The Monster's Caress: A Seven Kingdoms Tale 8 (The Seven Kingdoms) Read online

  He slowly examined the surrounding area, then forced his body to move. Asahi quickly discovered that sitting up wasn’t easy when the world was spinning around him. He rested his forehead on his knees as black dots swam through his vision.

  He took several deep breaths until he was confident that he wouldn’t pass out. Once he lifted his head and looked around the area, it didn’t take long to confirm his suspicion that he was no longer on the beach in Yachats State Park—or on Earth.

  “Ruth,” he softly called.

  He pushed up off the ground, staggering when another wave of dizziness hit him. He bent forward, resting his hands on his thighs, and waited for it to subside. It took several minutes of deep breathing before he was steady enough to stand upright.

  The spell had worked. He stood in a strange forest now. Tall trees, many the size of Redwoods and Sequoias back on Earth, were towering over him. Unlike the trees back home, these had long spiraling branches with dark blood-red leaves that grew upward and branched out in huge sections. Their darker red trunks looked like dozens of smaller trees had twined around each other as they grew. The overall effect was breathtaking—and definitely alien.

  He had made it to the world of the Seven Kingdoms. However, it seemed that Ruth was not with him. Magna, a former Seven Kingdoms’ resident, had given the spell to Ruth, and she had been the one to invoke it, but it was undeniable that Asahi stood here alone.

  Blue, green, and yellow vines clung to the tree trunks and some had hanging fruit. He stumbled backward when he saw a small, hairy, bluish-purple mammal dart out from a hole in the trunk and grab a piece of the yellow fruit with two of its six appendages. The hairy creature turned and warily looked at him. It blinked its six eyes at alternate times before it brought the fruit closer to its chest. The animal swished its long, slender tail, which was covered in a series of fluffy purple tufts of hair, and then returned to its nest. Asahi smiled when he remembered the name of the mammal.

  “A Purple-Tailed Tree Mouse,” he murmured.

  He reached into the side pocket of his black cargo pants and touched his journal. It contained the information his grandfather had shared over the years. Looking down at the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the black duffle bag that he had been carrying on his shoulder before he appeared here. He hadn’t been sure it would make the journey.

  He knelt on one knee and unzipped the bag. A quick inventory showed that everything he had packed was still there. The first thing he retrieved was his 9mm handgun and shoulder holster. He secured the holster over his shoulder, then double-checked that the clip was full and the safety was on before he placed the gun in the holster and snapped the strap over the grip.

  Next, he reached in and pulled out a white plastic trash bag. Inside the bag was a dirty dish towel wrapped around the dagger he had hidden twenty-six years ago. He unwound the dish towel and stared down at the dagger. It looked as pristine as it did the day he had hidden it.

  The sound of chittering drew his attention back to the tree. Nearly a dozen of the Purple-Tailed Tree Mice were now gorging themselves on the yellow fruit.

  He scanned the area again, looking for any sign of Ruth. There was no trace of footprints. Even from the brief time he had known Ruth, he was positive that she would have stayed nearby if she were here.

  He kept the dagger out, stuffed the towel and the plastic bag back into the duffle bag, zipped it closed, and stood up again.

  First things first—he needed to find shelter, take stock of where he was, and decide on his next move. If he was correct and the creatures in the tree were Purple-Tailed Tree Mice, then he was on the Isle of the Monsters. There was a rough map of the Isle in the journal. His grandfather had visited the kingdom once, but he had never ventured farther afield than the capitol city.

  Asahi bent down, picked up the duffle bag, and pulled the strap over his head so it crossed his body. Based on the angle of the sunlight streaming through the upper canopy, he suspected that it was just after midday. He would have a few hours to secure a safe place for the night. The temperature was moderate now, but he suspected it would drop when the sun set.

  “I think the trees may be out for camping tonight—at least that one,” he mused with a shake of his head at the colony of tiny purple creatures.

  He closed his eyes and carefully listened to the surrounding sounds. The chirps of birds mixed with the buzzing of insects and the chatter of the Purple-Tailed Tree Mice. Another sound coming from his right filtered through the noise—the sound of rushing water.

  Asahi opened his eyes and turned in that direction. Water meant a river or lake that could lead him to either a village or the coast. He unfastened his belt and slid the end through the loop in the dagger’s sheath. He refastened the buckle and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension in them before he set off toward the sound of flowing water. If Ruth was anywhere nearby, he hoped she would do the same.

  Nali’s palace:

  Underground chambers

  “Keep her contained. I want no one except the gargoyles anywhere near her. See if Denae can do anything to relieve her suffering,” Nali instructed as she stepped out of the high-security containment room.

  “Yes, Empress,” Di answered.

  Nali looked through the thick diamond plate window. The room had been reinforced and sealed so the alien could not escape. She splayed her hand against the foot-thick steel door as she studied the suffering Sea Stag in the water tank. Two gargoyles monitored the Sea Stag mare.

  “Empress, is there anything I can do?” her old guardian asked.

  Nali shook her head. “No, Pai. I must do this alone,” she murmured.

  The hippogriff shook his head and snapped his beak. She looked at him and smiled at his obvious disapproval.

  “Your parents…,” he began before snapping his beak closed once again.

  “…would have insisted that you accompany me. I understand your concern, Pai, but my parents never had to face anything like this before,” she said, looking back through the window. “She is being tortured by the alien inside her.”

  Pai stepped closer, the long talons on his front legs tapping against the polished stone floor. Nali lifted her hand and gently caressed the feathers along his neck. Pai had been her guardian all her life, and she appreciated his many years of unwavering friendship and loyalty.

  “I can see to the Sea Stag’s execution. I would make sure she doesn’t suffer,” Pai offered. “It would be more merciful.”

  She shook her head. “Not yet. Perhaps Denae can draw the alien out of the poor creature without killing her,” she murmured.

  Nali retraced her steps to the upper levels of the palace. Pai followed her. Gargoyle soldiers stood at attention as she passed. She bowed her head in greeting to each one, even as her thoughts were focused on the problem at hand.

  “Nali, if there is another alien, it is best that I help you search. You need my superior eyesight,” Pai coaxed.

  Nali chuckled and sighed. “You aren’t going to give up, are you?” she demanded as she stopped and faced him.

  Pai tilted his head as if thinking about her question before he shook it. “No,” he teasingly replied.

  Her expression softened when she saw the worry that he didn’t bother to hide. She also noticed the silvering of his feathers and the slight limp in his gait. Pai’s expert skills would be useful, but she worried about his health. He was no longer the spry young hippogriff that he had been a century ago.

  “You are aware of what the alien can do. You’ve witnessed what will happen if it enters your body. We are still not sure how it does that. I hope Denae will be able to tell us. You also know that you won’t have the same protection that I do, Pai,” Nali warned, already knowing that she would give in to Pai’s desire to go with her.

  “And what will happen if it takes you by surprise before you can shift? Who would be there to protect you?” he asked.

  “You, of course! Do you really think I don’t kno
w when you follow me—even against my orders?” she replied with a wave of her hand.

  Pai chuckled. “I must be losing my talons,” he answered instead. “Where do we start?” he asked.

  “We start where the Sea Stag came ashore,” she instructed.

  Nali soared through a cloud, her long wings spread wide, leaving a faint contrail of swirling mist behind her. Pai flew beside her, his sharp eyes scanning the coast. They were close to the area where the injured female Sea Stag had washed ashore.

  “Empress, there is something moving near the rocks half-a-mile north of here,” Pai called.

  Nali turned north, slowly descending until she had a better view. A line of rocks rose above the surface of the water, protecting one of the many black-sand beaches that lined this part of the coast. Near those rocks, she saw a Sea Stag struggling in the surf.

  “Keep a safe distance, Pai,” she warned before pulling her wings in tight against her body and diving toward the beach.

  She twisted at the last second, landing on her feet. She shifted, her skin and clothing hardening to smooth and supple black marble. Her feet sank into the fine, black grains of sand, her footprints disappearing behind her as she walked over to the Sea Stag. He was lying on the beach, the lower half of his body still in the surf.

  She pursed her lips to keep her outraged cry from drawing Pai down to the beach. The Sea Stag was slit from his front fin to the tip of his tail. The wound was large and it gaped, revealing bone and internal organs. It was a miracle that the stag had made it to shore.

  Nali cooed softly to the stag as she approached, placing the beautiful creature into a trance. The usually bright-red scales were pale and dull as the life force faded from the beast. The stag turned his head toward her and made a barely audible whinny. She kneeled beside him in the damp sand and gently lifted his head onto her lap.

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you,” she murmured, stroking the slender jaw.

  The stag’s eyelids drooped, and he shuddered. Rare tears slipped from the corners of Nali’s eyes as she held the dying creature. Only great tragedy and sorrow could bring tears to a gargoyle’s eyes. She bent forward and rested her head against the stag.

  “Please, I need to know what happened to you before I can let you go,” she whispered.

  Another shudder ran through the stag at her request. She closed her eyes as images of the stag’s last minutes formed in her mind through her bond with the beast. When the creature’s fear hit her, she took a deep breath and gently stroked the fin between the stag’s ears.

  The living black liquid had come up out of the depths of the ocean. Long tentacles had attacked the juveniles before they broke free and escaped. The alien attacked the female first. When the male rushed to defend her, the second alien struck.

  The images faded before she could see what happened next. The stag’s wounds were too grave, and she sensed him slipping away from her. She lifted her head and looked up at the sky. Above her, Pai kept watch.

  Nali lowered her head and tenderly stroked the young stallion before she whispered a simple incantation. Her magic surrounded the Sea Stag, engulfing the body of this once-beautiful creature in a vivid white light. When the light faded, a single brilliant gem was all that remained, and she was alone on the beach.

  Nali picked up the precious stone and held it against her heart. She rose to her feet and stared out at the ocean. Pai swept down and landed near her.

  “Did you learn anything?” he quietly inquired.

  “There were two aliens. We have one. The second one escaped. The stallion—the stallion died before he could show me everything,” she replied in a soft voice.

  “I noticed tracks leading into the forest. They belong to a troll,” Pai said.

  Nali clenched her jaw. The two who found the first stag had thankfully kept their distance and sent an alert to the palace, but this troll may not have been so cautious.

  “It will be night soon. We need to visit the troll village to find out who was here. We can stay there for the night and then resume our journey in the morning,” she said.

  “There’s smoke rising from chimneys along the river a few miles inland,” Pai replied.

  Nali nodded. She turned her hand over and looked at the red gem containing the essence of the Sea Stag stallion. Pai silently stood by as she stepped to the water’s edge and waited for an incoming wave to roll ashore. She knelt and released the gem into the receding water, watching as it carried the gem back out to sea. With a deep sigh of sorrow, she straightened and faced Pai.

  “Let’s go. I have an alien to kill,” she declared. Her tone was as hard as her ebony skin.

  Chapter 2

  Asahi sat on an outcropping of rocks that loomed above the river and watched the first moon rise above the trees, followed shortly by the second. A sense of peace swept through him, and he focused on the emotion, the way his grandfather had taught him. The simple meditation helped keep the residual waves of dizziness under control.

  He pulled his jacket out of the duffle bag, put it on, and zipped it up. His thoughts returned to Ruth Hallbrook. He genuinely hoped that she had survived her trip through the portal, if indeed she had gone through the portal at all. Throughout the day, he had searched for signs of her with no luck.

  He studied the surrounding area. He had followed the flow of water that meandered southward, hoping that it would eventually lead to the coastline.

  As afternoon became early evening, Asahi had started searching for a suitable place to make camp. He had finally settled on the rock platform where he now relaxed. He had needed to cross the river, but that hadn’t been an issue thanks to the natural bridge formed by the accumulation of rock and debris that had been washed downstream.

  He looked across the river when he saw movement. A dozen small shaggy animals emerged out of the forest.

  This spot turned out to be a good place to make camp for the night, he thought.

  The yellow and brown striped animals were about the size and build of a wombat, but they had markings like a zebra. Several juveniles grunted with delight and broke for the water ahead of the adults. He chuckled when they began splashing each other.

  He slid back and leaned against the rock. A poke in his side reminded him of the dagger at his waist. He adjusted the sheath to a more comfortable position and relaxed. The sound of snapping wood and the warning sounds coming from the family of yellow-striped animals drew his attention back across the river.

  A bear-like creature, the size of an elephant, emerged from the forest a hundred yards from the wombat-like mammals. The bear’s low growl sent the juveniles dashing out of the water and back into the shelter of the forest, squealing in alarm. The adults took up a defensive stance, but the bear merely shook its head and ambled over to the river. The immense beast waded in and submerged itself in the gently flowing water, propping its head on a convenient rock with a contented sigh.

  Asahi laughed softly. It took the striped adults a few minutes to relax. Once they did, the juveniles returned to the river with more caution tempering their enthusiasm.

  “This world is amazing, Grandfather,” Asahi murmured.

  As unusual as the forest appeared during the day, it was even more spectacular at night. Bioluminescent plants and insects began appearing as the evening progressed. He didn’t make a fire for several reasons. The last thing he wanted to do was attract attention to his location. He also didn’t want anything to affect his night vision.

  There was now a chill in the air as the sun settled over the horizon. With a tired sigh, he reached into the duffle bag again, this time pulling out a thin thermal blanket. He zipped the bag and adjusted it for use as a pillow before lying down and covering himself. He was a light sleeper, a habit that worked in his favor because for the foreseeable future, he would have to be on alert.

  Lying on his back, he looked up at the moons, and wondered if fulfilling his grandfather’s last wish was a wise thing to do. After all, there was no
guarantee that he would make it back to Earth, and if he did, he didn’t know what year it would be. He had taken precautions, making sure certain items would be passed down as an inheritance. Still, would he be ready to handle a world that would have changed over a forty-year—or more—period? He knew all too well the struggles that his grandfather had faced.

  He touched the hilt of his dagger, drawing comfort from it. Intense fatigue dragged at his consciousness. His eyelids drooped. The splashing river below and the chirping insects soon lulled him into a light but restful sleep.

  The Troll Village

  Nali and Pai landed in the center of a ring of massive thatched huts. The small community had clearly been busy with activity a few minutes ago, but the trolls had stopped what they were doing to watch her arrival. She scanned the group. They were several times larger than even her tall physique.

  “Empress, what brings you to our humble village?” Zenma, the Elder troll, asked as she stepped forward. She wore a long, beautifully embroidered tunic and carried a long, carved staff.

  Nali shifted into her softer form, and greeted the Elder troll. “I fear it is a matter of grave importance, Zenma,” she said.

  Zenma looked down at her with concern. “Of course, Empress. Please follow me,” she said.

  “Pai, check the village. If you find anything, do not engage,” she cautioned under her breath.

  “Yes, Empress,” Pai replied.

  Nali followed Zenma to a central longhouse. As she climbed the steps, she scanned the surrounding area. Zenma stepped through the opened doors and into the cheerful interior. Three long rows of tables, most of them as tall as Nali, stood perpendicular to a fourth table up front on a low platform. While the tables in the center of the room had bench seats, there were individual chairs beside the table on the platform.

  Zenma paused and glanced with concern at the benches and chairs, then at her. It was easy to see what the Elder troll was thinking. Nali gave Zenma a reassuring smile and motioned for the old troll to sit.