Like an animal.
No, animals killed for food.
Like a monster.
The static in his head prickled across his entire body. Pain flared in his back. Two bright, burning spots cried out for his attention.
Groping over his shoulder, he found the knife handle. His sweat-slick fingers fumbled over it, causing more pain.
He needed help.
He needed to escape the scene of his fresh crime.
Any moment, someone would come running to investigate the noise. They’d find this...mess.
Algernon ran.
His legs moved without grace. When he reached the gate, he shut it, locked it, and tossed the key through it. If anyone wanted to find his terrible handiwork, they’d have to make an effort.
Whimpering between gasps, he stumbled up the stairs.
At the top, he paused to wait for a dizzy spell to pass.
Sweat stained his entire body. Guilt stained his entire soul.
He could have run to his father or Braylen. Madness had consumed him. Attacking Miru never should have even occurred to him.
Whatever else happened, he had to confess these dire sins before they goaded him to kill again. He’d developed a taste for it, maybe. The sooner he told his father, the sooner he could burn out the cancerous part of him that found killing the only acceptable way to handle a problem like Miru.
Father had given him directions to the lab. Left here? No, he’d started there, which meant right here.
Algernon found the door and yanked it open. He threw himself into a room full of books and voices. Chalk marked lines and curves on the floor. A bright, white light blazed in the center of a circle. The light faded to leave the edges and corners in shadow.
Magic rippled over him. His skin tingled like a swarm of ants crawled over him. They had some kind of working in progress. Even bleeding, drenched with sweat, and ashamed, he hoped his intrusion failed to interrupt it.
He hoped he made nothing else worse today.
“Father?” Algernon called into the room.
The voices stopped.
“Algie, is that a femur?” Father rushed to his side, emerging from the shadows to greet him. He took the bone, his attention absorbed by it, and left Algernon by the door. “A large bone with a significant aura,” he murmured, already absorbed by the find. As he crossed through the light, avoiding the circle, he beckoned for Algernon to follow. “This is an impressive find. What’s this stuck to it?”
Algernon wiped sweat from his face with his sleeve. He shuffled into the room, falling behind his father in moments. “A shadow. Father, I—”
“Fascinating. Elyse, look, an animate shadow.” Father held up the femur. The shadow shard wilted as he crossed the pool of light.
“I have another one,” Algernon said as he focused on breathing. He dug in his pocket for the second. “But I need—”
“Good, good.” Without looking, his father beckoned for Algernon to keep following. The shadows swallowed him. “Yes, that’s wonderful, Algie. This femur is probably all we need, but everything helps.”
Algernon raised the smaller bone he’d liberated. The knuckle gleamed bright, bleached white in the light.
With another step, the pain in his back worsened. He cried out and bent double, reaching for the knife in his shoulder. The tip of his ear burned.
“Algie, what’s wrong?”
“What is that?” a woman asked.
“Is it...blood?” a man asked. He sounded like Satiuz Braylen.
The pain grew too great to bear. Algernon crumpled to the floor. He noticed the curve of the chalk and light circle. He lay partially inside it.
“Algie, are you bleeding?” Father gasped. “Why are you bleeding?”
“He’s bleeding in the circle, Adyn!”
“This is amazing,” Braylen said with breathless wonder.
“Algie!” Father knelt beside him and snatched up his hand. He tugged, trying to pull Algernon toward him.
Algernon’s body felt thick and stiff. Pressure released inside him. The dagger in his shoulder clunked onto the floor. Though his limbs shifted, moving out of his control, something anchored him to the spot.
“Cut off the magic!” the woman screamed. “It’s killing him!”
“But it’s working,” Braylen said. “He’s going to be immortal.”
“Father,” Algernon whimpered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” His body roiled in agony. He thought someone pulled him out of his skin through those two wounds on his back as long, slippery ropes. “I should have told you.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Algie. You’re fine. You’re going to be fine.” Father touched his cheek with a warm finger. His forehead crinkled.
Sandalwood wreathed Algernon. Whenever Father healed him, he caught the scent without trying.
Algernon waited for the relief.
Nothing.
The ropes slowed without stopping. The pain ground his teeth and threw stars into his vision.
Father turned to the others in the room. “My healing is doing nothing! Why isn’t it working? My power is flooding into him, but the wounds are getting worse!”
“Cut it off,” the woman snapped.
“No,” Braylen said.
“Make it stop killing my son!” Father bellowed.
“This is my fault.” Spasms wracked Algernon’s body.
“It’s not your fault, Algie.” Father patted his cheek. It hurt. Like everything else. “Stay awake. Stay with me. You’re stronger than this. You have elf blood.” Tears slid down his cheeks.
The tiny pinpricks of white in Algernon’s vision grew with every passing moment.
“How could you sacrifice his only child for this?” the woman snarled.
“I’m not sacrificing him,” Braylen said, “I’m trusting in our research and process.”
“It’s not ready yet! You know that.”
Despite the agony, despite everything, Algernon strangely thought of that moment when he’d seen Miru stowing his money pouch. Had he paid Braylen for a room? Or had Braylen paid him?
For…?
Every muscle in his body tensed. He couldn't feel his father’s touch anymore. His vision clouded.
The pain remained. It consumed him.
Would the ropes ever end?
“I’m sorry.” Every sound took so much effort to grind out.
Every thought took so much effort to cling to.
“No, Algernon. I’m sorry,” Father whispered. “I love you, son.”
Algernon’s limbs thrashed. Who started screaming?
Why did they sound so far away?
Would anyone find Miru’s body?
What would they think?
Algernon giggled.
Then nothing.
Adyn cradled the still, limp corpse of his only child and wept.
Grab Forgotten Magic, the final anthology in this series, to discover what madness lies ahead for Algernon. Death is often a beginning in the world of Tilzam.
Interested in The Greatest Sin? Get a free story and find out more about this bingeable epic fantasy series at www.thegreatestsinseries.com.
About the Authors
Lee French is a prolific USA Today bestselling author living in Olympia, WA with two kids, two bicycles, and too much stuff. She’s a frequent visitor to Myth-Weavers, an online RPG site, and also trains in taekwondo. Best known for her young adult urban fantasy series Spirit Knights, she is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison.
Erik Kort abides in the glorious Pacific Northwest, otherwise known as Mirkwood-Without-The-Giant-Spiders, though the normal spiders often grow too numerous for his comfort. He is defended from all eight-legged threats by his brave and overly tolerant wife, and is mocked by his obligatory writer's cat. When not writing, Erik comforts the elderly, guides youths through vast wildernesses, and smuggles more books into his library of increasingly alarming size.
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Don’t forget to grab your copy of Forgotten Magic for more fantasy adventures.
Acknowledgments
Magical Mayhem Press (the publisher) & Melinda Kucsera would like to thank:
Samantha Achaia-Picinich for all her hard work. Her sharp eyes spotted stray commas, forgotten descriptions, and other issues. This set will cast a stronger spell for her efforts, beguiling all who behold it.
Raven Oak for her formatting skills and additional help.
Alesha Escobar, Toasha Jiordano, and Tiffany Shand for their assistance making this set as strong as it can be.
Jamie, Barbara, Joy, Clinton, AR Johnston, and the whole social media crew for tirelessly promoting this set.
C. S. Johnson, Anela Deen, and the rest of the review crew for helping to gather early feedback.
All the authors who contributed ideas during the formation of this set, especially those who could not take part due to unforeseen circumstances. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with the authors and editors on this project.
And, of course, to our readers. We wouldn’t be writing without you.
Wait! There’s More!
In the first two Magic Underground anthologies, our heroes faced the seen, the unseen, and the wayward in order to save us all. These same characters now find themselves in a continuing world of trouble because as we know, life can be dangerous!
Forgotten Magic, Magic Underground Anthology Book III, concludes these characters’ stories in a breathtaking way as they face betrayal, family, and of course, magic. The stakes are deadly and growing deadlier by the moment! Inside you’ll find stories about:
An all-inclusive ren-faire with an enigmatic man who plans to destroy it all
A missing, teleporting chimera in danger of becoming someone’s lunch…or worse
An open portal that rains magic upon our world, meaning it may already be too late to save
A weakening magical spell that could lead to a reign of danger and chaos
An heir and an apprentice who must prove their innocence to keep their nation from plunging into pandemonium
A sister who must convince herself she’s enough to save the Earth from the wicked…after all, she’s all the Earth has
A woman who must choose between the mother who abandoned her and those who deserve her help
And more!
Still not sure if Forgotten Magic is for you?
Here's 14 reasons why you must grab the sequel anthology now:
Thing thought he had it all figured out until the thief who stole a dangerous magical object runs straight into the arms of a powerful mage.
Everything they know is just an illusion, but the truth is worse.
Irozion is the city of glass and steel and may be the city where Al'rashal and Urkjorman lose their son.
Perooc’s treasure is King Bewilliam's last chance to get his ship to port and its cargo to his desperate, starving subjects, but gaining the prize demands not only bravery but also a heart-wrenching sacrifice.
Marked by the deity Anuu, can Finyaka's divine power save the Golden City from the corruption that dwells there?
While infiltrating in the Red God's temple, Saleyna realizes her slumbering magic is a lot more powerful than she gave it credit for... And if she doesn't learn how to control her magic, it could get her killed.
Demons, a blessed quest, stolen lives and ancient books - Can the new power couple rise to the occasion?
Ariana is thrust into a mythical world that feels more like home than her home of thirteen years, but a sinister power pulls upon her, and the fate she thought she left behind lurks around every corner.
Simith and Jessa brave the Forgotten Vale to obtain the magic they need to defeat the fairies, but can they survive the terrifying lich who dwells there?
Carol has the ring and the interest of Freddie, but is he as bad as she first thought?
Dead for over a millennium, an ancient Viking ghost must adapt to the modern age while struggling to take down a murderous family.
There's nothing left to lose if you've already lost...or so Shendra believed.
Curse reversed—easy-peasy. Hamster infestation—taken care of. All that's left is to find out who's been sabotaging Ettie's magic shop. That turns into a bigger problem than expected!
How do you negotiate with an ageless, supremely powerful entity after you've insulted him?
Grab your copy of Forgotten Magic now to get the next installment of these epic tales of magic, mayhem, love, and adventure. Don’t miss the final installment of the best trilogy of fantasy anthologies this year!
About Magical Mayhem Press
Magical Mayhem Press publishes exactly what you think it does: books chock full of magic and mayhem. It’s the only character-run press of its kind, but we do have one Scribe on staff (Melinda Kucsera) to do all the fiddly bits we fictional characters aren’t good at.
Who created the characters who run this press? Melinda Kucsera.
Since we’re fictional, we only exist when you read us, (we star in Melinda’s books found here: melindakucsera.com/the-curse-breaker-saga/) so getting our books into your hands is a matter of survival. That’s why we convinced Melinda to start a publishing house.
The characters who run this press also run a weekly fantasy-adventure newsletter, written by our Scribe, Melinda. If you need more magic and mayhem in your life, sign up at www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters to add us to your inbox. We make house calls.
You can also find out more at: https://magicalmayhempress.com/
The Magic Underground Trilogy of Anthologies
Hidden Magic, Book I
Wayward Magic, Book II
Forgotten Magic, Book III
If you enjoyed Wayward Magic, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help readers decide if this collection is for them. The authors who participated in this set thank you in advance.
Wayward Magic Page 73
