The Cardkeeper Chronicles: Books 1-5 (Complete Collection)

by A. C. Nicholls

  I crooked my eyebrow.

  “You can’t drown, so get up!”

  My eyes shot open to find surprise on the face of The Ancient. I stole that moment to bring my knee to my chest, and then I drove my heel into its stomach. The Ancient’s mouth opened as it howled in pain, gargling as the water flooded its throat. It kicked up toward the surface, while I tried for a stronger grip on my sword before taking after it. Quickly gaining speed, it shot up above me and left the lake, but precious seconds ticked by before I could break out into the open air. By the time I did, The Ancient stood on the bank, screeching into the air like a furious witch before running into the darkness.

  I swam as fast as I could, racing toward the bank with the sword still in hand. When I got to dry land, I could no longer see The Ancient, but I could hear the thump of its large feet stomping into the dirt ahead of me. I took chase, sprinting faster than I’d ever seen anything move before, until I found it standing in a clearing with its back to me.

  “It’s over,” I said, raising the sword to my side and striking an offensive pose.

  The creature spun to look at me, but rather than an expression of upset or admitted defeat, its tall, pale body dropped into a stance of its own. Its mouth opened as its dripping body crawled slowly around to its left, grinning like a Cheshire cat until it stopped by the trunk of a huge tree. Slowly, it dug its nails into the bark, scratching it off while its thin lips began to move, mumbling something that sounded like a spell.

  This can’t be good.

  I made a snap decision to attack. In spite of my fear, I rushed forward, now aware that I actually had a chance of killing this son of a bitch. I screamed at the top of my lungs, blade driven forward as I longed to stick it into the creature’s chest, while I prayed that the berotta fire would make all the difference, hopefully killing it this time.

  But I never made it that far.

  Two demons dropped from the trees, landing on either side of me and immediately swinging their claws at my throat. I dropped, rolled back and recovered my stance to get a good look at them. They appeared identical, both six feet tall and hideous. Their bodies were made of bark, their limbs covered by swirling vines and hanging leaves. I couldn’t make out their eyes, but they seemed to know my location by movement alone. Unfortunately for me, staying quiet wasn’t my best skill. I would just have to take the tree demons out the old fashioned way – hacking and slashing.

  Screaming into the night, I lunged out and swung my sword into the waist of one of the demons. It came apart in an instant, my blade swishing through the darkness in a thin blaze as the demon split in two. The moment it hit the dirt, it became nothing more than bark. I moved quickly on to the second, dodging its silent strike by dropping to my knee, where I sliced off its legs and watched it fall to the ground. I rose then, fast as lightning as I hacked away at the thing, my rapid strikes turning it back into wood chips.

  When I was done, I turned back to The Ancient with a big grin on my face.

  “That the best you can do?”

  The Ancient mumbled again, making fast, tearing motions on the bark once again. More demons began to surround me, dropping from the branches above with each strike of the trunk. By the time The Ancient gave reprieve, there were now nine more demons boxing me in, all awaiting movement from me so they could pinpoint my location.

  Slowly, I averted my gaze from The Ancient, raising the sword above my head. I crept carefully, desperate not to make even a slight sound until I was good and ready. When I thought that I was in the best position possible, a fallen branch snapped under my weight.

  Now.

  I swung my sword like a madman with an axe. The first two tree demons went down quickly, creating a pile of moist bark by my feet. I leapt out toward the third, using its body as a stepping stone while I dropped down on another, then arced the blade back around to finish off the one I’d climbed over. I’d reduced half of them to shards of splintered wood, and as I started to think that I could probably finish them off, I caught movement from the corner of my eye.

  The Ancient trembled as it made sounds of stirring, its neck clicking before wings tore out of the skin on its back. Those huge, beastly wings beat hard, brushing the fallen bark across the ground before the creature took off, leaving me with the tree demons.

  “No!” I yelled.

  There was only one way to stop it, and that was by throwing my sword at it and hoping for the best. But doing so would leave me defenseless against the demons, and somehow, I think The Ancient had planned it. It was a sneaky little bastard.

  Still, I had no choice.

  I took a run-up and hurled the Sword of Lucada into the night, watching the orange blaze rip through the air toward its target. To my surprise, it struck The Ancient right in the back, and I watched with pleasure as it plummeted toward the ground, landing somewhere in the distance as it screamed like its head was on fire.

  “Gotcha,” I said, a smile breaking out on my lips.

  But my victory was short lived. A tree demon tackled me to the ground, catching me off guard and reaching back to finish me with its claws. I used a claw of my own, gripping its wrist and struggling to hold it at bay, before the demon tried again with its other arm. I did the same with that one, but it had me pinned and I didn’t like my odds. This wooden bastard had surprising strength, and more demons stalked toward me. If I survived this assault, there was even less chance of getting up in time to finish off the others.

  The Ancient had been wounded, and I’d lived long enough to make that happen, but my streak of luck didn’t stretch further. I’d done well, I thought as I wrestled with the tree demon to no avail. Most people wouldn’t have come this far, so at least I had that one thing to be proud of – one last achievement to remember. It wasn’t so bad, really. Some people had nothing to take to their graves, whereas I would die knowing that I had given it my all.

  It wasn’t a bad way to go.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  No.

  I wouldn’t – couldn’t give up. Not now. Not after I’d come so far.

  With nothing but sheer anger fuelling me, I let go of the demon’s wrists and dodged my head to one side, avoiding its fists and sending them pounding into the dirt beside me. I quickly transformed my legs, experiencing a strange, stretching sensation as they lengthened into werewolf paws. Before I’d even finished shifting, I planted my heels into the demon’s chest and kicked it across the woods, watching it shatter into an explosion of wet bark against a solid tree. There was no way it would recover from that.

  I scrambled to my feet, desperately digging my new claws into the dirt as my torn boots shredded in the struggle. When I finally stood up straight, I lost my balance immediately. God, it was harder to control than I’d thought – werewolf legs were nothing like human legs. Standing up required some leaning back to stay upright. It was all I could do to shift back into a human. I could keep the claws but the rest had to go.

  The moment my legs thinned and shed their black fur, I toppled to the ground. My chin hit the dirt and sent shock shooting up my jaw. I swept the pain aside for now and glanced up at the remaining tree demons, who were closing in on me, and fast. With the Sword of Lucada gone, there was nothing to do but run, only running wasn’t in my nature.

  There was only a hero’s death.

  I lowered my head and stared down at the dirt, awaiting my defeat. For a moment, I wondered if Link was out there watching me. Would he tell Keira that I had fought well, or was my failure the only thing worth reporting? I guessed that I would do the same – omitting needless details for the sake of urgency.

  A sudden sound of crunching broke me from my self-pity. I glanced up at my dark surroundings to see figures moving swiftly between the tree demons. Whatever they were, they moved so fast that I was unable to see them. One by one, the demons were smashed to one side, torn apart as if they were made of air. When only one remained, a blue blur ripped right through the middle of it before coming to a standst
ill, five feet away from me and grinning like it harbored some big, exciting secret.

  “Mr. Hannigan, I thought you’d come here to fight The Ancient?” Edgar George bent over and held out his hand, while a number of vampires – so great I couldn’t count – dropped onto the ground behind him. “Laying in the dirt won’t get things done.”

  I laughed, shaking my head as I took his hand and was hauled up to my feet. Examining myself, I found that my jeans had remained intact throughout the transformation, but my boots were in too many pieces to wear. My plain, white shirt was slightly torn but my coat concealed those slash marks. I looked up, scanning my eyes around the vampires, who hissed and snarled while crouched, taking in their own surroundings.

  “You’ve come to help?” I asked.

  Edgar shrugged. “I couldn’t let you take all the credit, my friend. Besides, it was a good opportunity for me to approach Lena and build some bridges. You should thank her, you know. It was her and her kind who brought us here.”

  I followed Edgar’s line of sight over my shoulder, where Lena stood with a pack of werewolves behind her. Some were fully shifted while others had morphed only their limbs, giving them the required strength to fight while still maintaining control over their bodies. Lena herself was clad in lace and leather, strategically strapped in places where they would remain intact if she decided to shift. In her right hand, she held the Sword of Lucada out to me.

  “You dropped this, Jacky-Boy.” She smiled, those perfect white teeth standing out in the dark of the night, while the moon glowed down on her auburn hair and made it shine. “Come, take it, and let us go finish this.”

  Huh, the sword let her pick it up. It must approve of her.

  I stormed forward excitedly, barely able to believe the scene before my eyes. The wolves and the vampires, working together, with a Cardkeeper standing right in the middle to lead the charge. I took the sword, grinning widely before turning back to my new army.

  “Thank you all for coming,” I said, silencing those who muttered among themselves. “Our enemy is a strong one, stronger than even your own leaders. But that doesn’t mean it can’t fall. Though be aware, it will summon others, and it’s up to you to take those bastards down.”

  A controlled cheer erupted from both sides.

  “The Ancient is wounded. We know it cannot fly away, so we’ll make sure that it can’t run, either. This sword,” I said, driving the glowing blade into the air, “is the only thing that can stop it, and not all can wield it. So if you get a chance to kill it, make sure your life doesn’t depend on picking this thing up.”

  My gaze drifted around the two armies, and I was awed to see these species so close without them killing each other. It warmed my heart and renewed my courage. “Win or lose, we’re making history here tonight. So whatever you do, make sure you do it with grace and finesse.” I sucked in a large breath, puffing up my chest before slowly exhaling. “Now let’s go fight for our freedom!”

  The vampires leaped into the trees while screeching into the skies like banshees, disappearing in an instant. The werewolves took the opposite strategy, roaring and charging into the woods. I couldn’t lose face – I had to follow, overtaking some or most of them in the direction that The Ancient had fallen. My sword created a threatening orange trail as I raised it over my shoulder, running like the wind with Edgar on one side of me, and Lena on the other. We were an unstoppable army who had found safety in numbers.

  I just hoped we’d live long enough to celebrate.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The Ancient came into view only a few moments later, flapping along the ground with a damaged wing. I slowed to a stop, holding out my arms to stop my new companions while we studied the creature’s habits. Something was happening, but I didn’t know what yet.

  “It’s shedding its wings,” said Edgar, sliding off his blue jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “You hurt its wings, Jack, and now it’s disposing of them.”

  I grimaced, clutching the Sword of Lucada tighter. “What say we break its legs, too?”

  “I like it,” Lena said.

  We charged forward, sprinting toward The Ancient and yelling wildly as we waited for it to retaliate. It did so swiftly, making an ungodly noise that sounded like a thousand knives scraping against a chalkboard. Birds fluttered from the trees, fleeing the scene while the branches moved by themselves. The roots ripped from the soil, groaning as they stepped forward. Stepped, I thought, shaking my head. How goddamn bad could things have gotten before trees got to stepping places? Until then, I thought I’d seen everything.

  “Go,” I said.

  Lena and Edgar disappeared from my side in a heartbeat, rushing toward the moving trees that shook the earth as they walked. There were five or six of them by the time The Ancient stopped its horrible cry, and they all stood between it and me.

  “Enough bullshit,” I yelled, and ran behind Lena, who slowly became a huge wolf and ran on all fours with Edgar hitching a ride on her back. As they continued, I veered off to the right and got a running-jump onto one of the moving trees. I climbed its branches swiftly, the vampires swooping in to help me up a couple of inches before they returned to the fight with the tree’s clawing branches. They were like arms, swiping and slashing as they tried to murder every one of us to protect their master.

  I reached the top of a tree, where I didn’t hesitate to swing the sword and cut a fine chunk of wood off the very top. The tree groaned as it came off, and although I wasn’t sure if I’d ended it, I was sure that I’d hurt it. For good measure, I raised the sword again and drove the blade down, right through the middle of it.

  Now, it was dead for sure.

  The tree wobbled and began to fall. I held on to the nearest branch as we slowly starting to tilt, then picked up speed as we hurtled toward the ground. I covered my face with my sword arm, expecting the most painful fall of my life, when a werewolf leapt out of nowhere and caught me. Carrying me in its arms, it landed on the ground with an oomph, putting me down safely and revealing its human features.

  It was the gatekeeper of the sewage plant.

  “Now we’re even,” he said.

  “We will be,” I told him, smiling, “after I buy you a beer.”

  The man-wolf smiled too, but our reconciliation came to an abrupt end when another tree appeared at our side, creaking as it arced back with two long, thick branches. When it stumbled forward, I saw those branches coming right down on top of us, and pushed the gatekeeper back onto his ass.

  “Look out!” I screamed.

  I felt the force of the blow, twigs and dirt blowing all over me as I shielded my eyes. When I looked up at the tree that had tried to kill us, I immediately noticed Lena running up its trunk, gnawing at its bark as she climbed, wounding it little by little. Edgar was on the other side of it, sliding down with his nails dug in deep, making the creature groan and cry like the wounded scream of Mother Nature. Only this was not something so forgiving – this tree was possessed by something far darker, and infinitely more evil.

  The vampires and the werewolves definitely had this one covered. Many were down and only a few remained, which made me feel a lot less guilty about turning my attention back toward The Ancient. Besides, if I killed it, the trees would probably resume their natural state, saving us the trouble of tearing them down. I hurried over to the gatekeeper, who was still alive, laying on his back and panting with widened eyes.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “Go help your alpha. She needs you.”

  The gatekeeper quickly climbed to his feet and transformed, then leaped up into the tree to aid his master. It was amazing to see these creatures all help each other, and I even found myself standing there like an idiot, my mouth agape as I admired the beauty of the scene – vampires saving werewolves, werewolves taking hits for vampires. It occurred to me that I would never see anything so incredible ever again, which perhaps, was why I’d taken a moment to cher
ish it. This was truly something special.

  Is this what you wanted, Keira?

  Shaking out of my frozen admiration, I turned back toward The Ancient, who still lay on the ground, digging its claws into the earth to try and crawl away. I marched over to it quickly, stamping my boot into its wrist as it cried in agony. The Sword of Lucada shone magnificently in my tight fist, burning with berotta like a bonfire in the night. I wished with every fiber of my being that it worked this time, as I could not afford another retreat.

  “Does that hurt?” I said to the creature, who lay helpless at my feet. I took one last look at the chaos around me, watching yet another tree fall into the dirt, shaking the ground while supernatural creatures leapt to safety. When my gaze fell back on The Ancient, I knew what I had to do. “Here, let me relieve you of your misery.”

  I raised the sword high into the air, pointing it down at where The Ancient’s heart should be. My hands shook as I took aim, and I let out a cry as I threw every ounce of strength into driving the blade down, piercing The Ancient’s skin as a fiery blast exploded from its flesh. The force of the fire blew me back, shooting me through the air until my back struck a tree. Various colors swirled around me. A cacophony of reds and oranges blurring into one as an awful wail carried through the air. Only one question remained.

  Was it dead?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  I peeled my head off the tree trunk to find The Ancient, but it was gone.

  The tall, white body that had stood so crookedly now lay in a crumpled heap, motionless. Little by little, its flesh began to steam and sizzle, burning up as its corpse gradually burned into a pile of thick ash. It was finally over – I’d incinerated The Ancient.

  No.

  We had.

  My ears ringing from the impact, I pushed myself to my feet and stumbled over to Lena, who stood in human form surrounded by her pack. In front of her, Edgar George had his arms folded across his chest. I froze, nervously watching them glare at each other as if they could wring each other’s necks again.