ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 1: POSSESSED BY LORD MAGE

Jax...

Jax had just arrived at the Agore city. He walked through the large hallway towards Lord Mage’s office. This was going to be an interesting day indeed. He found out who the spy was and it didn’t surprise him as much as he wanted it to because he already had a gut feeling who it was. Jax had a very trusted gut instinct that some believed was a psychic ability. He never went after someone or something unless he knew the results were satisfactory.

This time, though he was correct in what he discovered, he was also afraid of what could have happened if he wasn’t there to see it.

Lord Mage had been his king for several centuries and a very good friend. Jax had never seen a more selfless male in his life. Maybe it was because he was a merman and lived most of his young life with the mer-people. They were solitary beings and with that came what others would consider selfishness.

Lord Mage took Jax in when everyone else shunned him. His own kind called him a murderer and he would have faced execution if the Lord Mage didn’t step up to defend him.

Jax was exiled for a crime he didn’t commit and only one male in the five Realms believed in his innocence. It enraged him that even his family was too cowardly to step up and defend him knowing very well that Jax was not a killer.

Well, that changed a lot. He had been dead afraid of holding a weapon of any sort and the mer-people had some very strong weapons such as the Coral Spear that was owned by Queen Seranis but under careful scrutiny of her personal guard. He was afraid of taking a life which was like a prayer in their household. To ever think he would kill then was preposterous!

All that changed when he discovered that whether he was right or wrong, when it came to loyalty and trust from the people he called family, he was always on the losing side.

They still believed that he killed that mermaid. They passed judgment against him.

“He is your problem now, Lord Mage.” He remembered the Water Queen’s distaste in her voice as she addressed him and the Lord Mage. ”Whatever happens to him is none of our concern from now on. You may take him with you but he is still guilty in the eyes of the mer-people and he is never welcomed here!”

At first, Jax was devastated and hoped for the execution rather than the exile. He loved his family even though no one stepped up to defend him. But with time, that devastation grew into anger and eventually fury that burnt coldly in the depths of his soul like a demon awaiting the chance to spring out and attack.

Jax changed entirely. He became as cold as that icy fire burning in his soul. He became detached to anyone and anything. He became loyal to the one male who he owed his life to.

Did he miss home? He couldn’t tell because there was nothing there for him. He never went back when he heard his father was badly wounded in an accident...he never went back after the case was reopened when new evidence was found. He didn’t even know what verdict they arrived to nor did he care.

“Get the second in command down up in his quarters, Damien. Tell him to meet us in Lord Mage’s office.” He instructed one of the warriors who had gone with him on the convoy.

High Lady Alana had safely arrived at the Fae city of Lithania. One disadvantage of the enchanted world was that the air didn’t support mechanical aviation so private jets and airplanes were a thing of dreams. That meant ground transportation had to be very efficient.

The quickest way to move from one place to the other was by cars or bullet trains. There were portal pockets called gateways that were also used to cross from one Realm to the other but they were not very accessible and were found on top of mountains or in the middle of lakes. They were not safe either because at times they warped and teleported people to the wrong places and that was if they were still alive. For people such as the High Mage, The Jinn and Nosferatu, they were able to move through time and Dragons, the Phoenix and other winged species didn’t need to pay for train fare to get to where they were going.

Jax turned to the right wing of the fortress and walked in front of four of the ten warriors who helped him execute his plan. Five were still in the Realm of Light with High Lady Alana. It seemed that the hostility of the Fae towards the Mage warriors stopped the moment High Lady Alana arrived. She must have called Court to address her people because the light Fae were proud little winged creatures that held themselves at her superior level to any other being. They were the only Realm that didn’t have mixed beings...well that was they rambled to people but they had minority species such as the elves, the mischievous pixies and Nymphs.

Jax didn’t care much about what happened in the Realm of Light. He just cared about who he trapped and found sniffing around but what he feared the most was that he had just unraveled the tip of the iceberg. There was more to it than what he discovered.

With a quick knock, Jax entered the impressive large office the Lord Mage used to conduct his business. Jax always found the smell of wood and leather welcoming but that day, the mood was too foul to savor on anything.

Lord Mage’s silver eyes burnt with menace when he turned to him. He was all business and Jax knew what he was going to tell the King was going to have him explode with fury. Jax didn’t have a gentle bone in him, he didn’t know how to sugar-coat anything and it was the reason why he needed Drake there.

Drake always seemed to have the Lord Mage in check. Whatever he had to say, Drake was going to polish the sharp ends of his discovery and cool down the king. Drake was the first commander the Lord Mage had. Ruvin followed a little later, then Zach, him and finally Storm.

“It’s a good thing you returned before the convoy of the royals and their representatives arrived. I know you have some news for me.” The Lord Mage leaned back on his big black leather chair that squeaked under his weight and crossed his arms, bulging out his biceps.

Jax bowed lightly with the rest of his warriors. “Yes, my king.”

Lord Mage gave him a curt nod. “Who the fuck is it?”

Jax’s eyebrows arched up as he turned to the warriors. “Wait outside.”

The warriors inclined their heads and departed.

“I called for Drake first. Perhaps he can make sense of the situation--”

“Jax!” Lord Tyran growled as his eyes flashed white.

Jax sighed lightly. Though the Lord Mage was a very selfless man, he was most impatient. “I have not confirmed. I will have to go and confront them.”

The Lord Mage glared at him. He wasn’t buying his bullshit and Jax knew it but he needed to buy time until Drake arrived.

“Did you see the dragons?” Lord Mage asked quietly.

Jax inhaled deeply and nodded. “They were waiting just as expected. We didn’t engage with them because they were pure-bloods. They had—they had the mark.”

Jax watched as Lord Mage’s eyes twirled dangerously. A muscles ticked on his cheek and the leather of his shirt squeaked as his fingers curled into fists. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, a flame symbol with a circle around it on their left pectoral muscles.” Jax answered.

The door closed quietly behind him and when he turned, Drake’s face was as stormy as Lord Mage’s. “You do know who had those marks, right?” he asked.

Jax nodded. “Kruk’s pack. It’s either that or they were his die-hard fans.”

“How many were they?” Drake crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.

“Four males but I sensed others around the area.” Jax observed the silent conversation between the Lord Mage and his second in command. He had a vague idea of what happened between Kruk and the Lord Mage. He knew the crazy-ass mother-fucker was Drake’s father but whatever showdown the three of them had was kept tightly under wraps.

“This conversation does not leave these four walls or by the high priestess I will feed you to the Ghouls.” Lord Mage gritted his teeth.

Jax would never reveal such information without permission. He knew what was at stake. It would be ironic that the only Realm that was with the Mage one hundred percent was the one attacking royals in their convoys. It was bad enough Lord Mage was incriminated when all he did was defend his Realm, learning that Dragons were causing havoc would undo Queen Malenna who spent half of her life trying to restore the peace in her Realm as well as earn trust from the other Realms.

“Sure thing.” Jax answered.

“What about the spy?” Drake asked.

Jax turned to him and smiled maliciously. “I was waiting for you to go and get the bastard.”

Drake’s eyebrows arched up. “I don’t like that look on your face.”

“And I don’t like your shirt and your piss-poor sense of fashion but you don’t hear me complain about it.” Jax shrugged his broad shoulders.

The Lord Mage’s bark of laughter caught both of them by surprise. He had been stressed for a very long time that laughter was not something to look forward to from him. Jax was happy that he could find a funny moment and just laugh. It was either that or smash his fist through a wall in frustration.

Drake grunted. “Let’s go and get this over with.”

Jax grinned like a child that just received exactly what he wanted for his birthday. His skin glowed iridescently with excitement as he led the way out of the office. Just outside, Zach and Ruvin casually settled around the randomly placed settees by the large windows overlooking the courtyard. When they saw Drake and him, they quickly got up, their faces serious and stormy.

This is going to be fun... Jax thought quietly as the two commanders joined them.

“Where’s the cock-sucker at?” Ruvin cracked his knuckles. His eyes flashed amber and his canines elongated slightly.

Jax’s eyebrows arched up. “No eating the spy, Ruvin.”

“I was thinking more of ripping out his heart.” Ruvin growled.

“I was thinking along the lines of shrinking his dick.” Zach shrugged his shoulders.

Drake snorted. “My dragon wants roast traitor right about now.”

That was the reason why humans were always deathly terrified of beings from the enchanted world. It all sounded like a joke but Jax had known these males for a while and they were seriously considering what they said!

Oh, he was definitely looking forward to this! With a smirk on his face, he took lead. The others followed him behind. The violence radiating from the three males behind Jax was enough to warp the walls of the hallway. He could understand why they were upset. With the chaos that was going on and their king being incriminated was enough to keep everyone on the edge. They were all struggling to keep the war tightly controlled and contained but some cock-sucker wanted everything out of control. What would they gain? Jax didn’t know.

Jax pushed the large doors of the infirmary open and stepped in. It was empty with only Storm inside. Perfect.

As he approached Storm’s room, Drake grabbed his arm and turned him over.

“It’s not possible.” Drake gritted his teeth as his eyes glowed eerily.

Jax frowned. “You wanted the spy...you’re going to have the spy!” He shoved away from Drake and entered Storm’s room.

Storm didn’t look well. He had a nasty fever and his wounds looked infected. The stench was terrible. Whatever poison that had entered in his system was slowly eating him alive.

“Storm!” Zach pushed through the bulky males and stood beside the wounded Leo. “Oh man! You don’t look so good.”

“I don’t feel so good either.” His eyes rolled and Jax noticed the bright amber glow on them. The Leo was close by.

“Storm can’t be the traitor, Jax!” Drake spat as if trying to convince himself.

“Traitor?” Storm tried to sit up but then convulsed with pain and was knocked back down into the bed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Jax crossed his arms and turned to Drake. “Yeah, Drake, what the fuck are you talking about?”

Drake blinked in puzzlement for a moment then his arms shot out and caught Jax by the collar of his immaculate black designer shirt. “Son-of-a-bitch! You fucking sushi alternative! Why are you taking us on the merry-go-round? Do you or don’t you have the spy?”

Jax’s skin prickled as poisonous spikes slid through his iridescent skin down his forearms and along his backbone, shredding through his shirt. A translucent skin slid over his eyes as he morphed into a killing machine. His nails elongated into sharp poisonous claws and his teeth sharpened into fangs. “Unhand me, Drake.” he hissed. He was not a very violent man but either would hold back if someone wanted to test his patience.

“Step away, Drake.” Through the red haze, Jax heard Ruvin cautiously warn Drake off.

“Ah, guys, this is not the time.” Zach sounded anxious as he stepped slowly away from Storm’s bed. “I don’t think we can handle a pissed off fish-boy and a psychotic Leo at the same time!”

As if on cue Storm growled and his body bowed out of the bed. Muscles bulged and strained as his fingers turned into claws. The sheets ripped underneath him as pain consumed him. Fur began to ripple around him. Jax could see Storm was fighting the turn but the Jiles didn’t want to have it.

The bloody bandages snapped as his size increased. His tawny hair elongated and he threw his back and roared. The entire room shook with the intensity.

Zach stepped in front of Storm. “Fight him, Storm!”

Storm’s head snapped towards Zach and Jax knew Storm was gone. Though he was half turned, Jax saw the piercing, self-preservation look the Leo had. Before he could warn Zach, the Leo pawed Zach and sent him crashed into the wall.

“Fuck!” Zach coughed as he staggered onto his feet.

“Try and contain him!” Drake exclaimed to Zach.

Zach quickly weaved a wall. The Leo wanted to attack but he encountered the invisible wall. His eyes went feral as he roared again and scratched at the force containing him.

“Release me!” He roared and the entire room froze.

Jax thought his mouth was dragging on the floor at the astounding shock that the beast was actually talking to him. That never happened before. Only ancient pure-bloods especially the Lycans were able to half turn and also be able to speak. It took an intense and devoted dedication to be able to merge the beast and the human in order to morph into the hybrid called the ulti-breed. It was the last level of achieving the highest rank in the species and Storm apparently achieved his in an infirmary! He was the ulti-breed Leo! It was the point where a beast reached equilibrium where they were neither beasts nor humanoid beings.

“Sweet fucking priestess!” Drake cursed as he took a step back.

Jax finally came around long enough to pick up his dropped jaw and automatically took a step back as well. Only Zach stood close to keep the beast within the energy encasement.

“Did Jiles just talk?” Zach turned to the others, his face a whiter than paper.

“Yes, I talked you dimwit! Now, release me before I tear this room down on your asses!” The Leo growled.

Jax opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t think of what to say so he closed it again.

“Why are you upset?” Drake asked him.

The ulti-breed Leo turned his amber eyes to him. “Upset? I’m not upset! I am raging!” His scratched his claws down the shield again and sparks flew out around him.

“We are not here to harm you in any way!” Drake snarled.

“Do you think I didn’t hear you accuse me of being a traitor? I have never betrayed the Lord Mage and for that I’ll carve your heart out!”

“No one accused you of being a traitor...but you know the traitor is, don’t you?” Jax narrowed his eyes at the Leo that was now fully merged to Storm.

Storm threw his head back and roared. “The murderer is the traitor!”

“Murderer?” Ruvin brushed his hair back in puzzlement. “What murderer? Ron?”

“No, you insignificant fool--” The Leo stopped halfway as his head snapped up and he sniffed the air. “Murderer...” The hiss was enough to make Jax’s skin ripple with a cold dread.

Something crashed behind them and when they turned, they found Olena standing cowardly, surrounded by broken plates and scattered food.

The Leo snarled at her and Olena turned to run.

“Stop her!” Jax exclaimed.

Ruvin leaped onto the wall, grabbing on with his sharp claws and pounced on Olena. Olena jerked back with a yelp and Ruvin missed. She went around him, his claws catching her long dress and shredding it.

Jax cursed as he ran after her. She was faster than he expected. She looked hysterical as she ran, her eyes big with fear.

“Olena! Stop for second!” Jax called to her.

Olena stopped and turned to him. Her eyes wildly looked around for an exit.

“Why are you running?” Jax asked.

Olena whimpered as she took a step back.

Jax frowned. Maybe he was wrong. Could this be the spy? Everything in him told him that she was but why was she so timid. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“But I will!” Storm sprang over Jax and was about to claw Olena but she twirled elegantly around while her body bent back and by the time she was done, she had done a perfect arch on her feet and hands. The Leo missed her.

This was a second miss from the five commanders. She was quick and flexible!

Olena got up, her eyes on the Leo. Jax’s eyebrow arched up when he saw the merciless expression that was reflected on her eyes. She was no longer that timid little female they all thought she was. She was a huntress.

The Leo sprang on her again and this time she produced a small blade and moved out of the way while she slashed the blade in the air. It caught the Leo on his ribs.

The Leo yelped.

“It has rune poison, you thick-headed bastard!” She spat. “You’ll be dead before you know it. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit this fight out.”

“Olena.” Drake breathed in astonishment. “You are the traitor?”

“Oh, come on!” She rolled her eyes as she directed her blade to the stunned commanders. “Don’t give me that disbelief look! Everyone had a choose a side and I chose the winning team—deal with it!”

“She tried to kill me because I discovered the truth about her.” Storm growled.

Zach weaved another stronger spell to keep the ulti-breed at bay as they tried to figure out how Olena could be the spy.

“You believe Ron will win this war? You think that when he is found and killed, you’ll still be in the winning end?” Ruvin asked his hands unclenched and claws slid out of their hiding place.

Olena shook her head as if she pitied them. “Do you think this is about that fool, Ron? Ron can die tomorrow if you like but that will never undo what is already in motion. This is bigger than you or me. The great king is awaking—the real king of the enchanted world!”

King of the enchanted world? That was the first. In any other circumstances, Jax would have laughed hard but Olena’s eyes told him she was a true believer of this king. “There is no king of the enchanted world, Olena, only our kings and queens of the Five Realms.”

She rolled her eyes again. “You dim-wits will never know the truth that your petty queens and kings are hiding. All the ancients know about the true king. They banished him because they were greedy but now he will arise once again and take his rightful place as king of this world.”

“That’s the last time someone is calling me names today!” Ruvin charged before he could be stopped.

With Zach struggling to contain Storm, Drake still stunned at the revelation and Jax trying to figure out what Olena meant by the true king, no one paid attention to Ruvin until it was too late. He struck and a blood-curdling scream echoed in the hallway. A flock of birds that was perched on a tree in the courtyard took flight. The scream was followed by an eerie silence.

From a distance, muffled whimpers emerged.

Jax narrowed his eyes as emerald scales undulated on Olena’s body. Her eyes glowed with menace as she grasped her forearm to stop the bleeding caused by Ruvin. “You are a dragon!” It was more of a statement than a question. How come no one, not even Drake-a pureblood dragon-knew that Olena was a dragon? She had been in Lord Mage’s service for such a long time that when she went on heat after every ten years Drake was bound to notice her presence.

“You sneaky little bitch!” Drake gritted his teeth as he practically yanked her off the floor and thrust her in the air, her wobbly feet dangling like a baby. “Why didn’t I know! What did you do?”

Olena groaned when Drake applied pressure on her wound. “You didn’t know because I was clocked by the true king’s power. He is that powerful and all of you will kneel before him when the time comes.”

“There is no true king!” Drake rattled Olena like a ragged doll. “You betrayed the Realm of Fire! You betrayed your kind--”

“They betrayed me!” Olena cried out. “They betrayed me when they cast me out for something someone else did! My family was not part of Kruk’s pack yet they cast us out like we were nothing! Malenna can rot in hell for all she did to me. I only serve one king now and it’s the Great King of the enchanted world!”

“You will die for your treachery!” Drake hissed.

“Then I’ll gladly accept my fate.” Her eyes burnt with untold hate. “And all of you will follow me to the depths of hell.”

Jax had heard just about enough from the repulsive female. “Get her to the Lord Mage. I’ll take care of the ulti-breed.”

“But it’s rune poison.” Ruvin stated.

Jax’s mouth twitched lightly. “It’s child’s play really.”

The Leo snarled at Jax. “I’ll not rest until I have that female’s blood in my hands!”

Jax cracked his neck and his knuckles and turned to Zach. “Release him.”

Zach breathed in hard and let go of the spell.

As Storm sprung towards Ruvin, Olena and Drake, a sharp barb protruded from the inner part of Jax’s wrist.

“Nighty-nighty.” He grinned at Storm as he launched himself in the air and straddled him. He struck the Storm on his neck with a small amount of anti-poison from his own body. The anti-poison also worked like a sedative and would knock Storm out for a while.

Storm’s wounds still needed tending and so did his fever. Jax needed to go search for the healer while the ulti-breed drifted off to lah-lah land.

“Asshole...” Storm groaned as he lost consciousness and dropped like a rock.