The Gaellean Prophecy Series Box Set
Page 86
“I’m not so sure of anything.”
“As I thought.” Reinko’s eyes were unwavering as they bored into Godwin. “You have only yourself to blame. You could have had time, the rest of your adolescence, to learn who you are. Now you’ve thrown that decision away. You let King Boldfrost’s braying soldiers form you from soft clay, and the Shigata have baked you into the form they wanted. Now you can change no more, except in that you’re as brittle as a ceramic cup. Easily shattered.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Godwin asked. “Have you waited so long to ridicule me for leaving your tutelage?”
“I’m here because unlike the first time you left, the fight that is upon us is one that matters. But we are beyond speaking of such things, you and I. I might as well explain these matters to a dog. At least a dog is good company.”
“Tell me at least… who won?”
“The same ones who always win. Those who were not present in the battle. But to put it into the simplistic terms that you can understand, the wolves did. After the little stunt you pulled with your chemistry set, the Tarsurians were losing heart. They began to fall back, when a far darker presence emerged.”
“What are you—”
“The Witch Queen is what they call her.” Reinko’s eyes were green fire. “She came to the West from Tjeri Province. It is here in this very village that she found something she wanted desperately. A humble servant in a young girl, and a powerful source of magic in the mines.”
“I see.” Godwin’s head was pounding. He did not want the conversation to continue for long. “Is she as fearful as the Kirishelliwan would have me believe?”
“Ask not stupid questions,” Reinko snapped. “The Kirishelliwan do not fear needlessly. The Witch Queen’s power is a thing of terror. It was all I could do to drive her away for the time being.”
“You?”
“Yes, Godwin. Me. Unlike you, those who have great power do not always feel the need to go and demonstrate it to every lackwit peasant they encounter with a rusulka problem. I battled the Witch Queen among these hills, and I will be the fist to admit that had she hoped to defeat me in earnest, I would not have been able to win. But the Tarsurians do not seek the easy road. They did what they came to do, and left.”
“And so the village is safe?”
“You embarrass yourself with each time you open your mouth. This village will never be safe. Not with the treasure it sits upon. Already the scavengers have arrived fighting over which man or which family will control it. Most of the original inhabitants are dead. That includes the mayor, and a man I understand you knew. His name was Samwell. He was found torn to shreds in his own home. Ripped apart by a demonic force. Doubtless you will put flowers on his grave.”
Suddenly Godwin’s stomach clenched. He had a thought. A terrible, sickening thought. His mouth went dry.
“Master Reinko, please. Tell me. Robert, my Tarsurian comrade. Is he... ?”
Godwin looked into Reinko Assini’s scowling face. For just a heartbeat, it softened. “I understand that your Tarsurian friend has been grievously injured. Perhaps it’s best for you to see him yourself.”
It was just a short walk down the hall, but to the Shigata it took an eternity. Reinko stopped outside the door.
“Go. I will wait here.”
Inside the room the curtains were drawn so that only a thin slice of light from outside entered the room. Robert’s body was hidden under a mass of blankets. The room was thick with hot air and the smell of vomit.
“Godwin?” the figure asked in a weak voice. “That you? He said he’d send for you.”
“It’s me, Robert.”
“Come here already. Stop making me feel like a leper.”
Godwin has seen countless mutilations. Torn bodies of his friends. Innocent civilians left disfigured by demons in the country. But it was all he could do to keep from running away from the sight of whatever had happened to Robert.
“Come on now. Delaying won’t make it go away.”
Godwin approached, unsure of what to expect.
At first sight, as all first sights of such things tend to do, it seemed much worse than it was. For a moment Robert was not himself at all, but a horrific imitation of the man he once was. His face unrecognizable. Shred beyond human recognition.
“That bad? I haven’t looked yet. The healers said I would be wise to wait until it patches up a bit more, and I’m inclined to agree.
Godwin could not speak. But the longer he looked, the more he realized it was not as bad as he imagined. In fact, it mostly seemed so bad because everything was left to his imagination. The right side of Robert’s face was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, leaving his lips and nose exposed. The real damage seemed to be on the side of his head. Beyond that, there was nothing to see.
“Well? Say something? I bet I look like a regular Shigata myself right now.”
“You look like a mummy,” Godwin said, snapping out of his delirium. “What else could you expect after charging Jane?”
“A bit dramatic, I suppose,” Robert said. “But still, I had to do something. You frightened me terribly, Godwin. I had no idea what you had done. And after we were making such a good team.”
“I’m sorry. I should have protected you.”
“Nonsense. It was a battle not a ball. To be frank, it’s a miracle that either of us have made out as well as we have. You’re looking better than I thought you would. At least those bizarre markings all over your body are gone.”
“Markings?”
Robert scoffed. “Was the battle so intense that you failed to notice that you were covered in glowing silver tattoos? Clearly it was. Never mind. We can talk about boring things like fighting later. Tell me, when will the legions of adoring women arrive? There is a wounded hero that would greatly appreciate the comforts of the fairer sex’s companionship.”
Godwin was silent.
“I see. Very well. We’ll have to see to attend to such things when we arrive at the capital. We are still going there, are we not?”
“Of course. Lyra is waiting.”
“As is your old master. He will want to accompany us, I have no doubt. To be honest, the man frightens me terribly.”
“You’re not alone in that,” Godwin said. “But from the way he tells it, we’re lucky he came. We’d all be dead otherwise.”
“Too true,” Robert agreed. “Though it did little good for the village. Rolph, Brent, Samwell… all dead. It will be a miracle if anyone ever lives here again.”
“With the fortune it sits on? I don’t think they’ll have to worry about that.”
“You’re probably right. As for us, however, it seems that this was just the opening act for something far greater to come.”
“I see you’ve been speaking with Reinko about the Order of the White Dragon.”
“Indeed I have. Secret business. Quite boring. We shall discuss it in further detail with some of our friends in the capital. Reinko only alluded to it, but there is a rather interesting plot developing regarding the Prince of Iryllium. I suspect your services will be requested once more.”
Godwin sighed. “I can think of no job in the world that would be worth working alongside my old master.”
“Yes, the White Dragon has thought of that. Trust me, they’re going to be quite convincing. The stakes really are much higher than a mere capital city. And Lyra will be the one they’ll use to ask you. They know you have a soft spot for her. That and plenty of guilt. But I suppose now is not the time to get into details about the fight ahead.”
Godwin looked out the window. The rain was still falling across hills littered with dead bodies. A somber scene.
“No. Let’s talk about it in the sunshine.”
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By C.S. Vass
The Gaellean Prophecy: A Dark Fantasy Series
Book One: Stars of Ice and Shadow
Book Two: The Music of Dragons
Book Three: The Magic of Elves
Songs of the Eternal Past: A YA Trilogy
Book One: Resonance
Book Two: Fractures
Book Three: Judgement
Trilogy Box Set