Evolving

By Armani Mondragón

Kyle is a mercenary of the most extraordinary kind—he tracks his quarry with a sense beyond mere human ability. Even though this "gift" sets him apart from those he protects, he never questions it; to do so would bring him too close to the nameless evil he once encountered as a child. Then Kyle’s hunt leads him into a perilous dark realm, and he is forced to make an alliance with a powerful demon and her mysterious master, The Night Caller.

However, there is more at stake than Kyle’s survival. A cunning adversary is set to unleash the monstrous forces that lurk at the edge of the human world. And the key to humanity’s survival may very well lie in the haunting past Kyle has fought to keep secret, even from himself…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312270947

Book preview

Evolving

Evolving

Armani Mondragón

Dedicated to

My daughter who brought me back to life

and

My father who inspired such a love of the written word.

A special thank you to Amy Bardwell for proofreading my words, and all the encouragement and faith she has shown in this story.

© Copyright 2009

ISBN 978-0-615-51624-0

All Text Rights & Cover Images Belong To

Armani Mondragón

CHAPTER 1

When Death prodded her on the shoulder, its bony finger penetrating flesh, she was still clutching her Master’s jacket, draped over a boulder and covered in blood.  Her growl of confusion, then defiance, tapered into mewled consent as the metallic tang of the red-soaked jacket suffocated her.  Gently folding the stiffening fabric, she bowed forward, stretching her neck and waiting for the end that must follow all these turnings of worlds.  The nearby stream trickled down its path, droplets of water taking to the air, spying the result of her failure.  The leaves in the blackened trees scratched together like old women wringing their hands, anticipating the climax of the unfolding scene.  All of nature awaiting what comes most naturally.

However, a demon on the precipice of death doesn’t always succumb.  Especially when death is most often a reward kept at arm’s length.  Looking into Death’s eye, an orb glowing brightly with the bluish hue of the farthest stars, the demon quickly discerned the meaning behind the lapse in action.  Master was alive.  Death could not claim her while he lived.  Though Death waited patiently, Master’s will stayed its hand, holding onto what was his.  He would not give Death this prize. 

Bringing Master’s jacket closer she sniffed it deeply, searching for what lay beyond the scent of blood, for clues of what had happened, what deceit had made it appear that the world had swallowed him whole.

Exactly, Death confirmed. 

Her Master swallowed whole, not in this world but another.  Alive.  Calling to her, for she was bound to him by a powerful connection, an unending note ringing in a clear, continuous pitch.  She got to her feet, scanning the land in all directions. Blind to Death now that its touch was holstered, she reached out to Master.  The connection didn’t always work like a beacon—he had to be conscious, had to know where he was to direct her.  She sensed nothing.  That wouldn’t stop her, however; it was a delay, nothing more. 

Death, inherently morbid and disinterested in living beings, lingered a few moments, uncharacteristically releasing puffs of frigid air:  laughter.  Then gone, no doubt appearing elsewhere to collect its swag.

The demon placed her hand in the blood drying upon the stone.  It was her Master’s and the other’s.  Instantly her mind was filled with the sight of horns, many horns, a crown of them, lowered and charging, so quick there was no time to see the attacker’s face.  The power this creature held was immense, and unlike the usual dark and darker she had encountered.  It had only needed one blow to knock the demon off her feet, away from her Master’s side.  The open hand had seared her flesh instantly, melding them together, the burning skin sizzling and acrid, before the full force had propelled her back and pried them apart.  Looking down at her chest near the collarbone, the imprint—enlarged palm with fingers splayed—remained a charred fossil.

There were no clues here.  Looking to the trees that stood witness, she was tempted to inquire and plea for help, but she knew better.  They kept their own counsel and didn’t care to help the walkabouts.  They were impervious to supplications or threats.  Instead, the demon chose her course at random.  If she was wrong, she might have time to change course before her Master expired.  If not…

Best to keep those thoughts at bay.  They were disloyal.  Keep moving—one, two, three steps, and many more to go.

The demon covered twenty miles while counting footsteps and keeping track of the light. No sun in this world.  No yellow ball bouncing up and down beyond the mountains to signal day and night.  That was the world of one of her previous masters.  Here the light was and then wasn’t.  She wished this place had a sun.  She loved staring at suns, dreaming that she lived within their glow, especially the yellow sun belonging to the Evolving, far from any chains literal or magical. 

Since the death of that master, she hadn’t returned to the world of the Evolving.  A gambler and a thief, that master had possessed many enemies. Worried that he would lose her, he had chained her with a powerful spell in a basement where no one could see her.  Hearing her master’s inarticulate cries, too afraid to remember the demon who could have saved him, she was unable to come to his aid.  Only when his last breath was crushed from his lungs, and she caught sight of his soul descending from the world into fire, was the spell broken, too late to be of any use to him.

So many foolish masters, believing that she could run from them, that she could deceive.  Chains, obedience collars, bodyguards and prisons.  A waste.

This Master was different.  He didn’t belong to the world of the Evolving, the humans, though born from it.  He was a great, dark being that knew her upon sight.  His eyes, the whites clear and bright in contrast to the ebony of irises rimmed in the darkest of reds, like blood that has soaked into damp soil, had lit up in surprise at coming across a bindi demon, for her kind were rare.  One swipe of his hand, the unstoppable momentum of a tree crashing to the ground during a storm, and he opened her last master’s throat, tearing such a gash he was instantly emptied of life.  Moving too quickly for the demon to stop him and too quickly for her to run, he had then twined his hands into her hair and pulled her to his bared teeth, sinking them into her shoulder, drinking of her essence, binding her to a new Master.

Once bound, there was the light-headedness from the loss of her self; then the surge of power as her Master’s will took hold.  Stepping over old master’s body, they walked in a single line, new Master leading towards the east with urgency in his every step.  Apparently he had known what was following, had known that it would catch him and banish him. Fortunately, fate had placed a bindi demon within his reach.  There might be a way out of exile after all. 

Binding the demon would be his one and only act of violence towards her in the many days they traveled together.  Holding his tongue, rarely speaking, he also held his temper.  If he was ever angry, he kept it hidden from the demon.  He was the kindest master she had ever known, and this was all the more reason to find him before he was lost forever.

Kyle watched, taking note of every movement, making sure that she was just like him.  A woman.  Human.  Not a thing of this world where he inexplicably found himself.  After assuring himself that she was alone, he broke cover and headed in a direct line to intercept her with quick strides, holding his weapon at his side camouflaged against his black pants.  No need to scare her before he made contact.  Before they joined forces in this frightening world.

He hadn’t made a sound, knew he hadn’t, yet he saw her ear twitch in reflex, and caught a full view of it.  He could have blamed her peripheral vision for her uncanny awareness of him, but after seeing her pointed, bat-like ear he realized too late that she might have an extra sensory advantage.  She moved with breakneck speed, and it was almost as if time had paused for him, from the moment she twitched to the moment she was upon him, her arm twisting around his neck and leaning him backward over her knee.  Staring into her inhuman eyes, completely black with no whites, he wondered if he would actually hear the snap! when she killed him.

Sniffing at him, she whispered, Hue-mon.

He mentally chided himself, stupid hue-mon.  What had he been expecting?  What he’d already seen:  horns, tails, blue and green toned skin.  She had looked so normal.

Gaining a bit of hope as the minutes stretched with his head still attached to his body, he kicked his own reflexes into high gear.  Perhaps she wasn’t ready to kill him, and every moment he was alive was a moment to make sure he stayed that way.  She was capable of speech, and certainly speech, or at least a word, that he understood.  Establish communication; keep her talking until he could gain an advantage.

I mean no harm, he began, instantly regretting his Star Trek-like phrase.  He held up one hand in a show of surrender, keeping the other around her forearm in order to prevent her from breaking his neck.  I wanted information.  I’m not sure where I am.

You are here, she answered matter-of-factly.

Genius.

Yeah… yeah, I am.  I guess it’s the here that I’m unclear about.  You see I know there, there is home, but here… Well, if you could help me out with that part, I’d greatly appreciate it.

The arm slowly loosened, then steadied him onto his feet.  With her speed and surprising strength, he would do himself no good by striking and attempting to run.  Better to take his chances staying put and reasoning with her.

I thought you were human, he confessed.  I thought maybe you were lost here like me.

To be in this place is to be lost, yes.

So you’re looking for a way out, too? Maybe this would work out.

I am looking for Master.

Hmmmm, not good.  Something that controlled this creature would have to be worse.  Faster, stronger, deadlier.  If Master was close, Kyle had better say his goodbye now.

"Ah, well maybe I should keep moving, then.  Let you do your thing… not hold you up."  He wanted to reach for his weapon, but it was lying at her feet.  If he moved away and waited for a bit, she might leave it alone, not even notice it.  Nudging the weapon with her boot, she stared at him letting him know she was fully aware of his intentions, his tactful avoidance of his property.

What does it do? she asked.

Hesitation.  Should he lie?  Probably not a good idea.

It’s an AK-47 sniper assault rifle.

Deftly kicking up the weapon, she cradled it.  The muzzle was pointed at his head while she innocently inquired, Does it protect you?

Yes.

How?

By killing anything that tries to stop me.

Any thing?  Or just hue-mons?

I guess it depends.  I haven’t had to use it here.

Surprisingly, she handed him the weapon, disinterested in its purpose.

Look for the carrion; they will lead you to the portals, she advised, pointing to the skies.

Portals?  To my world?

To many worlds.  You might find yours.

The carrion, are they birds?  Are they dangerous?

No matter to you, you have your weapon.  It will kill anything that tries to stop you, no?

She didn’t smile, but damn if he couldn’t feel that smirk right underneath the surface.  Training and instinct wouldn’t allow him to turn his back on her, but she had no problem doing so.  A last minute gut reaction told him not to let her go.  He was tempted to call to her, or catch up to her and keep company for a while.  An insane thought.  Maybe. 

Although he wasn’t exactly sure what she was, he didn’t believe her to be evil, and not just because she had let him go.  He had a certain instinct for bad people.

(Really?)

She had almost disappeared from view, and he was now fully convinced he could have trusted her; nonetheless, he let her disappear all the same.  A faithful pet came to mind, his childhood Rottweiler, to be specific.

Looking up, he saw nothing but smudgy grey skies.  Almost like home.  When he had first opened his eyes and seen that grey, he had almost believed he was home, until realizing the grey was dank and suffocating.  This sky did not hover above the land—it descended like damp wool, smothering everything beneath it. 

The house he’d run into was not here.  The man he’d been chasing was nowhere.  The city he’d landed in only two hours before had vanished.  No, not vanished.  It was worse than that.  The city had never existed in this location.  His world was gone.

CHAPTER 2

You will come to me…  In three nights’ time, you will sit at the table and feast with the dead… The wine flows… Follow its path…

The voice