Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (12 page)

Seth

Seth opened his eyes, a panicked look on his face. He looked towards Sara and then away, his eyes unable to see, unable to focus. He tried to move but found he couldn’t make his body cooperate. He was having trouble breathing and tried to clear his throat. All that escaped his lips was a gurgle. His vision again started to go dark and, as he found himself fighting for air, it dawned on him that he was drowning.

Garret

Garret heard the gurgle and, seeing the blue tint on his brother’s lips, understood the situation. Dropping to his knees, he again pushed his twin onto his side. Careful to avoid his wound, he struck Seth several times between the shoulder blades with the palm of his hand. The gurgle came again, followed by another fluid sound. Seth vomited blood, spewing it everywhere, but as he did he gulped air. He was wracked by coughs again and again, but he was breathing.

Seth

Seth’s vision began to clear and feeling returned to his extremities. He lay on his side in a pool of his own blood when his eyes finally were able to focus enough to make out Sara. She sat in front of him, holding his head. Tears streamed down her face, a face that was twisted in pain, a face that was one of an angel. Seth looked into her eyes, and willing his lips to move, was able to whisper brokenly.

“Are you…” Seth was shaken by another round of coughs before he could continue. “Are you OK?” This time he was able to complete his question before the coughing spasms overtook him.

Sara waited patiently for Seth’s coughing to subside, and waited still for his eyes to reopen. When they did she was smiling at him warily, stroking his hair away from his face. Seth knew not how close to death he had come. He knew only that he was afraid that the blade of the evil creature had pierced completely through him and had injured Sara. He was afraid he had failed to protect her. Seeing her smile, knowing she was all right, Seth relaxed and let unconsciousness take him.

Sara

Sara used the last of her water to wash Seth’s face and then her hands. She sat, as always, with Seth’s head on her lap, gently stroking his face with her fingertips. Seth remained unconscious, but his coughing had subsided and his breathing came easier.

Garret had told her earlier in the day the story of that morning. He told it from a third person’s point of view as only Seth knew all the details. But one thing would be the same no matter who told it. Seth had used his body to protect Sara. He had used his body as a shield to keep the blade from her sleeping body. Seth had nearly lost his life trying to protect her from harm. That thought alone brought a storm of emotions to her heart. First and foremost she was filled with gratitude and love towards the man who now lay in her lap, but she was also angry. What kind of fool was he to nearly kill himself to protect her? What could possibly make him think that her life was more important than his own? But that aside, Garret had also thanked her for probably saving all of their lives. Sara barely remembered the events of the morning. It already felt like a lifetime ago. At the time she had been barely awake enough to create any conscious memories of the events. All she could vaguely remember was Seth’s agonizing scream, the feel of the crossbow in her hands and Ashton passing out.

Ashton was awake now. He had come to sometime during the afternoon. He was barely able to move since he had weakened himself almost to the point of no return. Garret had dug through their belongings and forced Ashton to eat what few scraps of food they had left, hoping he would regain some strength.

Ashton began to recover quickly after eating. He explained that though he was unable to completely heal Seth’s wound, he had been able to repair his friend’s lung and heart before he had blacked out. He had regained enough strength at one point that he half crawled to Seth’s side, and praying to his goddess, started a low chant, sealing what remained of Seth’s wound. Again he had drained himself, but he was still able to sit without any support, and he did so now. In predominant silence, Sara sat with both the resting forms of Ashton and Seth, hoping that soon they would be back to their normal selves.

Garret

Garret was doing his best to keep himself busy. He knew that nothing passed time like doing manual labor. Dragging the creature, which Ashton had identified as a goblin, out of their shelter, he claimed from its corpse a few coins and the twisted blade. It was a gruesome looking creature. It had dark green, muddy looking skin streaked with stripe-like patterns of black. It had no hair, not even on its oblong head that was split in two by a wide mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Its eyes, now rolled back into their sockets, were an eerie yellow color. It resembled a human in the fact that it too walked on two legs and had two arms with hands, but that was where the similarities ended. Its appendages were unnaturally long and its torso incredibly small. It was a lanky, gangly creature to say the least.

After studying it, Garret searched around for one of the scraggly trees that grew here in the plains, and removing a large branch, he sharpened one end with his dagger. He then thrust the other end deep into the earth. Hefting the goblin’s body high, he found it lighter than it looked, and thrust it down upon the sharpened end of the pole, impaling it up through the ribcage, all the way up to the skull, holding the corpse firmly erect. Garret went back into the cavern and set about sorting the group’s belongings and loading them into the appropriate packs, grumbling something about cleaning up the damn goblin’s mess.

Sara

Looking outside, Sara could tell it was growing late in the day. Seth had yet to regain consciousness a second time. They had very little food left, Sara had no more water and they still had at least one more day of travel to reach the nearest town. If that wasn’t enough, Ashton had told her it could be days before Seth regained consciousness. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood and it would take his body time to replace it. Sara knew that no matter how long it took Seth to recuperate, she wasn’t leaving his side until he did.

The afternoon eventually turned into evening which was followed rapidly by nightfall. Seth had not moved a muscle in hours. Ashton, on the other hand, was again able to walk. He had laid out his bear hide bed and was resting on it now. Garret too had laid out his blanket and sat on it looking off into the black nothingness beyond. Amazingly enough, Seth’s blanket had managed to avoid the majority of the bloodshed, and what little blood did stain it had dried during the day. Sara had taken the blanket, as the night turned cold, and placed it over Seth to keep him warm. Garret had stirred from his daydream when Sara had finally stood, and he sat watching her cover his twin.

“That’s gonna piss him off if he wakes up,” Garret smiled at Sara.

“What will?” she asked, not understanding his humor.

“If Seth wakes up tonight, and you’re cold and shivering while he is covered with a blanket, he will be furious and you know it,” Garret stated finishing with a throaty laugh.

Sara smiled in response, knowing all too well that he spoke the truth. She hoped though that Seth would forgive her if he did wake. In any case, she had decided to stay awake all night just in case he did wake up.

The sky turned black and cold, the previous night’s icy winds returning as well. Ashton hadn’t sat up since lying down in the first place so it was obvious he slept now, hopefully regaining some strength. Garret too was sleeping. He had laid down saying he needed to rest his eyes, but had started snoring shortly thereafter. Sara was not worried about intruders. Garret had assured her that his little goblin on a stick decoration outside their shelter should keep anything with half a brain away. He was a good guy to have on your side. All big and barbaric, Sara was glad she had not been the one to cross the larger twin. It was obvious how strong his bond was with his brother.

Sitting quietly in the dark, Sara rested with Seth’s head in her lap, listening to his breathing. She shivered from time to time from the cold, but other than that she was comfortable, leaning up against the stone wall that still retained a small amount of the day’s warmth. She watched and listened for hours, trying with all her might to resist falling asleep. Eventually, however, without even realizing it was a losing battle, she was bested and sleep took her.

Seth

Seth dreamed a dark dream of a beast with razor teeth and a twisted blade. In his dream he was unable to move so the beast made a game of skewering his ribs over and over again with the blade. There was no escape, and though the torment was excruciating, he could not help but be gratified that neither his brother nor Sara was being hurt and that his friend Ashton must have gotten away also. The dream seemed to continue for an eternity. Thousands of times Seth felt the blade slice through his flesh, glancing off his ribs and cutting deeply into his organs. Eventually, as if the torture wasn't enough, Seth found himself unable to breathe, thus he started to cough. Coughing it seemed would be the release from his torturous nightmare, for as soon as he began coughing, the dream faded, and opening his eyes he was able to see both Sara and Garret. He tried to speak several times but barely managed any words. Before he lost consciousness again, however, he had seen Sara smile and he knew everything would be all right.

After drifting from reality the second time, Seth found his condition puzzling, for outwardly he could not seem to wake even though he was perfectly capable of conscious thought. He didn't dream so instead he spent the hours thinking about the past few days. He had learned that his family wasn't his family after all, at least not by birth. Then as if that wasn't enough, he and Garret had to leave their home and their father and friends behind, but had made a new companion of Ashton whose friendship has already become invaluable. The three of them had made their way to Stone Haven where they had met Sara. Seth knew he was already madly and irrevocably in love with Sara. He hoped that his growing relationship with her wouldn't hurt the one with his brother, and up to this point Garret seemed very supportive of them both.

Even so, Seth knew he was not who he had thought just days ago. Though James was still his father in his heart, and Garret his brother, he was unsure of who he really was. A part of him felt as if he had lost his father, but gained both Sara and Ashton. Yet in the days to come he would probably lose them all at the choosing. It were as if he were up against a brick wall with a raging inferno all around him. His entire world was in an upheaval. Everything had changed.
Was
changing. Seth didn’t know what he would do when the world took everyone away from him. All he could do is try to hold on to those he loved and cared for. With that final thought he awoke.

Sara

Sara woke with a start realizing she had fallen asleep when she had meant to stay awake. She must have gotten cold while sleeping, as she was now curled up in a ball, lying on her side. She reached down to push herself to a sitting position and found big arms wrapped around her, steadying her. She realized immediately her mistake. She wasn’t lying on the ground at all! She spun around in Seth’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck already crying happy tears. Seth pulled his arms around her, holding her more tightly and kissed her forehead.

Sara let her tears of joy fall unchecked onto Seth’s shoulder. She hugged him tightly around the neck, completely overcome with happiness. Seth simply hugged her in his arms and whispered, “I told you I would never let you go.”

Sara nodded into his shoulder, unwilling to release him even for a second. She did not deserve him she knew. He was hers none the less, and she would spend her life trying her best to live up to his expectations. She now owed him her freedom, her mending heart, her soul and, after yesterday’s events, her life as well. She relaxed her hold on his neck, unwilling to completely release him, and moved her face to his and kissed him more vigorously than ever before. Her entire body trembled with the passion of her kiss and she didn’t stop kissing him until the trembling ceased. She pulled away from his face slowly, and Seth gasped for air. Sara giggled a little and kissed him again quickly, just because she could. Wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the night kissing him, she knew that he needed rest to heal and so she tightened her hug around his neck once again and whispered in his ear, “You need to get some sleep.”

Seth’s head shook in response and he replied, “No angel, I’ve slept all day. I’m not even the least bit tired.”

Sara nodded, and with a kiss to his neck, slid comfortably into his lap and turned her body to face him. They could not see each other through the darkness, but that did not keep them from peering into each other’s eyes.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Sara whispered into the darkness.

“Did I go somewhere?” Seth answered teasingly.

“Yeah, you went to the one place I couldn’t go to be with you,” Sara stated, a tone of defeat in her voice.

“I’m sorry,” Seth replied to her earnestly. “I promise I will try to never do it again.”

They sat for hours against the wall, Sara in Seth’s lap, wrapped warmly in his arms. She slept on and off, waking several times suddenly to look up at him, as if assuring herself that he was still OK, then she would go back to sleep.