Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1)

by Jonathan Michael

  A dark, bulky figure races around the bend. My stomach flies to the ceiling as I fall to the ground, not without agonizing pain. My escort slams against the wall—serves him right—hits the stairs, and tumbles down several steps beyond where Stone lies. Helios tickles me with his whiskers and plants his scratchy tongue on my cheek. My lips curl into a smile despite the pain.

  “Jay! You’re okay! Helios, you too!” Stone climbs from the steps and pats Helios on the head with a quick scratch behind the ear. Jaymes is mounted on his back, along with a young man. “Elder, what about you? Are you okay?”

  “No. Not really.” I lie limp on the uncomfortable stone steps, unable to do much without the use of my legs. I’m not accustomed to this paraplegic thing yet and am not sure if I ever will be. Stone assists me into a seated position.

  “Good. Who’s this?” Stone says with an untrusting glare aimed at the newcomer, not hearing what I said. “Wait. You were in Harris’s chamber. You were with the general. What are you doing here?” Stone’s fists clench and tremble with anticipation.

  The young man has a sparkling white smile, with dark, straight hair fitted into a crisp hard part. And green eyes the color of a watermelon rind. He’s mounted behind Stone’s sister. I think I’d be threatened too if it were my sister.

  He’s dressed in a dark-green silk vest with white trim and tan leather slacks. He’s well-groomed and obviously comes from a family of high stature, which leads me to believe he has ulterior motives for helping us. Why would a man with a presumed bright future be willing to aid three soon-to-be fugitives?

  “Goose. Goose Greyson, your gallant and courageous savior,” he boasts. Much more confident than when we saw him in Harris’s chamber. “More time for my introduction later. We need to flee. Here’s my brilliant plan—”

  “I don’t care about your brilliant plan,” Stone interrupts. “Like you said, we need to flee. Let’s just get out of here.”

  I have the impression Goose’s pride isn’t bruised in the slightest.

  Our savior hops off Helios and assists Stone with getting me mounted in front of Jaymes so she can keep me stable. I wonder if these will be my legs for eternity.

  We climb several hundred steps—more steps than what it took to get down. And the bottom of the staircase was never in sight, which leads me to believe those cells must have been four or five stories belowground. We truly were on our way to the depths of the four hells. A place where you put people to forget about them.

  At the top landing, the door we originally entered is knocked off its hinges and lying flat on the ground. That must’ve been the thud we heard.

  “Lead the way, savior,” Stone mocks.

  We have no reason to trust this guy. He hasn’t saved us yet, so Stone’s sarcastic remarks, although harsh, aren’t unwarranted. His overconfidence weeps out of him like tears from a crying baby. A lousy first impression. But he’s our only option. So, being unable to dismount Helios and hit Stone in the shoulder like I want to, I just narrow my eyes at him. Hopefully, he’ll keep his snide remarks to himself from now on.

  “Will do. Follow me.” Goose doesn’t seem to notice Stone’s facetiousness. “Oh…before it’s too late. Here you go.” He unstraps a pair of sheathed swords from his shoulder harness and hands it to Stone.

  “Life Bringer,” Stone mutters to himself. A small grin makes its way onto his face.

  “I’m a man with many connections to the guard. You can thank me later,” he says.

  What arrogance. Stone is obviously grateful, but Goose’s attitude almost negates it.

  We quietly head through the open doorway and down a long corridor with windows. It’s dark outside, either late evening or early morning with a slight glow leaking into the windows. It’s eerily silent. Stone nor Goose are making noise with their footsteps. And Helios would never. The only sound comes from the calming current of the thunder lanterns hanging on the walls.

  We sneak down the corridor and up a flight of steps without any trouble. It leads directly to the Grand Atrium of the Redwood Chamber. I recognize this room from previous visits with Stone’s family.

  Stone halts and presses behind one of the large petrified redwood pillars.

  Harris Martelli stands across the room, talking with a woman clad all in red from head to toe. She wears a garment comprised of wide silk ribbon wrapped tightly around her, as opposed to tunic and trousers. The ribbon consumes her entirety, including her head, save one eye. The only reason I know it to be a woman is the contours of her figure.

  “Helios, hold.” Stone whispers dominantly. Helios stops. Both Jaymes and I freeze on his back and Goose too. Stone quickly yanks on Helios’ reins, pulling him back to duck out of sight.

  The Grand Atrium is large. At least forty paces across with pillars large enough to conceal the lot of us. They’re arrayed every ten paces or so along the perimeter of the room. The Taoiseach and the Woman-in-Red are on the opposite side, standing at another entrance to the hall.

  We cautiously move from one pillar to the next, maintaining our cover. Two more before we’re close enough to dash to the exit—and freedom.

  The chamber is well lit due to the dome of sky-blue, translucent glass centered above the room. Signs of morning sun flood the space with light.

  It’s quite an exquisite room once I give it my full attention. The stone floor is a terra color with patches of rune grass at the base of the pillars. The pillars themselves are the ancient redwood trees that once grew in abundance throughout the city. These few preserved for eternity. And with the ceiling and dome the same color as a cloudless sky, it feels as if we’re in an ancient redwood forest. I half expect to see birds flying above.

  As we slip to the next redwood pillar, Stone stumbles over his own feet. His long bird-legs are unable to keep him balanced and he crashes to the floor out in plain sight. Stone immediately pushes himself up and heads for the exit in a dead sprint. Helios right beside him with Jaymes and I on his back. Goose, trying to comprehend what is happening, hesitates, then sprints toward the exit as well.

  “Stop!” Harris yells in an emotionless, threatening tone.

  Planks of ironwood slam down, barring the doors in front of us. We’re trapped.

  The Taoiseach rips a handful of rune grass from the nearest pillar and hands it to the Woman-in-Red. With a flick of her wrist, the steel-edged rune grass fires toward us with an incredible velocity. Is the Woman-in-Red a Hiberneyt? Her green eye says otherwise. And the Taoiseach is a Dihkai, so he wouldn’t be able to manipulate the grass in that way. Would he? They’re flying like daggers.

  “Duck!” someone yells. Everyone falls to the ground, save for me. I, unfortunately, remain on Helios’ back, incapable of any other option.

  Helios, like all tigers, attacks when threatened. He charges, bulling through the rigid blades as he rushes the Taoiseach and the Woman-in-Red. And I am lucky enough to charge with him.

  Not fond of this onslaught, I roll off, hitting the stone floor with an abrupt thud. The pain is minimal compared to what I’ve experienced recently. I check myself for lacerations from the rune grass. I don’t see any blood, but both my tunic and trousers are littered with slices. Then, a deep-red color propagates around each of them. I hadn’t even noticed the grass slice through my flesh.

  The Taoiseach fixes into a defensive stance, preparing for Helios’ attack. He’s a confident, skilled, and powerful man, but it’s suicidal to wait for a full-grown tiger to attack you.

  The Woman-in-Red has more common sense and eludes Helios with a graceful tuck and roll to her left.

  Helios leaps toward the Taoiseach with claws the size of daggers fully extended. The Taoiseach parries too late, receiving a large gash in his left shoulder. In retaliation, the Taoiseach grabs the cat’s reins as he blazes past him. The tiger jerks to a halt, and the Taoiseach leaps onto his back. The tyrant handles his mane with one hand, the other still holding the reins. Helios’s rage subsides rather quickly. It’s no surprise if it�
�s anything like what I experienced. But from the Taoiseach? Is he a Grim? Capable of both Hiberneyt and Dihkai talents. The most feared of the Graft races.

  The Woman-in-Red runs toward us, bringing my focus back to the threat at hand. I shout to the others for them to find an alternate escape route, and I see Jaymes doing everything within her power to take down the ironwood barricade blocking our way. Despite her minimal training at age eleven, she makes great progress, slowly breaking down the wood into rotten mulch.

  “We need to buy Jaymes some time,” Stone says to Goose.

  Goose responds without delay and uses the Woman-in-Red’s own weapon against her. He grabs a handful of rune grass from the patch nearest us and squelches. He attempts to throw them, and they flutter to the ground. Frowning, he looks down at his hands covered in blood and balls them into tight fists. He raises them in front of his face, readying himself for hand-to-hand combat.

  Behind the Woman-in-Red, Helios gathers enough strength to buck the Taoiseach, throwing him against one of the redwoods. The Taoiseach lies at the base of the pillar like a dark shadow. Motionless and harmless, for the moment.

  The beast charges after the Woman-in-Red. She’s only paces away from Goose with a hybrid claymore in hand raised high above her head. Her arms drop, the blade with them. Goose stands frozen, acting the part of a training dummy. Then, Helios leaps through the air and pounces on her back, and her blade falls away, nearly cutting through a stupefied Goose. She smashes the ground at Goose’s feet and he regains his wits, leaping out of the way. Helios pins her down. She lies still as a corpse.

  Right behind Goose, Jaymes drops to the ground as well, fatigued. The door is weak but still bars the way.

  Goose retrieves the large claymore lying next to the Woman-in-Red. With much anguish, he heaves it into the air and swings it at the ironwood door. But his attempt is meager. The blade is too heavy for him. He cannot wield it with authority the way she handled it. He tries piercing through the ironwood next. The point of the blade barely punctures it. Hopeless. He looks at the blade as though there’s something wrong with it. Then he drops it and shrugs his shoulders.

  The ironwood is living up to its reputation. How are we going to flee now?

  Suddenly, I see it. The massive beast that is our ally. “Stone, what about Helios?” I grumble from the ground.

  Goose’s brow twerks inward as he gawps at me like I’m a halfwit.

  “Helios?” Stone questions my scheme too. “Helios! You’re right!” Helios perks up with his name being repeated. “Helios, attack!” Stone points toward the door. The tiger looks at him, tilting his head with confusion. Stone starts banging on the door with his fists, and repeats, “Helios, attack!” The tiger tilts his head with confusion. He steps forward to the barricade and paws at it with one paw, then sits.

  “No, Helios. Like this.” Stone pounds on the door some more. The tiger watches him, but nothing more.

  Goose flares. “Lousy beast! Get off your ass and help!” The two glare at each other for a long moment. There’s an odd silence. Then, Helios stands on his hind legs and claws at the door with hostility.

  The three of us gape at Goose. Befuddled.

  “That was great, Goose!” Stone escalates him.

  “It really was,” Jaymes agrees with a tired voice.

  A wide smile sits on his face. Goose shrugs his shoulders with the subtle addition of a muscle flex and minute fist pump to congratulate himself.

  “That’s it! That’s it, boy.” Stone continues to beat on the door.

  Helios shreds at the door with more vigor. He tears at the thin layer of remaining ironwood and breaks away larger chunks periodically with his massive teeth. Within moments, he has a small hole in the barricade. Goose and Stone help peel away the ironwood until there’s a hole large enough for all to squeeze through.

  Goose compresses his body and pushes himself through first. Once through, he assists Jaymes. Helios leaps through the hole with the rim pressing hard into his fur. But he makes it. Then Stone gestures that it’s my turn. Instead of trying to crawl toward him, I slump to the ground. Light-headed. Exhausted. He rushes to my side. “Elder? Elder?” he says as he drags me to the door, leaning me upright against it. He can’t get my limp body through on his own.

  “C’mon, Stone!” I hear Jaymes’s voice calling from the other side.

  “Too much blood,” I respond, followed by a small cough. I pull my hand away from my mouth and see blood. I gesture down to my tunic with a nod of my head. Stone sees it. My entire tunic is red. The lacerations are too many. “Don’t let them execute me, Stone,” I grumble.

  “No. I can’t leave you.”

  He presses his palms to my flesh, needling his fingers through the holes in my tunic. He understands what I’m asking for. It would be hard for most men, so I don’t judge him for trying to save what is already lost.

  “I don’t want to burn, Stone. There isn’t any time.” I point to the rising Woman-in-Red behind him.

  Stone looks, and his breath escapes him. He freezes. The Woman-in-Red rises to one knee, gathering her wits. Her one visible eye narrows in on us.

  “I’m sorry, Elder.” Stone unsheathes Life Bringer. He looks to the Woman-in-Red. Then back to me. He plants the tip of his blade above my collar bone and presses down, piercing it through my heart. I see him scramble through the exit and make his way to freedom. I let out a muffled sigh. A weight lifts. Crimson shadows envelop me, giving me my own freedom to return to Azure.

  Not all my colleagues, if I can call them as such anymore, approve of the path we have taken. Nonetheless, we—the first four—are still here. I urge them to run. To go into hiding. To carry that power, a destructive power in the hands of man, and protect it as faith makes its climb.

  49 Goose

  F airview is planted in her wooden rocking chair outside her hollow. Thunder lanterns are aglow, but not quite needed yet. The chair she sits in looks as tired as she does. Her aging skin, sunken below her eyes, hangs a little lower on her cheeks today. But the light in her eyes and the energy in her voice is full of life as it always is. Her body is failing her wits and wisdom.

  There is a small group of children, all plopped on their rears with their legs crossed, sitting in front of Fairview in a loose semicircle, listening intently. Their ages range from tyke to adolescent, and all their attention is fixated solely on Fairview. I am impressed with how she manages to entrance a crowd of such a wide age range. Not one of them looks away from her to see Graytu and me approaching.

  “Now, I trust each of you brought your test subject to practice on today. Is anyone in need of their own little critter? I’ve managed to gather a few extras in case one of you came ill-prepared.” Fairview pitches to her side, taking much time to extend her hand into a crate, and retrieves a furry, grey squirrel. She strains to lift herself back up but manages.

  “Chippie!” Graytu interrupts the lesson in a perturbed fashion. He looks to his empty shoulder, not realizing Chippie had left. “How dare you! You old wench… I mean… That squirrel is… He’s not a guinea pig. How dare you use him for one of your experiments!”

  Fairview looks to Graytu with an all-knowing grin on her face and shoots him a wink. Her premeditated actions return just the reaction she was expecting. These two behave as a married couple with more seasons than anticipated behind their vows.

  “Class, you all know the wise and grumpy elder, Chief Graytu.” She lifts her hand and gestures in his direction.

  “Hello, Chief Graytu,” they all say in unison.

  “And this young fellow—young in my eyes at least—if you haven’t had the chance to meet him during his stay, is Goose Greyson of House Greyson. He visits us in search of knowledge. Do any of you have any knowledge you’d like to share with him?” she asks her pupils.

  “Don’t pick your nose while eating supper!” one dirty fellow yells.

  “Very wise, Samson, but I would wager Goose is well aware of that one.” She sends a pe
rsuasive look my way. “Does anyone else have anything they would like to share with Goose?”

  “Yes,” a familiar voice says, but her back is turned. “Don’t piss off any large and ferocious apes,” the young girl announces and turns to look at me.

  “Zoie!” I whisper. My hand shoots in the air, but I don’t wait for Fairview to call on me. “Always respect your elders, regardless of how little they understand of this world.” My lips flatten at first, focusing on Zoie, but I can’t resist a large grin.

  “Alright, that’s enough banter. Class, we’re done for today. You’re dismissed. And that includes you, Zoie.” Fairview gets to her feet, much more nimbly than what she displayed just moments ago, and shoos the children away with her hands. “Move on now. Move on. You don’t have to go home, but get off my front porch.”

  Some of the children flee with a look of fear in their eyes, and others tease the old woman, running circles around her, laughing as she tries to rid them from the wooden deck in front of her hollow.

  Eventually, they all flee. Zoie too, but not before slugging me in the arm.

  “Children these days…” Fairview adds. “They don’t respect the elderly, do they? I blame the parents. They need to start smacking them around more. It’d teach them a little fear and discipline, if you ask me.”

  “Well…” Graytu speaks up, “…is she what you expected? She may appear neglected, but I do promise you, she is well respected. Like an old lady who’s outlived her welcome, waiting to be resurrected.”

  “Excuse me, Chief Grey-to-the-Bone,” Fairview rebuttals. “That’s what the children call you behind your back, you know. You act as if you don’t have an old, grumpy bone in your body. Truth is, that’s all you’re made of.”

  “Goose, this…” He unfurls an upward-facing palm with a gentle curtsy. “…is Fairview Windblown. Known to many as Old Lady Windblown, or, more formally, The Old Grumpy Goat of Greybark.” Fairview scorns him with her eyes, but Graytu fails to acknowledge it. “Although her old age brings a bad temper and obstinacy, it also is accompanied by the wisdom of the Old Races. It is her knowledge you seek. I’ll leave you two be.”