The Giants of Shattered Swamp

by Eddie Patin

  Manticores on u81 were a 93% match to the lore of u934. They had metallic spikes that grow from their chins and tails, and they fling their tail spikes in combat. They fly, of course.

  Unicorns were a 95% match to those of Earth's lore; a closer match than the manticores. They had to be good, noble unicorns, right? Hell, even in stories and movies, a man is never allowed to go near a unicorn. Only innocent women and children can see them.

  Would Jason get to see a unicorn? Would he see many?

  And, they had wings. That was different. Would they be like a mix between a unicorn and a Pegasus?

  Jason couldn't stomach the idea of killing a unicorn. They were like the epitome of goodness.

  He wouldn't do it. No way.

  But he'd kill the shit out of manticores with his new laser rifle.

  Jason smiled.

  Universe 81 was outside of 95% tolerance to u934, so Jason wouldn't be able to use his OCS's bookmark (from home, at least) without Jason 113's block kicking in. But, he had a focus key from Skinner.

  Before bed, they all sat around in the living room. Jason and Riley drank beer. Morgana sat in the corner of the couch glued to Jason's phone. As soon as he showed her Google, she began looking up all she could about modern society. Gliath lay curled up in his usual spot on the couch in his primal form with Zelda similarly curled up against his huge, black back.

  "That was a crazy fruking bounty," Riley said. He had his boots kicked up on the coffee table and idly petted Gliath's side as the leopardwere dozed.

  "Have you been to universe 81, Riley?" Jason asked, taking a swig from his Laughing Lab. "The focus key to Pristalline Paradise pulls up this universe that's already catalogued in my OCS."

  That seemed to surprise the soldier.

  "No shet?" he asked with a smirk. "Yep. With Jason 47. We're going there?"

  "You killed manticores there before ... with the other Jason?"

  "They're not too bad if you shoot first," Riley said, the took a drink and smiled up at the ceiling. "You know, at Jason 47's house, we put a skull of a manticore right there." He pointed at a spot on one wall. "Well, that's great. Gliath and I already know the place. It's been a few years..."

  "We can't kill any unicorns," Jason said. "I won't do that."

  Riley cocked his head, regarded Jason with amusement, then took a long draw from his beer. "That's fine, Jason," he said. "We'll just focus on the manticores and not getting into any fruking crossfire with the other mercs. It'll be easy money."

  "Easy money," Jason repeated. "Just like a troll's head."

  They laughed.

  "To easy money, Jason 934," Riley said, lifting his beer.

  "To easy money," Jason said, raising his own.

  It was going to be an interesting morning.

  Eventually, he and Morgana went to his bedroom a while after Riley and Gliath had retired for the night. He held her in bed, his naked skin touching hers. Jason felt the warmth of her body against his and he loved the smell of her hair. He kissed her shoulder that was in front of his face as they spooned.

  He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but it felt silly. He couldn't possibly 'love' her after just a week or two, right? Hell—he didn't even know how long he'd known her by now. They had different perceptions of time, even. At the least, Jason had known Morgana for three days longer now than she'd known him.

  Did she love him? Did she feel the same way ... even a little?

  "Hey," Jason said in the quiet, dark room. He reached around Morgana to bring his hands together and blindly pulled the ring with the little ruby in it off of his finger.

  "Yeah?" she replied in the dark.

  "I want you to wear this," Jason said, finding Morgana's hands and pressing the ring into her palm.

  "One of the magic rings?" she asked. "Which one?"

  The skin of her shoulder brushed his face, so he kissed it again. Jason brushed her hair out of the space between her shoulder and head and kissed her neck.

  "That's the 'fortified mind' one," he replied, "the one that protects you from mind control."

  "Why?" Morgana said, immediately moving to give it back to him. "You should have it. You're the one that can open the rifts and save us and get us home."

  "Yeah, I know," Jason said. He kept his hands wrapped around hers and prevented Morgana from putting the ring back into his hands. "But if that rakshasa comes back, you're the one with Dawnbringer. You're the good, noble person that can kill the demon."

  Morgana scoffed and laughed in the dark. "You think I'm noble?"

  "I do," Jason said. "If it has to be pierced by a magical weapon, like your sword, wielded by a good person, then you're the one."

  They were quiet for a moment.

  Jason's hands stayed around Morgana's. He felt her put the ring on her finger.

  "I think you're more 'good' than I am, Jason," she said.

  Jason didn't know what to say to that. Morgana Soloster was the last in her hometown to resist the evil cult that took control over all of her people. She gave and gave of herself to a people that had followed her family's rule for a century or more but eventually turned to hate her in their mindlessness and fear.

  Jason hated Morgana's people for not loving her as much as she had loved them.

  "Honestly, Morgana," he said. "I don't want to see you hypnotized anymore. I don't want that Rakshasa to hurt you."

  She turned around in the sheets to face him. Morgana intertwined her legs with his and drew in close. She kissed him. He kissed her back. Jason embraced Morgana and breathed her in, trying to relax.

  His mind raced with the mission coming in the morning. It was just another bounty, of course, and it would be a little riskier than the others because of the many merc teams that would be there. But he also worried about the rakshasa. He didn't feel safe in his own house. And now, that creature had come to his universe. Where'd it come from? Why was it after him? Or was he just a random victim?

  Jason closed his eyes and basked in the comfort of the beautiful body and soul, soft and warm next to him. He closed his eyes to sleep, but all he could see was the leering face, the expanding black mouth, and the rows of long, white fangs of the demonic tigress. He faced the night in Morgana's arms, but mostly focused on the glaring, fiery sapphire-blue eyes in his mind.

  Jason sighed and kissed Morgana's lips again before drifting. That monster was out there somewhere. Maybe it would come for him again. Maybe not. But either way, he needed to get some good sleep.

  Tomorrow would bring a whole new adventure...

  THE END.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading this book! Jason, Riley, Gliath, and now Morgana will be back in the next book, "The Manticores of Pristalline Paradise"!

  Don't stop turning the pages yet. Details about the next book, an excerpt from another book, and Author's Notes are still ahead!

  Sincerely,

  Eddie Patin

  Special Offer - Want a Free Book Related to this Series?

  Join my Fiction Mailing List, and I’ll send you a FREE NOVELLA related to the Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit series—something not sold in bookstores and only available to my fans! As a member of my mailing list, you’ll receive occasional updates about upcoming books and you’ll probably get more free goodies from time to time. No spam—I promise.

  “A Bond Between Man and Monster”

  How did Riley Wyatt the cybernetic gunslinger meet Gliath Voidheart the Deathhand, the Krulax leopardwere?

  While on a particularly horrific bounty to assassinate a pair of Night Hag sisters on a lightless, obsidian world, the Reality Rifters--led by Jason Leaper 47 at the time--are beset by disaster! Afterward, back home and trying to figure out what to do about Jason 47's crippled condition, Riley regales the group (upon request) with the story of how he first met Gliath and how their unique relationship was forged...

  There was a time when Riley Wyatt was a mercenary in a prestigious outfit called the Ninth F
ists. After working with the company for just over a year, Riley was deployed with Third Squad to a strange world full of sentient, shapeshifting animals. Their aim was to forcibly acquire something specific and unique, but Intel was bad, and the squad was thrust into the middle of a chaotic war between the Krulax people and the dreaded shadowstriders. After what was to be his last mission with the Ninth Fists, Riley left Gliath's homeworld as the sole survivor of Third Squad ... but he didn't leave alone...

  This story within a story is a special treat JUST FOR FANS, going into some exciting and bizarre backstory of the Reality Rifters and the cyborg/beast-man duo that rescued Jason Leaper 934 in "The Wyvern in the Wilderlands". This novella is not available in stores—it's a FREE GIFT for anyone who enjoys the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series and signs up for the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list. Go to EddiePatin.com/monster-hunter-free-book to download your copy, or click below for a direct link.

  Click Here to Download “A Bond Between Man and Monster”

  Please Review!

  If you like this book, please leave a quick review online. Your opinion matters to me.

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  Thanks again!

  So What Happens Next?

  Continue to the Next Book in the Series!

  "The Manticores of Pristalline Paradise"

  "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" Book 5

  Explore other Universes.

  Hunt Deadly Monsters.

  Make a Profit.

  What can you do when a Rakshasa is after you?

  Jason Leaper 934 and his team of Reality Rifters feel so great after their last bounty that they're ready to jump right into a big, new job. It's dangerous, and it's lucrative: a free-for-all with countless mercenary teams all striving to hunt down manticores and unicorns on a strange world called Pristalline Paradise. But, last night's rakshasa attack back at home weighs heavily on Jason's mind. His own universe doesn't feel safe anymore with that demonic tigress knowing where he lives.

  Things get even worse for Jason when he's kidnapped by a twisted, alternative version of the Reality Rifters, and he realizes the hard way that he still has quite a bit more to learn about his rifting powers. Stranded on an Eden world where space-time is controlled by a powerful Sphinx, will Jason figure out how to 'free rift' and beat the Sphinx's challenge? And will he and his friends make it home with that evil rakshasa stalking them at every turn?

  The Manticores of Pristalline Paradise is a fast-paced adventure story and is the fifth book in the "Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit" series about Jason Leaper 934 and his planeswalking Reality Rifters, Monster Hunters for hire. If you love books about guns, survival, vicious and terrible mythical monsters, cosmic horror, time travel, DINOSAURS, and exploring strange new worlds ... read this today!

  Click HERE to find Book 5

  About Eddie Patin

  Eddie writes cosmic horror, grim sci-fi, and dark fantasy. His books are full of adventure, guns, monsters, and weird places. When not writing, Eddie either is playing with firearms, swords and other pointy things, or enjoying craft beer, a good smoke, and maybe some scotch. He might also be fighting zombies, or contemplating other dimensions.

  Born in south Louisiana, Eddie Patin has lived in Colorado for most of his life with a short stint in Vegas as a professional poker player--back before it was cool. He's a musician, an artist, and has worked as a marketing consultant and graphic designer. His books are mainly a gritty, fast-paced blend of 60% science fiction and 40% fantasy with a dark, swirling tinge of terror and the bizarre shit that the tiny human mind cannot fully comprehend...

  Follow Eddie Patin on:

  amazon.com/author/eddiepatin

  facebook.com/eddiepatin

  bookbub.com/authors/eddie-patin

  twitter.com/eddiepatin

  Or on his website & Blog - http://EddiePatin.com

  Join the Eddie Patin Fiction mailing list to get FREE BOOKS and updates. (EddiePatin.com)

  More Books from Eddie Patin

  Fiction

  The “Apocalypse Gate” Series

  An 'End of the World' Horror Survival Story with EMP's and monsters

  Portal Zero – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 1

  Worlds Merge – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 2

  Ruin Prevails – “Apocalypse Gate” Book 3

  The Sniper and the World Eaters – “Apocalypse Gate” Bonus Feature

  The “Apocalypse Gate” Full Trilogy Box Set

  MALADY – "Apocalypse Gate" Related

  The “Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit” Series

  Weird Fantasy / Sci-fi Exploration, Adventure & Action – Guns, gold, and monsters

  The Wyvern in the Wildlands – Book 1

  The Minotaurs of Maze World – Book 2

  The Heart of a Necromancer – Book 3

  The Giants of Shattered Swamp – Book 4

  The Manticores of Pristalline Paradise – Book 5

  The Dragon of the Quantum Void – Book 6

  A Bond of Man and Monster – Special Bonus Feature

  The Helion Depths – Related Short

  Goran the Slayer – Related Short

  Other Fiction Books

  The Halls of the Shadowmancer – From “The Chronicles of Alex Varia”

  Dust in Darkness – A Short Story Collection

  NonFiction

  Curb Painting – Little Books of Extra Cash Volume 1

  Declutter Magic – Organized for Life Series Book 1

  Declutter Magic 2 – Organized for Life Series Book 2

  Children's Books

  (Being Updated—Click Here to Check it Out)

  MORE COMING SOON!!

  Keep up with my Website for New Titles (Click Here!)

  Enjoy this Excerpt from “Portal Zero”

  “Portal Zero” - Apocalypse Gate - Book 1

  EMP Survival – Post-Apocalyptic Dark Sci-fi, Cosmic Horror

  Where were you when the lights went out and the monsters came?

  In the near future, a government experiment out of control opens gateways to other worlds and dimensions all over planet Earth, plunging everyday people into a nightmare of grim survival against the horrific and bizarre...

  Portal Zero. The beginning of the end.

  - In Colorado Springs, CO, young family-man Arthur can't find his wife and young sons when all electronics and vehicles in the city are disabled. But the EMP is the least of his worries. When the city quickly turns to looting and anarchy, he sees much darker dangers in the shadows with glowing blue eyes...

  - In Geneva, Switzerland, Chad is a naive cameraman working for a news network filming the opening of Portal Zero, mankind's first experiment with 'Dimension Drive'--an attempt at inter-space travel. Barely out of his internship, Chad is forced to survive the terrifying creatures that emerge from the gateway when everything goes wrong. When the slaughter in the deep-underground lab begins, how will he survive, trapped and isolated from the surface?

  - Meanwhile, in Zion National Park, UT, Megan is a fit and self-made woman on vacation with her boyfriend when a mysterious thunderclap kills all of the electronics in the park. When a strange, golden obelisk appears in the middle of the park, a mysterious and unseen force begins transforming the tourists around her.

  - Harvey is an alcoholic, disgraced police officer in Las Vegas, NV, recently imprisoned after failing at his spree of vigilante justice on the unpunished. But when the city's power fails and the precinct over his cell is breeched by an army of nightmares, it seems that Hell itself is invading the city of sin, and the Strip is burning.

  - Kayleen is a young college student and art major at PSU in Portland, OR. She doesn't really care about much more than Veganism and the boy she secret
ly has a crush on. But when a weird, alien environment follows an EMP-induced city-wide blackout one night while she's at an off-campus party, what will Kayleen find out about her values when everyone's focus turns to survival?

  - Tommy and Jody are two young children in Flagstaff, AZ, living with their mom and dad and enjoying a stable childhood, when a town-wide power outage becomes a call for concern when it's not fixed by the next morning. When the family hears the police fighting against invading monsters in the business district nearby, and they are all forced to evacuate their home because of a spreading wildfire, the children have no idea that their lives are about to change forever...

  In a year much sooner than you think, while scientists and politicians argue about global warming and lack of resources, the United Nations has reorganized itself into the UEA, the first serious attempt at a world government. “Dimension Drive” is being developed for wormhole-based space travel in Europe by the UEA to expand human civilization into the stars. But the UEA development team responsible for Dim Drive has no idea that they’re about to lose control of the portal they’re trying to harness because of a massive, unforeseen EMP, ushering in the end of the world as we know it.