Rob J. Hayes has been a student, a banker, a marine research assistant, a chef, and a keyboard monkey more times than he cares to count. But eventually his love of fantasy and reading drew him to the life of a writer. He's the author of multiple award winning series including The First Earth Saga, The Mortal Techniques, and The War Eternal.
Rob J. Hayes is the winner of the 2017 SPFBO (Self Published Fantasy Blog Off) with his piratical fantasy Where Loyalties Lie. And his Asian Sword & Sorcery novel, Never Die, was a finalist in the 2019 SPFBO and the winner of the 2019 Booknest Award for Best Self Published Fantasy Novel.
Ein is on a mission from God… The God of Death.
Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to Ein, an eight-year-old boy, to render the judgement of the reaper. He can't do it alone, but luckily the world is full of travelling heroes. There's only one catch: In order to serve him, they must first die.
Never Die is a stand alone story set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe. It's a wuxia adventure filled with samurai, shinigami, heroes, and vengeful spirits.
Never Die is a standalone novel in the Mortal Techniques world. This book had me falling in love with an undead adventure party (which is a sentence I've ALWAYS wanted to write). Always imaginative, action-packed, and unforgettable, I can whole-heartedly recommend Rob's work to you. – Becca Lee Gardner
"Magnificent!"
– Steve McHugh, Author of the Hellequin Chronicles"The Seven Samurai meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in an action-packed story, inspired by both Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Manga."
– Dyrk Ashton, Author of Paternus"An anime and manga inspired action romp, with swordplay, fists flying, and a variety of special powers."
– Cameron Johnston, Author of The Maleficent Seven"Glorious, heroic, inspiring, brutal, at times hilarious, but most of all incredibly unforgettable."
– Petrik Leo, Novel NotionsPROLOGUE
Itami Cho woke to the screams of her own death. She remembered it all.
CHAPTER ONE
T
he walls of Kaishi had fallen before the first wave of bandits reached the gates. It was clear from the outset that Flaming Fist had sent men in the day before. They hid in the dark places, alleys and sewers, and waited for the signal to climb the walls from the inside and kill the city defenders before opening the gates. No one suspected the attack to come so soon. Cho hadn't expected it to come at all. Flaming Fist was little more than a bandit with a following, preying off small villages and those who couldn't defend themselves. He simply didn't have the numbers to assault a city as large as Kaishi, no matter what recent reports had said. Cho re-evaluated that opinion as soon as the first cries went up.
They rushed from the wine house into a dark street thick with fleeing citizens. Rich and poor alike were shoving each other aside in an attempt to get to the sanctuary; some carrying the most valuable things they owned, some carrying nought but their own lives. They flowed around Cho and her comrades like a river before an island.
Oong, Cho's comrade, known as the Red Bull of Fades, grabbed at one of the fleeing citizens, pulling the panic-stricken fellow from the crowd. "What's happening?" the Red Bull slurred. He was already well into his third jug of wine and he wasn't the only one. Even Cho was feeling a little lightheaded from the drinking.
"The gates are down," the terrified man shouted. "They're in the city. The Flaming Fist has come for his daughter!"
The Red Bull let the man go and leaned upon his great iron-shod staff. "Daughter? No one said anything about a daughter."
Cho shrugged. "We have been paid to defend Kaishi. What does it matter why Flaming Fist is here?"
Qing, often called Hundred Cuts, pouted. "It matters to me," she said. "I like to know which side of the fight I am on."
"The side that is paying us," Oong said.
Cho shook her head. "The side of innocence and justice. Not the side of slavering bandits." No matter what his reasons for attacking, Flaming Fist was attacking, and Cho would defend the city and its people.
"But they are paying us?" Oong asked to no reply.
The sounds of battle were close; the clash of steel, the crackle of fire, the screams of the dying. Cho pushed her way into the crowd towards those sounds, forcing the people of Kaishi to move around her. One man caught at her yukata, trying to pull her away from the fight. Cho brushed him away with a flick of her wrist, but not before she heard a rip. She glanced down to find a small tear in the hem, splitting one of the sunflower designs in half. She counted it a shame, it was her favourite yukata.
Kaishi was a rarity of squat buildings and cobbled streets, the roads were wide and the houses far apart, no doubt to stop fire from spreading. Of course, that didn't account for a band of pillaging bandits purposefully torching everything. The first of Flaming Fist's soldiers they came across were busy slaying the city's guards as they tried to intervene. Cho wasted no time in rushing to their aid. Her slippers breezed across the cobbled streets and her robe fluttered. Her first katana, Peace, slid from its saya with barely a hiss, cutting a silent bloody arc. Two more Flaming Fist bandits went down before they realised they were beset, each one dying from a single strike. Precision was as important as strength when it came to battle. Often more so.
The Red Bull of Fades charged past Cho with a bellow of rage, flailing his staff left and right, caring nothing for precision. The iron rings on either end of his staff made each blow a killing one. Qing held back, her steel fans ready should any of the soldiers make it past the Red Bull and Cho. None did.
Even as the last of the Flaming Fist bandits fell, Cho let out a deep breath and wiped down Peace before sliding it back into its saya next to its partner. It was a cleansing ritual following the kill, as much for Cho's soul, as for her swords. She whispered a prayer for those she had slain, knowing full well the stars were deaf, and those men didn't deserve it anyway.
The surviving soldiers stammered their appreciation. They were not eager to stay, fleeing towards the sanctuary with those they were employed to protect. She couldn't blame them; they were poorly trained and just as likely to get in the way. They needed as much protecting as the townsfolk.
"We should go," Cho said, turning with the fleeing soldiers.
"What about all of those left in the city?" Hundred Cuts had a reputation for lost causes and Cho could now see why.
