Read Online Deadly Wands by Brent Reilly - Free Book Online Page B

with the same name, of all things, was usurping that
unique claim to fame. What a difference one hundred days makes.
    Every week the little punk suffered what
looked like severe injuries. Some days ended with him unable to
fly, and many days he limped or lost use of an arm. Yet, no matter
how many third degree burns, ringing blows, or bloody cuts, he
returned at dawn looking good as new. Genghis appreciated more than
most the incredible recuperative powers of superior wands, but he
still hoped the bastard suffered crippling injuries by now.
    In fact, he had counted on them.
    Well, the Immortal had a little surprise for
the child. He personally recruited the hundred best damn quads the
world has ever known and bet a fortune on them. He promised the
winner a thousand tons of silver, since gold was becoming scarce.
Already rich, it took the personal plea from Genghis himself, in
front of their astonished families, to get them to do this favor
for him. The Khan fantasized about how easily he could crush the
French Air Force with such talent.
    On a more practical level, he could not
afford that much gold leaving the economy. Already inflation was
destabilizing financial markets. Commerce could not handle so much
coin leaving the system. He not only needed to kill the kid, but to
stop the river of money flowing out. Paying a thousand tons of
silver seemed a small price against the thousands of gold tons he’d
win upon the Boy Wonder’s death.
    To return money into the economy, the Khan
personally walked into the betting exchanges and waged one thousand
tons of gold against the Boy Wonder winning ten thousand duels.
Financial institutions, the wealthy, and everyone with a spare coin
duplicated his bets in betting exchanges across the Empire. Genghis
smiled at the thought of all that gold soon flooding local
economies, and himself taking 10% of each transaction.
    The kid projected sixteen meter-long flames
now -- one meter more than when he arrived. Most people saw him as
the One Who Could Win The War, but Genghis instead saw a threat to
his own survival. He had dealt with palace politics long enough to
know that rival factions would gravitate to the kid, and every
misfortune the Great Khan ever suffered would be sited as reasons
for new leadership. Every year he had to kill a dozen descendents
attempting to replace him; this would just be the youngest.
    If anyone asked him about the morality of
murdering a ten year old, Genghis Khan would not have understood
the question.
    Few people appreciate that he was elected
khan at a khuriltai , a grand meeting of the tribes, and that
they could simply elect someone to replace him. Not without
bloodshed, but it could be done. And a fighter who could out-duel
him would be a necessary choice. So Genghis Khan saw the Boy Wonder
not just as a threat to his economy, but to his life.
    Genghis had never seen a crowd this excited
off of the battlefield. With tickets so expensive, these one
hundred thousand represented the wealthiest members of the Empire.
The child sensation could become a cult. He should know -- he spent
three centuries building his own personal cult.
    After everyone stood up for the national
anthem, which glorified conquest, Mongols, and Genghis Khan
himself, the arena manager grandly introduced the boy, who flew in
a circle slapping outstretched hands. Genghis did not realized that
he and his Imperial Guards were the only ones who did not stand.
The roaring did not die down until Billy himself stopped in the
center and tapped his vocal cords to speak.
    "Thank you, brothers and sisters! I love you
all. Today I face my greatest challenge: I will either reach ten
thousand kills or die. It has been a long one hundred days, and I’m
exhausted. I look forward to my first day off tomorrow so I can
train for the Olympic Games. When I’m of age, I’ll help conquer
Europe."
    The stadium roared again.
    "I wish to welcome the greatest man who has
ever lived; my hero, my ancestor, and my