《Reincarnated in a Fantasy World with Murderous Intent.》


 Prologue and Chapter 1

    <h2>Prologue: Death.</h2>


    I glared at him from across the room.


    Finally.


    ¡°Oh yes, and who are you then?¡±


    He hadn¡¯t changed one bit. Not one single bit in the twenty years since I¡¯d started hunting him. With his carefully tousled, shockingly white hair, handsome face, and slim figure clad in the most expensive of dark grey suits. He stood there with a slightly confused, and yet totally unconcerned expression on his face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember me?¡± I asked, stepping closer.


    ¡°Oh my goodness me, I have met a lot of people in my time, I can¡¯t remember even a small percentage of them.¡± He scratched his chin and frowned slightly. ¡°Although, there is something vaguely familiar¡­¡±


    I kept a steady pace, closing the gap between us. ¡°I¡¯ve changed a lot. Lost a fair bit of weight for example.¡± I rubbed my shaved head. ¡°Lost hair too.¡±


    ¡°No, still don¡¯t have it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also gained things,¡± I went on. He was only a few metres away now. ¡°More hatred of course, more grief, naturally, for some of the horrible things I¡¯ve had to do to keep on your trail. More skills too, with weapons, fighting, killing.¡±


    ¡°So cool.¡±


    I could tell I was beginning to bore him, but it didn¡¯t matter, I was just about in range.


    ¡°I bought this along too. It cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it, when I slide it into your body.¡±


    One of his eyebrows raised as I pulled the wicked looking dagger out from the sheath under my jacket.


    ¡°Pretty.¡±


    ¡°So, you still don¡¯t remember me?¡±


    He shook his head, sadly.


    ¡°Maybe if I set the scene?¡± I took a deep breath, trying to force down the emotions that always came with this memory. ¡°You¡¯re in a house. You¡¯ve brutally raped and murdered my young daughter, you¡¯re just finishing off my wife, and I come in.¡±


    He paused for a second, but then his eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers. ¡°Yes! I remember! Oh, that was a good one! I mean, you out, cheating on your wife, leaving me to entertain them myself. And they were both good ones, especially your daughter. I do love the screams, mostly from the mother I make them watch. Still, all are to be savoured.¡±


    I snarled, hand tightening about my knife¡¯s hilt.


    ¡°You walked in!¡± He was enjoying himself now, remembering. ¡°You simply stood and watched as I cut your wife¡¯s throat! Then I came inside her too, they do twitch so when that happens, makes it a lot more fun.¡±


    My breath was laboured, my heart hammering in my chest.


    ¡°And I left you, didn¡¯t I? I thought that would be a suitable punishment for your philandering ways, more so than just killing you there and then. That would have been too easy.¡± He nodded, smiled, and crossed his arms, sighing happily. ¡°So, how have you been?¡±


    ¡°I told you. I¡¯ve been hunting you. And now I¡¯m going to kill you. Your death will be too easy, too fast, too painless, but that can¡¯t be helped.¡± I raised my knife.


    ¡°Such drama. Oh very well, although I¡¯ll be annoyed to ruin this suit, in reward for your many years of determination, I¡¯ll let you have a free stab.¡± He held his arms out wide. ¡°How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like justice,¡± I growled. Without hesitation, I¡¯d been itching for this moment for two decades after all, I stepped forward and plunged my dagger into the centre of his torso with all of my strength.


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    The sound of it penetrating his body was like music to my ears, the blade sliding in, right up to the hilt.


    There was silence. I looked up, into his eyes that, whilst from afar looked bright and sparkling, were, in fact, dull and lifeless.


    ¡°Did you enjoy that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just noticing I¡¯m not dead, yes?¡± He shook his head. ¡°All those years and you never realised my true being. How sad. Didn¡¯t you wonder why I look the same now as back then? How I¡¯ve not aged? How I¡¯ve kept my youthful good looks?¡± A grin of perfect, white, teeth.


    He leaned in close, nearly kissing me. ¡°I¡¯m a demon. There, there¡¯s your answer. And now, it¡¯s my turn. I have a knife too, so I think that¡¯s fair, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I felt a sensation then, in my chest, both cold and burning at the same time, as his steel slid into me. Immediately, my body wavered, the effects not yet taking hold, but it knew, my body knew, it had just been killed.


    ¡°You can die now, I think,¡± he said.


    I smiled.


    ¡°What?¡± He gave me a puzzled look.


    ¡°Did you look at my dagger?¡± I managed to gasp, as the blood flowed from my injury, down my hand, clutching the knife, onto the hilt still protruding from his flesh.


    ¡°What?¡± He looked down, and then, and only then, did his eyes widen. Only then did he register something other than a smug emotion.


    ¡°Of course I know what you are, after twenty years hunting you, following you through¡­¡± I coughed, my body was starting to go. ¡°Through the gutters, the depravity of your world. I said¡­ this dagger cost me¡­ a pretty penny.¡±


    ¡°Blood sacrifice,¡± he gasped.


    ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s right,¡± I managed to get out. ¡°The sacrifice of one¡¯s life, the spell¡­ on the runes on the blade¡­ ensures that the demon is killed, fully, finally¡­ unconditionally, killed. Expensive¡­ but I think¡­ I think¡­ it¡¯s a bargain.¡±


    He stepped back, or staggered back, and I dropped to my knees, vision fading.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be it!¡± he wailed, trying to pull the dagger out of his body. It wouldn¡¯t budge. I was rather glad it wasn¡¯t a fake. Big gamble that had been.


    ¡°Die¡­ monster,¡± I sighed.


    I, Marc, have many regrets, but this, giving my life to end this demon was not one of them.


    I fell forward, onto the hard stone floor, and, to the desperate wails of the monster in my ears, I finally died.


    <h2>Midex.</h2>


    There was applause. Well, clapping. One person clapping.


    ¡°That was really cool.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I was alive?


    No, I was¡­ I was¡­ I don¡¯t know what I was.


    I tried to open my eyes, but, even though I could see (could I?) I didn¡¯t have eyes. (Or did I?) Sitting up was easy, because I didn¡¯t have a body either. (Perhaps?) It was hard to tell.


    ¡°Welcome!¡±


    The voice from before. I looked(?) around, and saw, sitting in a sea of white nothing, a tall, thin man. Maybe it was a man. The face was somehow out of focus. I was fairly sure he was wearing a white suit though.


    ¡°Where am I? What¡¯s happening? Yes, yes, I know. That¡¯s what everyone asks when they come here.¡± The person stood up and walked over to me. I found out that he was a lot taller than he first appeared, perspective seemed strange here, and he had to bend down, like an adult to a small child, to speak to me further. Shockingly, I could see his eyes. They were golden.


    ¡°You¡¯re in Midex. Well done, first Being through here in quite a lot of years. Well, if time existed here it would be a lot of years.¡±


    ¡°Mid¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes Midex. It¡¯s the middle of¡­ everywhere, everything, everytime, every dimension, just¡­ Everything. That¡¯s with a capital E. Everything there has every been, and ever will be, whenever, wherever and so on and so forth. Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s just about too much for even my mind to grasp, let alone yours. You can call me Midex too, if that makes it easier, which it probably doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Midex stood up. ¡°You died, but hey, what a way to go, right? Killing a demon of that magnitude. Nearly killing him anyway. So close.¡±


    ¡°Nearly?¡± I should have felt anger, but somehow, I felt nothing at all.


    ¡°He slipped away, out of the body he had, just before it failed, and ran back to where he came from, originally. Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong, you severely injured him. He¡¯s in a very weakened state. It will take years, decades even, for him to recover to a decent level of power.¡±


    I should have cried then. It was all for nothing? And yet, I still felt no emotions.


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, we were so impressed, we¡¯re going to send you after him.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t want that, you¡¯ll be going to a Bad place. After all, you did a lot of horrible things in your life, and that includes cheating on you wife with all those women. I mean, most of them were old enough to be called women.¡± He tapped a finger on his cheek. ¡°Then there was all the violence and killing after.¡± Midex shook his head and made a tutting sound. ¡°You ended up being quite the bad man.¡±


    He looked at me and smiled brightly. At least that¡¯s the impression I somehow got, as his face was still blurry.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s it to be? A brand new life, in a brand new place, or, well, the other.¡±


    He knelt down and those golden eyes bored into me again. ¡°If you ask me, it¡¯s not really a hard decision. You could maybe make up for all those regrets. It¡¯s a second chance! Clean slate, and so on.¡±


    To be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure I deserved such a thing, but then, if that bastard was still out there¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the second chance,¡± I said.

 Baby.

    I opened my eyes again. And yes, this time they actually felt like eyes.


    The first thing I saw, although things were a bit blurry for some reason, was a plain white ceiling above me. Framing my view were some wooden bars. I glanced left and right, and realised that I was in a baby¡¯s cot, and the bars were just to stop a kid rolling onto the floor.


    Trying to lift my head was a shock. I couldn¡¯t! What the hell? At least my arms responded, although they felt rather different. That was because, I saw as I raised them in front of my face, they were baby arms. Baby hands.


    I was a baby! I was a baby in a crib!


    There was a shimmer of light above me, and suddenly a pale, no, a totally white face, was looking down at me with eyes of silver. As far as I could see, he was dressed in a white suit, and was totally bald.


    ¡°Midex?¡± I tried to say, but all that came out of my mouth was a kind of gargle.


    ¡°Hey there,¡± the newcomers said cheerily. ¡°Your new body can¡¯t really speak yet, you¡¯re only about a day old here. And no, I¡¯m not Midex I¡¯m, well, technically I am a part of Midex, like a slice of Midex, maybe? I don¡¯t know how to explain it. You can call me Dex though.¡±


    ¡°Dex,¡± I tried to speak again, and again, only managed a gargling baby sound.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can hear your thoughts, but hold off with the questions for now please, they will be coming to check on you shortly, so we don¡¯t have much time, not that they¡¯ll be able to see me.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Anyway, quick information dump for you, so try to focus. Ready?¡±


    Instead of trying to speak again, I waved my arms about.


    ¡°Good. Okay, firstly, you¡¯re no longer on Earth. You¡¯re no longer even in your old universe. You¡¯ve passed through the Midex and are in another world where the rules are different. This is where your demon friend first came from. Probably the most important thing to note is that this is what you would call a ¡®Swords and Sorcery¡¯ world. That is, magic exists, indeed, is fairly common, here.¡±


    Upon hearing this I kicked my feet excitedly. There had been traces of sorcery back on Earth, the dagger I¡¯d used was imbued with some, but magic was rare indeed there, and weak. Back when I had a life, I¡¯d been a big fan of fantasy, so the thought of actual magic was exciting. Wait! Would I be able to use it?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, you¡¯ll be able, more than able,¡± Dex replied to my thoughts. ¡°In fact, you¡¯re going to need it to defeat the demon again, when the time comes. To that end, we¡¯ve made sure your new body is well equipped. You¡¯ll also be stronger and faster than most.¡± He leaned closer. ¡°We want you to succeed in this. However, and this is important, you will have to work for it. There will be many things to learn, many enemies to defeat, many friends and allies to make along the way. You will need to be in this for the long haul. Success is not guaranteed. Remember that.¡±


    He straightened up again. ¡°Of course, your previous memories of your first life will help. Initially your body will hinder and affect you a little bit, but you should quickly overcome the challenges. You won¡¯t be at full strength until you¡¯re older either, but that doesn¡¯t mean you will be weak, not at all.¡± He waggled a finger and smiled, and then glanced to one side. ¡°Your parents are coming, so I¡¯ll leave you to it. Remember, strive to gain skill and power. Don¡¯t worry about the demon for now, that will be a long way down the road.¡±


    I heard a sound then, of voices getting close.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll enjoy yourself in this world,¡± Dex went on, with a leer. ¡°The values here are not the same as on Earth. I think you will find them quite to your taste, the naughty fellow that you are.¡± He laughed then, a fairly evil laugh, and vanished.


    I blinked. What did he mean by that?


    Then there were two new faces above me. Nice faces. Pretty female faces! Oh, was this what he had meant? I was always a sucker for the ladies. That¡¯s what had got me in this position in the first place.


    The women were talking as one of them reached down and lifted me up.


    One was a giant of a woman, with bright green hair and muscles that would make a body builder jealous. She also had the most magnificent rack, which a fairly skimpy leather top was only just managing to keep in check. Back on Earth I would have described her as Amazonian.


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    The second woman, who was picking me up, was almost the complete opposite. She was petite, slim and fit, with long flowing golden hair, big blue eyes, and a kind face. Totally my type, back on the old world, wearing a long white dress. She hugged me to her, and I luxuriated in the warm contact.


    I was then jiggled and passed back and forth. The big woman, with hands like iron, held me high at first, which gave me a nice view down her top, then she brought me close, and I nearly smothered in that same bosom, as she kissed my head, which was pleasant. Then I was passed back to the first one.


    They carried on talking, but I couldn¡¯t understand anything they said. I guess the new body hadn¡¯t been fitted with a translator. Oh well, I¡¯d just have to learn the language. Back in my previous life, even before my demon hunting days, I had travelled, and even lived, in various countries, and could speak several languages, so this wouldn¡¯t be a new thing for me.


    The next I knew, I was being taken down a short corridor, and into another room, this one appeared to be a living area. It was furnished with a comfortable looking sofa, some chairs, and a fireplace, which wasn¡¯t lit. I guess it was summer.


    Only then did I remember Dex had said my parents, plural, were here, which meant I had two mothers! So, this world was okay with that kind of thing. Not a problem at all for me, I was never homophobic. Plus, both my mothers were hot!


    The one holding me, the petite one, sat down and I was presented with a very nice looking breast. I guess it was because I was still a baby, but I felt no sexual desire at this point. Also, she was my mum. Also, I found, I was hungry!


    So I had my first ever meal in my new life, in my new world, with my new family. Shortly after, my body did what baby bodies do, and mother number one tended to me. Maybe I should have been embarrassed, but I found I wasn¡¯t. Such is the life of a newborn.


    And then, again, my baby body took over, and I fell asleep.


    ~*~


    The next few months were frustrating for me. I wanted to explore, I wanted to learn about this new world, about magic and sword fighting, but my baby body betrayed me, constantly falling asleep, which, of course, is what young babies do.


    The time that I was awake though, I made every effort to strengthen the muscles in my body. The first time I managed to lift my head was a triumph! My other priority, learning the language, was going slightly better in some respects. I was more often than not in the same room as at least one of my mothers. It didn¡¯t take long to figure out that the slim one was Lissa, and the larger one was called Rath, which I thought a good name. In any case, they talked, of course, whilst I lay there trying to exercise.


    And I found out my own name too! It took me longer than you would think, because they tended to call me pet names, like ¡®sweetie¡¯ and so on, but finally, when they introduced me to a visitor, I discovered my name in this life was Theodore. I quite liked the choice, although I¡¯m sure people would call me Theo most of the time. Our family name was Helmage, which I thought sounded cool. Apparently in this world, or this country of this world, when couples married, they could choose either a name from one side or the other, or create a totally new one. This was a mixture from both my mother¡¯s names.


    In any case, maybe it was my experience from my last life, maybe it was because babies pick things up quickly, or maybe a bit of both, but I very quickly learned some language. I still had trouble speaking, but at least the noises I produced were starting to sound like words.


    This was commented on, both by my mothers, and by any number of visitors that dropped by, apparently to see me.


    And what a selection of visitors they were too. Some were fairly old, some were men, one visited wearing what could only be leather armour, and with a sword at his side, confirming what Dex had said about this being a world of swordplay. I wondered if would be good at that. In my last life I had, on occasion, done a bit of archery as a hobby, and was moderately skilled, but I¡¯d never used a full on sword.


    One woman who visited, a slim thing, and pretty as hell, was undoubtably an elf. Not only that, she carried a wand! A real wand! I actually messed myself when I saw her, which I had had to get used to unfortunately, as they didn¡¯t even try letting me use a toilet.


    A surprising number of visitors were younger, many teenagers, including many very cute girls. Even though my baby body was too immature to react, my mind was thinking lustful thoughts as I was hugged and kissed by these pretty lasses. Oh, I couldn¡¯t wait to be a teenager again!


    From the language I picked up, I soon figured out that we were in some kind of institute of learning, and that at least one, probably both, of my mothers were teachers there. It was probably a senior school, maybe even a college of some sort.


    The first time I was held up to look out of a window in my mother¡¯s bedroom, the sight I saw confirmed this for me.


    Rath was holding me, squished against her magnificent boobies as usual, but the view held took my attention off them, for a change.


    We were probably three floors up. The windows had been opened, so the view outside was clear, looking down onto some kind of massive open area. To the right the grounds were paths wandering around pleasant areas of grass, decorative flowers and small trees. People from about twelve on up wandered around or sat on the grass. Several groups appeared to be studying, reading books, writing, talking.


    To the left side though, was an open, paved, expanse. A large group of youths, I¡¯d say about mid-teenage age, were in pairs, sparring with a variety of weaponry. Some were wooden weapons, but some, mostly the older ones, had very real, very sharp looking swords and the like. My heart beat fast just looking at them. Here was real combat!


    Unfortunately, Rath didn¡¯t linger too long at the window, but what I had seen gladdened my wizened, cynical heart. I swore this time I¡¯d take full advantage of my life, live it to the absolute fullest.


    I mean, come on, who wouldn¡¯t want a do-over?

 Mana.

    Finally I had started to make progress. I was now two, and a lot had happened in my young, second life. For a start, I knew a lot more about the environment I was inhabiting.


    My mothers and I lived in the Silfen War and Magic Academy, which was located, as the name might suggest, in the Kingdom of Silfen, the furthest north of the human and demi-human lands on this continent. The reason for it being located in such a place was because, to the north, lay a mostly barren area everyone called the Badlands. Further north still was demon territory. Obviously this was of interest to me, considering my ultimate reason for being here was to hunt that son of a bitch down again.


    The academy was a pretty big place, although in form, was fairly simple. Imagine, if you will, a stone wall, a huge stone wall, with living areas, classrooms, storage areas and all the other kinds of places people needed to live, inside it. Now imagine this wall built in a huge rectangle, with the courtyard I had seen from my first view outside the window in the centre. Such was the academy.


    Our little apartment complex was in the north wall, with the windows all facing south, into the central area. The outer wall was fortified, and barely had any views out, so we were lucky to have these. I later learned that, as both my parents were instructors, we had a slightly larger place than most.


    Rath, not really surprisingly, was a combat instructor. She had carried me outside and sat me down whilst taking a lesson on more than a few occasions now, and I¡¯d never seen anything like her. Her main weapon was a bastard big sword, which she wielded two handedly most of the time, but I¡¯d also seen her use a staff, as spear, a halberd and a bow. Her title was Weapon Master, and I believed it was well deserved. According to what I overheard, she was the best overall fighter in the place, although someone else took the title for swordsman.


    Lissa, on the other hand, was a Sister of the Blessed Mother. Basically, a cleric. And she had magic! My mother was a gentle soul though, and specialised in healing, with some defensive magics thrown in too. I fell sick with a fever when I was about six months old. Lissa came in, a loving smile on her face, placed her palm gently on my forehead, and muttered a prayer under her breath. Within a minute my fever had broken, and I was as good as new. I was amazed, and swore to myself then, that I would always protect her.


    My language had progressed in leaps and bounds too. As soon as my baby body had developed enough, I worked on my communication skills, much to the wonder of everyone who met me, and the joy of my mothers, who took great pride in my apparent genius. I felt a bit of a fraud about that.


    On the other hand, I was beginning to be known as a slightly odd kid. When I had been very young, my baby body had cried from time to time, although not as much as a normal baby. However, now I had more control, I just didn¡¯t. And even though I made an effort, when I remembered at least, I was obviously not a normal, bubbly child. Bear in mind, I was in my fifties when I died, and it that was still mostly my mindset.


    Hence some people who were closer to my parents looked askance at me.


    It wasn¡¯t going to get better in that regards either, because as soon as I was able, I went hunting down books to read.


    It was great relief to find the language, and the writing, was really quite simple. Their written word looked rather like runic, with each rune, sometimes two together, making a sound. In many ways it was even easier than English, which had been my main language back in my first life, as the words were spelled how they sounded. Also the grammar was simple, with no changes to past and present tense needed, just the addition of another word to signify that, if required.


    I started to learn by getting my mothers to read to me every chance I could, whilst I sat on their laps and followed along. Those books were very simple, designed for a child, but this gave me a basis for the alphabet, and once I had that, I could carry on myself. Initially though, after getting the basics, I was a little frustrated. My parents were obviously not big readers, as they hardly ever had any other books around.


    My luck changed though, when Myra entered my life, in several ways.


    I had started crawling about early, and took every chance to scoot off somewhere, which meant my parents had to, in their opinion at least, keep an eye on me all the time, which was wearing for them. So they hired a babysitter, a young girl of about thirteen, who lived a few doors down.


    Myra was cute. I drooled when I first saw her, mentally at least. She was human, petite, but with quite a nice pair of boobs on her, even at her age. When I sat on her lap, I took great pleasure in resting my head on those lovely cushions. I know, a pervert toddler. She was pretty too, with large brown eyes, a button nose and dark hair, cut short.


    She was a student at the academy, but only because her father worked at the place, as an assistant or some such, so her classes were not as numerous as other students, and her family was not quite so well off. Hence the extra income earned from looking after me was welcomed by them.


    Myra didn¡¯t just want to hang around our apartment, which was fine by me. I had been outside of our home a relatively few times, and out of the building, into the small town that was down the hill from the academy, only twice, so any change of scenery was welcome.


    In any case, I asked her if we could visit the library, and she was more than amenable, as she had to get some books for her studies anyway.


    At first she was nervous, even having got to know me a little by then, that I would make a noise, but I was no ordinary toddler of course, and all I cared about were the books. With a little nudging, I managed to get her to borrow a basic book on magic, and from then on, I was hooked.


    That first day I simply read, I had to really, we were in the library. Myra was writing some sort of paper, with research from several tomes, so I was left to sit at the end of her table, on several thick books piled on a seat, with strict instructions to keep quiet.


    As far as my reading had come on, I still had some problems at first. I mean, there were more than a few words that I could read, but I hadn¡¯t yet learned the meaning of! Some of them I could guess, using the context, but others I wasn¡¯t sure of. In any case, I got the gist of magic fairly quickly.


    In a nutshell, magic came from mana, which was exuded, usually fairly slowly and over time, by all living things. It even said the earth gave it off, but I suspected that really it was probably coming from the small, even microscopic, creatures that lived in it, and the same for water, and even the air.


    In any case, to use magic, one had to channel the mana, and to do that you had to visualise the task in a certain way to create a spell. Spells were of five levels. Base, low, medium, high and ultra. Base spells were really low level things, using a tiny amount of mana, such as creating a spark, and nearly anyone could do this. However, more powerful spells needed more energy, more mana, and this is where people differed. Those with higher power, and hence higher ability, could channel more mana at once. Controlling this mana grew exponentially harder, with only a very rare mage being powerful enough to try ultra level spells, so the use of incantations was needed at some point. Usually, more powerful wizards could cast some medium levels spells without the need to incant, but beyond that, the spell usually needed to be spoken, and more powerful spells still needed hand movements too. These allowed the caster to channel the mana and shape it to their will. However, of course, these incantations meant the spell took longer to cast, and in a time critical situation, such as a battle, this could be fatal.


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    The book I had explained the basics of how to channel mana, and I was excited to try this. I had to hold my patience though, as I needed to wait until I was somewhere private. Even just sitting in the library had garnered a lot of puzzled looks from students and teachers passing by. It¡¯s not everyday you see a one year old reading after all.


    There was something I could try here though, something that needed no incantation or anything except concentration, and that was to actually see mana.


    According to the book, this was a base ability, that most people could do to some degree, so was confident I should be able to manage it. Essentially, you had to focus in a certain way, almost like those ¡®magic eye¡¯ images back in my first world. You also had to try and visualise the mana in a specific fashion, which the book explained.


    The mana should, so I read, look like a golden mist, with stronger sources even having sparkling motes within. The more powerful the mage, the more sensitive the mana detection they should have. So, for example, a low level user would be able to detect mana from a powerful magic artefact if they tried, but a powerful user should easily be able to see mana coming off a plant.


    I was no believer in god, or gods, back in my old world, but having literally passed over, and met beings of god level power, as well as having seen my mother channel energy from the Blessed Mother, I muttered a short prayer before taking a deep breath and trying to visualise the very source of magic.


    For want of anything better, I focussed on Myra, who was always pleasant to look at anyway, and, as a living being, should be giving off a certain level of the stuff. Anyone with a decent level of power, so the book had said, should be able to detect it emanating from a person.


    And so, I tried. I stared at her, stared through her, stared beyond her, let my eyes unfocus¡­ but nothing. Then I remembered I had to visualise too! Stupid.


    I did my eye thing again, and visualised.


    ¡°Aaah!¡± I wailed, and fell off my chair.


    ¡°Theo!¡± Myra cried, standing up and running around the table, to find me shielding my eyes and moaning. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, picking me up, simultaneously nodding and apologising to the few other people nearby for the interruption. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to be quiet? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°So bright,¡± I moaned, carefully opening my eyes a fraction. ¡°Oh!¡±


    The mana coming of Myra was like looking at the sun. ¡°Your mana, so bright¡­¡±


    ¡°What? My mana? It¡¯s just a normal¡­ oh.¡±


    She was quiet then, so much so that I tried to peep at her again, but I had to shield my eyes once more.


    ¡°You¡­¡± I could hear her muttering, but then she pulled herself together. ¡°You need to focus on the¡­ how do I say this? Try seeing less intensely. You can adjust the level of your vision if you try. Oh my, I¡¯ve never heard of this before. Theo, do you understand me?¡±


    ¡°Y¡­ yes,¡± I said, trying to take in what she had said.


    Okay, visualise less. Like turning down the volume I suppose. So I did that, although it took me a minute to get my head around the concept.


    Still, when I opened my eyes a crack again, Myra was no longer glowing like the sun. Instead it looked like a golden mist was coming off her, almost like she was steaming. Glints of shining light could be seen within this mana smoke too, as the book had foretold.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s better,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just a bit sensitive.¡±


    ¡°You can see my mana?¡± she asked, eyes wide.


    ¡°Yes, so brightly. Are you a powerful mage Miss Myra?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, no more than average, at best. I can detect mana from a person if I try, or more easily if they¡¯re very powerful, but it¡¯s strange¡­¡± She squinted at me. ¡°I can¡¯t see any mana coming from you.¡±


    ¡°What? Nothing at all?¡±


    ¡°No, but if you can see my mana as you said, then surely you have an amazing level of ability. I don¡¯t understand.¡± She stood up, with me in her arms, cradled against that wonderful bosom of hers. ¡°I¡¯m going to speak to your mother about this, maybe she can explain.¡±


    ¡°As you say Miss Myra,¡± I said, resting against her chest and luxuriating in it. ¡°Oh, please take my book back.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Sit here a minute while I clean up.¡± She placed me back on the chair, and began tidying her books away, whilst I took a look around at the world through my new eyes.


    ¡°The book had not been lying. Of the few other people in the room, I could see three with less mana, one with about the same, and an older man in robes, probably a teacher, who was giving off far more. So, he was probably a powerful mage. I looked down at myself, but, as Myra had said, I couldn¡¯t detect anything at all from me.


    ¡°How odd,¡± I said to myself. Perhaps it had something to do with me being from another world. Or at least, my mind being from one.


    Myra took me back to my apartment, where we found my mother Lissa in the kitchen, cooking, a pastime she enjoyed. I saw the mana streaming off her with my new vision, almost as brightly as I¡¯d first seen it coming off Myra, and had to reduce my ¡®volume¡¯ a little more, so I didn¡¯t have to squint to see her.


    ¡°Hello sweetie!¡± my mother said, when she saw me toddle in. ¡°Is that another book?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a book of basic magic,¡± Myra informed her.


    ¡°What? What are you doing, giving him that at his age?¡± Lissa asked her, a shocked look on her expression.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you realise your son¡¯s ability,¡± Myra said. She picked me up, stood me on a chair next to a table that was in the kitchen, took the book from me and opened it at a random page. ¡°Theo, read,¡± she ordered.


    I looked at her for a moment, then at my mother, who had a bemused expression on her face, and then shrugged. She¡¯d find out sooner or later anyway.


    So I began to read the text out loud. It was a page I¡¯d already read, so it was easier the second time. After about a paragraph, my mother let out a low scream.


    ¡°How is he doing that?¡± she asked Myra. ¡°Theo, how can you read? You¡¯re not even two yet!¡±


    I smiled at her. ¡°You taught me mother,¡± I simply said. Perhaps it was better to keep things as basic as possible.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Lissa stammered.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the strangest thing,¡± Myra went on. ¡°He can see my mana too, and not at a low level, more like¡­ master level, possibly archmagi.¡±


    ¡°What? How do you know?¡±


    ¡°He was reading the book, which explains it, and he looked at me and fell off his chair, he said I was too bright to look at. Me. You can see my mana, can¡¯t you Mistress?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I mean, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s not so¡­ Oh.¡± My mother put her hand to her mouth as she suddenly realised the implications of what Myra was saying. ¡°But¡­ but he has no¡­ I mean, I though, hoped it would manifest later, sometimes that happens. I mean, I was happy just to have a child¡­ I¡­¡± She staggered over to the chair I was still standing on, lifted me up, and slumped down into it, sitting me on her lap.


    ¡°Oh, Blessed Mother,¡± she said, ¡°Please aid me now. Help me understand.¡±


    In my time with my parents, as relatively short as it had been, I had seen Lissa perform healing magic on me, so I know she had power, but what happened next would have knocked me down, had I not been sitting and held.


    A bright light shone down from the ceiling, enveloping the three of us. I felt a warmth and a love, a serenity that I had never felt before, and, underlying that, a power that humbled and awed me.


    ¡°Dear daughter, your son has been sent by strange gods.¡± The Voice was as smooth as silk, as powerful as a supernova. ¡°His destiny will either change the world for the better, or destroy it. Guide him in My Name, until the time comes for him to set out on his own. Prepare him for hardship. Prepare him to lead, to guide, and to help those weaker, and in need. Theo, a burden greater than you were sent here for will lie upon your shoulders. Be true to your inner heart, and you will find what you seek, and more. These are my Words.¡±


    And then the light was gone.


    I blinked. Well, that was something you didn¡¯t see every day.

 Cup Half Full

    As you can imagine, a visit from a goddess caused quite a stir. Being the place it was, the power of the incident had been detected by many of the mages in the academy, and it was only a minute before the first of them arrived, banging on the door and demanding to know what was going on.


    I sat there, on my kitchen chair, clutching my book, as a maelstrom of discussion, argument and debate went on around me, as if I were the eye of the storm. Eventually, tired, I was only one and a half remember, I crawled out of the room, unnoticed, and toddled into my own, climbed onto my bunk, and fell asleep.


    ~*~


    The next month I was subject to intensive examination by several professors from the magic department, all the while with my anxious parents standing by next to me, to make sure I wasn¡¯t overwhelmed. To be honest, I found in more annoying than anything. The magic incantations they used I couldn¡¯t follow yet, especially as I hadn¡¯t been left alone enough to experiment with anything. They did use a number of artefacts though, some of them quite powerful judging by the amount of power they were imbued with. Finally, they sent for an expert from a magic university in a land down south, who arrived, I was most impressed to see, on an actual dragon!


    ¡°Woah,¡± I said, peering out of the window, down at the courtyard. ¡°Is that a real dragon mother?¡±


    ¡°It is son,¡± Rath put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°They are powerful creatures, but not impossible to beat in battle, if you are prepared.¡±


    ¡°Have you defeated a dragon mother?¡±


    ¡°Once, when I was young and strong, and rather foolish. I wanted to show my strength, so I set out to hunt a rogue beast that was preying on livestock in a small town.¡±


    ¡°You beat one of those? Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Her hand squeezed my shoulder for a second, as she thought of some past memory. ¡°I wasn¡¯t totally stupid I suppose. I bought some magical potions with me, and was armed with really good weapons. Plus, I chose an ambush position. Even so, I was lucky not to get killed.¡±


    ¡°But you won.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I won. It came with a cost though.¡±


    I looked up at my tough mother, and saw her eyes, which were unfocussed, looking into the past with a sad expression on her face. She shook herself out of it though, and smiled down at me. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will grow up to be powerful enough to beat one, but if, when you do, please be careful not to place the lives of others in danger.¡±


    ¡°Yes mother, I promised.¡±


    ¡°Good boy. Oh, that must be the expert. I promise you Theodore, this will be the last one. I¡¯m fed up of them prodding my son like a lab rat.¡±


    ¡°Thank you mother,¡± I said. I was also fed up with it.


    I watched as the man who had been a passenger on the dragon spoke to a waiting mage, who gestured in our direction. The visitor, who was a tall, thin man with dark hair, and dressed in billowing tan robes, nodded, and the two set off across the yard.


    Rath sighed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to the living room and wait for them.¡±


    ¡°Yes mother.¡± I took her hand and toddled alongside her. Honestly, I wished I could grow up a little faster, being this young was limiting. ¡°Patience,¡± I said to myself. Wishing to grow up faster was something a child really would say.


    Eventually the expert was shown into our living room, and to me. He was introduced as specialist research mage Alto.


    At first he did what the other professors had done, which was to examine me a little like a doctor from my first world. He took my pulse, listened to my heartbeat through a stethoscope, prodded me here and there, looked at my eyes, in my ears and felt my head.


    All the while he hummed, and nodded to himself.


    Then he took out a kind of magnifying glass, without any glass though. He muttered a brief incantation, and a purple haze appeared where the lens would be. Through this, he squinted at me. Frowning and rubbing his chin, he dispelled the purple haze, and brought out a piece of string with a rather horrible coloured yellow stone on the end. This he held up, so the stone was hanging down, and then muttered a longer incantation. Oh, how I longed to understand the magic!


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The stone sparkled with mana smoke then, which drifted towards me. The stone also swung, very slightly, in the same direction, as a piece of metal swinging towards a magnet.


    ¡°Ah ha!¡± Alto said, snapping his fingers. The stone stopped moving, and the mana smoke dissipated.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Rath asked.


    Alto stood up. ¡°How old is the boy?¡± he asked my mother.


    ¡°He¡¯s approaching two.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating. So long.¡± Alto rubbed his chin again, looked at me, then back at Rath. ¡°He¡¯s not full yet. That¡¯s all it is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Rath asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never encountered filling at this age,¡± he said, more to himself, but then nodded and spoke to those present. ¡°Very well, everyone knows that we people, all living things, exude mana,¡± he explained. ¡°What people generally forget, or don¡¯t know perhaps, is that the mana that we ¡®give off¡¯ is actually an overflow. An excess of the magic power if you will.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Rath said, frowning.


    ¡°Imagine that we, people I mean, are cups,¡± Alto went on. ¡°These cups, we people, hold mana, but, and this is where the analogy breaks down a little bit, but bear with me, the mana in these cups slowly increases over time. Self-fills, if you will. Most people are small cups. When they are born, they hold a certain level of mana, collected from their mother over the course of the pregnancy. These cups are nearly full of this ¡®mother mana¡¯ almost as soon as they emerge into the world, so, very shortly after, they get full, and begin to overflow.¡±


    ¡°So they give off mana,¡± the university professor who had accompanied Alto translated.


    ¡°Exactly, this overflow is what you can see coming off people.¡± Alto held a finger up. ¡°However, some people are larger cups. They hold more mana, and so they take longer to fill up. Sometimes, for the more powerful, this can take some months. During this time, whilst they are producing mana themselves, they also absorb mana from the atmosphere, to fill the cup, as it were. All living bodies wish to have full cups. Hence, during this time, they don¡¯t exude mana.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying the boy¡¯s cup isn¡¯t full yet?¡± the other professor asked.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Alto snapped his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. He¡¯s nearly two and he¡¯s not full! This is archmagi levels of power we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Rath stepped over and hugged me. ¡°Is he in any danger?¡± she asked. ¡°He¡¯s not going to, I don¡¯t know, explode or anything?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, all I¡¯m saying is that people who have so much mana inside them usually turn out to be the most powerful users of magic.¡± He sobered a moment, and looked at me. ¡°He will need training though, very good training, or he may become a danger to himself and others. Such power cannot be taken lightly.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in the right place then,¡± the professor said.


    I listened to all of this slightly dumbfounded. It seemed that Dex hadn¡¯t been lying when he said they had given my new body power. But if I had to be that strong, how bad was my demon target?


    ~*~


    Despite what the Alto had told everyone, I wasn¡¯t swept off to join magic classes on the spot. Lissa had only told Rath about my reading ability, and neither of them had told any one else, I guess they instructed Myra to keep quiet about it as well. I¡¯m not sure why, but perhaps they were worried I¡¯d get even more attention.


    In any case, I was free to learn more. As long as I was careful not to draw more notice to me, I should be left alone until I was four or five, which is when students were assigned classes.


    With this in mind, my first spell was the most basic one I could find. A fire lighting spell. Yes, I imagine you would say that would create attention, setting things on fire, but we had an old fashioned fireplace in our living room, as well as the large metal oven in the kitchen, which burned charcoal or wood.


    I waited until Rath was out teaching, and Lissa was busy doing something in another room, and tiptoed into the kitchen. The metal door to the oven was closed, and it took me a minute to find a cloth to shield my hand and open it. It was hot after all.


    Inside, the fire was smouldering. Mother Lissa had used it earlier to bake some bread, which was wonderful to eat by the way, and since then it had just died down.


    Wasting no time, I took a deep breath and visualised drawing in mana. I didn¡¯t really need to do this for this spell, but I wanted to practice the art. At first I thought nothing was happening, but then I detected a kind of breeze against my skin. Altering my vision, I could see mana drifting towards me from a plant on the table. Very good.


    Confident that was working, I held my hand out, pointed inside the oven and visualised with all my might the spark I wanted.


    There was a roar, and a blast of heat, and I threw myself backwards as a giant flame erupted from the oven, singeing my hair.


    ¡°Oops,¡± I said. I may have overdone it a little.


    Luckily the gout of flame quickly died down, it had only supposed to be a tiny spark after all, so nothing was set ablaze. I had a few singed hairs on my head, but it wasn¡¯t really noticeable, although the burning smell was a problem. Scuttling over to the small window the kitchen had, I climbed onto a cupboard and managed to open it, to let some air in, then went back to the oven to check it was okay.


    The charcoal was burning again, but other than that, it seemed all was good.


    ¡°Phew,¡± I said to myself. I carefully closed the oven door and scuttled back to my room.


    Once I was sitting on my bed, I analysed what had happened.


    It was simply, I decided, a case of too much power. I needed to learn control. But this was going to be the hard part. At my age I wasn¡¯t allowed out without an escort, except to the nearby library for a short time, and even if I was allowed further afield, where would be suitable?


    There was no obvious solution, so I was stuck with theory for now.


    I carried on going to the library, at first with either one of my mothers or Myra, but when I turned two, they let me go alone. The staff there, amused and bemused as they first had been, soon seemed to get used to me wandering up alone and borrowing books of magic. As I always took them back to our apartment to read, I suspect they thought I was getting them for someone else.


    Suited me.

 Book 2 Preview!

    ¡°Look,¡± she said, pointing.


    I looked. To the right of us, a little way away, with another further off, were small hills of earth. No, mounds of earth!


    ¡°They look like¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Worm mounds,¡± Arturo finished. He unslung his bow.


    ¡°Or even, wurm mounds,¡± Samantha corrected him, drawing her swords.


    Crow pulled his own large blade forth.


    ¡°A giant wurm?¡± I asked. ¡°Does that sound like something that could be the level boss?¡±


    ¡°A good candidate at least,¡± Jinsu said. ¡°Judging by the size of these mounds, it¡¯s pretty big.¡±


    ¡°Anyone have any information on giant wurms then?¡±


    ¡°Their hide is very tough,¡± Crow volunteered, our monster expert. ¡°Some can breathe poison gas, but this is rare. Don¡¯t fall for the old tales of getting swallowed and hacking away from inside either. There is strong acid in the belly and no air, even if you aren¡¯t minced into little pieces by the teeth.¡±


    ¡°Good to know,¡± I said. ¡°Very well, let¡¯s keep an eye out. Spread out a little too, we don¡¯t want to make a concentrated target.¡±


    We carried on in loose formation. The landscape remained the same, with the exception of more and more worm piles.


    I considered what spell would be best against such a beast. Probably some kind of slicing attack, but a strong one against something with tough skin. Or maybe a piercing spell, like stone bullets. Large ones. As I walked I modified my incantation code.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    There, that should do it.


    Not a moment too soon.


    ¡°The ground!¡± Jinsu said, stopping.


    We all felt it. The earth beneath us was trembling.


    ¡°Where¡­¡± Arturo started to say, but was cut off by the answer.


    Not one, or two, but about half a dozen long, brown wurms erupted from the ground all around us, luckily not directly under anyone.


    On the plus side, they weren¡¯t nearly as large as I was expecting, probably being a little under a metre in diameter, and seven or eight metres long, but the downside was, there were six of them!


    ¡°It¡¯s a swarm!¡± Samantha cried, leaping forward and slicing at the nearest with her swords. She cut deep, and green ooze began to leak from it.


    ¡°Is it a swarm though?¡± Arturo asked, loosing an arrow at another. It stuck into the creature, which showed no sign of noticing it.


    ¡°A flock?¡± Samantha ducked as the beast she¡¯d injured lunged at her. The front of the wurms were basically holes lined with multiple rows of razor teeth.


    As Crow sliced the one nearest to him in two, I loosed my new spell at another, throwing two giant, icicle shaped, granite rocks at it from above. They embedded themselves in the middle of the creature, puncturing clean through the body and pinning it to the ground. It let out a surprising screech and writhed around, unable to move further. Green ichor leaked out from the injuries.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware wurms made sound,¡± Arturo said. He was pulling back on his bow again, but I heard him mutter an incantation before he loosed it, at the same monster as before.


    This time the arrow punctured the thing like a hot knife through butter, piercing the rough hide deeply a little way behind the head area. Without so much as a squeak, the wurm thudded to the ground, and lay still.


    Samantha and Crow had now dealt with three between them, so only one was left. Jinsu had drawn her short sword and was playing a game of dodge with it. As I watched, she slipped underneath the head and stabbed upwards, in the same region that Arturo had aimed for.


    The sword bit deep, and she was thrown back as her wurm thrashed about, squealing before collapsing in a twitching heap. Jinsu ran over and hacked madly at it, until it was in two pieces, and she was covered in green blood.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stick with swarm,¡± Samantha concluded, wiping her brow.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t so hard,¡± Arturo said. ¡°I was expecting a tougher fight.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± I started to say.


    Too late!


    The ground was shaking hard, like a mini earthquake.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Samantha.


    An eruption of earth answered her, some metres off to our right, and a gigantic shape rose from the ground, like a flexible missile. The massive new wurm hissed like a steam train as more of its body emerged from underground.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said. It had to be about three or four metres wide, and fuck knows how long.


    ¡°I think we just killed the children,¡± I shouted. ¡°And the mother¡¯s mad!¡±

 Book 2 is now available!

    Another random excerpt, as I can''t post nothing here...


    ...


    The short dead-end alleyway, wedged between two large buildings, seemed deserted, and only featured one, rather small and grubby, circular tent near the end of it.   I frowned.  I could feel the presence of mana emanating from the thing.


    Now I was curious.  ¡°Come on,¡± I said.  ¡°I want to see this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an old tent!¡± Mizza complained.  ¡°My feet are tired!¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t take but a minute,¡± I countered, and pushed forward, into the alleyway.  ¡°Uh?¡±


    The hubbub of the fayre suddenly subsided, as if a door had slammed shut behind us, muting it.


    ¡°That¡¯s odd,¡± Gisel said.


    ¡°There¡¯s mana coming from that tent,¡± Mizza pointed out.  ¡°What is this place?¡±


    I trotted up and read a notice near the entrance flap, written in chalk on a piece of blackboard.


    ¡°Soul Readings!  Be amazed by Madam Zyghvvz¡¯s Prophetic Sight!  You will stand in awe!  Not for the faint hearted.¡±  I read.  No Refunds was written in smaller script at the bottom.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Madam Zyghvvz?¡±  Gisel muttered.


    ¡°Come on, I want to see what a soul reader is,¡± I said, pushing forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Ella started to say, but I¡¯d already entered the tent.


    ¡°Whoa, serious Doctor Who vibes.¡±  Yes, the inside of the tent was larger than the outside.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve read about this.¡±  Mizza pushed her way in, to stand next to me.  ¡°It¡¯s Quardar¡¯s Extended Eighth Dimension spell.  Really advanced transposition magic.¡±


    ¡°Gosh.¡±  Gisel arrived, pulling Ella along with her.


    How big the inside was really was, though, was rather hard to tell, there was so much clutter.  It looked like someone had visited a market selling props from every fantasy film and show ever made, and bought everything.


    From jars containing eyeballs floating in liquid, to stuffed animal parts, to strange little mechanical gismos, small creatures in cages, and pretty much anything else you could imagine.  It was piled up, stacked on top of each other and squeezed into nooks and crannies.


    A sloth like creature, hanging from a rope, turned its head and gazed at me with burning orange eyes, making me jump.


    I looked up.  Overhead was blackness, only broken by an old-style lamp, running on what power I couldn¡¯t tell, hanging from a chain that vanished into the dark.


    Gisel sniffed.  ¡°Needs a good dusting in here.¡±


    Indeed, the air was still and claustrophobic.


    ¡°Welcome!  I have been expecting you!¡±  I jumped again, as a screeching voice cut through the atmosphere.


    ¡°I think we should go back outside.¡±  Ella clutched at my arm.  ¡°This place is¡­ odd.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think out is an option right now,¡± Mizza said.


    I turned and looked behind us.  The tent entrance was nowhere to be seen.  Just more clutter.


    ¡°Come closer!¡± the screech added.


    Looking ahead, I located a narrow path through the jungle of items.  The carpet underfoot was nearly black with age.


    ¡°Forward it is then.¡±  With Ella still hanging on, I made my way down the only available route.  The others followed, heads swinging left and right, taking in strange sights.

 Reincarnated in a Fantasy World with Murderous Intent. - Book 3: Royal Pains - now available.

    Reincarnated in a Fantasy World with Murderous Intent - Book 3 - Royal Pains!</a> is now available on Kindle Unlimited.


    Small, random, excerpt:


    With that, I started my incantation. It was the same as I¡¯d done before, but this time it felt different, and when I cast my senses wide, it was into a strange new place. A dark place.


    And unlike all the other times, something answered my call.


    Something big!


    I pulled myself back into the normal dimension, as the thing followed me.


    Opening my eyes, I saw a misty shape begin to form in the circle. It started small and grew and grew and grew.


    ¡°What the hell have you summoned?¡± gasped Ella. ¡°Oh. They¡¯ve stopped.¡±


    I glanced around. The spirits had stopped attacking.


    The black smoke in my circle was about three times the size of an adult male now. It stopped growing and began to solidify, into that of a humanoid figure.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, as it finished.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Standing before me was what can only be described as a giant devil. Two sharp horns protruded from its head. Yellow eyes glared forth, over a long nose, and white fangs protruded over the lips, which were midnight black, matching the rest of the body. It¡¯s muscular torso was naked except for a kind of toga thing that ran from over one shoulder, down to the knees, which were bent the opposite way to a humans¡¯. The large hands, each easily capable of encompassing my head, ended in lethal looking sharp claws.


    ¡°Ho ho ho!¡± the things boomed, in an unwitting parody of Father Christmas from my old world. ¡°Someone has dared to summon me! Me! Who is this grand mage, that has such power and audacity?¡±


    ¡°Er, hello,¡± I said, waving.


    The devil looked down, and raised an eyebrow that I swear it didn¡¯t have a moment ago.


    ¡°You? You¡¯re a child!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I began, but then stopped as it leaned in closer.


    ¡°No, you are, but you are not. I see. A Hand of a god. Interesting. Powerful too. Looks can be deceiving, as you humans say. How very amusing!¡±


    I pulled myself together. This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to go!


    ¡°I am Theodore Helmage!¡± I announced. ¡°I have summoned you as my familiar, to do my bidding!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been many millennia since anyone tried to summon me,¡± the devil continued, as if I hadn¡¯t said anything. It looked around. ¡°Ah, I see. A battle.¡±


    ¡°I have summoned you to¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Give me moment here.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ aren¡¯t we supposed to have a battle of wills, or something, now?¡± I asked, giving up on the traditional form.


    The devil looked around for a few seconds more, before returning its attention back to me.


    Leaning in close, he grinned.


    I nearly wet myself.


    ¡°It has been so long, man creature. I was annoyed when you pulled me here, but now I think I would like to stay and see what has changed in this realm. You have summoned me as a familiar, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°That was the idea,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Very well. Let me introduce myself.¡± It drew itself back upright. ¡°I am, in your tongue, let me see, how would I say this? Mazimus, yes, that sounds about right. I am Mazimus, High Devil General of the Lower Hordes. Right Hand to the Supreme Commander. Lord of anything I damned well want to be.¡±


    ¡°Pleased to make your acquaintance,¡± I said.


    I mean, manners cost nothing, right?

 Murderous Intent - Book 4 now out!

    It took another two whole nights before we were finally targeted.


    I was becoming a bit worried.  If we were seen wandering about aimlessly too much, people may get suspicious.


    It seems my concerns were unfounded though.  Late on the third night, as we were walking along a narrow alleyway, a figure stepped out in front of us.


    We stopped, looking panicked, not really a hard thing to do.


    ¡°You two, hold it.¡±  The man stepped into view.  He was tall and wiry, dressed in a long black suit that had seen better days, with a matching, battered, top hat.  A sabre hung at his side.  The face, peering out from under the hat, was an almost perfect stereotype for a villain.  It was thin, with dark eyes, a long nose and cruel, narrow lips.  A black handlebar moustache was perched above it, a prop for twiddling whilst making evil plans no doubt.  His chin was almost cartoon long, with a dimple in the centre.


    We backed away, as if preparing to run.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±  Another voice from behind us.  This one reeked of fat and stupid.


    I turned.


    ¡°Bingo,¡± I muttered, under my breath.


    The thin man¡¯s accomplice was, indeed, fat.  Broad maybe, would be a better description.  If the first fellow was the brains of the operation, this one was the brawn.  He was dressed in a brown coat and trousers, and had a flat cap perched on his head at a comical angle.   Tiny piggy eyes were sunken deep within a round, chubby face.


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    ¡°Please,¡± Ella squealed, acting the part, ¡°we¡¯re just innocent orphans.  Don¡¯t hurt us!¡±


    ¡°Young children should not be roaming around alone at night,¡± the tall chap said, in an oily voice.


    ¡°Please, we have nothing of value.  Spare us, kind sirs,¡± I chipped in.


    ¡°You are of value,¡± Top Hat said.  ¡°Never fear, you shall be put to good use, I¡¯m sure, and you will be helping Mr. Filch buy dinner tonight in the process, right, Mr. Filch?¡±


    ¡°Yes Mr. Strand,¡± the fat man, Filch, replied.


    ¡°Get back,¡± snarled Ella, pulling out her dagger, and facing Mr. Filch.


    I did the same, facing Mr. Strand.


    ¡°Oh ho, we have some live ones, Mr. Filch,¡± Strand said, in a jovial voice.  ¡°Be careful not to damage them please, you know how that lowers the price.¡±


    ¡°Yes Mr. Strand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t come close,¡± Ella said, waving her dagger around.


    The fat man simply laughed, and lunged forward.  Ella screamed, and thrust her blade forward, totally failing to hit the enormous target.


    Mr. Filch chuckled and batted the weapon out of her hand, causing Ella to yelp, and fall backwards against me.  Her dagger clattered to the ground, coming to rest some distance away.


    I turned around, and Ella grabbed hold of me, burying her face into my chest.


    ¡°Please!¡± I said, holding my dagger up with one hand, and Ella with the other.  ¡°Don¡¯t hurt us!  We surrender.¡±


    Ella was shaking now, appearing to sob as she held me tightly.  In reality I knew she was actually laughing.  It was all I could do not to break out into giggles myself.  I mean, at this point, if we weren¡¯t play acting, Mr. Filch would be staggering around suffocating under a void face wrap, whilst Ella was stabbing him in the groin.


    ¡°That¡¯s a sensible lad,¡± Mr. Strand said.  ¡°Drop the knife now, we¡¯re not going to hurt you, or your little lady friend.¡±


    I did as I was told, throwing my dagger after Ella¡¯s.


    Immediately a smelly cloth was pushed over my face.  I was taken totally by surprise, which, I guess, was silly of me.  I should have expected something like this.  Fighting against my instinct to launch into the air, I just breathed in the fumes from the rag.


    Slowly, everything faded to black¡­

 Murderous Intent - Book 5 released!

    Small excerpt:


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±  Mizza asked.


    ¡°Oh yes.  You remember I cast this in the arena yes?  And with the mana support, it¡¯s going to be even better.¡±  I rubbed my hands together.


    This was going to be awesome!


    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± I called back over my shoulder.


    ¡°Aye!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the plan!  Don¡¯t stare!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, go ahead.¡±  Parks, who was holding my left shoulder, poked me.  Mizza¡¯s hand was on my right one.


    ¡°The swarm is passing,¡± Ness said.  ¡°Do what you¡¯re going to do now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on it.  You better go back with the healer and others.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe this will work, but very well.¡±  The fighter nodded and jogged off to the rear, with the other non-mages.


    ¡°Start the incantation!¡± I called.


    Behind me, the mages, in two rows, as the cliff wasn¡¯t wide enough for a line, began casting the mana-share spell.


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    A second or two later I felt the mana build up behind me.


    ¡°You too!¡± hissed Mizza.


    Oh, yes.


    I ran my spell code, and gasped.  Power began to flood into me!  It was like nothing I¡¯d ever felt before.  Still, as much as it was, I could do more.


    I began my incantation.  This spell, as an Ultra level one, needed me to speak it aloud, and I wasn¡¯t used to doing that.  I started to sweat as I went along, as the magic built up and up, pushed into me from those behind.


    Overhead the sky darkened.  Clouds formed at an unbelievable rate, blotting out the sun, turning the day into twilight.


    The incantation was finally done, but I wasn¡¯t ready to cast yet.  Now I also started pulling in mana, as fast as I could.  I¡¯d not done so much since my incident under the academy, with the fireball, but this time I knew what I was doing.


    I hoped.


    The air around me began to howl as the flow increased.  My hair and cloak blew about in the gale and I laughed with glee.


    Here it was!  Here it was again!  That level of power that only I could manage!


    The sky overhead was now black with clouds and pent-up energy.  A bolt of lightning a few hundred metres to my right cracked down, hitting a spire of rock, causing it to explode.


    The howl turned into a scream, and my vision began to turn white.  The power kept flowing, becoming one with me, taking over my being.  It was joy, it was ecstasy!


    I roared as my feet, literally, left the ground.  Sparks crackled around me and the mana storm turned into a mana hurricane.


    I was in my own world now.  My own, white world, at one with the magic.  Floating, all powerful.  All¡­


    ¡°Theo!¡±  The voice screamed in my ear.  ¡°Theo!  Snap out of it!  Cast the spell already!  We can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡±


    I reined myself in, pulling myself, with great difficulty, back to the real world.  Slowly my feet floated downwards again, to land back on the rock.


    Reality returned.  It was as black as night now.  Lightning strikes lancing down all around, and a gale of epic proportions raged. I could feel Mizza clinging on for dear life, trying not to get blown away.


    ¡°Cast the bloody spell!¡± screamed Parks, above the gale.


    https://mybook.to/MurderousIntent5

 Book 6 - Swept Away - Now available.

    Random small excerpt:


    ¡°Lightning Blast!¡±


    No, it wasn¡¯t an Ultra spell, but those took ages to cast, and would alert the demon to what I was doing.  This was just an incredibly powerful spell with far, far, far more mana than I¡¯d usually put into it.


    The ball of lightning was brighter than the sun, and I winced as it roared off towards the target, knocking me backwards.


    I heard the Lady cry out, and then there was an enormous explosion.  The ground jumped, throwing Millicent and me into the air.  Still, I landed on my feet, ready to cast again if needed, squinting through the dust, trying to see what had happened.


    Slowly the air cleared, and I heard the others gasp in shock.


    The Pale Lady was standing there, surrounded by ground that had been charred black.


    She appeared to be, if not untouched, at least unharmed.  Her snakes were going a bit mad, and she had soot on her face, plus some of her clothing now showed scorch marks.


    ¡°Impressive, for one so young,¡± she said, in perfect human.  ¡°I knew you were strong, but that was something else.  Although you were using power from my little toy, weren¡¯t you?  So maybe it wasn¡¯t just you.  In any case, still impressive.¡±


    I threw three more Lightning Blasts at her in quick succession.  One managed to hit her shoulder, knocking her back half a step and charring her outfit further.  Not exactly the major damage I¡¯d been looking for.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I heard Mizza say.


    ¡°Really, you are the strongest human mage I¡¯ve encountered in many years,¡± The Pale Lady said, dusting the affected area.  ¡°But I¡¯ve had a lot more time and practice.  For example¡­¡±  She threw her hands out, and a half circle of black energy erupted from her.


    I cast the strongest Wind Wall I could in front of Millicent and me, and even then it nearly broke under the attack.  As it was, the only people left standing after the dark energy storm passed were Mizza, who had performed her own defence, Millicent and me.


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    Gisel, Ella, Crow and Samantha had been blown backwards a good twenty metres, and now lay still on the ground behind us.  I wanted to run and check on them, but I dare not get distracted.


    ¡°And you, little girl, you¡¯re another strong one, aren¡¯t you?¡±  The Pale Lady raised an eyebrow and focussed on Mizza.  She threw some kind of dark bolt at her, but Mizza countered with one of her own spells.  I took advantage of the distraction by launching strong Giant Stone Bullets and Ice Storms at the demon.


    The Pale Lady jumped back, avoiding and deflecting both, but her attacks against Mizza faltered, which allowed Mizza to cast Blazewind, sending a wave of fire crashing over the demon.


    ¡°Curses!¡± the Pale Lady screamed, as some of her cloak went up in flames.


    I added to her woes by casting Inferno, backed by Millicent¡¯s power.  The demon countered at least some of this, and did a spectacular leap to avoid the rest, landing about ten metres from her original position, with dark smoke curling up from her clothes.


    ¡°This is annoying me!¡± she growled.  Raising her hands, I found myself on the receiving end of multiple black lightning bolts.   My wards intercepted about half, and my nullification necklace took most of the rest, but some got through, and I was suddenly gasping for breath and looking up at the sky, a terrible pain in my side.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± I groaned, as, somehow, I managed to stagger to my feet, only to have to leap to the left to avoid another bolt heading my way.


    I landed, breathing hard, and with my vision swimming.  Millicent was lying on the floor, not moving, and Mizza was splayed out on her back.  I think she was breathing, but her robes were charred.


    ¡°Still upright eh?¡±


    I was forced to face the Pale Lady again, who was once more composed.


    ¡°Damn right,¡± I snarled, and managed to loose a fireball at her.


    It was a weak attempt though, and she simply batted it away.


    ¡°Give up boy, you¡¯ve done well, and despite what your species thinks, I¡¯m not one for needless killing.  Besides, I admire your pluck.  I¡¯ve not had anyone challenge me in a long time.  Not that you ever stood a chance of beating me, but even so, this has been quite fun.  Still, you¡¯re overmatched.  Be the wise mage, and realise it.  I¡¯ll leave you and your friends alive.  I¡¯ve only come for my property after all.¡±


    Staggering over to where Millicent was lying, I drew my sword.  ¡°Come on then.  I can still take you.¡±


    She laughed, throwing her head back in amusement.


    ¡°What spirit!  Very well, let¡¯s entertain you a little, I¡¯m not in a great rush.¡±  She pulled her own sword out, a long, slim affair, and before I could blink was upon me, battering at me in a style I wasn¡¯t familiar with.


    Still, I¡¯d faced Hungerford and, well, not won, but managed to hold him off for seconds sometimes.  Hence, after a minute, I was only bleeding in multiple places, and not dead.


    But then she threw a spell at me and knocked me flying.  My sword fell from my hand, and once more I was on my back, looking up at her face.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± she asked.  ¡°I¡¯m getting bored now.¡±  She slid her sword back into the scabbard.  ¡°I repeat, you¡¯re no match for me, for now at least.¡±

 Reincarnated in a Fantasy World with Murderous Intent - Book 7 released.

    Small random excerpt:


    He came out with a short sword and a long dagger, and grinned at me, as if he were going out to the shops or something.  My stomach was in knots, and I wasn¡¯t even going to fight!  How could he be so calm?


    ¡°Wish me luck then,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡­ Luck.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he replied, in elvish.


    I raised my eyebrows, but he¡¯d already turned and was trotting out, onto the sands.


    ¡°Who¡¯s he facing?¡± I asked Celina.


    ¡°Two outsiders,¡± she said evenly.  ¡°One¡¯s a level two mage.¡±


    ¡°Wait, two of them?  Grown adults?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Is this why you brought me here, to see him die?¡±


    She scratched her nose.  ¡°If you¡¯d have asked me that a week ago, I¡¯d have said yes.  But now¡­ I don¡¯t know.  I thought I¡¯d seen it all here, but this boy¡­¡±  She shook her head.  ¡°Just watch how he fights.¡±


    I stepped forward, slightly reluctantly, and gazed out over the sand.


    Theo was walking steadily towards two opponents.  One was a menacing looking giant tiger beastkin, dressed in chain mail and carrying a sword and shield.  The other was, maybe a fox beastkin, I couldn¡¯t see clearly from where I was standing.  He was wearing brown robes, and a wizard hat, and carried a long staff.  Both men looked experienced and formidable opponents.


    ¡°How can you send an eight year old out alone against those two?¡± I gasped.


    ¡°Just following orders.¡±


    I could barely look as the wizard raised his staff and started to chant something.  He was almost immediately cut off as Theo raised his hand and made a brutal motion.


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    ¡°What?¡± I gasped.


    The wizard in brown had staggered backwards, his defensive wards exploding as they intercepted a spell, although what it was I couldn¡¯t see.  The mage shouted something at the tiger, who ran forward, swinging his sword in a long overhead arc.


    I winced, expecting Theo to be simply cut in half, but somehow, in less than the blink of an eye, he had moved, and the attack simply hit the ground where he had been.  Now he was coming in low, running past the tiger, slicing the cat¡¯s thigh as he went, moving so fast he was a blur.


    The tiger howled in pain, and whirled around, his sword cutting through the air in a horizontal slash.  Theo avoided it without even seeming to look at the thing, throwing his dagger over his shoulder, and striking the crack in the fighter¡¯s armour shoulder joint, drawing further cries of pain from the large beastkin.


    The brown mage hadn¡¯t been idle during these seconds.  He finished an incantation and thrust his staff at Theo.


    Immediately, icicle shaped, black rocks plummeted down from above.  Theo didn¡¯t seem to notice or care though, and I realised why a second later.  The attack directly above him hit some invisible shield and simply bounced off.


    Glancing back over his shoulder to check on the tiger, who was still recovering, Theo turned back and looked at the enemy mage, even as the rocks were exploding all around.  The fox beastkin suddenly grabbed at his throat and staggered backwards, dropping his staff.


    Theo increased his speed and made a giant leap, doing a summersault far higher than anyone his size had a right to, coming down feet first on the mage¡¯s chest, throwing him to the floor.  Simultaneously he brought his sword down, and sliced into the fox¡¯s side, causing a serious, but probably not fatal, injury.


    The fox howled in pain.


    Rolling forward, over the prone figure, Theo bounced upright and turned, to face the tiger, who was now thundering towards him again.


    I swear I saw the boy grin.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I said.


    Celina just nodded.


    The crowd was going mental, screaming, cheering and shouting their lungs out.


    Again, Theo just stood there, waiting for the tiger to close.  Just as he was about in sword range, the big cat tripped, coming crashing down onto the sand right in front of the boy, who stepped forward and placed the tip of his sword at the back of the beastkin¡¯s neck.


    The tiger flinched, and then relaxed, letting go of his weapon.


    Theo said something, and then nodded, sheathing his blade.  Finally, with no further ado, he left his two bested opponents lying on the ground, and walked steadily back to us.


    ¡°See what I mean?¡± Celina said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯ve just seen,¡± I said.


    ¡°The tiger tripping.  That isn¡¯t something he would do.¡±


    ¡°You mean, Theo caused him to fall?¡±


    Celina nodded.  ¡°A careful and clever use of magic.  Minimum power, highly effective, and not something an amateur would be able to pull off in the middle of a battle.  He¡¯s been trained, and trained very well indeed.  Plus, he¡¯s had experience.  Even someone well trained doesn¡¯t keep their head in a fight like that unless they¡¯ve been in the thick of things before.¡±

 Book 8 - Out Nov 1st

    A random excerpt:


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for information on the White Fang.¡±


    The port officer I was speaking to, the manager, jerked as if stung. ¡°The Fang?¡±


    ¡°Yes, is that a problem?¡±


    ¡°Is there going to be trouble?¡± he asked, looking at the two guards I¡¯d brought along. ¡°Because if there is, you¡¯re going to need a hella lot more men than that. I¡¯ll need to alert my people too.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any trouble, I¡¯m here to ask the captain a few questions about a crewmember who disembarked.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to question Red?¡±


    ¡°Red is the captain I assume.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°You know the Fang is about the most feared pirate ship on the seas, right?¡±


    I frowned. Trust my quarry to have come in on such a vessel. Everything about the boy was just¡­ excessive.


    ¡°And you know that Captain Red is an Elder Vampire?¡± he went on. ¡°She¡¯s about a thousand years old, so they say, and as tough and as smart as they come.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°She¡¯s not excessively unfriendly though?¡± I asked.


    The manager made a face. ¡°I guess not. She just scares the shit out of me.¡±


    ¡°Where are they docked?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Berth fifteen C,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯d better hurry, they¡¯re getting ready to cast off.¡±


    ¡°Right. Can you show me the way then?¡±


    Instead of replying, the manager shouted at a nearby worker. ¡°Johnson! Show this officer to the White Fang please.¡±


    ¡°Aye boss,¡± Johnson said. ¡°This way sir.¡±


    We followed the worker out, through the port, which was bustling with activity as it always was. Along we went to the area that hosted mostly non naval craft, and to an imposing ship with furled black sails, sitting by itself at the end of the quay.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Fang,¡± Johnson said. ¡°Good luck! I¡¯m off.¡± He scarpered.


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    Scowling, and with my escort in tow, I walked towards the pirate vessel. It was probably the most impressive ship in the port, barring a couple of our larger warships, and there was a fair amount of activity going on around it. They were, indeed, preparing to leave. I was just in time.


    An enormous man with a wide brimmed hat and a face mostly covered in hair approached me. I had to stop myself from flinching. He was a fearsome figure.


    Still, his tone was polite and civil.


    ¡°May I help you officer?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to speak to the captain, if possible.¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± he asked.


    I glanced over at the crew working behind him. Most of them had put down any crates, or stopped what they were doing, and were glaring in my direction, hands on swords.


    ¡°No, nothing like that. I¡¯m just here to ask about a crewmember who disembarked here.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I see. Please wait here. I shall fetch the captain.¡±


    He walked off up the gangplank whilst I stood there, trying not to look threatening. The crew started working again, but kept an eye on me and my escort as they did so.


    A shiver of dark premonition went through me, seconds before a tall figure strode down the gangplank.


    Captain Red, it could only be, approached, and I tried to stop myself from quivering. Something about her just radiated danger. I felt like a rabbit before a lion.


    ¡°Officer,¡± she said, as she neared. ¡°How may I help you?¡± A smile, showing long fangs.


    Chiding myself for my reaction, I took a breath and forced myself to calm down.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask about a crewmember who disembarked here, if I may.¡±


    ¡°And who would this crewmember be?¡± she asked, still smiling that unnerving smile.


    ¡°He¡¯s a young lad, a wizard, by the name of Theodore Helmage.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. He was a valuable member of my team. I hope he¡¯s doing well, and not causing any issues?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all. However, a few¡­ anomalies in his paperwork have shown up, and I just wanted to ask you how long he was with you, and where you picked him up. Plus anything else you feel you could share about his time with you, and his abilities.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The captain nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry officer, but I can¡¯t help you.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Let me rephrase that. I won¡¯t help you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± I was astonished. This never happened. ¡°You do realise that I¡¯m a senior officer in this city, yes? I could have your license to dock revoked you know. It wouldn¡¯t be hard for me.¡±


    Red sighed. ¡°So quick on the threats.¡± Shaking her head, she stepped a pace closer. My two guards jerked slightly and put their hands on their swords, but I held an arm out.


    ¡°Officer, it¡¯s true that you could cause the Fang some issues,¡± she said in a low voice. ¡°However, I¡¯ve been coming here for a very long time, and I have a number of¡­ let¡¯s say influential contacts of my own. This isn¡¯t my first day in this line of work you know.¡± She held a long, thin, finger up. ¡°That¡¯s not to say it wouldn¡¯t cause me some inconvenience, but you know what? I¡¯d rather piss your government off than Theodore Helmage. I have contingency plans in place for paperwork problems. I can deal with them. However, I would not like to make Theo angry. I value my ship, my crew and my own life too much to try that. So do what you will. I¡¯ll take the risk.¡±


    She looked around. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, we¡¯re preparing to cast off. I hope your investigation works out.¡±


    With that, she strode off back onto her vessel, leaving me open mouthed.


    A senior vampire was willing to fight the Dominion Empire rather than make a young lad angry?


    I turned around in a daze, and started making my way back to the city.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡±

 Book 9 - Dominion Lord.

    Small random excerpt:


    Stepping closer to the motionless figure, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and focussed.  This would be easier if I was in contact with the man, but I really didn¡¯t fancy touching him, so close range would have to do.


    Carefully, I probed his mind, finding it strangely unguarded.  This in itself was unusual.  Any powerful mage worth their salt would have mind wards, surely, even if it wasn¡¯t one of their talents?


    His surface thoughts were one of fear, confusion and anger even, but there was also a feeling of relief at seeing us.  Odd indeed.


    I probed deeper, and suddenly found myself back in the reception chamber again.


    No, it wasn¡¯t.  This was a recreation within the necromancer¡¯s mind.  My party weren¡¯t behind me for one, and for another the mage before me was¡­


    I blinked.  He was tied up, a little like a fly trapped in a web.  That was quite a good analogy actually, as the threads holding him resembled a spider¡¯s silk, albeit a giant one.  He was held motionless by them.  Some were bound around his body and limbs, others stretched off outwards, to a destination I couldn¡¯t see, holding him in the position he was in.


    ¡°You¡¯re a mind mage!¡± he said.


    ¡°You can speak!¡± I replied.


    ¡°In here, yes.  You have to free me!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It was them!  They¡¯re monsters!  I was forced to do this.  I don¡¯t even have remotely enough energy to raise such an army, but they fed mana into me.  So much power!  Now they¡¯ve gone I can¡¯t supply enough to keep going, and I¡¯m not able to release them.  It¡¯s draining my life force.  Please!  You need to free me!¡±


    ¡°Who is they?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hello Theo!  I¡¯m so glad it¡¯s you who found us!¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I jerked madly.  Two small figures had appeared from nowhere.  One of them, the blonde girl, ran over and hugged me, then clung onto my arm and looked up.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again,¡± Day said.


    The Twins!  Fuck!


    ¡°N¡­ Night, Day,¡± I stammered.  ¡°What are you doing here?  Wait, are you really here?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re talking to some memories we left behind,¡± Night, the boy, said.  ¡°It¡¯s a clever trick though, yes?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°We just thought we¡¯d hang on a bit, see who finally turned up,¡± Night went on.


    ¡°We¡¯ve missed you!¡± Day said, smiling up at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve, er, missed you too,¡± I said.  Like a hole in the head.  ¡°What are you doing here?  What¡¯s with this chap?¡±  I nodded at the necromancer.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s just a tool.  We needed to get into the treasury and get something for Fell,¡± Night said.  ¡°Feel free to kill him.  He¡¯s really weak, not worth the term ¡®mage¡¯ at all.¡±


    ¡°We had to do most of the work ourselves almost,¡± pouted Day.  ¡°Barely worth having him along.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t get the staff these days, can you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Right?¡±  Night seemed to take me seriously.  ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re only memories, so we¡¯ll be going now.  See you around, Hand of the White God.¡±


    ¡°Bye Theo!¡±  Day waved, and they both faded from view.


    ¡°You know them?¡± the necromancer asked.  ¡°You¡¯re a Hand?¡±


    I sighed.  Why was my life always so complicated?


    ¡°Get me out of here, please!¡± the mage begged.


    I stepped forward an examined one of the threads holding him, and then plucked at it.


    Immediately a wave of confusion washed over me, forcing me to stagger backwards.  Those twins may be creepy as fuck, but they were horribly powerful too.


    I switched my staff into a sword and swung at the thread, only for it to bounce off, the impact numbing my hand.


    ¡°Crap,¡± I said.


    ¡°Please, do something!¡± the necromancer cried.  ¡°I¡¯ll lose control of the horde soon, they¡¯ll run amok!¡±


    I nodded.  ¡°As you say.¡±  And retreated from his mind.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±  I blinked.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡±  Jinsu was beside me.  I was back in the real world.


    ¡°Step away,¡± I said, to her and the rest of them, falling back myself.


    They did as I bid.  When we were at a suitable distance, I raised my staff and put all that mana to use.


    ¡°Lighting Explosion!¡±


    The white bolt of energy streaked out and hit the necromancer, exploding in a flash of blinding light.  The room shook, and dust fell from the ceiling.


    ¡°Bloody hell Theo!¡± Mary said.  ¡°Some warning next time!¡±


    I brushed some mortar from my hair and looked at the spot the necromancer had been standing.  There was now a small crater there.   A single hand, charred at the severed wrist, had landed on the table, and the smoking black remains of his staff was on the floor.


    Other than that, there was no trace left of the mage.


    ¡°Our job¡¯s done,¡± I said, turning back.   ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±

 Book 10 - The Journey East

    A small excerpt...


    It had been a good day.  The attack had gone perfectly.  The miners had put up no resistance worth mentioning, and my plan had worked fine.  With the distraction I¡¯d easily broken into the secure area, and their vault and, using the key the dumb ass foreman had provided, opened the lock boxes inside, which had netted us an immense haul of precious stones.  I¡¯d managed to slip two of the biggest ones into my space too.


    ¡°Den!  Cheers!¡±  Ron raised his tankard, and I copied him, drinking only a sip of the brown ale inside.  I wanted to appear to be revelling with the others, but my real plan was to get out of the place in the middle of the night.  I¡¯d stored enough loot up, it was time to move on.  Besides, I was tired of my fellow wizards.  Even calling them that was almost an insult.  Apart from Roberts no one was even close to my level.  Even he was only a mid-rank B in water magic.  The rest of them were weak rank Cs, at best, and a ragtag lot to boot.


    I sighed and took another sip of ale, and then the screaming started.


    Looking around, my eyes went wide.  A dragon was attacking the lower area!  A fucking dragon!  Admittedly, it didn¡¯t look fully grown, but it was silver, and even a small dragon is more than enough.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I said, picking up my staff.  ¡°Ron, don¡¯t just¡­¡±


    Ron¡¯s head exploded.


    I blinked and wiped blood from my eyes, even as I instinctively cast a barrier around me.  Just in time to, as something hit it.  Something powerful hit it.


    Two more of my fellow wizards screamed and fell to the floor.  The head of one of them rolled off.


    More cries.  I looked to my right, to see the biggest man I¡¯d ever seen decapitate two of our fighters with one swing.  The warrior was enormous, his bright yellow hair contrasting with jet black skin.  The sword he wielded, a huge weapon, simply dripped with dark magic.


    ¡°Fuck this,¡± I said, and turned to go.


    ¡°Hello there.¡±


    A young lad, maybe only about ten, stood in front of me.  He was clad in rich clothes, and was leaning on a staff of incredible power.  More critically, the mana coming off him was like nothing I¡¯d seen in my life.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± I asked, desperately pulling in energy.


    He smiled, seemingly totally relaxed despite the carnage going on around us.  One of the surviving mages, I didn¡¯t see who, threw a fireball at him.  It bounced off some shield.  He didn¡¯t even flinch, but there was a scream from the wizard who had attacked him.  I didn¡¯t look around, keeping my eyes on the real threat.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lord Helmage, and I¡¯m here to have a little chat about some damage to one of my mine facilities,¡± he said.


    I went pale.  I¡¯d thought the rumours I¡¯d heard had been exaggerated, but perhaps they hadn¡¯t been far off the mark.  This lad, young as he was, was on another level entirely.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Still, I was no slouch either.  I stalled for time as I kept pulling in power.  ¡°How the hell did you get a dragon?¡± I asked.


    He shrugged.  ¡°Just lucky I guess.  Now, have you finished drawing in mana?  You seem to be the only mage here worth paying any attention to.¡±


    I bowed, and smiled.  ¡°Den Rothman, Ard, at your service.¡±  Then I threw a befuddlement spell at him, the strongest mental attack I had.


    Helmage flinched slightly, and then smiled.  He. Fucking. Smiled.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t half bad,¡± he said.  ¡°How about this though?¡±


    A mind attack hit me, shattering the barrier I¡¯d erected earlier and impacting with almost physical force.  I stepped back a pace and shook my head.  Luckily my mind shield had held out, but it had been close.  Time to get serious.


    ¡°Golem!¡± I said, using the highest level spell that didn¡¯t need a long incantation, throwing just about every bit of mana I¡¯d stored up into it.


    The rock nearby splintered and cracked, and I was happy to see the young ard jerk with surprise, and leap back as the crude humanoid form pulled itself out of the ground.


    Unfortunately, his next reaction wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d hoped.


    He broke into a massive grin, like a child getting a present.


    ¡°A golem?¡± he asked.  ¡°Wow!  Amazing!¡±  He held off for a few seconds, until my creation, now nearly twice as tall as a man, looked around and stepped towards him.


    Instead of casting a spell, as I had expected, he leaped forward and, ducking under the golem¡¯s swing with incredibly dexterity, thrust his staff into its chest.  ¡°Degrade!¡±


    My golem, my top level spell, crumbled before my eyes.


    I looked at the kid, eyes wide.  ¡°What the hell are you?¡±


    Helmage didn¡¯t reply, but glanced to one side, at a man who had been charging towards him, sword held high.  The poor fellow screamed as he was punctured by red hot needles that rained down on him.  He fell to the floor, blood mingling with melting flesh.


    Fuck this.


    I cast the spell I had been going to use to sneak away from the camp later on, Gating to my pre-prepared receiving circle.  It was a good five hundred metres away, on a high and secluded ledge.


    ¡°Shit!¡±  I gasped.  The kid was unbelievable.  Maybe I could have put up a fight, had I been more prepared, but I was fairly certain even then I¡¯d have come in a poor second.


    Time to move on.  I turned around and stopped.


    ¡°Did you think you were going somewhere?¡± Helmage asked.  ¡°Now, are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use a large amount of unnecessary force?  I¡¯m good either way, to be honest.¡±  He raised his staff.


    ¡°If I surrender you¡¯ll have me executed anyway,¡± I countered, raising my own staff and pulling in more power.


    He made a face, and then nodded.  ¡°Good point.¡±  Taking a deep breath, he looked me up and down.  ¡°You¡¯re a mind mage, yes?¡±


    ¡°Rank A mind and earth.¡±


    ¡°I liked that golem earlier, and the spell you hit me with first of all was new to me.   How many mind techniques do you know?¡±


    I sensed an opportunity.  ¡°I¡¯ve been around a while.  Graduated from lsover Mind College, and I¡¯ve picked up a lot of tricks along the way.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±  Helmage nodded to himself, as if making a decision.  ¡°Very well, here¡¯s the deal.  You tell me everything you know about your backers, as well as this organisation and their activities and plans.  Then you come back and teach me every nasty mind trick you know, as well as any other spells.  Once I¡¯m happy, you fuck off out of my domain and don¡¯t come back.  And you better know some good tricks too, otherwise I¡¯ll just change my mind and kill you where you stand.  How¡¯s that?  Frankly I don¡¯t care one way or another if you live or die, but I¡¯m always eager to learn new stuff, especially mind.¡±


    I let my staff drop to the ground and raised my hands.


    ¡°I surrender,¡± I said.


    ¡°Sensible.  Boring, but sensible.  You shall return with me.  Oh, wait a minute.¡±  He stepped close to me and held onto my arm for a moment.  I sensed a spell being cast.  ¡°There, now I know where you are.  If you try to run I¡¯ll hunt you down and you¡¯ll regret it.  Seriously regret it.  Got that?¡±


    ¡°Very much so.¡±  I did believe him.


    He smiled.  ¡°Excellent.  Right then, let¡¯s see how many of your old comrades are still alive, shall we?¡±