Victor Deus (Heritage of the Blood Book 1)

by Brent Lee Markee

  “Later... you can ask me later Victor. For now, it's time for a light breakfast.”

  Victor sniffed the air, nostrils flaring as he scented bacon, and promptly forgot every question he had been about to ask. “Yes, breakfast sounds good.”

  Nim had called it a light breakfast, but the meal laid out for them as they entered the dining hall was a grand display. Dishes of all kinds were piled high, with a variety of delicious foods that Victor was sure would please a King. After everyone had their fill the small group convened to the back veranda, taking in the crisp sea air as they overlooked the ocean. The veranda was just far enough back that the harbor walls were barely visible over the cliff's edge. Everyone seemed content with being lost in their own thoughts as they watched the gentle rise and fall of the ocean waves.

  The sun was halfway towards it's zenith when Bartholomew coughed lightly and informed the group that the tailor had sent more of the young master's clothing up. The packages had been left in the Visitor's room, which was located directly behind the Lion statue. Having exited to the outside from a door in the kitchen earlier, the boys had not yet to see the Visitor's room. Ashur looked at Nim and rolled his eyes, a knowing smile on his lips, when Nim opened the barely visible doors from the back veranda. It came as no surprise to either of the men when the boys both stopped dead in their tracks upon entering the room.

  The boys realized that they had yet to see just how much Nim enjoyed showing the world that he was was fabulously wealthy, and an exceptional artist. Over forty feet above their heads raged a battle between angels and demons amongst storm clouds. As the door closed behind them the boys looked upon a white sandy beach on a clear summers day, ocean disappearing into distant blue-green sky on the horizon to the West. Facing the North wall they saw what they would eventually learn was the Elven capital, Eske'Taure, as it might be seen from a hilltop overlooking the great forest that surrounds it. On the opposite wall to the South stood a tropical rainforest, creatures of all types hidden within it's untamed borders. What had caught and held the boys attention immediately upon entering the room however was on the Eastern wall. Draco'laire, as it might have looked thousands of years before the Blood Mages had stripped it of its beauty and turned it into the the city now known as Siniquity. Giant structures reached for the clouds, gleaming golden as the sunlight tore through to look upon the mountain city. Dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors roamed the once majestic city. Small forms could be seen along the sides of the streets running errands for their Draconic masters. It wasn't until they realized that these tiny figures were made up of the various races of Terrazil the shear magnitude of the once grand city truly came into focus however.

  Victor's initial amazement kept his head swirling trying to see the whole room at once before his thieves instincts began to come to the fore. He was fairly certain that there were six points of egress from the room, all of which fit into place so nicely that they barely disrupted the effect of the giant murals. The East and the West ends each held one, the West being the one they had just entered, and Victor assumed that the East door was behind the Lion statue in the entrance hall. Eske'Taure, the Elven city on the North wall held two doors, one which led to the kitchens, and the other led to the waiting room that they had all been in the night before. Two large sets of double doors on the southern wall led to another room or possibly two that Victor had yet to see.

  As they approached the center of the room Victor noticed that not even the floor had escaped from the obvious display of wealth. The floor tiles were a polished granite, that while difficult to move were probably the least ostentatious part of the room. No, what drew Victor's eye was the symbol that appeared to be floating just off the floor in the center of the room. When sitting on one of the oversized black velvet couches the symbol would be clearly visible, displaying to any who entered the allegiance of the houses owner.

  “What's this symbol?” Shawnrik asked, which got the other three people in the room to look at him funny. “Hey! Don't look at me like that, 'taint my fault I ain't never seen it before.”

  Before the two men could recover from what they obviously thought was a grievous oversight in the boy's education Victor jumped in to help his friend. “It's alright Shawn, it was just one of the first things I learned in school, it's not your fault that Walkins obviously didn't have enough pride in his home city to teach his boys this.” Victor nearly fell into a dark state of mind thinking about his former mentor before he realized he had not answered his friends question. “Ok, so... first of all, this is a knights shield, and you've more than likely seen the three masted warship that's on it out in the harbor before. Each of the sails holds a symbol for each of the branches of the Protectorate. On the first sail is a castle wall, the symbol for the Knights, which you probably know, what you might not know is that it symbolizes that each Knight is a wall holding back the tide of darkness. The second sail, which is on the tallest mast, had a crown upon it symbolizing of the Royal House of Terroval. Obviously, the reason it's on the tallest mast is because they are so much better than everyone else” Victor rolled his eyes as he finished that thought, displaying what he thought of that idea before he continued. “Upon the third sail are two open palms, the right palm holds a skeleton, and the left palm has a flower growing out of it, which is the symbol of the Mages. If I remember correctly, this reminds them, and everyone else, that they have both the power to destroy, and the power to create in the palm of their hands. Overlooking the warship, and therefore the three branches that are represented upon it, are the ever-vigilant eyes of the the Protectorate. The right eye reflects a hand holding a lightning bolt, while the left reflects the scales of justice, which remind the branches of the Protectorate that they must be ever vigilant, ready to use force when needed, but always with a level head. All of it together is the symbol for the city of Safeharbor.”

  Nim nodded along with Victor's comments said before saying, “a bit of a simplified explanation, but accurate none-the-less. This beautiful piece of work I had commissioned several years ago by none other than the Arch Magus himself. I'm told that the work behind it is extremely complex. In fact I believe I'm told that every time I have a Shaper of any ability whatsoever in this room, usually repeatedly. You can walk through it if you wish, it won't disrupt the thing.”

  Victor didn't have to be asked twice, moving into the field, amazement plain to see on his face. As he touched the energy of the shield that he could see, but which was not technically there a pulse of energy ran from his hand up into his neck. He could feel the magnitude of the will behind the creation of the symbol, and the pride of the man that made it. The Arch Magus was a man that obviously loved his city, and was more than proud to make such a thing, especially if it put enough gold in the academy's coffers to run it for a hundred years. How it was made was far beyond Victor's understanding however, all that he could discern was that it had something to do with the refraction of light. He knew that as long as nothing disturbed the stones that the energies were anchored to that this shaping would last a long time, possibly forever, if there was such a thing.

  On the oversized couches were two brown paper wrapped packages. The clothing inside was a lot like that of the day before, except of course it all would fit perfectly. There was a good variation in both shape, and the quality of the material within. Some of the shirts had long sleeves, and were of an exquisite quality, while the few with sleeves that stopped at the elbows were of a slightly rougher cloth. All of which were much finer quality than anything the boys had ever had before, even when Victor was staying with Shaylyn. There were half a dozen pairs of pants in all different shades of black and blue. Nim knew that the tailor would have had a dozen people working most of the night on the clothes, but he also knew that the money they would make for the clothes would feed them all for months. There was a set of shirts in each of the boy's bundles that had frills at the neck and wrists.

  “Hey Nim, I think they gave me a couple girl's shirts by accide
nt.” Victor said tongue-in-cheek as he held up one of the shirts.

  “Yeah, me too.” Shawnrik added, completely serious, which caused a round of laughter that made Victor feel bad for his joke a moment later when Shawnrik realized he was the butt of a joke that he didn't understand.

  “That is actually the fashion at parties these days.” Nim explained to Shawnrik, poking Victor in his side as he said it.

  “Yeah, sorry Shawn, I was making a joke. I have seen some people walking around in this junk when I wander the streets late at night.” Victor made a face to his friend, telling him that he didn't mean for Shawnrik to be the butt of the joke.

  “Oh, ok... yeah I can see that now...” Shawnrik still looked like he was having a hard time believing that any man would wear a shirt like the one he was holding however. “...I guess.”

  “I know how you feel little man,” Ashur said putting a hand on Shawnrik's shoulder, which actually wasn't all that far down from his own. “I don't like the frilly things either, but you stand out in polite society if you don't wear such a thing.”

  Having gone through the clothing and found them acceptable Nim called for Lia and Megan to bring the clothes up to the boys rooms and put them away. The boys went red faced and explained they were fully capable of doing it themselves before the girls gently took the packages explaining that it was their job to do so. Nim then said that they had some planning to do, and the best place to do planning is in the Library.

  Heading towards the Southern doors Nim reached into the trunk of one of the trees in the rainforest and swung the door open. The room they entered was a large open space with a beautiful wooden floor.

  “This... Is the showroom. It's where I like to show off my artwork to the rich and famous of the city, it's also the place we hold ballroom dances, and receptions if the weather is too cold.” Walking across the floor, the soles of their shoes making a sound that echoed throughout the room, they approached another door across from where they had entered.

  The Library was the largest room in the house. It took up half of the left side of the house. There was a walkway about ten feet up that ran around the room and served as a second floor. Nim led them to the back of the room where the same chess board they had seen the night before was set up. He and Ashur each sat down at the table without another word to begin a game. Victor and Shawnrik sat at a bench a few feet away for a couple minutes watching the two until they started to get bored.

  “What are we doing?” Victor asked

  “We're having a strategy session. This is where we plan out what we're going to do.” Nim said while studying the board.

  “It looks to me like you're playing a game.” Shawnrik barely managed to not whine his complaint.

  “Yes, it would seem like that to the untrained eye, but chess is a game of strategy, where you must anticipate your enemy by as many moves as you can.” Nim was speaking in a lecturing tone.

  “What exactly are we planning? Can't we just go in and talk with him?” Victor asked also not understanding the whole chess board planning.

  “They're killing my concentration.” Ashur looked at Nim pleadingly, causing Nim to shrug in defeat.

  “Fine, no chess today. First of all Victor, what if you get there and the Blood Mages are waiting for you? What are you going to do? I know your good, but you are no where near a fully trained and practiced Blood Mage... are you?” The last two words came out as more of a direct question than a rhetorical one so Victor shook his head no, which caused Nim to let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. “Siniquitanites are a vicious lot as it is, conniving and deceitful. They are a big part of the continents slave trade for Cypheria's sake! Then we have to deal with Michael C. Walkins, or as you know him Ol' man Walkins. He's a whole heap of trouble as it is, without the Blood Mages being added in to the mix. You can't just run into these things head first.”

  Ashur laughed, “Yeah, no ones ever done that before.”

  Nim silenced him with a quick glare that both of the boys caught.

  “Why not, you and Ashur do it all the time.” Victor knew what Ashur had meant, and was now using it against Nim. Ashur let out a big Guffaw, and Nim put his hand over his face.

  “See what you did.” Nim said beneath his hand. “I try to teach the boys careful planning, and you had to go and mess it up.”

  “It's not like we know what careful planning is anyway Nim.” Ashur said truthfully. “I don't think we've planned for any engagement in our lives. Just made sure we had enough food and water for a long trip and our weapons were sharp. Hell, we go down huntin' in them sewers and caverns every couple Eighthdays, and I don't ever remember strategizin' over what we were going to do.”

  “That's because we've worked together for so long that we know what the other person is going to do, and we don't need to talk about it. Now we are bringing new people into the equation, we need to plan.” Nim knew he was losing the argument, but he wanted to voice his opinion.

  “We'll figure it out as we go along.” Victor stated with finality, standing up from the table.

  Nim through his hands up in a concession of defeat. His first strategy session with the boys was a complete failure.

  *****

  As the group made their way towards the Dock's District, Victor looked at Nim. “So, where are you two going to be when Shawnrik and I go in?”

  “See, these are the kinds of details that get covered in a strategy session.” Nim quickly retorted.

  Shawnrik raised an eyebrow before looking towards Ashur, “Is he pouting?”

  “I am not pouting!” Nim said while crossing his arms in front of himself.

  “Well, if it isn't called pouting, what's it called? 'Cause it doesn't suit you at all.” Ashur told Nim as they rounded a corner.

  “I am not pouting. I am simply saying that we could have had all of these details covered, and I want someone to admit I'm right!”

  “Fine, your right Nim. Next time we will have a better strategy session. As to what we are about to do though, what are you guys going to do?” Victor couldn't help the small grin that formed as Nim let out a small sigh.

  “I still can't believe you were pouting.” Ashur hung his head, acting like he was ashamed of his friend.

  “I wasn't pouting...” Nim huffed, “Ashur and I will be on the roof next door. If we hear or see anything funny going on we'll come in and assist. What's your plan of engagement Victor?”

  “Oh, I don't plan on getting married for a long time Nim… Why you have someone in mind?” Victor asked, confusion clearly .

  Nim shook his head, “Engagement, as in your attack plan. What do you plan on doing?”

  “Well you should have said my attack plan; you made it sound like you wanted my plan for marriage.” Victor winked at Nim, letting him know that he knew what the man had meant all along.

  “Sharper, much Sharper.” Ashur said, laughing as Nim gave him a sharp look.

  “Well, I figure that I will just walk in the front door. Maybe lead up with some talk about how there was another robber there, and how he got to the manacles first. Then I can say that Shawnrik and I were being chased and we hid out until we thought it was safe. Then I'll work in the harder questions.” Victor's mind was working overtime, and he almost stepped in a steaming pile that a horse had thoughtlessly dropped a short while earlier.

  “That sounds like a good plan.” Nim replied, “We should separate now, Ashur and I know the way to The Serpent's Dagger. We'll meet you there.”

  “Ok, see you there.” Victor met Nim's eyes before they left and the look he gave told the older man Don't worry, I've got this.

  Victor and Shawnrik continued down the street, heading towards their former home, and the confrontation to come. A few blocks before they would reach The Serpent's Dagger Victor pulled Shawnrik into a small alcove away from prying eyes. Pulling in the potential particles around them Victor set about hardening their skin and clothes, just enough to potentially limit the damage dealt
should they be hit by any sort of weapon. The next thing he did was create two temporary traps that would only trigger under the right circumstances. The first was a simple shaping that would create a quick, but strong gust of wind that would deflect any small projectiles away from the boys. The second was another simple, yet effective trap. It's purpose was to absorb the kinetic energy from any impacts upon the boys skin or clothes, it would then re-purpose that energy into maintaining, or renewing the other two Shapings. Shawnrik didn't ask what Victor was doing, he never did, and Victor wasn't in the mood to talk anyway. They arrived at The Serpent's Dagger as the sun was nearing the horizon. Victor and Shawnrik walked around the back and went up the stairs. Each of them took a deep breath as they reached the landing, before Victor reached out his hand to open the door.

  Ol' man Walkins was sitting at the table, a deck of cards spread out before him. He looked up sharply when the door opened, but upon seeing Victor and Shawnrik entering he smiled. Victor saw it for what it was though, a crooked grin that never seemed to reach his eyes. The fake smile dropped from his face when he saw the clothes that clothes that the boys were wearing, which immediately turned into a frown when he saw the scowl on Victor's face.

  “Boys, it's good to see you. Where are the manacles?” His tone was jovial, but Victor watched as the man's hand went under the table to slide the dagger out of its sheath that he kept there. Victor knew that Ol' man Walkins wouldn't take any chances when dealing with Shawnrik or himself, he had trained them too well for that.

  “We don't have the manacles.” Victor said bluntly “You'll have to tell the Siniquitan's that we couldn't get it.”

  Shawnrik's mouth fell open as his mind registered what his friend had just said. He had expected Victor to stick to what he had told Nim he would do, but obviously the plan had changed somewhere between there and here. “Vic, what happened to playing it cool?”

  “Why Victor, I don't know what your talking about.” Ignoring Shawnrik's question Walkins shook his head. “Who has filled your head with these lies? Tell me, and I'll make sure they can't do it again.”