The Calling (Book 7 of The Blood & Brotherhood Saga) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (16 page)

It was two hours later when he emerged for the final time, happy to be free of the seemingly never-ending stairs. From here on, it was up to the ranks of the healers to care for the pups along with their mothers. What they would do with the single male they had brought back with them from the forest he didn’t know. Not that it mattered.

With one task completed, Zorbin turned towards the guardhouse near the gate to the castle complex. He had no idea who was on duty. He wasn’t really even sure yet who had survived the last battle. All he knew was that he needed messengers aplenty, and this was a good place to start recruiting them.

* * * * *

Ashton sat upon the floor watching the woman, Balantine, appraise the small pups from tip to toes. Most would consider her a plain woman, with honey-colored hair that hung dry like straw and shoulders that hinted she was less feminine than others, but Ashton rather liked the girl. By most standards he supposed she was not beautiful or elegant, but his tastes were not those of most who lived in the city. He liked her square jaw, wide hips, and strong back. She looked as though she could rear many children and hunt with the men. Raised on a farm, she was toned and well-muscled from years of hard work. He had bedded her several times, but she wanted things he could not give her. Fickle creatures, human women, but their customs with lovers were certainly enticing enough to have him pretending. Occasionally he would bring her flowers, or tell her she looked nice. It was stupid and pointless, but worked in wooing her affections. Eventually his seed would implant in her womb and then she would come to her senses and become his property. After all, it was nearly a custom in the city for a young woman to get pregnant and then be bound to a man. Silly and stupid, but he would play the role as it was set out before him.

“They appear much older than just a few weeks,” Balantine stated the obvious.

“They are half or perhaps less, canine. They develop at an accelerated rate,” Ashton intoned.

“And you want me to see if I can make them grow even faster? Just because their bodies develop doesn’t mean they will mature mentally as fast. It takes years to learn. They will simply be infants with adult or adolescent bodies.”

“It doesn’t matter. It is what the king wants and as such we will try. Can you do it?” Ashton asked more harshly that he intended.

“I can speed the healing of a wound to minutes that would normally take days. Injuries that would take months, I can speed to mere days. But this I’ve never tried before. I suppose it is possible. If I don’t direct the flow of energy to any specific location and instead just let it run free within the patient, I imagine it will do as you say.”

Ashton watched her eyes blink several times as her breasts rose and fell with her exaggerated movements. Having just returned to Valdadore, he’d rather be spending his time trying to get her upon her knees or back, but just the same he had an oath to uphold and a duty to perform. Such pleasures would have to wait until later.

“Let us begin then, and see if we are worthy of the king’s faith in us,” he said slyly, letting her know in no uncertain terms that they would disappoint the king if unsuccessful.

Watching the girl pray, he leaned forward to watch as she began chanting and a white glow emanated from her fingertips and palms. Placing her hands upon the babe lying between her knees, she released the power into the squirming creature as it became enveloped in the same light she produced. At first it appeared that nothing happened, but then, slowly, Ashton began to see the changes.

First the child’s limbs became more full as its facial features grew more angular. As its hair filled in and ears lengthened, its limbs stretched slowly, its feet and hands growing in both size and thickness. Finding himself holding his breath, Ashton watched on as the infant became a toddler in mere minutes. Though Balantine began to tremble slightly, she continued on and poured her gift into the beast as it continued to grow further still. Erased were the underlying layers of fat given to children to make them soft and round as its limbs grew longer, its torso stronger, and its shoulders broader. A thick mane spread down the creature’s back and chest as its fingers became more hooked and devilish. Where had been its doglike nose and humanoid mouth a short snout and maw developed, jutting from the face slightly as its jawline became more defined and powerful.

It had taken less than half an hour, but reaching this point Balantine fell back, her body shaking almost to the point of convulsions, having pushed her limitations. Weakened, he could likely coax her into his bed for comforting, but still it would have to wait. There on the floor, still squirming and making fiendish sounds was a horrifying display of wicked creation. Near equal in size to a child the age of ten, the thing thrashed about, unable to use its limbs properly. It was odd in its proportions with a thick powerful chest and long gangly limbs, and a head that seemed to sit directly atop its torso with almost no neck to speak of. Covered in patchy fur of varying tones and hues, it looked very much a child’s nightmare brought to life. To Ashton, it had been a success. This monster would help him to grow nearer the king and gain his acceptance and his ear. This horrid beast and its kin would be the catalyst to his destiny. Smiling, he placed his hand on the trembling Balantine’s shoulder, reassuring her that she had done well. Girls liked that sort of thing here.

Rising, he plucked the writhing mass of flesh and fur from the floor and tossed it over his shoulder. Next he had to make the creature strong and coordinated. He needed it on its feet, able to fight. He had an idea that might work in speeding that process as well, and headed for the door.

“I’ll be back soon,” Ashton said as he swung the door open. “Get yourself something to eat and meet me in my chamber so we can talk about what you have accomplished here today.”

Without awaiting a reply he let the door swing closed behind him and headed down the corridor towards the main exit. Stepping outside he noted the position of the sun and was disappointed to find that most of the day was gone. With such a short supply of time, he turned from the castle gate and instead headed towards the stables. He needed to reach the outer wall of the city before nightfall. If he arrived too late, all the blacksmiths there would be retired for the night.

Entering the stable, Ashton grabbed a length of cord suspended from a peg on the wall, and dropping the beast he carried upon the straw covered floor of the stable, he quickly bound the creature. Selecting a horse, he again hefted the monstrosity’s dead weight and tossed it onto the back of the Valdadorian steed before climbing into the saddle himself. Testing that the creature was not at risk of falling, he put heels to flanks and charged out from the stable and across the cobblestones towards the gate.

It was under an hour later when Ashton slowed the giant beast of burden and trotted towards the row of blacksmiths whose shops lined the outer wall of the city. Here the heat was immense and reminded him of home, with the scents of ash and sweat and blood. Sliding out from the saddle he dropped to the ground before yanking the creature down to fall roughly over his shoulder once more. Seeing that several smiths were still at work at the forges, he grinned, knowing he would put them all to work.

Approaching the first of the shops, he presented himself as an emissary of the king and told the smith’s apprentice to gather all the other blacksmiths. Tonight they would be working around the clock. It took less than half an hour to have more than a dozen smiths collected and together with their expertise, Ashton explained to them the contraption the king wanted created. It was a similar design to one Ashton had once seen adorning a giant topped in a crown, with shackles wrapped about the wrists, upper arms, thighs, calves, ankles, waist, neck and head. From the shackles pulleys and cables were attached and bundled through rings to a series of weights that would hang from the beast’s back. With every tiny movement, the beast would be forced to heft the weights, building muscle and coordination. If that were not enough, they sketched out the design for a rack that the beast would be suspended from, allowing it enough slack to work its legs and lift its own weight. It looked like a device of torture in the drawings and sketches selected from those the smiths designed, but Ashton knew it would speed the process of strengthening the creatures and coordinating their movements by incorporating years of hard labor into every day’s movement. Finally, when the design for the contraption was near complete, Ashton added one more element to encourage the beasts to move. Like the gears and wheels designed for a mill house, the smiths brought his idea to life on the paper, creating a pendulum-like addition that lowered through a specific series of movements. Every time the creature would perform this series of movements the pendulum would descend a fraction of an inch. After several hours the pendulum’s arm would be at mouth level of the beasts. All Ashton would have to do is attach food to the pendulum and the creatures would learn to complete the movements, forcing them to work and build muscle and coordination in order to receive their food. It was genius. Ashton had taken an idea from his past and adapted it to train horrific soldiers for Valdadore. Grinning a wicked grin, he set the blacksmiths to their tasks, promising to return by morning for both his contraption and the beast he was now leaving in their care.

Climbing back atop his mount, he turned towards the castle once more where hopefully awaited the day’s reward upon his bed. Racing through the streets of the city, he was anxious for the discovery, both excited and impatient to know if she would be open to his desires this night.

Chapter Thirteen

It was early morning the following day when a knock disturbed both Seth and Sara from the bed they had finally settled upon. Neither of them slept, no longer requiring it, but they lay in each other’s arms just relishing in their togetherness without an army at their gates hell bent on their destruction. Seth knew before he had even reached the door that Borrik was going room to room in search of him, but not wanting to spoil the intimate time with Sara he simply let his second in command wander from one room to the next until they were finally found. Unable to ignore his newfound duties any longer, he rose from the bed in little more than black linen trousers and flexing his wings, went to answer the door.

“Forgive me, master, but there is a matter requiring your attention.”

“It is good that you came to retrieve me then,” Seth said with a knowing grin.

“A difficult task considering both of your scents mask nearly every room on three floors. Was it that difficult to choose one?” Borrik asked, a toothy grin of his own.

“Oh, no. It wasn’t difficult. We simply ran out of time to use the rest of them,” Sara replied from the bed, the covers pulled to her neck and a sly grin on her face.

“What is it, Borrik?” Seth said, redirecting the conversation.

“Captain Xander has returned. He has brought his crippled son to visit you.”

“Good. Have him meet me in the lowest courtyard. Throw wide the gates and invite those who wish to meet their new ruler to come and witness the kind of man I am.”

“Wise decision. Our guard had a difficult time last night. There were many disputes, some outright fights, and some bloodletting. Captain Jonas, along with Xander, thinks that those with wealth are already seeking to unseat you.”

“Good. Be sure they are invited and given the ability to get up close and personal,” Seth replied.

“Do you think that wise, my king? What if they move to assassinate you?” Borrik questioned, his voice becoming one of concern.

“Then you, my good friend, will be there to protect me.”

“Very well. I will see it done.”

“Also, Borrik, send Jonas up to detail to me the events of last night.”

Seth watched his massive companion go silent a second as his eyes unfocused an instant before he blinked and nodded.

“It is done. He is on his way.”

“Good, then I suggest we start this day off with a bang. Let me know when arrangements have been made.”

Without a word, the wolfman turned and strode back down the hall the way he had come. Seth knew it would be some time before they were ready for him, and hoped to use that time to debrief Jonas and get a feel for the city’s issues. He hoped to do just as he had told Xander, to rebuild the city and make it a place of happiness and have all of its inhabitants work together to make it a safe and good place to live. Not only that, but he also needed to be able to defend it. Sending emissaries out to call to him the leaders of neighboring realms was a risk. It could bring an invasion. He hoped to create peace without a war, but first needed to gauge those who were likely his enemies.

Watching Jonas approach through the walls of the keep, he spoke a split second before the man entered the doorway.

“Jonas. It seems we had some problems last night?” Seth asked.

“There were a few. We had some injuries, but no deaths to my knowledge.”

“And what was the problem?”

“Mostly integration. Many fear us. Not only those of us you have altered, but even the common people. They fear we are demons and will taint them or cause them foul luck.”

“So they opposed having new neighbors?”

“Mostly, yes.”

“I think much of that will be settled today. Anything else of interest?”

“Yes, my king,” the beast man growled. “There are little provisions, supplies, food, or any other resources in the city for that matter. Sigrant took the bulk of everything with him on his campaign and from what I gather, nearly all of the supplies now lie at the bottom of the newly formed lake.”

“That could be a problem. I have seen in Valdadore, homes with plants growing within the windows during the winter. Would it be possible to do something similar but on a larger scale here? Could we not build a large structure of windows and grow crops within? Tending them and building the actual building will employ many people.”

“I’ll seek out an engineer and see if we can find a suitable location, my lord.”