Three Wishes: Cairo
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Authors: Jeff Klinedinst
Three Wishes
CAIRO
Book One
Copyright © 2015 by Jeff Klinedinst
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations for reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2015
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Table of Contents
“Down!” Khayri screamed.
The command could not have come a split second later. Ameerah obeyed instinctively as the broadsword sliced through nothing but air and a few stray black hairs. These silken orphans fluttered in mid air, as if pondering their removal from the flock. Ameerah gasped and focused her bronze-colored eyes on the creature that had just tried to behead her. She was partially in shock and completely in disbelief, trying to comprehend the moment. In an instant, the most perfect day in the history of the world had been spoiled.
The humongous, dark creature that had exploded through the wall had every intention of removing the future king and his betrothed from the library, the palace and likely the Earth itself. But the
how
and the
why
of this current predicament was still a confusing and cacophonous mystery.
The sounds of splintering wood and wet labored breathing became a morbid soundtrack of their struggle. But fear would not rule the young couple. They moved with unspoken synchronicity and instantly began the task of defending themselves. There would be answers to numerous questions later, but for right now, staying alive was job one.
The creature was large and deliberate but surprisingly agile. He seemed have no hesitance destroying these two young people who, up until a minute ago were complete strangers. He was humanoid, but not quite human, with all of the same appendages as a human man. His arms and chest were littered with muscles on top of muscles and covered with a slimy black substance that could never be confused with normal. It was as if he had hatched only moments ago from some insane cocoon of horror.
Thankfully Khayri was a very experienced warrior and didn’t hesitate to bring the focus of the fight to himself. Tanned and well-muscled, the Prince looked positively miniature compared to his opponent. He had been in many fights with larger opponents and didn’t shy away from the contact of battle. The only real issue with the current
arena
was the amount of decoration he had to account for. The library was a large room, but it was filled with various statues, bookshelves and other things that only served to get in his way. He had to be careful when he swung his sword so he didn’t mistakenly hit something else en route, leaving an opening for an easy counterattack. What he lacked in strength compared to this mammoth creature, he more than made up for with speed, agility, and cunning.
Each lumbering strike from the brute seemed to fall split seconds late. The young prince darted, dodged and countered; aware that he would need to tire his opponent and then wait for an opening to end this crisis. Khayri was also aware that he was not alone in this battle. Ameerah’s protection superseded any other prong of his plan. She was no fragile flower and was quite capable of taking care of herself, yet now was not the time to test theories about battle readiness. This creature was quite capable of killing them both. The prince intentionally used a brisk pace; lunging forward quickly and with repeated attacks that left the beast no other choice than to pinpoint his focus on Khayri alone.
The battle was fast-paced and frustrating for the hulk. Just when the creature had the human cornered, his prey would scurry out of his grasp.
This whole day had started innocently enough. Ameerah and Khayri had decided to skip all of their formal pre-wedding functions and spend the day in the library of the Summer Palace. They were laughing and reading really bad poetry amidst the dark tiled walls and subdued colors. Though their political advisors had advised against it and pointed to a litany of items that needed to be handled, the prince and his beautiful bride-to-be simply chose to ignore their stuffy advice. This much needed break had calmed both of their pre-wedding jitters and given them some quiet time to simply enjoy each other's company. The two young people had dressed in baggy clothes, laughed, eaten and tried to forget that tomorrow would change their lives forever. They looked completely out of place in this formal setting; sprawled over furniture that had been designed for straight-backed quiet contemplation rather than comfort. But none of that mattered now. This
serious
room had just grown a whole lot more serious.
“STAND STILL,” the black-skinned creature spat as his blade crashed through the wooden chair Khayri used at the last second to separate himself from the cold reality of the steel.
Khayri smiled as he threw away the pieces. “I take it you’re not a classic furniture fan. You certainly gave us a start, yet I can’t help but notice that you seem to be panting. If you’re tired, I’d be happy to pick this up at another time. I think we both know I can do this all day long and you my friend, might be better suited against the older and sicklier folk in our kingdom.”
The creature took this opportunity in the battle to catch his breath. His menacing frame was built more for several massive strikes that overpowered a foe into submission. He was not really prepared to continue this pace for more than a few minutes. Even complete and utter craziness has physical limits. This couple was frustrating him because they were too quick to corner and not terrified enough to react stupidly. But he smiled evilly and spoke with controlled eloquence, “I’m sorry that our battle has disappointed you. But I do think that, once I get my hands around your throat, you'll be quite satisfied with the death I've planned for you. Surrender now and I'll end this quickly and painfully.”
“I think you mean quickly and
painlessly
,” muttered Khayri.
“No, I like painfully better. But you should give this up and it will at least be over quickly,” said the hulk with a smirk.
“Oh, I’m not ready to give up just yet” Khayri snickered. “At this point, I must confess that after such a grand entrance through my wall, I really expected a thrilling display of combat. Frankly, I've been a little disappointed with the workout. I honestly haven’t really battled anyone as terrifyingly slow as you are since my grandmother forced me to eat Aash-e Anaar with raisons.”
Ameerah laughed out loud and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but it was too late. Even this deliberate creature was able to instantly reason that he had been fighting this battle incorrectly. With a sickening smile he immediately began making his way toward the Achilles heel of his nimble foe. If he wanted the Prince to come to him; bringing his beautiful young girlfriend more actively into the picture would accomplish that task instantly.
Ameerah read the monster’s obvious intent and immediately responded by bounding quickly and gracefully across the room, where she slid deftly under one of the solid wooden tables that lined the sides. As he reached the small table that she had scooted under, the brute turned to gauge the effect of this new proximity on his cocky foe and spoke enthusiastically, “I think she will taste much better than Aash-e-AHHHHHHHH!”
The small dagger that kept Ameerah’s silky, black locks in place had found its way squarely into the creature’s foot, instantly anchoring him to the floor and causing him to scream in agony. As the monster contorted in an off-balance dance of anguish, she took the opportunity to shuffle and hide under a much wider table. The hulk yelped as he wrenched his damaged foot free from the dagger, inflicting even more injury and pain as he once again moved toward Khayri. His breathing was labored and heavy. Each agonizing step seemed to make him even more incensed.
“You will pay for this insolence and she will watch you die slowly and painfully!” After another careful and hesitant step, he had one final comment, “You should know that because of you, her death will also be blissful torture.”
“Okay, first… it’s Aash-e-Anaar… not Aash-e-AAHHHHHH. My grandmother is rolling in her grave right now. Second, I’m growing weary of these threats. If you truly have the ability to kill me, please do so and stop talking about it. I've reached my upper limit on vacuous nonsense for the day. And third… for future reference, pull out the dagger first. Don’t rip it, you clod.”
The threadbare controls that governed this creature now snapped for good. He charged in mindless fury at Khayri with no control over his emotions. Perhaps in this mad dash he wondered why Khayri didn’t move or even flinch. At the last second, Khayri moved deftly to his right and allowed the creature to pass immediately into the crosshairs of a pointed wooden decoration that adorned the wall behind him. With no ability to stop his unbridled mass from its forward momentum, the creature’s head was immediately pierced with mortal certainty. He hung there in shock until the lights in his eyes went out. Then, with a sickening slurping sound, he separated slowly from the ornament and slumped to the floor in a foul-smelling heap.
Khayri, now able to breathe freely, nudged the creature’s head with his boot and saw that a gaping wound was now a permanent part of the creature’s skull. He spoke as he attempted to catch his breath.
“Wow. That could not possibly feel good.” And then to Ameerah, “You okay?”
Ameerah climbed out from under the library table and made her way to his side. “I’m fine, but what was that thing?”
“Not sure. I thought he was from your side of the family. It was most certainly not the
Welcome to the Family
greeting I was hoping for.” He smiled at her.
Ameerah now retrieved her blade from the floor, wiped it on her silk pants and began to reinsert it in her hair.
Khayri just stared.
“What?” she replied and glanced behind her as if someone was sneaking up on her.
“I just really like your hair down.”
Ameerah blushed and uttered their favorite phrase, “You can count on me.”
“Now that we have a history,” he said automatically.
Without giving it a second thought, Ameerah moved her blade to her belt and left her hair hanging down.
In the adjoining room, a mysterious figure immediately sensed that the hulk had missed its mark. The rules of nature dictate a winner and a loser in most battles. In this case, the hulk had lost and the young couple had won. But the supernatural world had no rules and those who controlled them were not bound by the laws of nature. The only visible skin on the figure was on a right hand which contained a half-moon tattoo. That hand waved lightly to the right and the fingers snapped.
Back in the library, the creature instantly began to stir. Its struggle to stand brought looks of shock at first and then an almost comical stare of frustration between Khayri and Ameerah.
Khayri moved in front of Ameerah and stepped back to the creature. “You do realize that you’ve had a huge ornament embedded in your skull, don’t you? How are you going to keep your brains from leaking out? Forget I asked; I imagine it’s not an issue for you.”
The creature issued a gurgling laugh and shook its head while still trying to gather itself. It began to flex its limbs one at a time; as if testing itself to see which of its killing instruments was still functioning. “I am not so easy to kill as you will be." Slowly it moved from a seated position and began to try and stand while cautiously watching the young prince.
“You certainly spew more threats than any creature I’ve ever battled.” Khayri waved his hand. “Get to your feet, demon and let’s end this for good.”
The creature continued struggling to a standing position while looking suspiciously at Khayri.
But Khayri just smiled and looked completely relaxed as he patiently stood by as if waiting for his morning coffee. He again challenged the creature. “Take your time, arise, get your feet under you and then meet me as an equal. We’ll handle this like gentlemen. I’ll simply count one, two, three--- go! And we’ll end this one way or another. Let's see whose will is broken first. Let’s make this a fight that my children and your little demon dogs will talk about for ages.”
Now getting to his feet, the creature relaxed and looked away for an instant, “Chivalry will not win you any favors where I’m concerned. I’ll just kill you and hang your head in…”
“Go!” yelled Khayri as he instantly flew directly to the wide-eyed hulk.
“Wha?” But before the creature could face Khayri, the blade had found its home in his heart. The creature’s screams were overly long and loud as it flailed wildly. Its writhing body spun rapidly in circles and began to mysteriously smoke before eventually succumbing to the second fatal injury of the day.
Khayri again checked the body for signs of life. His adrenaline was subsiding and his breathing quickly changed from gasps to the measured intake of a well-trained athlete. When Khayri checked Ameerah’s reaction, he immediately became uncomfortable with the smile she had on her face and began to stammer. “Now that was one long death. A death that ugly should only happen once. Wasn’t it strange? And the smoke, did you see that? What was with the spinning and the smoke?”
Ameerah just stared at him with that same strange little smile on her face.
Finally, he could no longer stand her silence. “What?” he said.
“You cheated.”
“What do you mean? I said
go
,” he protested.
“I can’t believe you cheated,” she tilted her head playfully.
“Certainly, I did not. I didn’t say whether or not the count would be silent,” he said indignantly. “I think that when one slays a creature that’s all attitude, muscle and bad breath-- more than once I might add-- a little leeway in the rules can be afforded, don’t you?”