by Isaac Hooke
“I know this already,” Malem said. “You see, I’ve been running for most of my life. And I’m looking forward to a good fight. Now good day.”
He grabbed Wendolin by the hand, and glanced at her. She nodded.
They stepped through the portal together.
40
Malem returned to find the Metal dragons fully clothed, and the sun higher in the sky. Apparently, time in the nether realm passed at closer to the same rate as in this world. Solan and Gannet had arrived as well, and they were dressed as well. All of his companions were here.
He gazed upon them. “It’s done. Vorgon is… no longer a threat.”
“We beat him together,” Wendolin said proudly.
He sensed joy from the women, though there was an undercurrent of jealousy. Well, nothing he could do about that.
“Look at his eyes!” Abigail said. “They’re back to normal.”
“Is it some kind of trick?” Gwen asked.
Malem glanced at Gwen and shook his head. “No trick, Gwen.”
She grinned widely. “Not Gwenfrieda?” She leaped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re back!”
When she pulled away, he nodded. “The Defiler is dead. I am the Breaker once more. Weyanna, as soon as you have the strength, I want you to heal the scars on Gwen’s back.”
Weyanna nodded. “I’ll do that later, when she and I are alone.” She glanced at Gwen. “Assuming she lets me.”
“Yes,” Gwen said happily. “Of course!”
“You did it after all,” Goldenthall said in the voice of Banvil.
Malem glanced at the former king. The man’s eyes had become black, and dark mist flowed from them. Apparently it had taken all the Balor’s strength to hide from Vorgon within Malem’s mind, but now that Vorgon was gone, and Banvil had joined with Malem, the demon had some power back.
“Yes, I did it,” Malem agreed. “Surprised?”
Banvil shrugged. “I believed in you.”
“Sure you did,” Malem said. “You’re just a parasite along for the ride, as far as I’m concerned. You will keep this vessel at my side, and I will use it to commune with you as I wish it.”
The possessed king bowed. “As you wish, master.”
Malem suppressed a grin. Damn right.
The mist dispersed, and Goldenthall was himself once more. “Well, that was strange.” At least the king was no longer a raving lunatic, now that Banvil had re-exerted its control. Or maybe he was—Malem would find out soon enough.
He sensed a commotion to the north. Behind his companions, the Black Swords entered the copse. Or rather, the former Black Swords. They had the top lieutenants of their armies with them: night elves, Eldritch, dwarves, oraks, goblings, men, dragons, sprawled on the field beyond.
“Vorgon is gone,” Durabane, the Black Sword of the dwarves, said.
“What have you done?” Faran asked. “We’ve lost our powers!”
Ziatrice exploded, striking off the head of this presumptuous night elf that had taken her place as Black Sword in Vorgon’s army. Faran’s headless body dropped to the ground, and blood continued to pump from the neck in sickening spurts.
“We submit!” Durabane raised his hands in surrender.
The other Black Swords similarly backed away, palms raised.
“Good,” Malem said. “Because with Vorgon dead, I now command all of you.”
Yes! Ziatrice said.
The Black Swords stared at him in shock.
“Your army is mine,” Malem continued. “Timlir will take your place as leader of the mountain dwarves.”
“What?” Timlir said. “I don’t want to lead!” When he saw the two dwarven women cowering behind Durabane, he rubbed his chin. “Well, on second thought, maybe I do…”
“I always thought their women had beards,” Gannet commented.
“Mauritania, you are once again queen of the Eldritch,” Malem said. “And Solan, you are in command of the men Vorgon has conquered.”
“Will they follow a half dragon?” Solan asked.
“They’ll have to,” Malem told him. “It’s up to you whether you want to reveal your dragon nature to them or not.”
“Who will lead the oraks, dragons, and other dark creatures?” Abigail asked.
“Ziatrice,” Malem said. “The oraks and other dark creatures are yours.”
She bowed. “Thank you Breaker.”
“Except the dragons,” Malem amended.
Ziatrice scowled.
He turned toward the great blue that towered over the copse behind him. “Nemertes, the dragons are yours to command.”
“Oh, shit in a barrel,” Nemertes said. “Just when I thought I could go home.”
“As for my first order, the attack on the Dothweald is to cease, immediately,” Malem said.
“Durabane, you’re now my top lieutenant,” Timlir said. “Dispatch the news!”
The former Black Sword had one of his own lieutenants act as a courier, sending him onto the back of a black dragon to spread the word.
“As for my second order, we are marching southwest,” Malem said. “To the Midweald, and there we will settle.”
“Founding a kingdom in the heart of monster territory?” Xaxia asked.
“I kind of like the idea myself!” Gwen said.
Malem shrugged. “It seems suiting.”
“You will be an emperor!” Ziatrice said.
“Perhaps,” Malem said. “But not of men. Monsters, maybe.”
“You could be emperor of all men, too!” Ziatrice said. “Not just the ragtag group with this army. Conquer the world! It is your destiny!”
He smiled heartily. “You don’t understand. You, and the women, are my world. I already have everything I’ll ever want.”
“You fool!” Ziatrice said. “Then I will take your place!”
Without warning she swung the halberd at him. He leaped out of the way, but the blade would have never touched him: branches had sprouted from the surrounding trees, and wrapped her up.
Malem glanced at Wendolin appreciatively, and then tightened his will around Ziatrice before she could try anything else, such as her dark magic, and drained her of stamina.
She slumped in the branches.
He sensed the other women around him preparing to attack the night elf, but he raised a hand. “Stand down.”
He walked toward Ziatrice. “Sorry for that.”
“No,” Ziatrice said, grinning weakly. “I deserved that. Let my emotions get the better of me. Power. I’ve always wanted more. I could never see when I had enough. It’s cost me so many things in this life. And now I’ve lost you, too. Go ahead, then. Take my head with that sword of yours.”
“Silly woman, you haven’t lost me,” he said, letting forgiveness float through their bond. “I’m not the Defiler. I’m the Breaker now, remember? And to you, I’ll always be Malem. Your Malem.”
Tears suddenly flowed from Ziatrice’s eyes. “You’ve forgiven me? Just like that?” She sniveled. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She wept freely.
He glanced at Wendolin, and nodded. The branches parted, letting Ziatrice stand on her own. She dropped the halberd, and he went to her, giving her a hug.
“I love you,” she said quietly.
He smiled, saying nothing. What could he say? The others were listening. Everyone was. To declare love for her then would only piss off the remaining women. In truth, he loved them all.
He pulled away from her, letting her dab at her wet blue face with her fingers.
Xaxia came to his side, looping a hand through his left arm. Gwen did the same on his right.
“This new kingdom of ours, the one we plan to start in the Midweald, it’s going to need a few children to populate it, you know that, right?” Gwen said.
Malem smiled. “I guess we’ll have to see what we can do to expedite that.”
“Oh, really?” Her eyes shone with joy. “You hardly strike me as the fatherly sort.” She paused, p
ursing her lips almost to a pout. “Then again, it might be fun to see a few green-skinned little kids running around.”
“Green-skinned?” Mauritania said. “They’re going to be white-skinned, and horned.”
“No,” Ziatrice said. “They’ll have blue skin.”
“They’ll be half dragons,” Abigail said.
“You’re all wrong,” Xaxia said. “They’ll be bandits.”
Malem let go of the two girls to rub his temples. “And here I thought defeating a Balor was tough…”
He began walking back toward the dark army that awaited to the north. The former Black Swords and their lieutenants parted to let him and his companions pass. They cheered him as he went by, and the call was taken up by the other dark onlookers who had gathered to observe the proceedings:
“All hail Emperor Malem, Breaker of Balors!”
Thank you for reading!
If you’d like to see more Monster Breaker books, let me know in the reviews!
Otherwise, you can always head over to my site, and check if a new book has already been released. But first, flip to the next page for an important message.
Farewell, Monster Tamer?
First, I’d like to address something. The more astute among you may have noticed that the series name has changed from Monster Tamer to Monster Breaker, and then back to Monster Tamer. This is because another author registered a generic trademark on the word “Tamer,” and had his IP lawyer unceremoniously pull my books from Amazon. I had no warning whatsoever: one day I logged in to find my books completely gone!
I emailed Amazon, and finally managed to convince them to allow me to publish the series again, under a different name—Monster Breaker.
At this point, I involved the Author’s Guild. Two weeks later, Amazon allowed me to rename the series back to Monster Tamer. They agreed that Tamer is too generic of a term to trademark, especially considering there are 33,000 search results for the word on Amazon itself, dating back to the 1930s. It’s what is considered a “bad” trademark registration.
Nonetheless, the damage was done. Because the books were pulled from Amazon due to this weaponizing of trademark law by the other author in question, only to be put up again several days later, they never recovered their original ranking. Since sales have nosedived, I really need your support now more than ever.
If you’d like to see this series continue, please mention it on any Facebook readers’ groups you’re a part of.
More importantly, log in to Amazon, head over to Defiler, and let me know what you’d like to see next in a review. Heck, if you’re really feeling generous, a review on all three books would definitely help, if you haven’t left any already!
Take care, and I hope to see you soon with Malem and his dark army, on the lookout for the next hideous monster to Break…
Thank you!
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About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Isaac Hooke holds a degree in engineering physics, though his more unusual inventions remain fictive at this time. He is an avid hiker, cyclist, and photographer who sometimes resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
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Acknowledgments
I’d also like to thank my knowledgeable beta readers and advanced reviewers who helped smooth out the rough edges of the prerelease manuscript: Nicole P., Lisa G., Karen J, Jeremy G., Doug B., Jenny O., Amy B., Bryan O., Gary F., Lezza, Noel, Anton, Spencer, Norman, Chris, Bryant, and Trudi.
Without you all, this novel would have typos, continuity errors, and excessive lapses in realism. Thank you for helping me make this the best novel possible, and thank you for leaving the early reviews that help new readers find my books.
And of course I’d be remiss if I didn't thank my dear mother, father, and brothers, whose guidance has taught me how to break free of the Darkness.
— Isaac Hooke
