Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3)

by Brian Wilkerson

  Kas, are you there?

  Eric!? Is that really you!? A warm and happy, yet annoyed, cloud of emotion embraced Eric. Dear Ancestor! I thought you were a monster!

  Eric winced at the mental shout. Yeah, it's me. I ran into a little trouble.

  Trouble!? I have a report from Ceiha saying you blew up part of a mountain! Their High Council started another wave of anti-magic propaganda! Lunas had to clean up your mess!

  Lunas? As in, Prince Lunas Latrot from across the border?

  ...Yes...Why?

  Eric hopped onto a snow-covered bridge railing and walked across it. Then he hopped off, removed his shoes, and walked it in his bare feet. Shoes felt unnatural.

  You're on a first-name basis.

  Her blush could not be more visible if she were standing in person before him.

  It is important for neighboring monarchs to have a friendly relationship.

  Did you give him a handkerchief as a sign of that friendship?

  Of course not!

  Eric jumped off the railing and landed lightly. Kallen told him to put his shoes back on before he got frostbite. He could do it during the summer months if he didn’t mind the attention.

  Kas...

  Such things must be done at a joust or in private: he missed the last joust and Siron won't leave us alone. Not that I want to be alone with him! It wouldn't be proper… You're okay, I mean, nobody believes I'd compromise my chastity for you. No offense! It's just that you're my minion and he's a prince and—I just called you a “minion,” didn't I?

  Eric wondered if their mental link was working right. Did my bout of monsanity affect it? Kasile, a fiercely independent queen, sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl. It flew in the face of everything he remembered about her. Aside from a passionate make-out after the rescue in the sewer, she never acted like this with Culmus. She's still a teenager, but Lunas has ordercraft. I need to keep his claws out of her...Let's see, Captain Quando, Basilard, Kas' team, the tricksters...

  He spared a glance to Kallen and added her to the list. Between her association with Tasio, her work with mana mutation, and her experience as a monster, she was steeped in chaos. There was no one better when mounting a defense against Order. She also had extensive knowledge of this ordercrafter in particular.

  We can team up and split the meat. I mean, spoils. I don’t care about the meat on Lunas’ bones, although he’s definitely well fed and... Stop thinking like that!

  To Kasile, he thought, Do you want me to come by and talk?

  About that. I'm glad you asked because I didn't know how to bring it up. You don't have to come to the castle anymore.

  Say what?

  I've been thinking about what you said before leaving for Ceiha and you're right. I can't demand that you drop everything whenever I want to vent about something. It isn't fair to you and potentially dangerous, considering what happened with the villainous Duke Selen. Anything we need to discuss can be done with our link.

  A red flag flashed and a klaxon alarm blared in Eric's mind. He decided to put his reunion with Annala on hold until he spoke with the anti-ordercraft group. The more Kasile's words spun in his head, the more territorial he became, and the more his thought process became less human. When he spotted monsters ahead of them, he showed fangs instead of teeth.

  It was a pack of Xulfs; mammalian monsters the size of dogs. They had five legs and fish fins that allowed them to fly on currents of air. Their fur turned white for the winter, but Eric could still see them because the fins stayed blue all year. Watching them eat snow and tree bark made Eric remember the food lost due to the teleport.

  "Fishing time!"

  Snow flew behind him as he dashed toward the monsters. By the time they noticed him, he impaled one on his spear and stunned another with a mana bolt. He grabbed a third with his teeth. The rest scattered and Eric crouched on all fours while he ripped the three apart.

  Kallen sighed. "I have a lot more work to do."

  She stood next to the humanoid creature gorging itself and waited. After a minute or so, he suddenly became aware of himself. Hunched over in the snow, covered in blood, and eating a corpse, he was behaving like a monster. He jumped into the nearest snowbank to hide himself and the blood dripping from him dyed it red.

  “Run away! I might eat you next!”

  “Eric,” Kallen said softly, “we talked about this.”

  “I lost control…I’m dangerous!”

  Kallen hummed a tune. It had a slow rhythm and gentle tone. Then she began to sing,

  "Am I sapient or a monster? Hope or Despair? Where have I come; where do I go? The Trickster grins. The Trickster grins. The Trickster grins."

  "What's that?"

  "A nursery rhyme my foster mother taught me about the River of Chaos, or as humans call it, the Universal Flow of Mana.”

  Plunging her arm into the snowbank, she pulled the human boy out. Then she hugged him. Comfort flooded his mind as she spoke, “You are what you choose to be. The Trickster will be amused either way. Whether it’s a human or a grendel, what I hold in my arms right now is a dear friend.”

  Eric embraced her in return. “I’m lucky I’m second,” he whispered in her ear.

  “You have no idea,” she whispered back.

  Eric picked up the pieces of meat he hadn't eaten yet and wrapped them up in a skin. To hold the skin together, he generated needles from the dirt beneath his feet. Kallen complimented his technique by saying it was more than any monster could manage.

  Other genuine monsters attacked them on their way to Roalt and Eric insisted on fighting them all. He wanted to prove he was a mercenary, not a monster, and could fight like one. Weak from hunger and cold, they were no threat to a professional warrior mage. The real challenge was to remain human.

  At the start of his training, Basilard lectured on the incredible will to live in all monsters. In the face of adversity, they surpassed the limits of their bodies and defied sapient science in their bid to continue living. They fought and killed and little else. Even herbivores defended territory and killed hostile plants. Fighting them was nothing compared to his own monster.

  It wanted to eat them and then replicate itself with the young and strong monster accompanying him. It challenge his human sense of self constantly, and the more he tried to suppress it, the more it fought against him. He lost the struggle every time.

  When blood was spilled, he gorged himself. When the moonlight struck Kallen just right, he tackled her and tugged at her winter clothing. Then her crystal would flash and he would come back to himself. In either case, he scurried away, bowed his head, and apologized.

  “Repeat the song.”

  “Am I sapient or a monster? Hope or Despair? Where have I come; where will I go? The Trickster grins. The Trickster grins. The Trickster grins.”

  Then the process began all over again.

  When they crested a hill, a stone’s throw from Roalt’s city walls, Eric stopped. The city was society. It was innocent bystanders. It was not the place for him. He retreated from it. He would have turned his back and searched for a cave if Kallen hadn’t grabbed his hand.

  “It’ll be fine.”

  “No it won’t. I can’t go back there. I’m dangerous.”

  “I’m the same as you and I’m not dangerous.”

  “I tried to rape you five times on the way here, and not once did I realize what I was doing. What if I get hungry during a mission and chew on my teammates?”

  “That won’t happen.”

  “Why not?”

  Kallen flipped her hair. “No human guy can control himself around me. That’s why my sidekick is female.” She squeezed his hand. “Seriously, it’s a good thing that you’re worried. It shows that you don’t want it to happen and that you’re still sapient at your core.”

  Eric glowered at her. “Was that the real point of this walk? Shame the monster by rubbing its nose in its poop?”

  Kallen smiled all the sweeter. “Could a monster m
ake such a deduction?”

  Still holding his hand, she led him back to the top of the hill. With gentle prodding and smiles, she led him down towards the city.

  “By the way, we’re not ‘monsters.’ The proper term is ‘demon.’”

  “Whatever politically correct term you use, we’re not supposed to go into the city. I don’t want to get locked up again.”

  He continued walking in that direction nonetheless.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’re not going inside the city.”

  Snow was piled up against the capital's wall and in crannies on the main gate. This was to clear the ground in the immediate vicinity for an art fair.

  There were ice sculptures and snow sculptures by the dozens in the field. Mages hung from scaffolds and arranged snow and ice into formations on the city walls. Their staffs acted as a maestro’s baton. Beneath, stands for hot chocolate, coffee, fast food, and nutrition bars did a brisk business. In their midst, booths boasted of music both old and new. There was even a live band playing holiday music on a glimmering winter stage.

  All of this was illuminated by the lights Eric saw earlier. They were powered by mana or elemental light energy so the artists could see their work without by-product heat melting it. Eric remembered elemental light energy being a problem for him in the immediate past, but he felt nothing against it now. This led him to conclude that the special darkness powers he was polishing before Ceiha were inactive.

  "This is the Winter Blaze Festival. I'm surprised you haven't read about it. Artists labor through the night to create works of art to greet the Sun. It’s the formal start of Dormancy.”

  “Dormancy?”

  “If you’re not a follower of Fiol, then you call it ‘winter.’”

  "Ah. So the fire in their hearts keeps them warm?"

  Kallen nodded. "That's the idea."

  They stopped at the hot chocolate booth to warm themselves and the fast food stands to sate their hunger. Eric bought one of everything despite the fresh meat he carried with him. He felt more comfortable consuming processed human food. On Kallen’s suggestion, he arranged a trade with one of the merchants and it made him feel all the more human for participating in a civilized act like bartering.

  With their drinks and food, they browsed the rows of ice statues to admire them. There was a Xethras, a Cerci, the Tazul that attacked months ago, and that giant monster worm that tried to eat Cutlass Bridge, among others. Then Eric's gaze fell upon a monstrous human.

  It was rough but clearly female. There was a smooth bulk about her neck and shoulders that could have been a mantle or a mane. Two lumps extended from the back in, what Eric guessed were supposed to be wings. A third line extended between them and lower on its body as the start of a tail. In its right hand, it carried a club that might become a staff and, in its left hand, it bared block fingers or claws.

  Emily stepped out from behind it wearing a heavy coat and gloves like the other artists. Also like the others, she was equipped with a chisel and a small saw. When she saw Eric, she stopped working, marched up to him, and poked him in the chest with the chisel.

  "That's not you." She spun on her heel and looked upon the statue with adoration in her eyes. "It's Kallen."

  "A labor of love?" Kallen herself asked.

  At once, Emily became red as a cherry. “B-boss!? I-I didn’t see you there…! I…um…” She looked away bashfully.

  Kallen slung an arm around her shoulders and said, “It looks good so far.”

  “You really think so? I…I was afraid it would offend you.”

  “Nonsense. I’m a chimera and a human and this unites both. I’m sure you’ll win.”

  “I didn’t know you wanted to be an artist,” Eric said.

  Emily scowled at him. “I don’t, but first prize is a ticket to the Mana Mutation Summit and their statue displayed as the meeting's centerpiece. I’m going to be there to support Kallen."

  “I’m lucky to have you in my corner.”

  Suddenly, she was blushing again. "It's nothing really." Just as suddenly, her face hardened again. "You'd better not screw this up, Eric.” She grabbed his hair and pulled him forward. "Kallen is counting on you. You are a beacon she will wave for all the world to see; make sure you burn brightly, got it?"

  "Ow, got it!"

  "Good."

  She let go and returned to her beloved labor, and Eric and Kallen returned to their browsing. Both of them were well known in Roalt and received many greetings while others avoided them as much as they could. However, Eric noticed that it was not fear that motivated them. It was the same caution as before he mana mutated. Then there was a third group that picked up on Kallen’s third identity and asked about the Summit. She responded that she had good news to share with them. At first, she spoke of her research and then she pointed to Eric and said, “Exhibit A.”

  Every time, Eric was horrified. The other person never was. They expressed their condolences on his misfortune or congratulated his recovery as suited them. Others weren’t surprised at all. “Trickster’s Choice and all” summed up their feelings. A final group simply didn’t believe her because Eric looked and acted far too human to have ever been a monster.

  “Maybe you’re right about not being a grendel,” Kallen said. “They agree with you.”

  “I bet they were all The Trickster.”

  One of the statues jumped off its base and approached Eric. It was a scorpion-style centaur. “Nonsense,” it said. “Only two or three of them were me.”

  “Trickster! Get out of my statue!”

  Tasio slithered from within the icy creation like steam from a kettle. Then he broke off one of the arms and stuck it on the figure’s head.

  “There. Now it’s unique. Judges like that.”

  The sculptor chased him away with a broom. His chosen laughed at his expense. With the pest gone, the sculptor returned to her work and no one gave this event a second thought. It was just The Trickster making a nuisance of himself, as usual.

  “The people of Ataidar are a tough breed,” Kallen remarked. “It’s only those that work in the ICDMM that consider you a threat, and only because it’s their job.”

  “I bet a few of them think otherwise.”

  Once again, Kallen took his hand into her own hand. By now, Eric was becoming accustomed to the serenity that always followed such contact. It was hard to think of how he got by in Threa without it. It was like mana; something he didn’t notice he was missing.

  “A few of them are assholes. I know you’ll prove them wrong.”

  Kallen grasped his other hand and held them both up and together. She held his gaze and showed him her chimera eyes.

  “We’ll do it together.”

  Eric tried but couldn’t manage grendel eyes. Then he thought of the treatment she went through in the past, and Nulso moving around, and Lunas near his little sister. His eyes slitted.

  “I believe you.”

  Then, hand-in-hand, they continued to enjoy the festival.

  Chapter 2 What Is the Dragon?

  In a hallway of blank stone and stainless steel, a golem stood guard. It was ten feet tall and made of industrial concrete. Its left hand carried a club made of granite. Its right hand carried an iron/bronze alloy shield. Its eye gems glowed as it detected motion up ahead.

  A creature rounded a corner and bounded down the hallway. It was eight feet tall and bipedal. Its skin was metallic, but its exact composition evaded the golem. There was little less it could be sure of. Thus, its onboard computer identified the creature as a grendel. The golem raised its club and brandished its shield. The beast roared and charged.

  The floor shook with his footfalls. His roar gave mortal men chills. The golem itself, possessing only basic sentience, felt the Universal Dread in its eyes. The grendel cocked its right arm and the golem blocked with its shield. Quickly shifting its stance, the grendel brought its left foot up and kicked the golem's side, shattering it to rubble.

  “Very good,
Mr. Watley,” an intercom said. “You’re doing a better job maintaining control this time around.”

  Grendel ignored him. Instead, he focused on the door. Without the golem, it was unguarded. He forced his fingers into the gaps of the door and forced them apart. He stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind him. Bars swung across them. The temperature dropped below freezing, but Grendel didn’t care. His body could endure intense cold. He ran through the hallway without a shiver. When he reached the far door, he conjured a fireball in his hands and forced it against the door. The metal expanded and cracked. Then he punched it until it collapsed.

  “Excellent,” the intercom said. “You’re providing us with quality data, both of your abilities and your sapience despite your appearance.”

  In the next room, ten golems awaited him. They brandished blunt weapons like the previous golem had in addition to bladed weapons like the ones before it. Others were bare-handed. Never had he fought this many before and he regarded them as a nuisance. As a grendel, he knew he couldn’t eat them. As a human, he knew it was a chore. As a mercenary, he wasn’t getting paid. Nevertheless, he took out his frustration on them in a calm and methodical fashion.

  His mentor taught him how to fight with his bare hands. It was the first thing he learned as an apprentice mercenary. He moved among the golems by blocking and dodging, even though he knew they couldn’t hurt him. It was poor form for a mage to tank everything; that was the fighter’s job. All ten golems were soon thirty some inanimate rocks and it was his human skill that accomplished this feat. All his grendel strength did was enable him to break stone.

  The next door was sealed into the floor. The gaps were too small for his fingers. Instead of punching it, he decided on a different course of action. Backing up to the entrance, he ran toward the door and shoulder-charged it. His momentum carried him forward and dented the door. It was his mentor’s mana bolt lecture that pushed through that dent and into the next room. It was a laser grid.