The Darkslayer: Brutal Beginnings

By Craig Halloran

A menace in the sweltering jungles has been swallowing up the peaceful people and they need a hero that will make the evil ones pay...

The massive City of Bone, ruled by the maligned Royals, is where the fate of the world rests on a pair of unlikely heroes named Venir and Melegal. To the dismay of the city born rogue, Melegal, Venir, wielding a mystic war axe, sets out on a one-man crusade against the insidious race of fiends, called the underlings. Venturing deep into the wasteland’s jungles Venir discovers that the underlings have destroyed a village, slain their people and kidnapped their woman and children. Donning the mantel of power, the ultimate hunter of the Outlands sets out on one of the bloodiest rescues missions of all time.
The Darkslayer: Brutal Beginnings is a sword and sorcery/fantasy short story that serves as a quick introduction to a much larger fantasy setting in the world called Bish. Set in a harsh climate with two blistering suns, created by a bored immortal, The Darkslayer brings to light everything a fan of science fiction fantasy could hope for, including the full buffet of monsters and races such as giants, dragons, dwarves, orcs, ogres, underlings and worst of all god-like beings that are unpredictable.
Give this action packed short story a try, that is only a taste of two full lengths series that are over16 books and one million words long.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Craig Halloran
• Release date: Sep 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781946218292

Book preview

Brutal Beginnings

The Darkslayer: Short Story

By Craig Halloran

Copyright © 2017 by Craig Halloran

www.craighalloran.com

Distributed by Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

TWO-TEN BOOK PRESS

P.O. Box 4215, Charleston, WV 25364

ISBN eBook: 978-1-946218-29-2

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Map 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Next Book In The Series/About The Author

CHAPTER 1

Venir woke with his head throbbing. The roasted scent of coffee lingered in the air. His nostrils widened. The cot he lay in groaned as he sat up. Rubbing the back of his head, he yawned. He stretched out his arms, arching his back. His thick muscles rippled underneath his sun-bronzed skin. He swept his tawny locks from his eyes. Parched, he said, Who’s making coffee?

There was no reply. It was just him inside the small apartment located a few floors above the streets. A lone octagonal window with stained glass plates that swiveled open looked out on the street below. Another cot sat across from him with folded blankets and a little satin pillow lying on its tip. A small table and four mismatched chairs stood near the cupboards, which held some clayware mugs and plates, dry foods, and a coffee sack and rations. A small coal-burning stove made from black iron was nestled between the table and the window. A metal coffeepot percolated on the stove’s hot plate.

Rising to a standing position, Venir stooped down a