Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

by Laszlo,Jeremy

  “Kanth can. Lycans can, Master Zorbin.”

  “Very well, Kanth. The guard is yours. I shall be seeing ye in the morning.”

  With nothing more than a nod from the Lycan, Zorbin left the guard captain’s shack below the city wall and turned to head back to the castle. Surprisingly, all seemed to be going splendidly. The city’s defenses were very nearly rebuilt. The streets had all been cleared and were in the process of repair. The various tradesmen’s guilds were no longer at odds now that they had supplies from sixth and seven square. Even the guard was no longer undermanned. Perhaps Zorbin had been wrong all along, and Garret could see far more clearly than he had imagined.

  * * * * *

  Walking within the shadows of the buildings as she progressed down the street, Anna followed a young man who carried a toddler on his shoulders. From time to time she was forced to duck into an alleyway or a side street to avoid being seen by passersby, but thus far she had managed to go unnoticed.

  Although her thirst and arousal rose within her, it was not the purpose of this little tryst, and as such she ignored them as best she was able, focusing instead on her plan to glean her husband’s intentions. Looking back over her shoulder, she assured herself that this portion of the street was vacant before picking up her pace. Matching strides with the man to avoid him hearing her approach, Anna closed the gap until she was right on top of her chosen target.

  Able to use her strength unrestrained by the need to hide her actions, Anna grasped the man’s neck from behind and jerked him off his feet, flinging both the man and child to the cobblestones with a crunch. Working fast, she silenced the child’s screams, pulling its small soft head from its body before ripping the torso in two and flinging the parts down the alley next to her. The child disposed of, she dragged the man into the darkening alley before biting into his flesh savagely, and tearing away hunks of meat, careful not to get his blood on her clothing.

  Stepping on the man’s shoulder, she twisted and pulled, ripping his arm free, first from the socket, and then from his body. Tossing it aside, she tried to control her urges as it hit the ground with a splat. The deed complete, she glanced about quickly, locating a window just down the alley.

  Slipping through the open void in the wall, she snatched the linens off the bed in the room and used them to wipe clean her face and hands, licking what the cloth could not absorb. Stuffing the soiled cloth under the bed in the room before slipping back out the same way she had come in, she made her way past the recently deceased, striding back into the street. Picking up her pace, Anna began crying and screaming, hoping to draw attention from a human member of the guard. Towards the outer wall she ran, knowing that if anywhere, members of the guard would be here swapping war stories or talking about women and their conquests.

  * * * * *

  Hearing the screams of a woman, Zorbin turned down the side street and raced towards the sound. Rounding another corner, the screaming woman came into view in the failing light and Zorbin was surprised to find Lady Anna, so far from the castle, wandering the streets. Behind her, a group of Lycan soldiers raced to intercept as well, and suddenly Zorbin’s guts twisted into knots. Something was horribly wrong here.

  “They did it,” Anna cried. “They killed the little baby and her father too.”

  “What? Who be killing babes?” Zorbin questioned. Without hesitation, Anna spun and pointed her pale finger through the darkness at the approaching Lycans. With his heart beating in his chest, Xanth must have sensed his distress as their link became active, Zorbin’s mind being flooded with images of homes and streets as the dire wolf raced through the city looking for him.

  “What happened?” Zorbin demanded, coming to a stop and grabbing Lady Anna by the elbow.

  “They tore them to pieces for nothing and then began chasing me.”

  Zorbin knew it. He had been right all along. The creatures were not trustworthy. They were killing innocent people and would have killed Anna too, had they caught her. Ripping his battle hammer from his back, Zorbin prayed to Gorandor, invoking his blessing as he exploded in size. Charging forward, he let loose a battle cry and brought the head of his hammer down upon the first foe, splattering its remains all over the street and walls of the nearest houses.

  Twisting to the left, he swung at another Lycan as three leapt upon him, scratching, clawing, and biting. Smashing his target in the ribs, he let loose his axe with one thick hand and began ripping the creatures free from his flesh. Flinging them away as he tore them loose, Zorbin felt another tear into his back as two more raced in from his peripherals. He was going to have to end this skirmish quickly, before they overwhelmed him.

  Bringing his hammer to bear once more, he lashed out, smashing another of the creatures between his weapon and the wall of a home as splinters of wood exploded into the air. Arcing back the other direction, he clipped the shoulder of one of the beasts, sending it sprawling across the cobblestones as a familiar growl cut through the air.

  Like a hound straight from the depths of hell, the blessed form of Xanth lunged into the fray. Driving a Lycan down onto its back, the giant dire wolf ripped its head free from its body with a vicious shake of his massive maw. Happy for the backup, Zorbin twisted to locate his next foe and swung just as another of the creatures leapt upon his back.

  Smashing his opponent from the force of the swing alone, Zorbin watched as fur, meat, and gore turned into pink mist in the air as an image of his own back flashed through his mind. Grinning, he felt as the Lycan was torn from his flesh to be ripped into ribbons by his closest friend and brother.

  Turning this way and that, Zorbin looked for another foe, but none were to be seen. Xanth had tipped the scales nicely. Patting the wolf on the head, he turned his attention to the shadows nearby. Spying Anna just a short distance away, he closed off the power surging into himself, shrinking back to his normal size with a pop.

  “My lady, are you unharmed?”

  “I’m fine, good dwarf. Just a bit frightened.”

  “As well you should be, my lady… As well you should be. These be dangerous times.”

  “I just can’t believe they are so ruthless. They seem totally under control in the training grounds.”

  “They be beasts, my lady, and unnatural ones to boot.”

  “I suppose you are right. You always have been. You’ve never trusted this plan have you?”

  “I trust my king, my lady, but admittedly, I thought he would find another way.”

  “Do you think he has another way? Some other plan to bring his brother to justice?”

  “He may. By Gorandor I certainly hope so, but if there is another plan in the works, I am afraid the king no longer consults me. Why don’t ye show me the scene of this murder ye saw, so that I can be reporting it accurately.”

  “Of course, Lord Zorbin.”

  “Then me needs to be seeing the king, to get these creatures off the streets.”

  “I’ll join you to tell of what I saw.”

  “That would be well, my lady, Garret is consumed by his want for revenge, I am not sure if my word alone would be enough.”

  Following Anna’s lead, Zorbin and Xanth walked at her side back the way she had come. After having crossed several intersections, and rounding a corner, Zorbin stood at the end of a darkened alley, looking down upon a pair of ruined bodies just as Sara had stated. Torn limb from limb, the bodies were dumped as if their killers had no regard for human life. Shaking his head, Zorbin nodded to Anna, silently telling her that he had seen enough.

  Arriving at the castle complex, Zorbin followed Anna towards the Lycan training grounds. It was a place that made him uncomfortable at the best of times, but now that he had proof of the creatures’ true nature it seemed like a fiery hell. Passing through the gate, he saluted the guard on duty and looked past the man to row upon row of fur-covered bodies.

  Immediately the giant, nearly ten-acre facility went eerily silent as thousands of feral eyes turned on him. Realizing th
at somehow the monsters knew already that he had killed their kin, Zorbin placed his hand on the pommel of his hammer as many of the beasts’ lips drew back in feral snarls, baring their razor-sharp teeth. Even so, they held their ranks, refusing to move.

  Watching them with a wary eye, the dwarven knight strode ahead, following in Anna’s wake as the beasts parted for her, only to close in tightly around him, breathing down his neck and raising the hair on his arms. He could feel their desire to lunge upon him as their brethren had done, and smell the stench of rotting flesh on their breath. As the creatures’ handlers began to shout and give commands once more, Zorbin thought that perhaps the tension would ease, but such was not the case. Instead, the beasts ignored their masters, glued to his every movement. This little meeting could not be over soon enough.

  “There you two are,” came the booming voice of the king. “What might this be all about?” Garret gestured towards the Lycans who still behaved as if ready to pounce.

  “Me good friend,” Zorbin began. “There’s been an incident. A terrible deed. As I’ve warned ya, these monsters cannot be trusted.”

  From behind and all around Zorbin the sounds of snarls grew louder, the thirst for his blood even more evident. Several of the Lycans took a step towards him, but the dwarf knew that the king’s presence held them at bay.

  “Lady Anna here witnessed the beasts killing two people in the streets. They just tore the bodies to pieces and left them in an alley. I’m tellin’ ye that these things can’t be trusted.”

  Zorbin watched Garret’s face as it twisted into deep concentration. The king looked from him to the Lycans and back, before turning his gaze upon the shapely young Anna.

  “I can see you are distressed, love. Is this what you saw?”

  “Of course not, my darling Garret. I only came with the dwarf for fear that he would kill me as he killed several of your loyal Lycans. But I cannot repeat his lie, even if he threatened me in order to make me do so.”

  Zorbin couldn’t believe what he had heard as he was thrown backwards from his feet as a concussive boom filled the training grounds as Garret’s blessing was invoked.

  Chapter Eight

  From atop the newly constructed city wall, Sara watched her husband upon the field of battle. The evening was growing late as smoke curled up from the many fires out on the field like the ghosts of the fallen. Here and there bodies lay strewn about like so much garbage and already the carrion birds had come to begin picking apart the maggot-infested, bloated bodies. All Drakenhurst’s defenders on the wall looked upon their king in silence, waiting and watching for the enemy to return. Sara watched as well, but only halfheartedly. She could see her husband, the field, and all the carnage, but her mind kept returning to the body that lay where her feet now stood upon the wall.

  Seth had died. Again. Of that she was certain. But she too had witnessed him reborn from the flesh of an old, dying man. Whether her husband believed it himself or not, he was a god. It was the only explanation that made sense. No other being could wield power such as her husband did. He could mold it to his will. He could see life’s inner workings and alter them, destroy them, or even rebuild them. He had been visited by gods and spoken with them. He could feel and see things impossible to conceive of, and yet he was still a man. He was flesh and bone with a heart of a lion. He was caring and loving, yet at the same time powerful and regal. It was true he had done much harm in discovering his path, but he owned it, shouldering the burden of all his failures and soldiering on. He was both mighty and vulnerable and wore both faces well.

  Under different circumstances, could she bear a child, Seth would have made the perfect father. She had seen the proof of it in days past, but his interaction with the boy just moments ago made Sara long for that which she knew was impossible. She would never be a mother, and he would never be the perfect father he was meant to be. It was a sad realization, but one she would have to come to terms with.

  Trying to put the feelings away, Sara knew the last thing Seth needed was to see the saddened look on her face and burden himself with her own inner turmoil. No. Instead she would be grateful for what she had, as it was more than most. She would use her position to make the lives of her people easier, and do all she could in support of Seth, no matter where it took her. After all, he was the key to everything.

  She only hoped that in this new world he planned to create, there would be a chance for him to be happy, and perhaps a time when they could start over.

  * * * * *

  Borrik stood poised in a crouched position upon the edge of the wall overlooking his master. He’d failed Seth twice now, and been forced to watch him die each time, but it wouldn’t happen again. No blessed warrior or army of assassins would thwart him this time.

  As he watched he mulled over Seth’s plan. It did seem logical, no matter how much he wished there was a better option. His king was smart and cunning. It made sense that if his solitary presence had drawn out the assassin once, it might do so again. But what if they were wrong?

  If the assassin could move about unseen at will, who was to say he wasn’t among the troops on the wall when Seth announced his plan to Sara and him? Who was to say he wasn’t there now, watching the king with a grin on his face?

  Borrik swiveled his thick head around to each side, eyeing the expressions painted on the troops around him. Not far down the wall, Guard Commander Xander stood with a spear poised at the ready, which he could hurl down into the chest of anyone who might suddenly appear. No. There were no treacherous assassins here. Not now anyhow.

  Turning his sight back on Seth, Borrik noted his master’s look of absolute concentration. Still, all remained the same. Littering the ground were abandoned weapons, corpses and mud churned up from the thousands of trampling feet. Here and there fires blazed, either from magical blasts, or from strategic locations from which the enemy could see their walls during the night.

  Across the field a handful of abandoned pendants still flew in the breeze as smoke was carried away towards the west. Nothing stirred on the field minus the crows that picked at remains, and the insects that were beginning to come out with the setting of the sun. Borrik knew the enemy would return, the only question was when.

  * * * * *

  Seth stood motionless in the mud and blood-smeared field, neither blinking nor breathing. Beyond the city walls he could see mothers ushering their children into their homes, praying for the safe return of morning. On the walls his brave defenders stood at their posts in defiance of their mortal needs for rest and food. These were good people, loyal people, who had given him their trust.

  Atop the wall every eye was focused on him and he could sense the nervousness in the air. All knew that the enemy would return, but there was no telling when. All they could do was wait.

  In the field of battle, Seth watched every aura. So far, three hundred and twenty-seven crows had come to the feast beneath which billions of insects crawled both beneath and above the soil. Flies and mosquitos had begun to swarm and even a lonely fox darted about the fringes, likely frightened by the strong scent of men. All was precisely as it should be at such a time in such a place. It felt too right.

  It felt all wrong.

  Seth knew he was missing something. He could feel it in his bones. Something was not as it seemed.

  Swallowing the silence like a horn blast, a great rush of air trumpeted the arrival of the invading army as a deafening roar from both sides erupted and fire, lightning, and ice lanced into the sky. Prepared for the attack this time, Seth siphoned the power from the magical attacks making them vanish just as quickly as they had appeared.

  With the world moving in slow motion around him, the king of Drakenhurst reached out to the magical umbilicals of those blessed in the ranks of his foes and prepared to rip them away, as the enemy vanished yet again leaving him with nothing to look upon but trampled gore and mud.

  It was as if the world had exhaled them, then they vanished as they were inhaled onc
e more. Then, expecting another lengthy wait, the blast came again, and again an army stood around him.

  Reaching out to grasp at those he had located just a fraction of a second before, he found the blessed mages of the enemy missing. Gone. To a man. Extracted.

  Reeling in confusion, Seth sought among those on the field for a single man blessed with power and came up empty. A barrage of arrows took flight towards him which he incinerated more or less by reflex. The army around him closed in, charging him from all sides, but gathering his power he released a blast casting them back in a torrent of flailing limbs to land in tangled masses in the mud. This was wrong. It was all wrong. The enemy had figured him out.

  Gone were the blessed warriors, because they were Seth’s targets. Whoever led this army knew he would not kill these ordinary men. As such, the invaders were there just to harass him. His plan was folly. He’d have to find another way to lure the assassin out.

  * * * * *

  “It is done, Father,” young Gulteth informed Wuk Shin.

  “You put it on his person?”

  “No, Father. I gave it to him as a gift for protection and he placed it on his own person,” Gulteth admitted with a sly grin. He knew his father would be impressed with such a feat. Being a child was a huge benefit in such a line of work. No one ever suspected you.

  “That was brilliant thinking, my boy. And the army?”

  “As you requested, Father, they will harass the city, wearing out its defenders, and giving the demon prince no reason for mass casualties.”

  “Well done. Go and get yourself some food, and by the gods visit your mother. She’s been asking about you for days.”