Angels and Elves- Act I Read online

  Angels and Elves

  Act I

  The Realmers Book Four

  By William Collins

  Copyright 2018 by William Collins. All Rights Reserved.

  Terms and Conditions:

  The purchaser of this book is subject to the condition that he/she shall in no way resell it, nor any part of it, nor make copies of it to distribute freely.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

  Related Novels:

  A Darker Shade of Sorcery

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A3L1PS6

  Moonlight War- Act I

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HLGKL9U

  Moonlight War- Act II

  https://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-War-Act-Realmers-Book-ebook/dp/B01MUH7NED

  Choo Choo Your Food

  https://www.amazon.com/Choo-Your-Food-Realmer-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B072DR7DYY

  Dead Heat

  https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Heat-Realmer-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B071DVBGWT/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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  Venator Terms

  Veneseron is one of the realms closest to Earth. But it is still another world, with its own unique words. Here are some examples:

  Venator

  Venators are the magic-wielding demon hunters who travel between worlds on a variety of missions. They are also known to be called ‘Realmers’ colloquially.

  Novice, Apprentice, Mid-Realmer, High-Realmer and Arch-Realmer

  The five training ranks Venators go through whilst learning weaponry and the magical arts.

  Rueda

  A famous Venator from millennia ago who has become similar to a deity now.

  Rakarn

  Also referred to as Dark-Venators.

  Rakarn is the demonic word for children, named by Queen Akirandon, who created and trained them at Velkarath in parody of Veneseron and its Venators. Velkarath aim to recruit young magic-users and turn them into Dark-Venators before Veneseron can.

  The Masters

  The magical instructors who train the Venators are referred to as the Masters.

  The Moonlight Races

  A collective term that applies to all vampires, werewolves, shifters and other former humans who have been infected by various supernatural strains. The name was coined as these creatures’ powers are stronger at night.

  Dread Lord

  Far more powerful than a demon minion or brute, the Dread Lords are demons with immense power and human intelligence. They often have hordes of monsters to serve them.

  Demon Disciple

  The demon god long ago blessed his most loyal Dread Lords and made them almost as powerful as himself, dubbing them his Disciples. The god has since been destroyed, yet his Disciples remain, scattered across the realms, planning and plotting.

  Part One

  Traitor’s Choice

  All who’ve been given the gift of magic must cherish it, never abuse it.

  –A quote from Glommish, High-Master of Aunchtyre Stronghold

  Chapter 1- Monster Tracking

  Not all demons smelled the same, but after nearly a year of being a Venator, Evan had come to the realisation that most demons gave off the pungent stench of rotten eggs, petrol and death. This realm reeked of all three.

  “I’m not up for this,” Elijah grumbled.

  “You never are,” Jed said.

  “Yeah, but this time, I’m really not up for it.”

  Evan had to agree, the situation didn’t look good.

  The three of them crouched behind one of the many giant rocks scattered haphazardly around the wasteland. A dozen black spires towered over them, sprouting out from the strange earth all around, until their spires disappeared into the clouds.

  Hilariously enough, the strange wasteland reminded Evan of mint chocolate-chip ice cream. It was hard packed green dirt, speckled with dark pebbles. There seemed to be no wind on this realm, and grains of sand rained from the sky, making Jed’s blond hair look as brown as his.

  Evan, the tallest of the three, peeked over the lip of the rock to get another glimpse of their target.

  The monster they were tracking was an ugly brute, with two horned heads and an ape-like body covered in scarlet scales. They’d been told his name was Ugatho and he was the keeper of the amulet they needed to retrieve.

  “See what I mean?” said Elijah, standing up on tiptoes and looking over Evan’s shoulder as the demon entered one of the warped towers.

  “I don’t plan on getting eaten any time soon,” Elijah continued, his golden eyes alight with anxiety, “and this Ugatho has two mouths full of teeth that could devour me in seconds.”

  “Well, at least you won’t suffer for long,” said Jed.

  “Demons often look scarier than they actually are,” said Evan, trying and failing to assuage Elijah’s fears.

  A pair of guards stood by the tower Ugatho had entered. The good news, they were the only beings around. The bad, the guards were Onlekks, barbaric creatures Evan was all too familiar with.

  “We need to get in that tower, before Ugabooga gets away,” Jed said.

  “That’s not his name,” Elijah replied irritably. “And our mission brief said that talisman Ugatho has can double the strength of any spell, so we need to get it before it falls into Dark-Venator hands. Besides, we need to take out those guards first, a long-distance spell perhaps?”

  “No problem,” said Jed, coming out from behind the rock and flinging out his arm.

  “No! We should wait and--” Evan cut off as he felt the pulse of sorcery a second before two fist-sized rocks rose from the ground and shot toward the tower. Unfortunately, Jed’s aim was off and the rocks smashed into the tower above the Onlekks instead of hitting them.

  “You idiot,” Elijah hissed.

  At thirty feet away, the Onlekks had been unaware of their presence, but now they snapped their heads toward them, raising their weapons and marching across the wasteland.

  “Kill them, before others know we’re here,” Evan cried, running out from the rock and summoning his own magic.

  The Onlekks were barely five-feet-tall, but their dirty yellow eyes were alight with rage behind their piggish snouts. Their mud coloured skin was covered in short, bristly hair and although their intelligence was limited, they could still carry weapons and knew how to use them. One Onlekk brandished a rusty spear, whilst the other wielded an axe.

  “Ushk, sorry,” Jed swore, gesturing wildly with both hands now. The earth beneath one Onlekk melted into quicksand as Jed cast his spell, but the monster came to a halt for only a second before wrenching himself out of the sand.

  Evan turned to the second beast, throwing a bolt of energy magic his way. The Onlekk evaded the spell, however, and charged right at him.

  At such close quarters, Evan abandoned magic and ripped his sword free instead. The emerald blade gleamed brightly as he parried the Onlekk’s first blow. The monster’s axe slammed against Ruaden, but Evan held the sword steady, before dancing to the side and sweeping low.

  The Onlekk let out a roar as Ruaden sliced through his thigh and blood sluiced across the sand.

  To his left, Jed leaped back as the other Onlekk jabbed at him with his spear, whilst Elijah seemed to be working an illusion spell.

  His own opponent swung at him again and would’ve beheaded him if Evan hadn’t ducked. Still crouched, he pressed his free hand against the Onlekk’s stomach, channelling a huge blast of electricity as he did so. The
Onlekk was flung to the ground, his body spasming. Evan swiftly rose and planted Ruaden deep into the monster’s chest. The Onlekk’s body jerked once more, then went still.

  He looked around and thought he’d gone mad for a second, seeing two Elijah’s. The Onlekk threw his spear at one Elijah, which would’ve perforated his skull, but the illusion melted away and the spear scudded across the ground instead. The real Elijah snuck up to the Onlekk’s side, driving his dagger into the monster’s neck.

  “Awesome piece of magic,” said Evan, smiling at Elijah, who still looked panic-stricken. “Padrake would be proud of you dude.”

  Elijah grinned weakly back at him, scared but pleased with himself.

  Jed got to his feet behind them, scowling.

  “What happened?” Evan asked.

  “Tripped,” Jed grumbled. “It’s not funny, before you say anything.”

  “No, it is not funny,” said Elijah. “You almost jeopardised the whole mission. What if Ugatho knows we’re here now and escapes. We need to plan out our movements, not rush them.”

  “Who died and made you Master? Oh, I didn’t mean…” Jed trailed off.

  Evan knew Elijah’s uncomfortable expression was mirrored on his own face. Jed’s words reminded them all of the recent casualties.

  “We better get back behind the rock,” Evan said. “In case Ugatho did hear us and comes out looking.”

  The three of them resumed their position behind the dusty yellow boulder, waiting silently for several minutes. Evan prayed the demon had been too far inside the tower to hear their short skirmish. They were lucky Onlekks craved violence and had charged them, rather than running inside to alert Ugathon.

  “So,” Jed said at last. “D’you think this Uga dude’s got any more buddies around? Or was it just those guards?”

  Evan looked back at him. “Let’s try not to find out, eh?”

  “What about that?” Jed pointed to the sky.

  The sky was like nothing he’d ever seen. Not only was it orange between the fluffy white clouds, but patches of the sky shimmered, like rippling puddles.

  “They’re portal rifts.” Elijah sighed. “The mission monitors already told us in the briefing before we left Veneseron. Don’t you listen?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that.” Jed replied.

  “This realm’s existence is fragile,” said Elijah. “Other worlds are trying to break in.”

  “I still don’t know what that means,” Jed admitted. “I just nodded along and pretended I knew. You did too, Evan?”

  Evan held up his hands as he chuckled. “What can I say? I knew Elijah understood.”

  “It means,” said Elijah through pursed lips. “Realms like Earth are solid, you can’t enter or leave without a portal, but this world’s barriers are so weak that you can pass into other worlds without even meaning too. Those rifts are probably gateways, who knows what’s on the other side.”

  Evan eyed the sky rifts uneasily. “Let’s just keep our feet firmly on the ground then. C’mon, let’s get in that tower, I think the coast is clear now, but let’s keep our weapons out in case anything’s waiting for us inside the tower.”

  With one last look to check no one was in sight, the teenagers crept from their hiding place. The green dirt crunched beneath Evan’s boots as he jogged to the tower.

  To his immense surprise, Evan had taken the leader role on their mission. Although technically, he did have the most experience. This was his third assignment, and only the second mission for both Elijah and Jed.

  Just ten days ago Evan, Zeke and the Arch-Realmer, Domnican, had been sent to destroy a trio of demons who’d been terrorizing a medieval village on a world where knights proved themselves by hunting down woolly mammoths. But the knights hadn’t been equipped to deal with the demonic, so Venators had been called in. The demons Evan had been up against on his last mission defending the village had been quite lowly, but the Masters had told them Ugatho was slightly more powerful. But still, today’s mission was a mid-level assignment, but that hadn’t stopped Elijah from freaking out since the moment they’d arrived.

  The tower’s entrance gaped open, but when they were still twenty feet from the door Evan heard the beating of giant wings. The noise was thunderous, meaning the creature had to have a massive wingspan. As Evan looked over his shoulder his fears were confirmed. His pale skin went paler as he felt all the blood drain from his face.

  “Quick!” He seized both Jed and Elijah's collars and threw them behind another rock, leaping after them.

  “What the hell—”

  Evan cut Jed off, pointing above. Slowly, all three of them poked their heads around the rock.

  Elijah stifled a shout as he saw the abomination before them.

  The demon resembled a dragon, if that dragon had bird-like talons and the head of a slug. Fortunately, the horror hadn’t seen them, but it’s slime-ridden neck writhed across the ground, its antennae wriggling. Several drops of liquid dripped off the antennae and corroded the ground where they splashed.

  “Holy Rueda.” Jed gasped.

  To Evan's relief, the demon dragon took back to the skies a second later, flying high out of sight.

  “Glarqing hell,” Jed exclaimed. “You don’t see that every day. I didn’t even know such things as slug-dragons existed.”

  “Looks like luck's on our side,” Elijah said incredulously.

  “Seems so, but we better not risk that thing coming back,” said Evan.

  The three them sprinted the rest of the way into the tower and through the entrance.

  It was like stepping into a sauna, yet the tower’s interior was the furthest thing from a luxury spa. The black walls looked like half-melted rock, and the very ground was ruined by corrosion too. The only light shone from within the walls themselves, a dull red glow interspersed between the jumbled black rock. The heat of the place seeped even through Evan’s boots, he suspected the place would be hot enough to melt normal footwear.

  “It’s like we’re inside a volcano,” said Elijah “but without the magma.”

  “Let’s hope there’s no magma,” he replied wearily.

  He saw the only way ahead was a set of steps hewn into the cave wall. As he stepped forward the stench of rotten eggs and petrol grew strong enough to almost make him gag.

  “Rueda, this Ugatho reeks worse than any other demons we’ve faced, doesn’t he?” Jed wore a revolted expression.

  They proceeded up the stairs, trying to ignore the smell. Oddly, their footsteps didn’t echo around the tower, the only sounds were the light jingling of the beads in Elijah’s braids and their own laboured breathing.

  “Remember,” Elijah whispered, “we can’t kill him until we get the amulet.”

  “How thick do you think I am, mate?” Jed muttered.

  “Well you do tend to get carried away sometimes,” said Evan.

  “Yeah well sorry I can’t always keep my calm when a demon’s about to rip my head off. Anyway, I forgive you, Elijah.”

  “For what?” Elijah looked to be stomping up the stairs now, yet still his tread made no noise.

  “For being so scared. I can’t blame you,’ said Jed, ‘it is only your second job after all.’

  “It’s your second mission too,” Elijah shot back. “You only got back from your first assignment last week.”

  “Yeah, but I single-handedly rescued Evan’s secret sister. So that was kind of my first mission and gives me way more experience than you.” Jed grinned.

  “I admit I’m a little more on edge than I would be,” said Elijah. “After what happened to…” Elijah trailed off morbidly.

  Evan met Elijah’s eyes and gave him an encouraging nod. “Don’t worry, man. I get it.”

  What had happened to Tyrell and the other Venators six weeks ago had reminded them all how dangerous their missions were. The day Lok had come back with the news had been a devastating time for the whole Fortress. Evan had heard the Masters say it was one of the
biggest Venator casualties in centuries. Evan hadn’t known any of the other Realmers who’d been killed by the Rakarn, but he’d known Tyrell and liked him a lot. Tyrell had deserved better than being murdered in a Dark-Venator ambush.

  He’d known two of the fallen Realmers, Jimmy Revlin had been in many of his training sessions and Tyrell had always been nice to him. He’d miss them both terribly, and hated the Rakarn for ripping them away. He’d never met the other fallen Venators, but every Venator killed in action was a blow to the whole Fortress.

  “Don’t worry,” Jed said seriously. “I highly doubt Rakarn are gonna’ interrupt us on this mission, but if they do, we’ll show ‘em what Veneseron is about. Well, I will at least.” Jed’s usual grin returned. “You’re a bit too inexperienced Elijah.”

  “Sssh,” Evan said, “we’re making too much noise.”

  He led the other two up the stairs, and kept Ruaden held high, just in case monsters loomed in the shadows around them, ready to pounce.

  “Shut up Jed,” Elijah continued. “I was training at Veneseron way before you knew you possessed a spark of sorcery. I—” Elijah cut off with a garbled choke.

  Evan whirled to see a scarlet, scaly arm had burst from the wall to grip Elijah by the throat. Elijah flailed wildly as the demonic hand cut off his air supply.

  A second hand exploded from the rock to seize Jed by the hair and yank him against the wall, causing the Australian to let loose a stream of panicked profanities.

  As he saw the second arm, Evan guessed what would happen and dropped to a crouch just before the third arm shot from the wall.

  He swung up sharply, hacking the arm in half as he stood. The demonic limb drooped to the ground in two halves, before burning away to ash.

  As he turned back to his friends, he saw them do the same to their own attacking appendages. Once sliced in half, the arms fell away, swiftly dissolving. But as soon as those arms were destroyed, more erupted out of the steps, clinging to their legs instead.