by Xander Jade
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Books By This Author
SafeHaven
The Giseria Chronicles Book 2
Xander Jade
Copyright © 2021 Xander Jade
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by: Vikncharlie
Edited by Melissa Prideaux
Chapter 1
Dawn came and the twenty soldiers ate their rations before setting out. Even with the dew on the ground, Christoph and his squad marched down the dirt road. They were watching and observing the forest and the surrounding area for any trace of Lord Gordon Ackley’s entourage. Not many had hope that they would be found. It had been weeks since they went missing. Christoph grumbled and shook his head as one of his squad called out to him.
“Christoph?”
He grunted.
“How much further are we planning on going to check this dead end?”
“As far as we need to. BlackCrest is not too far away. We must check to see if a Maximus Drago is available to talk. He may have some information regarding Lord Ackley.”
The squad groaned but none of them spoke. They marched on and thirty minutes later, they spotted what seemed to be civilization. As the soldiers made their way to the outskirts of BlackCrest, the men and women saw a small town. It was lively with townspeople starting their day.
“Not much to do around here,” one of the soldiers said while watching the residents move about.
“Probably not, but I do smell a bakery. Maybe Christoph will let us stop. Those rations we had to gnaw on for breakfast did not hit the spot.”
The soldiers chuckled. Christoph responded, “Aye. We can stop for a few minutes. Maybe they can tell us where to find this Maximus.”
Christoph took his squad over and they made their selections, most of them getting turnovers or fresh biscuits. When everyone vacated the shop, Valentine and Christoph waited for the customers to leave.
Valentine was second in command, a middle-aged man standing just under six feet with dark brown hair that had gray streaks. His eyes were brown as well and he had a lithe stature. Christoph stood a couple inches over six feet with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was more muscular than his friend.
When the rush was down to a few people, Valentine got the attention of the proprietor.
“Good sir, may we have a moment of your time?”
“Certainly, always ready to help a soldier. My name is Frank Burns, owner of this establishment.”
Valentine chuckled to himself. Frank Burns? That would mean this is called Burn’s Bakery. Kind of an odd name.
“Thank you. We were sent here to try and locate a missing lord. Gordon Ackley?”
Frank nodded. “Yes, sad to hear about that.”
A young woman started listening in to their conversation when she heard that name.
Valentine grunted. “We were told that the lord hung around here with an acquaintance. His name is Maximus Drago.”
Both the baker and the young woman tensed at that and this didn’t go unremarked by Valentine and Christoph. After a few moments, the baker responded carefully, “Okay.”
“Would you happen to know where we could find this individual?”
“I cannot say. I haven’t seen him around in some time.”
Valentine stared at the man for a minute before sighing. “Can you tell us who would?”
He nodded. “Yes, sir. Jonathan, his father, is the blacksmith of our town. Listen for the hammering of metal and it will lead you there.”
Valentine glanced over at the young woman who quickly looked away, trying to not get caught listening in. He shook his head and turned to Christoph.
“Anything else?” the baker asked.
Christoph shook his head no. “Thank you for the information, and the turnovers. They were outstanding.” He turned to his partner and said, “Let’s go.”
Both soldiers left the bakery. Frank immediately turned and spoke, “Olivia, run and tell Fira that some soldiers are looking for Max.”
“Yes, Father.”
The young woman with long, brown hair and blue eyes took off her apron and hurried out the back door.
Frank sighed and went back to work, hoping that things wouldn’t get out of hand.
***
Julie Drago got out of bed groggily, put some clothes on, and took care of her morning business. Sighing, she went to the kitchen and saw her mother at the cook stove.
“Morning, Momma.”
Fira turned and smiled at her youngest. “Good morning, dear. Have a seat, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”
Julie nodded and sat down. It wasn’t long before Fira set a plate of bacon, eggs, and biscuits in front of her.
“Thanks, Momma.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Is Father going to join us this morning?”
“He should, unless someone needed some urgent repairs done.”
The two females were sitting down eating, when they heard footsteps coming up the steps.
“Sounds like Father made it.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That’s not your father, he wouldn’t be knocking.”
A few moments went by and more knocking. A voice called out, “Mrs. Fira? Julie?”
Fira yelled, “Come in, Olivia.”
The door opened and Olivia rushed in and stopped when she made it to the kitchen. She was panting and took some breaths to calm down.
“Are you okay, Liv?”
“Yeah. Give me a moment.”
She took a minute to get herself together.
“Father sent me over, some soldiers were in the bakery asking about Max. They said it had to do with Gordon Ackley.”
Fira sighed. “Have a seat, dear. Are you hungry?”
Liv nodded and said yes.
“Okay, sit and I’ll bring you a plate. Julie, get some flatware for Liv.”
Julie got up and did as told before sitting back down to eat. Fira fixed a plate for her son’s longtime friend and then sat down.
Liv smiled and picked up a fork, “Thank you.”
“Okay, sweetie, tell us all about it.”
Liv told the story and when she was done, Fira didn’t say anything for a minute.
Finally she spoke, “Liv, thank you for bringing this to our attention. If they went to Jonathan, then I suspect he will be here shortly.”
Liv nodded. Ten minutes later, the three heard footsteps on the porch. The door opened and in came the broad-shouldered man of the house. He stood at just over six feet, brown hair and well-muscled.
“Ladies.”
Fira grinned at him. “Come have a seat, darling. I’ll fix you a plate.”
Jonathan nodded and sat down, and a few moments later Fira placed a full helping of bacon, eggs, and biscuits in front of him.
“Mmm… Looks delicious. Thank you for the
meal, Fira.”
She kissed him on the cheek and sat down as her husband ate. The women finished up and waited for him to speak. A few minutes later Jonathan finished eating and sighed.
“I had visitors today… And from the looks that you’re giving me, you know already. They wanted to know if we had seen Gordon or heard anything about his whereabouts. Of course, I told them we had no idea where he might be.”
Fira grunted. “And did they ask about Max?”
She was concerned about her oldest. They hadn’t heard from him in some time.
“Yes. I advised them that he left the nest and started his own path.”
“I’m assuming that you didn’t speak about his home?”
“No, they don’t need to know where he is. Gordon went missing halfway between here and Oakenshore. Max had nothing to do with it and wouldn’t know what is going on anyway.”
He knew his son wasn’t involved. They didn’t like his answers, but he didn’t care what they thought.
Julie jumped in the conversation, “When can we go and see Max? We need to at least make sure he’s okay.”
“I want to go and see him as well, honey. But with all the raids and kidnappings, I’m wary.”
“As you should be, Fira. We need to stay here, Julie. The town is on alert as it is. No one should venture out in the forest or head to Max’s home. It’s too dangerous.”
Julie nodded, her eyes misty. “I miss him.”
“Me too,” Liv said in a low voice.
“We all do,” Fira firmly stated. “Girls, we need to stay strong and aware of what’s around us. Something is happening and we need to be prepared for it to get worse.”
“I’m with you, Fira,” Jonathan agreed. “Things aren’t normal in BlackCrest or even Augustia. And I fear that they will never be again.”
The woman of the house took a few breaths and Fira said, “Let’s talk about other things and then you need to get back to the shop, Jonathan.”
He smirked. “Trying to get rid of me so quickly?”
She chuckled. “Yes, you stink already. I’ll have to visit Clara to stock up on more candles.”
Jonathan barked with laughter; the girls joined him. The group chatted amicably and ten minutes later, breakfast was over, and they went to their duties.
***
Will and his rangers walked with the mages and the gagged warlock and sorceress. They watched the surrounding area for danger trying to not think about Max and the army that stayed to fight. Prayers were sent up for their safety.
After some time moving towards their destination, Mark, the fire mage, spoke, “Will, how long is the trip to Whitehurst?”
“At least a day,” he replied and looked over at the warlocks. “You think they’ll talk?”
Mark shrugged and replied, “Probably not, but we’ll let the High Mage deal with it. That death spell will probably hinder any interrogation.”
“Well, let’s pick up the pace and hopefully find some shelter for the night.”
They hurried off.
***
It was surreal, I wasn’t going to even count how many were following us, but it was a lot. I had some of the weres in front for scouting, mostly on the road, but in the sky as well. It was nice to have those in the sky; they could go a distance away to scout and come back with intel.
Taking a moment to myself, I feel both exhausted and exhilarated after saving the Berenger Wolfpack, and now I need to think about the consequences of amassing such a clan.
We traveled together. I mingled with others to get to know them, and to find out what they were going to do. Some were leaving and some were staying for the journey home. Dwarves, elves, and amazons were going my way anyway. All of the weres, leery of the orcs, said they were staying in my woods.
Sometime during the trip, it seemed that the rest of Sophia’s pack showed up and blended in with the rest of them. Tia, the sassy elf, and Soph, the leader of the Berenger Wolfpack, stayed in the back of the crowd, still having their conversation, which I suspected was about me and their future in my clan. Whatever, I had other things to think about. Like where the hell was I going to put all these people? Some housing would have to be built. I’d have to get some more gardens going, and turn on the forge for weapons and armor. I looked around to see who I could put in the forge, and then it hit me; dwarves made excellent armor and weapons. Maybe I could convince a couple of them to work for me. That would help with what’s coming, having orcs around would help with defense and hard labor. My head was hurting just thinking about everything that needed to be done.
I was deep in thought most of the way and wasn’t interrupted in any way. I guess they knew I needed some alone time or just didn’t want to bother me. Reap, my mythical beast, and Herc, my Kodiak, were by my side the whole way. We talked to each other telepathically, and I practiced some magic exercises with Sigmus, the fire elemental that bonded with me, to see the growth of my mana pool, if any.
When we stopped for the night, I sent out a hunting party, hopefully they would bring back some fresh meat to eat. We had a shitload of people to feed, and I didn’t want any grumpy tempers to flare. We gathered some wood to build numerous fires for warmth and had the orcs set their camp to the side of mine. I didn’t mind them because they kept to themselves and were quiet most of the time. Unlike some of the weres in Sophia’s pack, those idiots were loud and obnoxious. If she wanted me to take the pack, then there was going to be a reckoning, especially for the idiots I was staring at. I groaned, thinking it was going to come to blows and I would have to kill, maim, or send them packing.
The hunting party came back with enough food for everyone, so we gutted, cleaned, and cooked the meat. Sitting down at my fire, eating slowly, I scanned those around me: Lord Gordon, Sean, Rachel, Frank, along with some other weres and mages that we saved from the mine and who knows what future at the hands of the overlords. There were very few conversations now, probably due to fatigue, but I had to get some answers from my colleague.
“Gordon, why are you still here? What did you want to talk to me about? I figured you would be on your way home.”
“That’s a complicated question to answer; in short, the king wants you at the palace and I was told to come get you. They want some answers about your siba, and the High Mage is interested in the bonding.”
Everyone at the fire was silent now, listening to our conversation. It’s not every day you hear that King William and High Mage Edward want you at the palace.
“How am I supposed to take that info Gordon? It sounds to me like if I don’t come with you, some guards or knights will come and force me.
“I don’t know, that was before all this shit happened. At this point, I’m just along for the ride.” He chuckled.
I grinned. “Well, let me bring you up to speed on the adventures I’ve had over the last few days.”
I told him about shifting for the first time, the were that I became was a cross between a siba and a kodiak. I went on about meeting Soph’s wolf pack, meeting the second group of wolves and recon of the mine where Lord Gordon and the others were held captive, taking out the orc camp, and then of course as Gordon knew already, they had taken out the mine and freed him and the others held captive.
When I was done, everyone was deep in thought.
Finally Sean spoke up, “Man, you’ve got to be worn out. That many fights in the past couple of days, you should be dragging.”
“I will definitely sleep soundly tonight, although I’ll be thinking of all the shit I have to do when I get back home. Getting back to the kingdom issue, I won’t be seeing the king right now. When I get home, I plan to fire up my forge, make some weapons, and go liberate that other mine.”
“I figured, but I need to get a message to my father; he needs to know what’s going on. I want to go with you and help,” Gordon said.
I stared at him and shook my head.
“Man, I don’t know. What if something happens to you? I don’t want to
be blamed for that shit. Duke Ackley would hunt my ass down.”
“Well, what do you think will happen if something happens to you? Princess Corisande would kick my ass.”
I laughed at that, still not getting why Princess Corisande was thinking about me, but I’d just go with it.
He continued, “Man, you should have seen her, she beat the knight John’s ass just for talking bad about you. What do you think she’ll do if you are hurt, or worse?” Gordon shuddered thinking about how Cori acted.
Frank spoke out, pointing at me, “Are you saying the princess has the hots for big boy here?”
I grumbled, but Gordon smirked as he looked at me and nodded.
“Stop that shit Gordon, all I need is for someone to say some dumbass remark and have knights up my ass because they heard that I was in the running for her hand. I have enough women now, though my beast and some others in my head say the more the merrier.”
He cackled as I looked over to the other fires, watching the others laughing, and having a good time. It was nice for them to open up after the mine ordeal. I gazed into the darkness and found Soph’s pack in the field. I guessed there were about two hundred twenty five of them. She was going to discuss her plans to join my clan; this was likely to get interesting. It looked like Tia was with them, which was another weird thing. They had been together for the whole day. Well, whatever they were all talking about, the conversation was heating up, so I turned back around. I didn’t need to know about that shit right now.
“Tell me about your plans, Max. At some point, I will need to bring you to the king, and I really don’t want to get on the bad side of my father,” Gordon pleaded.
I snorted, “Seriously? You know I don’t like that political bullshit. I know you have made a commitment, but it will have to wait. I believe freeing prisoners is more important.”
“I know man, and I will be there to help—.”
He stopped and looked over at the field. I wanted to ignore the commotion going on over there. Talk about political bullshit, the pack shit was just as bad. I wanted to say fuck that, but couldn’t, because now I was involved. It was so much easier with just the eleven of us. Now, I didn’t know how many were under my protection, and they were counting on me.