Novels by Neil Lakeman

“ KRONOS!” Acacius shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes bulging. He stared at the crater in the ground, unable, unwilling to accept his brother was gone. He felt his knees buckle, and collapsed. Damn it! I had things to tell him! And now he’s gone! Just when I had someone like me, this world took him away! He was so distraught he didn’t acknowledge that Untri was back and rushing towards him.He was shoved out of the way by Arai, narrowly avoiding the pincers of the predator. Arai turned her head to glare at him.“ Now is not the time to be distracted!” She snapped.“ But… but,” Acacius said, unable to say anymore.“ Stop being so dramatic!” Arai told him, hauling him to his feet. “ Don’t assume he’s dead until you see the body. Don’t forget; he has fought Calypso before. I doubt a mer

OKronos shivered as the cold of the frigid cavern engulfed him. He brought up the rear in the single-file line who walked through the narrow passage. Thora led the way along the winding path, the only one unaffected by the cold that ks to her Augar heritage. Kronos rubbed his arms, wishing he was wearing thicker clothes instead of his regular attire. No one spoke in fear of drawing unwanted attention towards them. They stopped when they came to a wide-open space with three paths in front of them.“ Which way should we go?” Arai asked. Thora didn’t answer at first; she just closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they looked completely different. The whites of her eyes had turned into a light green color that glowed. The Iris turned a dark purple, and the Sclera had become a crimson red. Glowing silver spirals markings appeared on her arms, neck, face, and torso“ That’s the Kumoijin, the Tribal

The cold wind whistled as it pierced the air. It blew so powerfully it carried off away anything not tied down. The wind only made the freezing temperatures of the surrounding arctic environment even worse. The only relief Kronos had from the blistering cold was the tent he was currently in. All he had for bedding was a worn blanket that had plenty of holes. Calypso wasn't about to provide her prisoners any decent protection for the frigid environment.Kronos, Acacius, Thora, and Arai had been selected along with two dozen other prisoners to accompany Calypso and her troops on a mission. This was a common strategy for many Abnormal tribes, gather prisoners, usually sentenced to die, put them in squads, then send them into situations where death was all but guaranteed.“ Fodder Corps!” The tribes gleefully called them. There would be no rewards for exceptional service shown in battle awaiting them, should any one of th

Kronos swung wildly at Arai, desperate to hit her. The experienced Kitsune easily dodged his blows without trying to fight back. Instead, she looked at the surrounding crumpled and dirty trading arena they were in.“ My, what a beautiful day,” she commented.“ Cease your daydreaming!” roared a new voice. Thora ran past Kronos and fired several purple icicles from her palms at Arai, who shielded herself by tapping the ground with a palm and conjuring a mud wall.“ Oh, come on!” Thora shouted, stomping a foot on the ground. Due to the enhanced perception his Ryuijin granted him, Kronos caught the slight smirk that flashed across the face of Arai. Damn! He thought. Using the power of his left eye, he was able to pull Thora towards him using Telekinesis. He locked his right eye on his brother and, using its ability, communicated a message telepathically.

“ Well then, shall I retaliate?” Menkera asked, a sinister smile spreading across his face. Kronos and Acacius tensed, a bead of sweat racing down the face of Kronos.“ As a reward, I shall show you two my true form. Prepare yourselves to witness fear itself!” Menkera exclaimed before he began to grow. Kronos and Acacius gasped as his body grew countless crimson red hairs. No, Kronos thought, watching in horror. Those… are spiders! Menkera’s body bloated, four crimson spider legs, made entirely out of chattering, scrambling spiders burst underneath a spider bulb that formed under his waist. As Menkera continued to grow, his eyes turned into golden orbs, jet black hair, all hair on his now crimson upper body gone. Four tentacles made entirely of more crimson spiders shaped like spider legs sprouted out of his back. And his underbody…“ By the warm sands!” Acacius

Kronos tensed, sensing the approach of the Mana getting closer by the second. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. This Mana was like nothing he had felt before. It was ice cold, full of malice. Kronos could sense the blood lust in the approaching person. Whoever this is has me dwarfed several times over! And what’s worse, what if this is only the tip of the iceberg?!Kronos gritted his teeth as a tall, slender man emerged from the dark corridor. He has long silver hair, pale green almond-shaped eyes, and ash gray skin. He had a lean face with a cleft chin, with thin eyebrows. He had unnaturally long, muscular arms, long legs, and average feet. He wore a scarlet and gold armored robe and red boots.“ Oh, what have we here?” He asked in a calm, mocking voice, his accent broken glass and splinters. He bent down and examined the dead body between himself and Kronos. “ Pity. It would seem my