Crail

By T M Mackie

Ten thousand humans dead in one night.

The Mount Marlow massacre is a stain on the history of Bridaide City, even ten years later. How can the world forgive Malignants when five of them killed so many humans and were never brought to justice? 

Malignants, terrifying users of magic who can transform into beasts, walk undetected throughout the country, defying the monarch's hunters sent to capture them.
When a hunter knocks on Ryan Zotal's door one afternoon, Ryan realises the terrible truth about his pregnant wife and stepson. And when a band of Malignants takes them to Crail, a secret city deep in the country's central rainforest, Ryan has never felt more alone. Held captive and tortured, he starts plotting his escape from this city of murderers with his new baby.

But as Ryan bides his time, he discovers more about the Malignants and the power they wield. When he learns the shocking truth behind the Mount Marlow massacre, he realises that Malignants aren't the only ones telling lies. 

As Ryan unravels fact from fiction, hunters close in on the location of Crail. Ryan must choose between returning to the world he has always lived in, or building a new future with his family.

If they survive …
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: T M Mackie
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645633115

Book preview

Chapter 1

In the dark streets of Bridaide City’s lowly west side, in the country of Solem, Skennar strolled through a back alley. He kept quiet and attracted little attention from the straggly teenagers who were gambling noisily on a dice game. As Skennar strode past the groups, he searched each of their faces before continuing his journey.

The faint sound of city traffic and braking tyres could be heard in the alleyway as Skennar moved deeper into its depths. It was not long before he found what he was looking for. He rolled his large framed shoulders within his black trench coat.

A tall, spiky-haired teenager leant up against the alley wall, fiddling with something. He stood alone. As Skennar approached him, the teenager quickly fumbled the object into his jacket pocket, trying to appear as if he had not noticed Skennar.

The teenager only faced him when Skennar had stopped in front of him. Skennar could see no signs of recognition, which was exactly what he wanted. He knew who the boy was, though. He had been trained to know, and to know exactly what to do.

An anonymous tip-off to Skennar’s department had informed him of a teenager named Blair who would practice magic with other teenagers in this neighbourhood. Magic wasn’t anything new. In fact, approximately a quarter of the population of Solem had some form of magical ability. Skennar himself fit into that category; he had trained at an esteemed magical school and was skilled at defensive and tactical spells. He even knew some healing magic. People with magic were generally well accepted and respected in society. Graduates from the magical school were often found working in hospitals as healers, or even using their talents in construction or defence, enabling magic to be integrated into everyday life.

What was concerning, however, was that this teenager, Blair, seemed unusually gifted with magic. A youth attending one of the country’s magical boarding schools could possibly possess this degree of magic, but in a place like Bridaide City, it seemed unlikely.

Blair stared at him. ‘What do you want?’ he snapped. His hand was still in his jacket pocket.

Skennar had no time for small talk. He had a job to do.

With a flash, he outstretched his arm and had the teenager up against the wall. The teenagers further down the alleyway looked up at the squirming teen briefly before abandoning their game and leaving – it was no business of theirs.

Blair was now yelling and swearing to be released. Skennar gave a moderate jab at the boy’s face with his free hand. Blair’s mouth shut and his lip started to bleed. Skennar had no pity; he hated the teenager so much that he could not explain it with words, only violence. He had never met the boy before, but he knew what he truly was. Skennar had been hunting them for so long that he could spy them from a mile away. They did not belong.

They were not human.

Skennar’s free hand began to drift down the teenager’s jacket and into his pocket. The boy froze. ‘Please no,’ he muttered. Fear crept into his voice, as if he had now guessed who the stranger was. Skennar’s cold fingers reached into the pocket and found something. Slowly, he withdrew his hand, the boy staring at it with his big green eyes, his body trembling under Skennar’s grasp. He opened up his hand, even though he knew what it concealed: an ordinary looking ring. His mouth twisted into a smile. ‘Now it’s time to talk, Malignant.’

Malignants were natural killers, ruthless beyond imagination, liars and thieves. Worse still, they had an extremely dominant gene, which meant any offspring would possess the same deadly powers. Most of Solem’s population had no magical ability, and they were the most vulnerable and defenceless against the brutality of the Malignants. For this reason, the monarch had ordered that the Malignants must be exterminated. That’s where Skennar and his department came in. They were directly funded by the monarchy and had access to a large database of information that they used to help hunt down Malignants that were trying to conceal themselves.

Skennar placed the ring in the side pocket of his black trench coat to torment the boy as it clattered against the rings of other dead Malignants. He released his grip and drew a black handgun. He pressed it firmly to Blair’s head. ‘Walk,’ he said as he shoved the boy around a corner and into another alleyway. Skennar could almost feel the terror emanating from the Malignant’s pores. The boy held his hands held up at the level of his chin as Skennar roughly pushed him along.

In the middle of the deserted alleyway, Skennar eased up and instructed Blair to stop – the boy obeyed immediately, breathing hard in terror. Skennar glanced over his shoulder to confirm they were alone. ‘Malignant, tell me where the last resistance base is hidden,’ he demanded.

The terrified boy didn’t speak. Skennar struck him on the side of his head with the hilt of his gun and Blair fell to his knees, his hands still quivering. Skennar repeated the question.

This time, Blair answered quickly, his hands shaking uncontrollably. ‘I don’t know,’ he managed to say.

It was not an answer that Skennar was willing to accept. He hit the teenager with a closed fist, sending him to the ground, whimpering on his side.

‘I don’t know!’ the teenager sobbed. ‘I was born in the city. I was never part of the resistance group—’

Skennar cut him off with a kick to his ribs with his heavy black boot. The boy was trying to deceive him, but Skennar was determined to make him talk. Malignants were the cancer of society, which was why Skennar had to find the last Malignant resistance base. Once that was gone, the Malignants would wither into extinction. During the past ten years, he had captured, questioned and killed thousands of Malignants. He had also uncovered many of their secret bases and colonies. Now, only one remained, a secret city that had been swarming with Malignants for decades: their last safe haven, Crail.

The boy rolled onto his back, wincing with pain. Hot tears sprang into his eyes. Skennar, pitiless, hoisted the boy up by the collar of his shirt and hammered him into the side of the brick wall.

The boy fell to the ground and didn’t move. Skennar was not so easily convinced. He grabbed the boy’s hair and jerked his head off the ground. ‘Where is it?’ he asked, his voice cold.

The teenager’s cut and now bruised face gleamed white in terror. ‘I swear I don’t know,’ he pleaded. Skennar pushed his gun firmly against the side of the boy’s head. ‘Please don’t…’ the teenager begged.

‘You’re no use to me,’ Skennar replied, enjoying watching the boy sweat. Skennar was about to fire when the boy spoke.

‘My mum might know,’ he said quickly, dropping his eyes to the ground as if ashamed he was putting his family in danger.

A sick, twisted smile crossed Skennar’s face. The boy had a Malignant relative in Bridaide City. Skennar was confident that one of them would talk, especially once they saw the other in danger. ‘What’s the address?’

The boy hesitated, obviously regretting what he had said.

‘Well?’ Skennar pressed.

The teenager was quiet for a moment, but eventually divulged the address. Skennar pulled the boy roughly onto his feet. ‘You’ve just secured at least another hour of living, Malignant.’

Skennar dragged the boy through the maze of alleyways and onto the quiet back street where his car was parked. It was a late summer afternoon: sunlight was fading and the street was deserted.

Skennar opened the boot of his car and belted the boy in the head, rendering him unconscious. Dumping the boy into the boot and slamming it shut, he made his way to the driver’s seat and typed the address into a built-in computer. Skennar quickly scanned the details on the screen. The house was owned by a man named Ryan Zotal; he had a clean record – he had attended a regular private school, completed a business degree and always paid his taxes – nothing suspicious. Even Ryan’s driver’s licence picture looked ordinary, bearing no resemblance to the teenager. Skennar scanned the rest of the document; a year ago, Ryan was married for the first time. Skennar tried to pull up details on his wife, but no data was available. He put the car into drive and began to accelerate. Skennar was positive that Ryan Zotal was human, and it would come as a shock to him to discover that his new wife and stepson had been concealing their identity under his roof.

Skennar pulled into the pristine driveway of the address. They were in a wealthy neighbourhood in the outer suburbs. The houses were all large and multiple storeys. He opened the trunk of his car and roughly pulled the semiconscious teenager out. The boy was finding it hard to stand and appeared disorientated as he was dragged up the driveway.

Skennar approached the front door. He knocked loudly, his hand over his weapon in readiness. The door opened, revealing a man in his mid-thirties with neat black hair wearing a white, collared shirt and black tie.

The man was slightly less than average height and his jaw dropped instantly at the sight of the tall, bruised teenager. Before he could say anything, Skennar brushed straight past him, shoving the teenager forward and striding into the large house.

‘You must be Ryan Zotal,’ Skennar said as he walked into the living area and pushed Blair to the ground.

Ryan ignored Skennar completely and rushed to the boy’s side. ‘What happened? Who are you?’ he stammered, kneeling beside the teenager and examining his bruises.

Skennar sat down on one of the chairs in the living room. ‘I’m from the MEP campaign,’ he replied, throwing one of his business cards to Ryan, who was still kneeling by Blair. ‘Are you aware that your wife and stepson are Malignants?’

He instantly knew his assumptions had been correct when Ryan’s mouth gaped in horror. He picked up the card and looked at it briefly before dropping it to the ground. ‘There must be some mistake,’ Ryan said, looking shocked. ‘Blair was at soccer practice. You’ve made a mistake.’

Skennar reached into his trench coat pocket and retrieved a short length of grey wire. He tossed it across the room, and it landed on the boy’s face. Immediately the colour of the wire changed from a dull grey to a light green.

Ryan drew back: a reflex. It was universal knowledge, even among non-magical humans, that the colour change produced by the wire device was used to identify Malignants. The invention, a ‘leech’, had allowed hunters such as Skennar to distinguish between humans and Malignants for years. It also harnessed the power to drain all the strength from Malignants, rendering them powerless. When a leech made contact with a Malignant’s body, it made them unable to move unless directed. It was the most valuable invention ever created for hunters. If you had a Malignant in these binds, then they were practically yours to control.

‘Is your wife here?’ Skennar asked.

Ryan shook his head as he backed away from his stepson. His eyes were wide, and his body trembled.

‘When will your wife be home?’ Skennar pressed. He stood up from the chair and approached a decanter of scotch that was sitting on top of a polished wooden cabinet against the side wall. Skennar poured himself a glass and watched as Ryan swallowed heavily, his eyes still fixed on the glowing metal leech.

‘Any minute now,’ he replied automatically.

‘You must agree…’ Skennar paused as a photograph on the wooden cabinet caught his attention. The photograph was of Ryan, the teenager and a woman. Skennar squinted for a better look. The woman was pregnant. ‘You must agree,’ Skennar continued, ‘that they must be terminated… even the unborn child.’

‘Dad, don’t let him,’ Blair murmured weakly from the floor, struggling against the draining power of the leech.

Skennar sculled the rest of his scotch and then pelted the glass at the boy’s head.

Ryan jumped as the glass hit his stepson squarely on the forehead before bouncing off and shattering onto the tiles. The boy now lay unconscious and silent on the ground.

Skennar turned back to Ryan. ‘It is against the law to conceal or withhold information about Malignants. Malignants can multiply easily, and you need to consider what is best for your country.’ He studied the businessman’s face and knew his words were sinking in. All humans knew how dangerous and feral Malignants could be.

‘They must be destroyed,’ Ryan said slowly.

Skennar concealed a smile and removed the handgun from his belt, but before he could aim the weapon at the boy’s head, the front window started to rattle. Skennar stared at the window. Something did not feel right. He strode towards the front door, pushing the handgun into Ryan’s hands as he passed. ‘Finish the boy. We’ve got company,’ Skennar said, removing a larger gun from within his trench coat.

He walked out onto the driveway and inhaled the fresh air. The wind picked up, causing the front door to slam shut behind him. He stood motionless as he strained his ears to listen for an attack. From inside, he heard a single shot ring out. Skennar had deliberately given his weapon to the businessman: partially to ease his curiosity as to whether he would cooperate, and partially because if someone was watching him, they would now be concerned that Skennar wasn’t alone. The boy had been too weak to question anyway, and Skennar now rallied his hopes on the pregnant mother to disclose the location of the hidden base.

Skennar walked into the middle of the road and remained poised for an attack. The winds began to build in intensity. He looked up and down the street as the noise of the wind intensified. From the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of a large object in the sky. He turned towards it, gun raised, but was immediately thrown backwards and off his feet by a powerful gust of air that hit his body with the same ferocity as a pounding waterfall.

His body tumbled halfway down the street. Just when he found his footing, he saw something large and monstrous soar overhead. A few occupants from surrounding houses peered out from their front doors – looking terrified by the commotion in their normally well-maintained suburb.

‘Get back inside,’ Skennar yelled. ‘Malignant attack!’

Immediately, the civilians obeyed and retreated into their homes. Malignant attacks were uncommon these days, but they were always taken seriously.

An ominous shadow fell over him, and Skennar turned to the skies with his weapon raised as a beast swooped down towards him at immense speed with its giant talons outstretched.

From inside the house, Ryan had just clumsily fired the gun at the wall, praying that the hunter would be satisfied and not return. He then slid the gun far away from him and towards the back door as he rushed to his stepson’s side. He had never fired a gun before, and his ears still rang from the noise.

He was overwhelmed and his mind was racing. Ryan had no magical ability whatsoever and had thought Blair and Iya – his wife – were the same. He had never thought they might be Malignants, but somehow certain things began to connect. Iya was tall, funny and, in his opinion, insanely beautiful, and he always marvelled at why she would be interested in him. He now questioned whether it had all been an act to gain his money and security. That was what Malignants did, wasn’t it? Used humans. The wedding, the expensive holidays and his stepson getting along with him suggested that he had been taken advantage of, but he still couldn’t let the hunter kill Blair. He knelt by Blair’s side and removed the leech from his face. Ryan was concerned about Blair’s injuries, but he was also terrified. He knew Malignants were dangerous, foul creatures. His mind began to panic in the realisation that he had no idea what he was doing.

A second later, he heard the back door burst open and three men came into the room. The first one immediately noticed the handgun on the ground and picked it up before handing it to one of his companions. He had bleached blond, scruffy hair, brown skin and looked to be about Ryan’s age. He met Ryan’s shocked gaze with instant resentment.

The second man looked no older than twenty but also had bleached blond hair, as if trying to mimic his older comrade. He looked around the house sourly. ‘The assignment file mentioned Iya married some rich business-jerk, but this house is next level huge! Frederick, have you ever seen a house this big?’

The first man had still not torn his eyes away from Ryan. ‘Focus, Say,’ he barked.

The last companion had red hair and also looked no older than twenty. He looked up from the gun that had been pushed into his hands. ‘What do we do now, Frederick?’

The older man tore his glare away from Ryan and rested it on Blair’s unconscious body. ‘Vip, watch the businessman. Say, you can help Dough. I’ll check on Soar. She won’t be able to hold Skennar off for long.’

Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. He thought his son’s name was Blair. He cursed himself for being so blind.

Ryan watched miserably as Frederick rushed towards the front of the house and carefully peeked through the blinds. It was only now that Ryan noticed that the windows were rattling loudly. Say rushed towards Blair, and Ryan shuffled clumsily to his feet as he backed away. Say’s hand began to glow, and Ryan’s eyes widened. He knew enough about magic to know that Blair’s wounds were being healed, but he had never seen it performed before. Some humans who graduated from one of Solem’s magical schools would get employed as healers at hospitals, but nobody in Ryan’s social circles could perform any magic. It was foreign to him.

Vip was still standing by the back door and looking around the house with his mouth wide open like a fish. ‘Wow, this place is huge. No wonder Iya married him.’

The insult stung and Ryan clenched his fists tightly. The Malignants were now the ones in control. He did not know what to do. He began to hope that Skennar would return.

Frederick was still staring out through the blinds when he casually said over his shoulder. ‘There’s no use for him. Kill him and take all the valuable possessions.’

Ryan looked miserably at Vip; the young Malignant returned the stare, looking uncertain. Vip asked Frederick, ‘Do we have to kill him? Like… maybe he could be useful?’

Ryan could tell that the idea was not well received. ‘How would he be useful?’ Frederick asked impatiently.

‘Uh, he could help us do business,’ Vip said hopefully.

Frederick looked as if he was going to strangle Vip with his bare hands. ‘You dickhead!’ he snapped. ‘We’re Malignants. We don’t need a businessman!’

Say looked up briefly from his healing magic and teased, ‘Unless we ever decide on a career change.’

Frederick ran his hands through his blond hair in frustration. ‘Look, if you’re too soft to kill him, we’ll have to take him with us. I don’t know what information he’s got on Iya and Blair.’ Say winked at Vip from behind Frederick’s back, and Vip began to smile. Frederick yelled over his shoulder, ‘But for goodness’s sake, tie him up!’

Vip ignored him and began examining the gun in his hand. ‘Hey, this must be Skennar’s gun,’ he exclaimed. ‘I can’t wait to show everyone back home.’

‘You want to show everyone a gun that has killed thousands of Malignants?’ Frederick muttered, still peering out the window.

Vip frowned. Ryan continued to watch over Blair. He seemed to be growing stronger. The wounds on his face were decreasing in size, and colour was beginning to return to his cheeks.

BANG!

Ryan’s whole body jumped as the sound of a single gunshot echoed around the room.

Frederick was already examining a second hole in the back wall. ‘Vip, you idiot!’ he roared. ‘What the fuck was that?’

Vip was quivering and looking terrified at the gun in his hands. ‘I didn’t mean to,’ he said quietly, ‘I just wanted to know what pulling the trigger did.’

Frederick’s ears went pink with rage. ‘Stop fooling around! You can’t make mistakes here!’

Silence filled the room, and the only movement was from Say, who was still pouring energy into Blair. After a few moments Say spoke, breaking the silence as he smirked. ‘That was funny.’

Vip stifled a laugh. Frederick turned away looking furious. Say continued, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t know how to use a gun. You’re such a moron.’

Vip laughed again. Ryan still could not slow his racing heart.

Blair’s eyes flicked open, and Ryan felt relief rush through him. Blair blinked a few times then seemed to notice Say, who was still kneeling beside him. ‘Say!’ he exclaimed, sitting up and greeting him warmly like an old friend. He then looked around the room and acknowledged Vip and Frederick with a nod.

Ryan noticed how Blair seemed to deliberately ignore him. He wondered if Blair had always really hated him.

‘Where’s the Malignant hunter?’ Blair asked.

‘Well, Dough,’ Vip began, ‘Soar is taking on Skennar but we’re going to have to skedaddle as soon as possible.’

Frederick approached Blair’s side and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, asking, ‘What did Skennar do to you?’

Blair looked to the ground. ‘He cornered me, and I was completely off-guard. He wants to know where the base is. I didn’t know what to do,’ Blair admitted. ‘I stupidly led him here. It’s my fault Mum’s now in danger.’

Ryan noted that Frederick’s free hand was clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Vip also must have noticed, as he quickly piped in, ‘You’re alive. The secret base is still a secret. You did well.’

By Frederick’s expression, it was obvious that he disagreed, but he managed to add, ‘Yes, you’re safe and that’s all that matters.’

Blair beamed and Frederick managed to produce a fatherly smile, which made Ryan question if perhaps Frederick was Blair’s biological father. Iya had told him that Blair’s father had died a long time ago, but perhaps that had been a lie as well.

‘Skennar took my power ring though,’ Blair said, his voice quiet.

Frederick’s brief fatherly attitude abruptly changed into an explosive rage. ‘What?!’ he roared, ‘you lost your power ring?’

Blair nodded guiltily. He looked exhausted.

Ryan only knew a little about Malignants, most of which he had learned in high school, but he remembered that Malignants only have one single source of Malignant magic, which was usually a ring. If you could separate them from their power ring, then their power vanished. Despite this, they were always dangerous; even without their power ring, they were far superior to humans at using regular magic.

Even Vip and Say shared worried glances with each other. Obviously, losing a power ring was regarded as a serious misadventure. Vip tried to change the subject. ‘When does Iya get home?’

‘Mum should be home any second,’ Blair said. He tried to stand up, but he was still a little unsteady.

Say placed a supportive arm around him. ‘Great, we’ll need her help,’ Say replied. ‘I reckon she could take on that hunter all by herself.’

‘Not now she couldn’t,’ Blair said, ‘she’s pregnant.’

Silence filled the room. ‘Wha—what?’ Frederick choked. ‘Not to this bastard I hope,’ he said, glaring at Ryan.

Say rolled his eyes, ‘You’re just jealous. Everyone knows that you wanted to marry her—’

‘She should have married me!’ Frederick yelled, ‘Not some bastard that hates us.’

Ryan wasn’t sure if he should speak up and defend himself, but he thought it seemed unwise to provoke Frederick. Vip tucked the handle of the gun precariously between his belt and waist before leaving, mumbling something about searching for valuable possessions. Ryan could hear Vip whistling an unfamiliar tune from the second storey. Blair was still being supported by Say, but was becoming increasingly steadier on his feet.

The back door flew open, and in the door frame stood Iya. She was tall at five foot eleven and her medium-length brown hair was messy from the wind. She clutched her eight-and-a-half-month pregnant abdomen with one hand and used her free arm to hold the door frame for support.

Blair rushed over to help her. Iya clutched him tightly in an embrace. ‘I saw Skennar fending off Soar down the street. I was so worried,’ she exclaimed. She broke away from her son and examined the bruises and now-smaller cuts on his face.

‘I’ll explain later,’ Blair said.

Before Iya had a chance to argue, she was greeted by Frederick and Say. Frederick was the first one to reach her. Iya threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Ryan saw Frederick shoot him a sleazy grin of a challenge while he was still embracing Iya. Ryan could do nothing but lower his eyes to the ground.

Say greeted Iya next with a small hug. ‘It’s great to see you again,’ he said.

By now, Vip had returned from upstairs. He had managed to find one of Ryan’s backpacks, which now appeared distended and was slung on his back. ‘Hey Iya,’ he said casually, ‘you’ve put on weight.’

Iya smiled and waddled over to hug him. ‘I’m so happy to see you all,’ she said, breaking away from Vip, ‘but how did you find us?’

‘Somehow Skennar was informed of Blair’s location,’ Frederick explained. ‘An informant told us that you would both be in grave danger, so we got here as quickly as we could.’

It was then Iya looked over and noticed Ryan, who was still standing motionless at the side of the room. She was about to say something to him, but before the words could escape her lips, her face distorted. Ryan could do nothing but watch in horror as she clutched her abdomen and crumpled to the floor.

Chapter 2

Ryan rushed forward to help Iya, but he was stopped short by Say, who shoved him back and stood in Ryan’s path. Ryan watched helplessly over Say’s shoulder as Frederick and Blair rushed over to help Iya. Her face was coated in sweat, and she was still clutching her belly.

‘Iya, what is it?’ Frederick asked, sounding panicked.

Iya was huffing. ‘Something doesn’t feel right,’ she said, her voice full of