Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (90 page)

"Yes, your majesty," Darion replied.

With that a group of soldiers ushered the boy from the room to see to his needs before sending him upon his way.

"Sulvis, I need our numbers," Garret said without bothering to turn and face the man.

"Just over four thousand at last count your majesty," Sulvis replied in an even tone.

"Six to one," Garret stated aloud. "Better odds then last time, but we need to know more about these great armored beasts that breathe fire."

He turned to address his most important asset as the king of Valdadore.

"Seth, it seems we are going to need your help."

-End

(THE LOST CHAPTER)

AGE OF THE GODS, VOLUME IV

THE BLOOD AND BROTHERHOOD SAGA

Blood and gore clung to everything in the room, dripping like melted wax from the walls. Bodies lay here and there like so many discarded dolls, each swimming in a pool of its own fluids. Steam still escaped them from time to time, the room being painfully cold in the evening hours of late fall. Tables and chairs lay overturned or broken and naught but a single candle still sputtered from a hanger upon one cobblestone wall. Here a wicked deed had been done: a deed born of evil, malice and hunger. There had been peace and happiness here once, though from this day forward none would remember it. Forever it would remain tainted, the air tasting of iron and smelling of decay. Yet before the sun broke the horizon, she lay relaxing upon the bar of the macabre tavern, enjoying the sensations that flowed through her nude body. Naught but blood was upon her skin, yet it felt as if her lover were inside her, such was the ecstasy that came from feeding.

Anna awoke with a start, sitting up rapidly in the hope of banishing the nightmare that threatened to bring tears to her eyes, even now as its details faded. Looking around she assured herself she was home, within her own bed, in her own room. From across the house she heard metal upon metal and knew that Momma was already fixing breakfast. With cold sweat upon her brow, Anna brushed her long red hair out of her face with her fingers and tucked it behind an ear. Spinning upon her bottom, she placed her small bare feet upon the cold stone floor as goose pimples spread over her body. It was at this point that the day, which was starting like any other, that it took an unexpected turn.

However hard she tried, Anna could not remember coming home the night before. She recalled working at the tavern, and could even recollect what she had served to whom. In fact, there had been some rather special guests the night previous when Lord Seth and his young bride had come to eat. Anna had served them herself. She remembered not only bringing them each a plate of lamb, but also hearing the rumors that were whispered around the room when the pair had entered. Some said Lord Seth was a demon who created monsters of men as he took their souls. Others thought him to be the hero who had defeated the black horde in the battle to the south. If the rumors were true, then the magician was of a breed above and beyond anything that had ever before been seen upon Thurr. It was said he commanded the powers of life and death and had single-handedly laid waste to thousands of men in the battle. Anna remembered his face, and that of his lover. Of this she was certain. The very last thing she could recall from the night before was taking a break from her duties to relieve herself in the privy. Having started her cycle the day before, she had taken many such breaks, but after entering the privy everything was blank.

Shaking her head as a means to clear it, Anna rose to her feet to dress but immediately regretted it. No sooner had she stood up than her body began to tremble and the room began spinning. Bile rose into her throat. Just as her vision began to darken around the edges, Anna plopped back down onto her bed. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she breathed deeply, hoping the dizziness would pass.

Many long moments went by before the door to her chamber opened. Still feeling nauseous, Anna opened one eye slightly to witness Momma entering the room with a steaming bowl. As she focused on her mother, the sensation of illness relented, and Anna could not help but to wonder if the feeling had been a lingering effect of her nightmare. Regardless of the reason,  Anna was happy it had gone. Cautiously sitting up, she greeted her mother.

“G’morning Momma,” Anna said while stretching.

“G’morning my angel, I am glad to see you up,” Momma replied with a quizzical expression. “You gave us all such a scare last night, I feared you might get lost in sleep like that smithy girl all those years ago.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked. “What happened?”

“I dunno what happened,” Momma shrugged. “You were carried home by Mack and Glen. They said you passed out in the privy and busted your head on the floor. Broke a pitcher too, and cut your neck when you landed. They said they tried to wake you for over an hour before bringing you back here.”

“Why would I suddenly pass out?” Anna asked, trying to recall the event.

“I don’t rightly know, angel,” Momma admitted. “Perhaps, this being your first cycle, your body is not used to the blood loss. I hear it is that way with some women.”

“Makes sense I guess,” Anna replied, her voice betraying her uncertainty.

Pulling her long red hair over one shoulder, Anna again spun upon the bed to place her feet upon the floor. Then looking up, she accepted the bowl her mother had brought, and peering inside admired the dark colored broth with chunks of vegetables and meat floating in it. Though it was mostly broth, the scents of spices and garlic filled Anna’s nostrils and she grinned appreciatively.

“I thought if you were awake, and your cycle is the issue, a skimpy breakfast simply would not do. This will give you energy,” Momma smiled, watching her daughter anxiously.

“I’ll be fine Momma,” Anna assured her.

“Even so, if you are not up to it, then you stay at home today,” Momma said. “You understand?”

“Yes Momma, but I am fine, and we need the money,” Anna answered. “I am OK to work, I promise.”

For a long moment Momma looked Anna over. Both knew that they needed every coin they could get. They barely made ends meet as it was with just the two of them. Seemingly come to a decision, Momma paused in the middle of turning to leave the room.

“You feel even the slightest bit weak, you bring your bottom right back to this bed,” Momma ordered sternly. “You ain’t gonna give me another scare like you did last night.”

“Yes Momma.”

Without another word Anna was left alone in her room to eat her breakfast in the hour before the sun would rise to light the sky. Though a day of rest sounded like perfection, Anna knew that a day skipping work was three days skipping a meal. Though she knew it would not be the first time she had skipped a meal, nor would it likely be her last, she preferred the other option available. Anna ate quickly and dressed even faster in an effort to get to the tavern before sun up. If she was late, her pay would be docked, and that was something she and Momma could not afford.

Dressed in one of the three simple dresses she owned, Anna rushed from her house down the dirt road that ran between the two rows of buildings that made up the little village called Traiven. It wasn’t much of a place to live, but it was home. Lots of visitors came and went on their way to or from the capital city of Valdadore to the west. Less than a hundred people lived in Traiven but thousands passed through each year, and in order to serve them all, everyone started work before sunrise.

Sliding to a halt in front of the tavern door, Anna shoved it open and rushed inside. Dodging between tables and chairs, she nearly tripped, not once but twice as the floor sped beneath her. Unlike times past, she managed to catch herself before falling. Rounding the bar, she stooped to snatch up an apron before tying it about her waist while barging through yet another door into the kitchen.

Letting the door swing closed behind her, Anna watched as all eyes in the kitchen turned their gazes upon her and each face stretched into smiles of something more than recognition.

“She’s alive!” shouted Marcy, a plump woman who spent her days eating nearly as much as she cooked.

“Yup, I’m fine,” Anna stated simply.

Everyone took turns welcoming her back from the seemingly dead, before quickly returning to their duties in preparation for the day ahead.

Grabbing a damp rag, Anna exited into the tavern’s primary room, and began wiping down every table and chair. It was a chore she had been doing for the past five years. Each of the twenty-seven tables and ninety-one chairs felt familiar to her touch. There had once been ninety three-chairs, but an overweight man had crushed one beneath his bulk, and Wilson, the tavern’s owner, had broken another over a belligerent customer’s head when the man had refused to pay after drinking for near half a day. Anna had the pleasure of witnessing both events, though she only smiled fondly at one of the recollections. Fat men breaking chairs, now
that
was funny.

Finished with wiping everything down, Anna set about sweeping the floor as the first rays of sun began to slant through the windows. With the coming of light outside the tavern, the day began in earnest as Wilson arrived to manage his establishment, or so he was fond of calling it. Within an hour some of the chairs began to fill and Anna’s duties started piling up.

Often as Anna worked she daydreamed about things that attracted her attention, and more often than not she found herself dreaming of Gavin. Of course she had to like the one boy in town who had shown absolutely no interest in her. But how could he like her, as awkward as she always acted around him? Anna could not remember one single time in the last year when she had not embarrassed herself while in the vicinity of Gavin.

She was going through so many changes lately she felt like a stranger to her own body. Worse than that, she had been a
late bloomer
, as her mother called it. In the last year alone she had grown over a foot, developed breasts and began her cycle. With so many developments all at once, Anna feared she could not bear another. Thank the gods she had Momma. Momma helped her to understand not only how these changes would affect her body, but also how they would influence the way others reacted to her. Immediately it was apparent that Momma had been right. Anna began to notice that men looked upon her differently, and the women who accompanied those men made angry faces at her. Anna was no simpleton. It was merely that she lived in a very small community from which to gather knowledge from. She was the only girl her age in Traiven, though there were several younger. Boys, on the other hand, were more numerous and all but one had eyes for Anna now that she had changed so thoroughly.

On this day, like most others, as Anna set about serving food and drinks to the customers, her mind wandered to thoughts of Gavin with his bronze skin and wavy hair of mixed brown and golden locks. She imagined for the millionth time what his lips would feel like on hers as she pictured him pulling her into his arms. But this time the daydream seemed peculiar in comparison to those she had had before. This time the fantasy was more precise, the details finer, the emotions more real. As Gavin pulled Anna close this time, Anna seemed reluctant to obey his restraining arms. When she did, instead of locking lips as they would usually do, Anna began voraciously kissing him upon the neck and dragging her nails across his flesh, leaving red trails. So vivid was the alien dream that Anna walked straight into a table, causing a customer’s drink to slosh out of his mug. Fortunately it had not spilled completely, and the man in traveling leathers dismissed the accident silently with a gesture.

Carefully attempting to control her thoughts, lest she lose pay for upsetting another customer or spilling someone else’s food or drink, Anna resumed her duties a short while. However, soon, seemingly caught up, she took a few moments to relax in the kitchen with the rest of the staff while Wilson manned the bar. Shoving through the kitchen door, Anna nearly collided with Kristen, a woman in her early forties with blonde hair and a more than ample bosom. Apologizing for her clumsiness, Anna stepped aside to allow Kristen to pass, holding the door for her. Kristen very nearly did exactly as expected, stepping into the open door, but then she spun upon her heel to stare at Anna. Immediately Anna felt uncomfortable, even having known Kristen her whole life. Something about the woman’s gaze was unnatural. It was as if this day the woman peered beneath the flesh to see all her secrets and shortcomings. Turning her head to look away, Anna was again surprised when Kristen grabbed her chin and pried her head to the side, though not violently.

“Wow!” Kristen exclaimed. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe what?” Anna asked, worried what secret her soul had divulged to Kristen.

“Your cut is completely gone,” Kristen answered, still looking at Anna’s neck intently.

“What cut?”

“You had a jagged cut on your neck from falling when you blacked out yesterday,” Kristen reminded her. “I cleaned it myself!”

For a long moment Kristen tugged Anna’s neck this way and that, peering closely at the skin of her neck for any sign of the vanished injury. Wilson rounded the door frame to see for himself too, and before long the entire kitchen staff abandoned their duties to witness the absence of the cut. Each of them gave their own imagined reasons for its disappearance, but within seconds it was decided that it must be a blessing from the gods that Anna had been healed so quickly.

All the undue attention made Anna extremely uncomfortable. So much so that she began to sweat, and her knees to shake slightly. As her body temperature seemed to rise, and the morning’s nausea began to return, Anna simply could not take any more. Before the small crowd made any notion of being finished gawking at her, Anna pushed past Wilson. Entering the tavern once again and rounding the bar, she strode across the room. Without an explanation, or looking back to assure herself she had not angered the proprietor, Anna made her way into the privy where she leaned against the door, allowing no one else entry.

Panting hard Anna closed her eyes as sharp pain lanced through her skull. For long minutes she gritted her teeth until it abated. Waiting further still, the trembling and nausea stopped as well. If her cycles were going to be like this every four weeks, Anna did not know how women lived as long as they did. The whole ordeal was overwhelming, and Anna questioned whether or not to take Momma’s advice and return home after the pain and nausea she had just endured. If she did, though, she knew they would both suffer for it, and Anna could not bring herself to make Momma suffer for her weakness. Shrugging off her fear and uncertainty, she left her post against the door to rinse her face in the bowl across the room. This singular decision would reveal another fact about the night before of which Anna had been unaware.