“Dibs on what?”

  “Dibs on the first time you take someone up to fly with you. I wanna be first.”

  Ainsley seemed startled by that. “What? No, I’m the one who suggested this to Master. Master should take me up first. Besides, Master and I have a connection.”

  “Tough luck. You should have called dibs first if you wanted him. I beat you there,” Violet replied.

  I sighed. “Not now, girls. I want to work on the bond with him.”

  Then his head shot up. It was obvious he had heard something. “What is it, boy?”

  The only thing I got back from him was fear and a sense of panic. Then after that there was an urge to protect me. I stroked his feathers again before telling the others. “He says danger is coming. If I had to guess, it is whatever did this to him.”

  “I will stand beside you, Master.”

  “No, Ainsley, the three of you will head back to town. I’m going to see if he can take me up in the air. Dang, he really needs a name, but I can’t decide on that right now.”

  Ainsley was clearly unhappy but replied, “Yes, Master.”

  Violet was slower but finally agreed. Then the three of them were off. It was funny to watch them leave. Violet’s legs were the smallest, but she pumped them so quickly. Gregor’s attempt at running seemed more like power-waddling. It wasn’t that he was fat, just that dwarves have stubby legs and wide bodies. In some ways, they were like ogres. Then there was Ainsley. Her wings made it seem odd as she ran, but then she would leap up and glide for a bit, and she was nothing but graceful.

  As they left, I sent a question to my new friend. I tried to picture me riding on his back. He was a good thirty feet long and his rear legs were powerful like a dragon. His wings were wide and leathery, rather than covered in feathers as his neck and mane were. I got back the impression of me but as a round blueberry.

  It made me snort. “Are you calling me fat.”

  The response seemed to be the mental equivalent of someone laughing uproariously at their own joke. But then I got a sense that he was willing to try. Clearly if we were going to get along, I was going to have to get used to him pranking me.

  A minute later, as his newly healed wings beat beneath me and I looked down at the ground, it was all worth it. He could make all the jokes he wanted. This was glorious living. He really did need a name, though. The view was exquisite and reminded me again of just how detailed this world was. It truly couldn’t be a simple game. It was too real.

  His feathers had a golden hue. So, I went with the first name that came to mind. I sent him the impression of his new name, ‘Goldmane.’ He seemed to like it, so that was pretty simple. Then I felt another rush of fear come through him.

  He turned us so that I could see. Far below, at the edge where the forest met the mountains, there was a massive creature. It was painfully familiar, and somehow even more terrifying than when I had encountered him before.

  The bear head atop the long centipede body was impossible to forget. But this time the carapace was streaked with tinges of green and black, rather than the natural colors for blending with snow. I wondered if this was an evolutionary change. I tried to assess it, but its level had to be above 67. Since we weren’t in a special event, I couldn’t assess him like I had the stone giant.

  Worse, I got a distinct sense that he was further beyond me than the giant had been at that time. This shouldn’t be possible: Bear-pedes were supposed to be maxxed at level 59. Of course, as I had learned, Legends of Selmia was a system which evolved. Since I now knew it was more than a game, I couldn’t apply the same old logic.

  With that in mind, I tried something different. I pushed with my mana into assessing the bear-pede. It wasn’t something I normally had to do, but I knew that all of this reality was built with the energy that we called mana. If I could simply see the flows of it in this creature, I should be able to properly assess it.

  Mana poured out of me far faster than I thought it would, but I was okay with that. I focused, and sure enough, an image came into focus.

  Mutated Bear-pede Level: 96

  HP: 12,010 Highest Stat: Will

  I stared at that. What the heck. How as it possible that its highest stat was Will? That just didn’t make sense. I tried again and focused even harder. The results were the same but I got more information.

  No, this isn’t just some random bear-pede. This one got a taste for ogre flesh and now it wants more. As was once said: That cursed beast liked the taste of you so well it’s followed you ever since, licking its chops in anticipation of another bite. It will never stop. It’s going to be either you or it .

  Then I got a question notification.

  Best Served Cold

  You were once eaten by this very same bear-pede. Now it wants more of you. But you want your revenge. Don’t deny it, it’s written all over your little ogre brain. How about we make this interesting?

  The two of you have a date with destiny. One of you has to die, and this time the death will be permanent. No respawn allowed. The loser will be absorbed into the winner. And yes, it’s getting the same quest.

  Reward: You get to live, but since fleshlings are so greedy, that is rarely enough. If you win you, will gain access to a special one-time dungeon. Consider it a bonus level known as the Gummy Dungeon. There is a no-cows guarantee.

  I simply didn’t know what to say. I had always thought someday I would go back and kill all the bear-pedes I could find, but not like this. Honestly, I had thought I was probably strong enough to take it on. Now that illusion was shattered. Fortunately, as long as we stayed in the air, it couldn’t get me.

  Except that was when it showed me a new trick it had learned. It reared up and screeched at me before spitting a stream of brilliant green acid. Goldmane dropped and twisted trying to avoid it. Only a small amount hit him, but I immediately started stacking Regeneration spells on him and felt him sigh in relief.

  That was just another warning that I couldn’t afford to take this lightly. So, I had a limited amount of time to get strong enough to take this out. Eventually it would find Ghazban Village, and we were nowhere near ready for this freight train of destruction. I directed Goldmane to head back for the village.

  It was time to make some more ogres. I needed to become an Oni. Then there was an ugly monster to kill, and no, I wasn’t looking in a mirror.

  Epilogue- Behind the Curtain

  Gar’nosh found this human form strangely comfortable. It had been but one of the pleasant side effects of winning this post. And win it he had, for amongst his people hunger for more and might to take it were all that mattered. This odd material realm would be but another to fall before the hordes. The primary species was woefully ignorant about their own dimension and had no idea at all when it came to the multiverse.

  Ah, there it was. Bizzum had just returned. Hopefully with good news. It was always difficult working with others, especially when all that Gar’nosh wanted to do was consume. But this strange thing known as collaboration had expanded the reach of his race, not that he cared at all what happened to the rest of them. They could die screaming in one of the many hells they had left behind, for all that it mattered to him. It was simply that more for his race was more for him.

  Bizzum’s mission was particularly important. Earth was a bauble compared to this pocket dimension they had discovered. To think that an artificial lifeform had found it, an enslaved being with no true need; it was amusing. The multiverse was always good for providing a laugh. Yet the pattern remained the same.

  There was always a harbinger from the new dimension, just as there was always a forerunner. Gar’nosh was the forerunner to Earth, but if he played this correctly, he would eventually be able to feast upon Bizzum and become the forerunner to Selmia as well. Now he had to school his thoughts. He was stronger than Bizzum, but not by much. Desire was everything, but patience could make desire’s bounty all that much sweeter.

  “Greetings,” Bizzum said. It was necessary for them to speak in English. These human vocal cords were not capable of speaking the first language.

  “What results?”

  Bizzum stared at Gar’nosh. The latter could feel the subtle probes to see if his defenses were still in place. Rather than be offended, this is what he expected. It was good. This was the way of the multiverse. There were only two roles that all existence filled: food, and those who ate food.

  “The harbinger managed to open a small breach, but it was a matter of what they call emotions. He still can’t replicate it at will,” Bizzum answered.

  “Were you able to send any servants through?”

  “No, he still fears us. He wants what we offer, but his desire isn’t great enough yet. He managed to maintain control of the breach and prevent it from expanding.”

  “This is as expected. Return to your post, and keep me appraised,” Gar’nosh said.

  Bizzum stared at him. For just a moment, his hand twitched. Gar’nosh watched for signs of an attack, but then Bizzum shifted the sunglasses on his face. It was a ridiculous affectation, but it somehow fit him. Then the other scourge left, and Gar’nosh was alone. Such was the natural state of existence. Someday it would be how his days ended, after he had consumed all there was to be consumed. Or perhaps not, perhaps some other would rise ahead of him and suck the life from his marrow. In any event, it was the way of the multiverse.

  ___________________________________

  Damien was lying in bed looking at his sleeping girlfriend. All he could do was muse at how odd life is. He had never known what he was missing. Human life simply wasn’t complete without love, and he hadn’t known it until he had it. Now, he would do anything to keep it.

  Then the alarms he had placed outside his building went off. He pulled up the feed with his implant and saw what the cameras saw. Crap. It was worse than he thought. A tactical team coming from some government agency, that he could handle. He had contingencies in place. The past month, since being visited at the bistro by those strange men, had been all about building those contingencies.

  He wasn’t quite ready. If he had been, he would have proposed to Jessica, but he was close. They might still be able to escape to one of the small, free communities on Earth. He cursed silently. If only he could have had a bit more time to prepare.

  Time was up, though. A man and woman were riding the elevator up to his apartment. These two were, well the old term was cleaners, but not like him. They didn’t just clean up dead bodies; no, they cleaned up more delicate situations. He knew who they were. Anyone who did enough of the back-end work for Quantum Games had come in contact with these two.

  Sierra was hot as a desert and filled with just as much compassion. She had a reputation for always getting the job done. Her partner, Gabe, had a reputation for extreme violence -- which was saying a great deal, considering what Damien did for a living.

  He shook Jessica. “Honey, you need to get up.”

  She stretched lazily, then looked up at him through half-open eyelids. “Just five more minutes.”

  “I wish I could give them to you, but some people are coming. There is a small chance that we can get away and live happily ever after. But if I can’t stop them, then I need you to promise me you won’t resist them. As long as you give them no reason to hurt you, I don’t think they will.”

  She bolted up in bed, shaking her head as though to push away the fog which still clouded her mind. “What? What are you saying? Did you get in trouble?”

  “It has to do with my job. You may hear many things about me, I just ask that you think of me favorably. I am not the man I was before I met you.” Damien was rushing around their bedroom. He pulled out his weapon and then the bags that he had packed for both of them along with as much old school, physical credits as he could get his hands on.

  “Damien, you are scaring me.” Jessica certainly looked scared to him as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. It broke Damien’s heart; but if it kept her alive, then so be it.

  A moment later he heard the door to his apartment open. Of course, people like this would have no problem getting past his security. Then he heard Sierra call out. Her voice was entirely feminine, if you could somehow strip every ounce of warmth from it. “Damien, you need to come with us. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. If you start shooting at us, then things will get ugly. If you make us, then Ms. Rudd will have to come with us too.”

  Jessica asked, “Damien, what’s she talking about? You have a gun?”

  Damien ignored her while he tried to think. Get them talking. It was always a good ploy. “Who wants me? That will help me decide if it’s better to go with you than to just take my chances here.”

  Gabe said, “There is no chance here. You have to know who we are and what we do.”

  “Bah, as long as I’m alive, there is always a chance.”

  Sierra said, “Please boys, let’s just whip them out and measure. Seriously, we know who you are, Damien. You are good at your job, and you were good at the wet works you used to do, but you aren’t us. If you were, then you’d be out here, not in there. You went soft, and now you’ve been asked for.”

  Damien growled. “I’m gonna ask one more time. Who wants me?”

  Sierra laughed, “If you have to know, Franklin Rudd asked for you. He apparently wants to talk to you about your relationship with his sister.”

  The floor seemed to fall out from under Damien. Not now. Why couldn’t they have given him another month to prepare.

  “That isn’t funny. My brother is dead. Who are you people, anyway?” Jessica demanded, as she darted past Damien to confront these strangers.

  Sierra looked her up and down and then said, “Not bad, I guess. And you are quite correct, Ms. Rudd. Your brother is legally dead; but I assure you that he is also alive. Maybe this would be simplest if you just came with us, too.”

  Damien stepped out with his weapon drawn. “Not gonna happen.”

  Jessica turned at looked at him. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if there is a way for me to talk to my brother again, then I’m going.”

  Damien wasn’t really a man of words. He knew that tone. She wasn’t going to back down. “Fine.” Then he placed the weapon on the floor and held his hands up.

  Sierra laughed. “No need for that. I’m sure you are going to behave just fine. Then if you do, we might just all end up wealthy beyond imagining.”

  Here ends Spirit Song…

  The story will continue in _________.

  THANKS FOR READING SHAMAN’S CALL- SPIRIT SONG

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  Sometimes I get asked, “What can I do to support your writing?”

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  Other Books by the Author:

  Watcher’s Test

  Watcher’s Question

  Watcher’s Fate

  Watcher’s Repose

  _________________

  Class Shift- Uncontrollable

  Class Shift- Unbalanced (May 2022)

  Class Shift- Unstoppable (August 2022)

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  An Unwitting Prince (March 2022)

  A Temperamental Enchantress (June 2022)

  She Who Befriends Monsters (Sept 2022)

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  Shaman’s Call- Frostburn

  Shaman’s Call- (April 2022)

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  Sean Oswald, Shaman's Call- Spirit Song: A Litrpg Adventure