EG Monster Island Chapter 21

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Happy Father's Day to all y'all! Thanks for supporting me and this novel. Hope you enjoy!

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

We sparred for a couple of hours that afternoon. (More detail here)I was stronger, faster, and had better range of control after advancing. The Volk prince had sent a message that he would be available to give the training I won from him after the next event. I can’t wait to learn a bit about the Volk, I thought, then grunted as I took a kick in the gut. I stumbled backwards, then the follow up kick took me in the side of the head. I collapsed into the dirt.

“Aiden,” Vaya chided me, “what was that? You were dodging great and then just stood there for that kick. Are you okay?” She didn’t give me a chance to answer before healing the bump on my head.

“Sorry. I got distracted thinking about Prince Gunther’s message,” I said. “It won’t happen again.”

“It is time to break anyway,” Librarian Narwan said. “I have heard what the next event is. Collect around me.” We congregated around him, eager to hear the news. “This event is called the Culling. You will be transported into the interior of the island to harvest Aether Plants and Beasts. Sia will need to wear a limitation collar again in order to participate.”

“Sir, do we get to keep the materials that we harvest?” Bridget asked.

“Yes and no,” he answered. “Once you return to the city, you will be able to turn in what you harvested for points. You may keep anything you wish, but it will not help you win the event.”

“Do we get to know any of the other team’s points when we turn our stuff in?” I asked.

“No,” Librarian Narwan shook his head.

“That makes it a gamble,” Aleks said, eyes wide. “So if we do not turn everything in, we might lose because someone else did slightly worse than us but did give up all of their gains.”

“Sneaky,” Lea said. “I am guessing the Ashkhas get a lot of benefits from this event.”

“We will do our best, and make decisions based upon our results,” Ming said.

“I do not care if you win this event,” Librarian Narwan said. At our questioning look, he explained. “This is a dangerous event. You will be sent to a location that is dangerous for your level, but not excessively so. That does not mean a mistake won’t cause you to be severely injured or killed. I will not be able to be there to assist for the same reason that Sia must wear a collar. The Primordials that rule the interior allow these cullings only if there is a parity of force on either side. If I was to join, even to protect you, one of them would step in to protect their offspring.”

“We will be safe,” Aleks said. She looked at us, “Fight conservatively. We have done well so far, and can take a loss here if it means we all come back.”

“Good. Aiden, Vaya, Jamila, Hanna, come with me. The rest of you, go to dinner,” Knight Kaminski said, walking up behind us. The four of us split off and followed her back to the inn at a faster pace than the others. She led us up the stairs to her room.

Well, her suite, I found out after we entered a sitting room. Sam was sitting on a soft chair, her knees pulled up to her chest and rocking slightly. She had a haunted expression on her face, but she was clean. Her hair was braided beautifully behind her head. She looks so fragile, I thought. She looked up when we entered and smiled. “Jamila!” She exclaimed, jumping off her chair and nearly tackling the shorter girl.

“Sam,” Jamila said, holding her up easily. “I am glad you are up. Did you get enough rest?”

“Yes, but I’m so bored,” she said, dragging out the so for three syllables. She looked over at me. “I want to help. How can I be of assistance?”

“Do you know anything about the defenses of the ship you were on? Are there any slaves who would be willing to be rescued? Uh, well, anything you can tell us about the Illyrians and their homeland would be helpful,” I said, realizing I was coming on too strong after the second question.

She shrank back a bit, biting her lip, “I,” she paused. She took a deep breath, breathing in and out slowly. “I can do that. Soon. I can.”

“There is no rush,” I said, putting both my hands out in a calming motion. “We have another event tomorrow that might last several days. I forgot to ask about the timeline,” I shrugged sheepishly at Vaya. “I cannot fathom what you have been through, but all we want is to keep you safe.”

Sam nodded jerkily, still holding tightly to Jamila. “Most of the other humans were born in Illyria. I,” she gulped. “I don’t know if they’d run with us to escape or run to alert the (name). Two, Xang and Oliver, were the only survivors of a small fishing boat they attacked. They are even newer than I was.”

“Then we will try to get them out,” I said.  I held out my hand, and she took it. I squeezed, “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asked.

“For choosing to come to this world to save it,” I said. “We’ll see you enrolled in one of the Academies in Craesti so you can become prepared for what is coming, if you wish. If you need more time, then take it. Breaking yourself won’t help anyone. Got it?”

She smiled and nodded, “Thank you for saving me.” She turned to Jamila, Vaya, and Hanna, “And thank you for healing my body and my pride.”

“You are welcome,” Hanna said, squeezing her shoulder. “It is what we do. We are healers.”

“Did you want something?” Vaya asked, wrapping her arm over my shoulder.

“Um,” Sam said, looking between us. “I asked Miss Kaminski if I could go to dinner with you all tonight. She said she wanted your opinion on it first.”

“Yes, please join us tonight,” Jamila said.

“And maybe you can explain what Aiden meant when he said you chose to come to this world,” Hanna said.

I closed my eyes, berating myself for a second, before I looked up at her, then over at Sam. “Yes, I will explain, to everyone, at the same time,” I said. “My team already knows, as do Jamila and Aleks.”

“Princess Aleksandra,” Hanna corrected. “She is our friend, but when talking about her in front of others, you should use her full name and title.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Aleks is a princess?” Sam asked incredulously. “She didn’t say anything about that when we talked. She was so sweet, not at all what I thought a princess would be like.”

“Yup, firstborn and heir of the Craesti Kingdom princess,” I laughed. “Come on, let’s go to dinner.”

Jamila carefully set Sam down, then grabbed her hand, “It will be fine. They are all good people.” She then pulled her out the door. Vaya took my hand and we followed, with Hanna bringing up the rear. She had been staring at me since I said I would explain, barely seeming to blink. I ignored it, though it made me uncomfortable with the intensity of her curiosity.

I can do this, I thought. They’ve all earned my trust. I can do this. I did my best to keep my mind off all the possible bad things that could occur, mostly by focusing on how the king already knew, so the most powerful person in the kingdom would stick up for me if needed. I’d apparently slowed down significantly, finding myself walking all alone the last few meters into the dining room.

Everyone was waiting for me to say something when I walked in. Sam stood off to the side. “Everyone, this is Samantha. She was formerly a slave of the Illyrian Empire, but we freed her.”

Jon started clapping, and everyone else joined in. Sam smiled shyly, turning to me. “She is like me,” I said, turning to Jon and Bridget. I looked at Ming, then Milenna, and the others who didn’t know my secret yet. I glanced around, and then felt a surge of Aether surround us. All sound from outside disappeared. “Thank you, Master Narwan.”

I took a deep breath, then continued, “We, I, am not from this world. Kupiec Aiden died from his sickness. On my world, I died in an accident while saving a child. In the nothingness between lives, Darkness found my spirit and gave me an offer. To pass on, or go to a world where I could help. He told me that my presence would help save the world, so I accepted.”

“I spoke to Darkness too,” Sam said. “He gave me the same choice, but I haven’t had much chance to do any good.”

“We’ll help fix that,” I said.

“What!” Xiao exclaimed. “You, you are fuh, from another world?”

“Yeah,” I said sheepishly. “I kept it from most everyone at first, because of the knowledge that I took from my world. In many ways, it was more advanced than this one. I worried that I would be used for the knowledge I could provide, and not allowed to grow.”

“Is that where the crystals came from?” Lea asked.

“Yes,” I shrugged. “I was studying chemistry, the science of how matter interacts with itself in all the myriad ways that it can. The crystals actually came from things we did with children to make them excited about science. Similarly, the printing press I gave my, Aiden’s, parents, came from the history of my world.”

“So you have even more that you could invent?” Lilianna said, excitement in her voice.

“Possibly,” I grimaced. “There are definitely things that behave differently here rather than my former world. Aether didn’t exist for one. That has to effect somethings, since this planet is too big for life to exist as it does.” I sat down, and Sam sat on my left. Vaya was to my right, and gave my arm a squeeze. “There is so much that is different here, and so much the same. I’m still figuring things out. Now, uh, let's eat and I’ll answer what questions you have.”

“Why not Samantha?” Jon asked.

Sam shrank back slightly. I patted her shoulder, “Let’s give her time. She’s still getting over a horrific experience. We’ll get to know her better later, but now just let her enjoy friendly company while I tell you grand and funny stories of my world and childhood.” She smiled fragilely at me and gave me a small nod. “Okay, so, food, questions, but know, I’m only saying these things because I trust you all implicitly. You are my friends, and have the best interests of myself, the kingdom, and the world at heart.”

Ming laughed, shaking his head, “You would see us that way.”

I shrugged, then picked up the sandwich that was for dinner. We ate and chatted into the evening, with me telling stories about Earth and my life there. Finally, they’d all run out of questions, and we broke apart to rest until the next morning.

Sam stopped me right before the door to Knight Kaminski’s suite, and quietly said, “Thank you. You didn’t have to expose your secret with me.”

“I know, but this way all their questions about Illyria were preempted by the questions about Earth. Tomorrow, we’ll be consumed by the event. Well, or however long it is. After that, I’m hoping you’ll be amenable to talking, but,” I held up my hand in a conciliatory gesture, “but do not feel required. Okay?”

She nodded, “Okay.”

“Good night Sam,” I said, giving her a smile and a thumbs up.

“Good night, I’ll cheer you all on tomorrow,” she smiled back, then went into her borrowed room.

I turned and walked into my room to see Jon already asleep. With a shrug, I threw on sleep clothes and lay down.

“Sleep well, Aiden,” Sia sent to me as I put my head on my pillow. .

“You too,” I sent back. “You’ll need to be in top shape tomorrow, to deal with the collar.”

“Do not remind me,” his disgust at the thing shone through. “The things I do for my friends.”

“You know it. We’ll rock the event, return as heroes, and bring the kingdom immense prestige at the same time. Goodnight,” I sent back to him, focusing on my amusement to ensure it was transmitted. His laugh rang in my head, and the companionship in it helped lull me to sleep.

(NOTE Add something more here, its a little short but is a good spot to end a chapter)