Outside our world exists one of gods. A place where gods reign supreme and humans live like days of old.
Khan is a dashing thief who travels to a small kingdom without gods in the hope of seducing their beautiful princess. He is instead drawn to her unusual bodyguard who has a few secrets of her own. The battle between mortals and gods has only just begun.
Khan is a dashing thief who travels to a small kingdom without gods in the hope of seducing their beautiful princess. He is instead drawn to her unusual bodyguard who has a few secrets of her own. The battle between mortals and gods has only just begun.
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"And that's when Mei and I started travelling together," said Nawaki. He quickly turned away and wiped his face so that Khan wouldn't see his tears. "A year later we met some guy who works for the king, and we then came here and Mei became the princess' bodyguard."
"I'm sorry about your friends kid," said Khan as he gave Nawaki a pat on the back. "I've unfortunately lost many precious comrades over the years as well."
What Khan didn't mention was that most of them had attempted to backstab or betray the thief so he abandoned them in dangerous locations. Such as the side of crumbling cliffs or in the lairs of angry gods. There was one minion who stole a girl Khan had been pursuing for months, but it wasn't Khan's fault that the bridge collapsed beneath him.
"Mei was a lot more serious back then, and she'd go off hunting gods alone too," said Nawaki. "I thought that she might die like Malik, but she always came back alive, sometimes pretty beaten up but alive. I used to get super mad at her, but she said that it was just something she had to do to get stronger and I suppose it worked since Mei's pretty strong, even for a girl."
"Yes, yes," said Khan. It was all well and good to know what Mei liked to do on the weekend, but her relationship with the Malik guy was something he couldn't overlook. "Why did they kick her out of their gang?"
"Mei refuses to tell me why, but after two years I think I've finally worked out the answer."
"Really? Do tell," said Khan and he passed Nawaki his glass of potato wine. The boy took a small sip before screwing up his face in disgust.
"Mei was obviously super in love with Malik, but when she finally confessed her feelings to him he turned her down because he was still super messed up about what happened to him as a kid. This drove Mei nuts, because Mei's just always angry, and then she completely freaked out. Malik then decided that he couldn't handle her so he kicked her out of his gang and told her not to come back."
Khan had a feeling that there had to be more to the story, but given Mei's personality he was unlikely to hear it from her any time soon.
"Now it's your turn," said Nawaki. "I told you all about the bad stuff that happened to me and Mei, so it's time for you to tell me a story."
Khan didn't usually share his tragic childhood tales with anyone, but he had one story that could hopefully gain Mei's sympathy, so he decided to share it with Nawaki.
"Well," said Khan. "There was this one time."
When Khan was eight his father decided that his family didn't have enough money to feed them all, so he decided to take Khan out into the woods and leave him there. Maybe he hoped that his son could somehow survive off nuts and berries, or maybe he just wanted Khan to slowly starve and pass away where no one could see. Either way, he still attempted to justify his actions to Khan before he left him alone in the dark forest.
"I'm sorry that it's come to this Little Timi," said Khan's father grimly. "But your mother and I just don't have the money to feed all you children, and out of you and your sisters we decided that you were the most trouble so we're gonna have to let you go."
This would have been a shock for most children, but Khan didn't say anything and just stared at his father blankly.
"You understand right?" His father asked but Khan didn't respond.
The man found it puzzling that his son didn't protest or complain. He'd already been forced to abandon two of his children and they both quickly descended into a fit of tears, but this kid didn't look like he cared at all. On the contrary, he looked kind of bored. Maybe he'd overestimated his son and Khan was too stupid to comprehend his tragic fate.
"Farewell my son," said Khan's father and he turned to leave.
Khan said nothing as he watched his father disappear behind the trees. He didn't think it was worth saying goodbye because he'd already memorised the way home and was back there within an hour. He even discovered a handy shortcut and arrived home first. His father was shocked to walk through the door and find Khan already warming himself by the fire. Khan's family unsuccessfully tried to abandon him another several times but they never succeeded.
No matter where he was in this world Khan could always find his way.
"Wow, I'm sorry that your parents tried to ditch you all the time," said Nawaki. "But it's really cool that you found your way back even though you were just a little kid."
"It may have been easy to outsmart my shitty parents," said Khan. "But eventually I got tired of living in poverty so I joined a gang and left when I was about your age."
"That's so cool, Mei would never let me join a gang. She's super lame when it comes to stuff like that."
"I would have given anything to have a chick with boobs that big look after me when I was your age," said Khan. His eyes glazed over like he'd entered his own fantasyland. "Have her cook meals for me and wash my clothes, smack me if I misbehaved."
"Ha!" Laughed Nawaki. "Mei doesn't do anything nice for me at all. She's angry and mean and won't let me do anything cool. I'm already eleven and she still treats me like I'm a little kid."
"Who are you calling angry?" Said the voice of Mei and Nawaki almost fell out of his chair in shock. He turned to see her furiously standing behind him with her arms crossed. If Mei's anger could give off heat he would have been burnt to a crisp.
"H..H..H..How did you find me here?" Asked Nawaki nervously.
"I came to patrol the lower town and I could hear your voice from miles away, and what's this?" Asked Mei as she ripped the glass of potato wine out of Nawaki's hand and sniffed it. "Have you been drinking?" She glared at the bartender who immediately pointed at Khan.
"It was him!" Said Stingy Lu.
"You!" Said Mei and she slammed the glass down on the counter with enough force to shatter it. She ripped her fan from her pocket and furiously pointed it at Khan. "Didn't I beat you up enough the last time we met?"
"By all means, please do it again," said Khan with a smile. He even undid his shirt and exposed his chest for her to beat.
"Are you drunk?" Asked Mei.
"Just a little," said Khan. "I only had one, or two, or possibly three."
"You drank four," said Nawaki.
"Come on Nawaki, you shouldn't hang out with this guy!" Said Mei as she grabbed Nawaki's arm and tried to drag him away.
"But I don't want to go!" Said Nawaki. "I like it here."
"Come on!" Said an exasperated Mei as she glanced around the bar. It was full of suspicious men, criminals, Princess Lili Sparkling Fan Club members, and one guy who was smoking something in the corner which gave off a terrible smell. "This is hardly the place for children."
"But I'm not a little kid anymore, and he's my friend!"
"But he's a criminal," said Mei.
"But that just makes him cooler!" Said Nawaki.
"If the kid wants to stay then why not let him?" Said Khan. "He's obviously old enough to make his own decisions."
"You stay out of this!" Said Mei.
"Or what?" Asked Khan. "You're going to hit me?"
Mei growled and pointed her fan at Khan. "Fine! Let's just get this over with."
Khan stood up and readied himself to fight. Sure he was a little intoxicated and the room was spinning, but he was certain he could take her. Khan had faced plenty of dangerous situations after three or four drinks. Five was a different story and he wasn't going to count the time that he went to steal a diamond necklace, blacked out, and then woke up on a beach naked the next morning.
Mei thrust her fan at Khan's chest and pushed the thief backwards into a set of tables and chairs. Mei was banned from using her wind attack inside ever since the incident at the knife store (most of the staff went on to make full recoveries) so she had no choice but to use her other techniques. Khan quickly jumped to his feet and then skillfully dodged her next attack.
Nawaki sat back and watched the fight while sipping on Khan's remaining drink. He thought it tasted revolting, but he naively thought that drinking would make him look older and cooler.
Of course it didn't.
Nawaki was impressed at how the thief could hold his own against Mei as they exchanged blows, but Nawaki could have sworn that Khan almost looked happy every time that Mei managed to land a small hit. Mei was strong enough to knock the thief unconscious once, so Khan had no choice but to dodge most of her punches until he found himself backed into a corner with no hope of escape.
His situation may have looked grim, but the thief had a super special move that he'd prepared for situations such as these.
"Look it's a god!" Cried Khan and he pointed to something behind Mei.
"What! Where?" Yelled Mei and she turned to look behind her.
In under a second Khan slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips when she moved her head back. Khan knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do (considering how Mei despised him) but he knew she would never fall for that move a second time so it was his only chance. He also attempted to slip his tongue in, but Mei had already pulled away and punched him in the stomach.
Khan collapsed to the floor in agony. He wished that Mei would beat him more, but a very red faced Mei Fhan had already grabbed Nawaki's wrist and was dragging him out of the bar and onto the street.
"Come on we're going," she said.
"It's no fair! You never let me have any fun!" Nawaki protested but Mei refused to let go.
A trembling Khan slowly picked himself up off the floor. His stomach was throbbing and it was difficult to stand, so he rested his elbow on the bar counter to steady himself.
"Great isn't she?" He said to the bartender with a grin.
Stingy Lu blankly stared back at him while cleaning out a glass with a dirty rag. "You're a funny one aren't you?" He muttered.
After staying for a few more drinks (and quietly slipping out when the bartender wasn't looking) Khan limped out of the tavern and went to rejoin Gono and Daisy who were watching the castle. His conversation with Nawaki spun around his head as he thought of Malik and his group of god hunters who suffered a violent and tragic end.
"So that's the type of guy she likes huh?" Said Khan to himself. "My parents were killed in front of me as a child," said Khan dramatically as he tried to impersonate Nawaki's description of Malik. "Please help me ease my pain," he said with a laugh. "Just you wait Mei Fhan, you'll be begging for my attention before the week is over!"
Thank you for reading my free sample chapter. If you enjoy this story and want to read more you can grab it in these locations Smashwords !! Amazon !! B&N
Read Online Here / Grab a copy here on Amazon
Thank you for reading my free sample chapter. If you enjoy this story and want to read more you can grab it in these locations Smashwords !! Amazon !! B&N
Other Stories by M.C.Queen
Memories of a Soul in the Underworld
Summary: Ethan is a soul doomed to spend eternity as a slave in Hell for reasons he can't remember. After centuries of torment he finally snaps and goes on the run from those who enslaved him. Can he escape and become more than a regular soul, or is he doomed to spend an eternity in The Underworld? Read here for free
Summary: Ethan is a soul doomed to spend eternity as a slave in Hell for reasons he can't remember. After centuries of torment he finally snaps and goes on the run from those who enslaved him. Can he escape and become more than a regular soul, or is he doomed to spend an eternity in The Underworld? Read here for free
How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster
They say life flashes before you in that moment before death. I could see it all reflected in the blade. I was standing under the cherry blossoms at my school entrance ceremony, eating cake at my sister's wedding, standing outside praying the monster wouldn't come tonight. I might not be dead yet but I can see what's coming, this is the story of how I was murdered by a fox monster!
Read Online Here / Grab a copy here on Amazon
