scottjames

B3 Chapter 3: Off and On Again

Words like ‘trapped forever’ and ‘dying of thirst’ were soon thrown around casually. Apparently Roan considered my situation more dire than he’d first led on.

He stared at the ring of stones as if some answer would magically jump out at him.

Having none of my own, I was forced to silently wait for his epiphany.

Hugo had no patience for that. He believed that we’d get to the solution through the process of elimination. He kept suggesting ideas that were hardly wor...

B3 Chapter 2: Arguing about Evolution

The Grade Evolution room wasn’t what I expected.

Inside the large room, a polished wooden floor stamped with a spiral pattern led to red painted walls tinged with gold at the edges. The middle of the room was empty, but old and expensive furniture decorated three of the corners, while the fourth corner contained a fully stocked bar.

This wasn’t a place for Tower Climbers to evolve themselves in. It was a parlor room.

First a washing machine as a gift and now this? I kept...

B3 Chapter 1: Losing an Argument to a Washing Machine

Almost everyone we knew had just been killed.

The golden elevator doors closed and Hugo and I traveled down to the next floor. Just like that it was over.

Neither of us knew what to say or how to react. Neither of us knew where we were going or what we’d find once we got there.

It was nauseating.

I tightened my fist around a slim piece of paper. It was my lifeline. The one thing that kept me grounded. Just six little words hastily scrawled out that offered me a tiny ...

B2 Chapter 51: The Bitter Truth

The first thing I noticed when coming out on the other side of the portal was that Vhar didn’t follow us through. Instead, the portal disappeared, and we were left standing in an open field. The jungle in the distance suggested that we were still on the big island. Still, I thought it strange he’d leave now after everything he’d said about helping. Although I guess he did fulfill his part in getting me here.

The Golden Door was right in front of us. A solid piece of gold with a ke...

B2 Chapter 50: The Royal Appointment

“I was wondering if you’d show up again,” I said as I followed the cat through a dark cave.

“I’ve been a little busy,” she replied tightly. “Several of the Queen’s planets were attacked in a simultaneous strike and thus far, finding the culprit has proved elusive.”

I wondered if she knew about the conversation I’d had with Samara in the Victory room and what her last words had been. I asked her about it and there was a moment of silence as she mulled over how t...

B2 Chapter 49: Monkey See Monkey Do

There wasn’t much time before our monkey army was decimated by those guns. Sebastian, Hugo, and I hurried around to another part of the beach. I’d told them the plan as we went and they were all onboard with it.

Ostorox, Hugo’s large and terrifying void spawn spirit summon, was brought out first. Hugo commanded it to fill its mouth with as much sea water before we climbed onto its large floating head. We then flew out over the water to approach the fortress from behind.

Osto...

B2 Chapter 48: The Copyright Infringement Was Necessary

Hugo's impassioned speech went for over five minutes before he realized that he was starting to lose the crowd. The monkeys weren’t known for their patience and when he noticed it; he began wrapping it up.

“And on this day, let it be said we will not go quietly into the night!” his voice boomed. “Out there on the battlefield is glory and triumph. So let’s take it!”

The monkeys roared back in agreement.

When the noise died down, they were ordered to gather outside...

B2 Chapter 47: The Raincoat Commands Respect

“Hold, my children,” said a hidden deep voice to the monkeys to try and stay their hand. It echoed around the massive chamber, but the monkeys were screeching so loudly that they drowned it out. Instead, they continued towards the stairs. Ready to climb up and tear us apart.

Next to us on either end were two large braziers burning gently. I wondered about using the fire to fend off the angry primates when Sebastian stepped forward. He moved to the edge of the stairs with his axe in ...

B2 Chapter 46: The Ties That Bind

I returned to Sebastian, looking troubled.

“Guess I know how yours went,” he said.

But I wasn’t disappointed about not getting a prize. My mind was focused on the other things Samara had said. She’d said that a war was coming. So who was fighting with her? If it involved other gods, then it would invariably bleed over into the Tower. Who else was going to get dragged into this conflict?

Sebastian moved over and surprisingly selected the Contrition door and went insid...

B2 Chapter 45: Wait, the Tower Still Has These?

Both of us hurtled down the tunnel as fast as possible. When it comes to things like threatening to release a cloud of poison gas, you can never tell if the System is joking or not. Usually it isn’t.

The tunnel led us to a small chamber that appeared to be a part of an underground temple. There were six stone doors in front of us. Each door had a different word in English carved into it. From left to right, the words were Patience, Victory, Contrition, Strength, Insight, and Connectio...

B2 chapter 44: Getting Caught in the Rain

“How many do you think are out there now?” Sebastian asked me.

We were sat in the pit wondering how long it would take before the hunting party eventually found us.

“It’s still just the four,” I replied. “They can’t call for further reinforcements. It’s part of their rules. The only reason why there’s four out there now is that us being together created a loophole that they could exploit. Technically, you should only have to worry about fighting two of them if th...

B2 Chapter 43: Familiar Territory

There was no time left to lose. I followed the direction that Tanver Vhar had pointed in and found the headless statue with the two crossed swords. I ran past it and tried to keep in a straight line, which is harder than it sounds in a jungle. There was nothing to use as a guide except the sun, which I kept over my left shoulder.

Eventually, the sound of fighting could be heard. I slowed down and approached carefully. Moving quietly through the foliage. Metal on claw clashed together. O...

B2 Chapter 42: The Cosmic Graveyard

I turned to the source of the voice and what I saw caused me to involuntarily take a step back.

There was an eight-foot tall, muscular, white alien sat in a comfortable leather chair. He was completely hairless with pure black eyes and a short, bat-like nose. Perhaps in an attempt to be disarming, he was holding a glass of wine in one hand and an open book in the other. He took a sip of the wine and I couldn’t help but notice that he had long black fingernails that had been sharpened ...

B2 Chapter 41: Being Hunted

It’s day now. I know that because the sun was kind enough to stare directly into my face. The bright light shocked me back into consciousness just in time for me to watch myself being hauled across the sand.

I’d arrived at the island where I was going to be hunted. I couldn’t see much from the sac I was trapped in, but it looked similar to the others. A dense jungle surrounded by white sand. It was an interesting choice for a hunting ground. I guess the Shrikon wanted a bit of a c...

B2 Chapter 40: Sport Worthy

The Captain watched me step into the makeshift arena. His eyes roamed over my armor and cloak. Assessing me to predict how I’d fight. He’d had the benefit of seeing Daisy’s abilities before taking her on. So to him, I was a mystery.

That was good. It meant I’d have at least a couple of surprises waiting for him. One of which might actually give me a chance at winning.

I started to mentally prepare as soon as I entered the circle. From the cold condescension he’d displaye...

Book 1 is out now on Amazon!

Hey, just letting you guys know that Blood for Power book 1 is out on amazon both as a professionally edited ebook and as an audiobook.

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSX5S2V6

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Blood-for-Power-Book-1-Audiobook/B0CSWXN9H3...

B2 Chapter 39: Entertaining the Local Court

Spears appeared in the hands of the Shrikon that surrounded us. We had only a few seconds before we were butchered. And to add insult to injury, the Sea King yawned and looked away. Too bored to even watch the execution he’d just ordered.

I had to do something. We couldn’t run and we couldn’t fight, but there must be something that I could say to stop this.

“Wait!” I said, trying to buy the time.

They ignored me and kept coming closer.

“The King is in dange...

B2 Chapter 38: Prisoners

Helpless, the Shrikon carried me deeper into the depths of the ocean. The sac that I was trapped in did more than just capture me and nullify my powers, it also protected me. Even encased in this thick liquid, I was being magically fed a steady stream of oxygen. I was also protected from the ocean’s temperature, so wherever they were taking us, they wanted us there alive.

Inside the sac I saw nothing but darkness and the vague outline of the creature who was carrying me. No way for me...

B2 Chapter 37: The Storm

The next several hours passed by peacefully. Most of us spent that time on the deck either conversing or assisting with the sailing of the ship. We even rotated turns manning the wheel to steer, though Pete warned us that it wasn’t as fun as it looked. And he was right. Keeping the ship in a particular direction on the open ocean was about as boring as it gets. Everyone seemed to feel this except for Hugo. He’d use Norris to steer and would sit on his shoulder talking like a pirate to the...

B2 Chapter 36: Making New Connections

I found Daisy on the deck of the ship. Not working, but staring out at the ocean. It was odd. I expected her to have her hands full to keep the ship sailing. Still, if she wasn’t busy, then this was the perfect opportunity to ask her about her own experience fighting with a Shrikon.

She smiled when she saw me, but her expression changed from cheerful to serious the moment I told her what I’d fought below deck. Daisy demanded to see what was the left of the body right away...

B2 Chapter 35: An Unexpected Guest

The area below the deck was dark, but my eyes adjusted quickly. Sebastian was behind me holding an axe and Hugo came last. Between the three of us, I felt confident that we could handle whatever we found down there. But Hemi, who was still unconscious from earlier, didn’t have a lot of time.

I rushed down the steps, and the others followed. We weren’t splitting up, and we weren’t even really focused on finding the monster either. Our priority was to get Hemi out of there and safel...

B2 Chapter 34: The Bait Debate

After my speech, everyone departed in high spirits. But I watched as Hugo turned and flew back down below deck without a word. That’s when I knew we still needed to talk.

Unsurprisingly, I found him in the kitchen. His squat goblin spirit summon Norris was going through the bottom cupboards while his taller Archer summon took the high ones.

“Come on. There’s gotta be something here,” Hugo said to himself. “Keep looking. Oh, this is a nightmare,” he whined.

“Yea...