Ketone King: Lutalo and the Heart of a Warrior

By Emily Barratt

Almost one hundred years ago, the final three Ketone, the wolf, the fox and the Phoenix, took battle against the Spirit Teller, a witch that received the Ketone Blade when she traded her unborn child for immortality. It is also said the boy holding the Nine-tailed fox within him was the Spirit Tellers son. The legend goes that the boy with the fox killed her but then went mad after using the Ketone Blade for the fight. However, the girl he loved took away that madness and saved him. She was said to have hidden the spirit of the Six-tailed wolf within her. The Two-tailed Phoenix was said to have bonded with a young man with red hair. This boy fell in love with the Ketona of Light, the only Ketona who was not against the Ketone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Oct 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466928206

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© Copyright 2012 Emily Barratt.

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, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-2818-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-2819-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-2820-6 (e)

Trafford rev. 10/15/2012

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Contents

The Past…   One Hundred Years Ago

Prologue   The Violet Night, Fifteen Years Ago

Part 1

Lutalo and the Heart

of a Warrior

-1-   Attempted Assassination

-2-   A Job

-3-   Carriage Ride

-4-   The Tournament

-5-   Cherry Blossom Garden

-6-   The Truth

-7-   The Blade of Seven Tails

-8-   Cooking for Rebels

Part 2

Pluto and the Heart

of a Warrior

-9-   Places Pieces

-10-   Lose Sight of What’s in Front of You

-11-   Lucinda

-12-   Trapped in the Moon Spell

Part 3

Cynthia and

the Ketone’s Heart

-13-   Finding the King

-14-   The Grand Finale

-15-   Truly the End?

Epilogue   King of the Underworld

THE PAST…

One Hundred Years Ago

Something dark has lurked inside the Centre of many years. It is a sword, known as the Ketone Blade, which is said to drain the power of any human who contains the power of the nine-tailed Ketone inside of them. This Blade is kept at the bottom of the Centre’s Palace, where it should never be found.

Almost one hundred years ago, the final three Ketones, the wolf, the fox, and the phoenix, took battle against the Spirit Teller, a witch who received the Ketone Blade when she traded her unborn child for immortality. It is also said the boy holding the nine-tailed fox within him was the Spirit Teller’s son. The legend goes that the boy with the fox killed her but then went mad after using the Ketone Blade for the fight. However, the girl he loved took away that madness and saved him. She was said to have hidden the spirit of the six-tailed wolf within her. The two-tailed phoenix was said to have bonded with a young man with red hair. This boy fell in love with the Ketona of Light, the only Ketona who was not against the Ketone.

Fourteen years later, the fox and the wolf had twin children, and the Ketona of Light was murdered.

The twins were opposites: one was a boy, and the other was a girl. The boy held the power of the Spirit Teller, while the girl held a seven-tailed beast. No one was quite sure what it looked like. The man with the phoenix had a baby boy, who held both Ketona and Ketone blood within him. His body contained a three-tailed hawk and also held magical powers; he could read people’s minds and perform rituals, which not many can.

Four years after they were all born and ten years after the Spirit Teller was killed, the Ketona of Light was killed by a dragon of green flame. The red-haired man, caught by grief and knowing that it was coming, sought revenge.

Twelve years later, after they had all turned sixteen, the twins, Lucinda and Darren, fought. The boy, Darren, was tired of being the second best. He hated his sister for being the stronger one. At the time, he had no idea of his powers and blamed the Ketone for doing this to him. As Lucinda tried to calm him, his anger and hate forced the roots to grab her. Mad with fury, he ran away, thinking that he was a monster.

After learning of his powers, he began to call himself ‘The Extractor’ and sought revenge with murder. He met his father, the fox, and his mother, the wolf, atop a hill where he drained their power with the Ketone Blade which had been hidden. As they fell to his feet dead, he felt no guilt. He felt powerful. He knew he could do the same thing to the phoenix and he did. But he was shocked with the reaction the man with the phoenix gave him.

The man with the phoenix smiled and told him, ‘You have done what you wished. Now I can be with my dear once again.’

Shocked with his answer to death, Darren went to the boy with mixed blood and tried to kill him, thinking that the blade would drain him of his power as well. As he drove the Ketone Blade through the boy’s side, nothing happened. Darren felt no power surging through his body, nor did he hear the dying cries of this boy, Jeff.

‘I’m not like my father,’ Jeff had told him. ‘I hold the power of my mother inside of me too. And, for that reason, you cannot drain my power and make it your own.’ Jeff easily overpowered Darren with his magic and his Ketone and drove him away.

However, Lucinda was far less merciful. Knowing what Darren had done to her parents once she found them dead forced her into a blind fury which shook the earth. The six countries felt the fury pound through their hearts, the agonised screams as Lucinda gave herself into the seven-tailed beast. Knowing what she wanted, the beast went to Darren and waited for him to emerge with the sword.

‘You come forwards to die?’ asked Darren, holding the shimmering sword.

‘I come for revenge. You killed your own parents, and yet, you are filled with no guilt. You disgust me.’ The beast swung his tails lightly and easily overpowered Darren. But killing the beast was not Darren’s plan.

He killed the king without mercy, and he became the king, saying that anyone who supported the Ketone would be killed. The evil Ketona were their allies, and whoever disagreed would be killed.

Jeff gathered those who did support the Ketone, and they became known as the Rebellion, fighting for the truth. They took refuge in the Fire Country, hidden inside the dormant volcano in which the Ketona of Fire once lived. The Ketona now guard every entrance to the Centre City, where Darren now lives as king.

But our story does not begin here. It begins years later, on the Night of Violet.

PROLOGUE

The Violet Night,

Fifteen Years Ago

The Rebellion had not expected the seven-tailed beast to come. They had sent word to the Ketone to come to the volcano to see Jeff. The beast had known Jeff for many years, and they had remained close friends. He was weak after fighting the Ketone to reach Darren, to finally kill him after so many years.

‘I come with invitation. I was sent to see Leader Jeff.’

The two sentries posted at the entrance let him through. Even if they had said no, the beast could have killed them easily. But he knew that the only one he wanted to kill was Darren, the fake king of the other world.

‘Jeff. Where are you?’ People were on their knees, praying. To whom? the beast thought.

‘I am in here.’ Jeff’s voice was strong at the end of the volcano. ‘I see you got my letter.’

‘A letter from an old friend means a lot to this old beast. I see you’ve mastered the Ritual we spoke of.’ It was not a question. It had taken Jeff almost five years to complete this Ritual, and the two had made plans to perform it.

‘I may fail at the Ritual. You do know that?’

‘Yes. But Lucinda wishes for this to happen. The princess must be protected.’

‘I know, my old friend. Are you sure you want this?’

‘Yes. Perform it now.’

‘My friends, the Ritual is about to commence. Take your places and sing the Ketone’s Awakening. Everything must be perfect in order for this to work.’

The beast stood tall, seven tails lowered and chest out, prepared for the pain. As Jeff began to mutter the Words of Change, the beast felt his body shifting, bones changing, growing smaller to make this body. The beast screamed in agony as all of his tails but one disappeared, his powers being sealed away inside of a sword. The sword was beautiful, glittering with violet flames as the power was absorbed into it.

The Rebels joined in with the chanting as the beast shrank further and further until he was the size of a newborn baby. His body had changed to taking the shape of the little infant. His tail remained long and thin with a fluffy edge. The baby’s ears were pointed, and when he began to teeth, he would develop fangs.

‘I’m sorry, my friend. You will not remember your past life as long as your powers are sealed inside of this katana. I’m so sorry.’

Jeff knew that the baby boy would not be suspected if he was dropped in front of an unsuspecting couple’s house in the middle of the cold, dead winter night. Jeff hid the katana away and set off with the baby. The baby did not wake up once, but Jeff knew that the beast was in there, hidden away in a sword and in a boy. The baby would not develop the same beautiful Mark that Jeff held on his left arm and hand. The baby would grow into a strong young man, unknowing of what he truly was.

Jeff was in the city within days.

He hid his face from the guarding Ketona and asked for permission to enter. The Ketona, forgetting to check his arm, let him through. They had all taken their human forms and signalled to open the gate. Jeff walked through the empty streets, looking for a couple’s house. Finally, he found them, awake and arguing. Jeff had been watching them for some time and knew they would make suitable parents for the baby.

‘Be strong, all right?’ Jeff whispered to the sleeping baby as he settled the basket down on the snow. He sighed and changed from human to hawk, and he screeched at the door. The couple’s shouts quietened, and Jeff waited as they opened the door. The woman scooped the baby up and held him, looking down at the eagle.

‘Did you bring him here, birdy?’

Jeff wanted to smile, but he did nothing except take wing and fly back to the volcano, leaving the child alone with the overjoyed couple. He still saw their happy faces, even at the present day. He’d always known he’d done the right thing, always thought that the tail would be a burden to the baby boy.

What he didn’t know was that the princess was born exactly the same time the baby was dropped at the doorstep of that lovely couple.

PART 1

Lutalo and the Heart

of a Warrior

-1-

Attempted Assassination

Lutalo stared at his tail which was wrapped around his back and chest as Kenneth explained why he had to hide it.

‘People would freak out,’ he was saying, but Lutalo wasn’t exactly listening. He was thinking about how much it looked like a cuckoo clock… ‘They would think of you as a… Are you even listening to me, Lutalo?’

‘It’s a cuckoo clock,’ Lutalo said. ‘Look.’ He closed his shirt and opened it again, purposely wagging it back and forth three times before laughing. ‘See?’

‘We don’t have time for this, Lutalo!’ Kenneth’s face turned bright red like it always did when he was angry. ‘We managed to come up with an excuse for your tail but now that…’

‘I know, I know.’ Lutalo wrapped his tail around him and closed his shirt, smiling. ‘See? No biggy.’

‘Just don’t get into any more fights, all right?’ Kenneth sighed, walking