. The cartel is the true power down there. It will be a scary day when Fernando gets his own wizard.” Codex stopped and looked at Kira for the first time, eyeing her up and down. “Well, what do we have here?”

  “What are you looking at?” Kira teetered on confusion and anger. She didn't like the expression on Codex's face.

  “Oh, you're cute.” Codex walked over to her and stopped only a foot from her. Kira watched her eyes scanning her like she was a bauble on display for sale. “Is she for me?” she asked.

  “Sorry, Baby Doll.”

  “Hmm...Too bad.” Codex stopped suddenly and went back to her chair behind the desk. “So, what do you have for me?” she said as if Kira wasn't even there. “I assume she is part of what you wanted to talk about?”

  Khayin pulled the wanted poster from a pocket inside his vest and handed it to Codex. She unfolded it, studying it for a moment before reaching into a drawer and pulling out a pair of glasses. She flipped it over to look at the blank back with the same scrutiny as she gave the front. She turned it back over and stared at it again, then she looked directly at Kira.

  “Hmm...Terrible likeness,” she said as she looked from the poster to Kira's face and back again.

  “Probably because they've no idea what the Schadovitch look like,” Khayin responded.

  “This could be anyone.” Codex studied the poster and Kira. “Where did you get it? It's not like you to go on an unsanctioned hunt.”

  “Funny thing. I won it in a poker game,” Khayin said smiling. “From Juan Rodriguez.”

  “You shittin' me?” She gave Khayin an astonished look. “You won a girl in a game?” She said that last part with a frown.

  “No.” He shook his head slightly. “I'm not shittin' you. And you know I don't look at it that way.” He looked at Kira. “I couldn't let Juan keep her. Who knows what he was up to.”

  “Interesting.” She looked back to the poster. “Can you leave this with me? Let me dig into it, see what I can find.”

  “Sure, it’s not like I'm going to need it. How much?” Khayin reached for his money pouch.

  “Oh, please.” She shook her head.

  “Thanks.” He put his money away. “Also, can you recommend anyone to remove her collar?”

  “Yes, but do you really want to?” Codex finally took her eyes off the poster and looked at Kira. “No offense, sweetheart, but I'm only looking out for my friend. Can we trust you?”

  Kira's mouth opened to answer, but Khayin cut her off. “Yeah, I think I can trust her. I think we want the same thing right now. Plus, I can handle myself.” Kira didn't know what to think. Is he for real? He trusts me? Is he that skilled or is he just stupid?

  “Ha! Famous last words.” Codex laughed. “Outside Vegas, there’s a town called Paradise. There is a spellcaster there who calls himself Merlin. He should be able to help.”

  “Merlin? Seriously?” Khayin asked in disbelief.

  “Not the real Merlin, silly. He's in England. This one will actually help, especially if you drop my name. The real one has a stick up his ass. He'd never help you.”

  “Thanks, Baby Doll.” Khayin was about to turn and leave when Codex stopped him.

  “You got something for me, Snuggly Bear?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah.” He rifled his pockets until he found what he was looking for. Kira saw a small device similar to the one Codex had just been chattering into. He handed it to Codex.

  “Just let me know when you need it back.” She took the object from him and placed it in the top drawer of her desk. “I'll let you know if I find anything out. Where're you headed after you take care of the collar issue?”

  “Have to find her home.” Khayin looked at her. Is that sympathy? “Get her someplace where she is comfortable. Get her back to her sisters.”

  “You're too good, Khayin. I hope it doesn't kill you one of these days.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Khayin agreed before turning and walking out the door.

  Chapter 7 The Question

  There was a flicker. Lights? Motion? Then it was gone as if it never happened.

  Khayin's eyes swept the alley and found nothing. He gave a nod to the two guards flanking the door and proceeded down the alley. He and Kira walked side-by-side into The Strip. Khayin was amazed by how brightly the neon lights still shone in the sun light. Khayin stopped to roll a cigarette.

  “So,” Kira began, “you and Codex?”

  “What?” he asked, genuinely curious.

  “Are the two of you life mates?”

  The question startled him and he nearly lost his tobacco. “What?!”

  “Look, I am trying to find the right words for it. I know you understand my language, but I don't use the same terminology as you.” She explained.

  “No, I understood you.” He cleared his throat. “No, we're definitely not 'life mates'. She is more like the daughter I never had. And, umm...let's just say I'm not her type,” he said in hopes that was enough to satisfy her curiosity. She looked at him quizzically, and he knew he'd have to explain. “She's not into men.” Kira continued to stare at him quizzically for a moment before he began to see the light dawn in her eyes. A slight smile cracked her normally stoic expression before she frowned once more. “Then how does she reproduce?”

  Khayin erupted in laughter. He laughed so hard that his sides started to hurt. He only stopped his hysteria when he saw Kira's face. She was on the verge of an explosion of her own.

  “Whoa, umm...I'm not laughing at you. You just caught me off guard.” He focused once again on rollin
g the cigarette, pausing to compose himself. He lit it and breathed in a long unhealthy drag before answering her question. “That, Kira, is a question you should direct at Codex herself. In practical terms,” he paused, “I guess she can't. But that conversation is none of my business, nor do I want to know.”

  She just stared at him. After a long moment she nodded. She looked at her feet and then she looked back at him. “How does the magic work?” She pointed to the earring in his ear.

  “Hell if I know. It translates all language I hear and what others hear from me. So basically I speak in English but you hear it in your native tongue, whatever that is,” he explained.

  “Are there languages it doesn't know?”

  “No, not that I have encountered. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out the language, but in the end I understand. Sometimes if the language is obscure or really old, I'll only understand the basics, and sometimes slang doesn't get translated at all.” She nods. “There's a store that we'll hit before we make our way to Paradise. We'll get you a translator as well. That way you won't be left in the dark and I won't have to translate for you.”

  “One more question,” she stated.

  “Only one?” he chuckled. “Shoot.”

  She cocked her head to the side and looked at him curiously. She shook her head. “Magic--how does it work in these lands? I mean, Codex obviously wields a different kind of magic than I do, so are there different types?”

  “Well, for 'one question' you sure did pick a big one. Hmm...” Khayin put the cigarette to his mouth and sucked in some hot smoke, holding it for a few long seconds before blowing it out. “Let's walk to the store and I'll tell you on the way.” Khayin proceeded down the street heading south. In the distance they could see Stratosphere Casino. The tall tower still stood.

  “There are different classes of magic. Codex, for instance, is what they call a Cybermage, or Tech Wizard. She focuses on bringing pre-Cataclysm tech to life. In order to do that she needs to know and understand how the tech worked back then. Not easy.” He paused for a cig break. “Then you have this Merlin guy we are going to see. He is a spellcaster. Your typical storybook Wizard. He studied ancient texts and scrolls and learns incantations, cantrips and so on. Basically he learns to alter reality in small ways--bends it to his control--on a limited scale.”

  Khayin looked at Kira who seemed to be in deep thought. He stopped in front of a store on the strip called The Artificer's Vault. He took one last drag on his cigarette and tossed it before opening the door and motioning for Kira to enter. She walked in and he followed. It was a small shop with shelves of different oddities. A couple of display cases were on one wall and a long glass table-type case rested in the middle of the shop. Khayin proceeded directly to the merchant toward the back of the store.

  The merchant was a short stout man with a full black beard that was speckled with gray. He was balding and wore no hat to cover it. He smoked a pipe and didn't take notice of Khayin until he was standing right in front of him. The merchant took his attention away from some metal tubing he was working on and looked at Khayin.

  “Ah, how can I help you today, young man?” His voice was almost a whisper.

  “I'm looking for a translator. Do you have any?” Khayin flicked his earring.

  “Ah, why yes, I do.” The merchant walked away and over to a case further down the counter. He pulled out a board lined in royal blue velvet that had rings and earrings on display. He brought it back and laid it in front of Khayin.

  “Kira,” he called in a voice slightly louder than normal.

  Kira walked over to Khayin and the merchant and examined the jewelry in front of them. She picked up a few rings and tried them on, frowning when most did not fit.

  The merchant smiled. “Ah, give them a moment, my dear. They will adjust themselves.”

  She looked at him then back down to the ring in her hand. She tried placing it on her left index finger and it stopped at her middle knuckle. She waited a couple seconds before she tried pushing on it again and magically is re-sized and continued onto her finger without resistance. She held her hand up to look at it in a different light. She liked it. The ring was a plain silver band--nothing remarkable except for a few sigils etched on the inside of the band that no one would see while she wore it.

  “Ah, I think we have a winner,” said the merchant in a little sing-song tone.

  “How much?” Khayin asked plainly.

  “Ah, one thousand chips, young man.”

  Khayin smiled. “Six hundred.”

  “Ah, why...why, I am insulted,” the merchant whined.

  “You insulted me first, I'm only playing the game you started.” Kira watched the two men haggle. Khayin gave her a wink. She wrinkled her nose.

  “Ah, very good, young man. Eight hundred chips and you'll make the young lady happy.”

  “Seven hundred chips and you'll make us both happy.” Khayin pulled out his money purse and started to count out 700 chips.

  The merchant slapped the counter in front of him. “Ah, good show, young man, good show.” Khayin gave the merchant his money. He put it under the counter without counting it. The merchant eyed Kira's collar. “Ah, young lady, where did you get such a fine piece of artificery?” Kira scowled. The merchant recoiled slightly.

  “A glorified slave collar.” Khayin explained.

  “Ah, may I see?” the merchant asked Kira. She stepped a little closer and the short man examined the leather collar. He nodded and wet his lips. His eyes squinted and then went big. “Ah, fine work it is. Not mine, but very fine work. You can't cut that off, only released by a special word or maybe a balm from an alchemist.”

  “A balm?” Khayin looked at him with doubt.

  “Some alchemists have created such a balm that defuses magic, but it's not always a hundred percent,” the merchant explained.

  “Hmm. We're headed to see Merlin, in Paradise.” He put in the last bit quickly so as not to mistake that Merlin for the other.

  “Ah, yes, Merlin.” The merchant nodded. “Ah, he could help. Unfortunately I cannot.” The short man put a finger to his lips. “Ah, may I ask where you got it?”

  “Yes you may, but I don't have an answer for you. I found her with it on.” Khayin stopped himself, he doesn't know this guy. “Anyway, thanks for the ring.” With that, Khayin and Kira left.

  “Ah, come back again,” the merchant called out as he watched them leave.

  Kira turned to Khayin the moment they stepped outside. “I will pay you back,” she said.

  “Don't worry about it,” Khayin said as he continued down the street.

  Kira grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. She moved to stand in front of him. “I will pay you back.” Her tone offered no room for argument.

  “OK,” was all Khayin said.

  “I know sisters that can make items that have special properties, but what do you call this kind of magic?” she continued with their previous conversation.

  “Artificery. They know a limited amount of spell magic for their profession, but only what they need to make their wares. There's a lot of money in that kind of magic.” Kira nodded. “Then there's the Alchemist. The Alchemist is the master of potions, elixirs, powders, poisons, oils, lotions, that kind of stuff. Things that can give an individual special properties for a limited time.”

  They walked in silence for a while. They passed the Stratosphere Casino as they left the strip and followed Paradise Road. They were only a few minutes off the strip when Khayin noticed the flicker. This time he recognized it for what it was. Movement. He pulled his kukri from their sheaths and Kira instinctively pulled out her bow.

  “We've got company.” His eyes darted around.

  Khayin wished Millennium were here, but his falcon would still be flying from Mexico. He noticed Kira frantically looking around, her eyes wide and alert. He felt something hot grasp his right forearm. Something really hot. Even after he felt the pressure of the grasp recede, he could still feel the b
urning. It started to intensify, the pain growing to the point where his arm was nearly useless. It took everything in him to keep a hold of the kukri. He dropped the kukri in his left hand and fished out a potion vial from an inside pocket. His heart beat rapidly.

  There was a scream from somewhere behind him. Kira! Trying to remain calm, Khayin flipped the top open on the vial and drained its contents down his throat. He started to feel the effects almost immediately, the pain in his arm beginning to subside. He spun around to see a figure. Man? Woman? He couldn't tell. The person was dressed head to toe in black, a mask with a variation of a skull covering its face. The skeleton had Kira by the throat, holding her a few inches off the ground.

  As if their attacker sensed Khayin looking at it, it turned to look at him. Kira took advantage of the slight moment of distraction, grabbed her knife and drove it deep through her attacker's arm. She dropped to the ground and her hands went to her throat. The skeleton grabbed the knife and pulled it free from its arm. It turned its attention back to Kira. Their attacker threw the knife at Kira and narrowly missed as she scrambled for her bow.

  The skeleton turned back to Khayin and stretched out its arm. A gout of flame sprung from its finger tips and Khayin quickly rolled out of the flame's path. The skeleton turned back to Kira. With a wave of its hand a chunk of earth broke free from the ground and slammed into the witch. The chunk exploded on impact and laid Kira out sprawled on the ground. The skeleton then sprung into the air and landed, standing over Khayin.

  The skull mask almost looked as though it were smiling. Khayin kicked the figure between the legs and to his astonishment he got no reaction. Even if it were female there should have been something, but that damned mask kept smiling at him. The muscles in his neck started to constrict, cutting off his air supply. He couldn't breathe. He started to panic and reached for one of his pistols. The skeleton squatted closer to Khayin. When the mask was only a foot away from his face, Khayin felt a spray of blood and the body fall on top of him.

  Khayin pushed the corpse off him and saw Kira standing a few yards away with a bow in her hand panting. She fell to her knees and dropped the bow. Khayin dropped his chin and inhaled deeply. He looked at the dead mage next to him, reaching over and removing the mask. A man? Boy? No, maybe a girl? He still couldn't tell. He saw the veins beneath the skin glowing. Khayin tore open the Lycra fabric of the bodysuit the skeletal mage was wearing and saw the same blue glowing veins all over its torso. No genitalia and no breasts--what is this thing? He searched the body for any identification. What he found was another wanted poster. Khayin recognized the printing company's watermark and knew it had been printed in Chicago.