The Calling (Book 7 of The Blood & Brotherhood Saga) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

by Jeremy Laszlo

  Leading the horses, they were forced to hack a path for the animals through the vines, ferns and bushes, which slowed progress tremendously. Leaving them behind wasn’t an option either. A tied horse was too easy prey, not only for thieves, but for predatory animals as well. It truly was a lose-lose situation.

  For hours they hacked and cut a trail through the dense forest, taking to the clear ground where it was available. Here and there, when climbing uphill, the moss would peel from the ground like rotted flesh, and they and the horses would slide down upon moss and mud, only to start the climb again.

  Had he still had Gorandor’s favor, Garret could have cleaved them a path in minutes and been done with it, but as he did not, instead he fumed and cut angrily. Taking a break near mid-day, they stopped for a quick meal of dried beef and some cheese, before starting off again. Looking about at all the undergrowth, Garret couldn’t believe that any plant could survive beneath the canopy above. Hardly any light filtered all the way to the ground, and without light the ground should have been barren in his mind.

  Near mid-afternoon they crossed a large game trail that, although not going the exact direction they intended, they began to follow anyhow. The going got substantially easier, and Zorbin ahead of them only had to cut a stray vine or remove a fallen branch from the path.

  Though the wolf was absent most of the day, from time to time, Xanth would reappear on a ridge, trail, or hill ahead, as if showing them the way. Garret didn’t know if they were sharing information or not, but Garret soon realized that when they went the way the wolf showed them, the trails were easier and mostly clear of debris.

  He supposed it was evening or night when Zorbin paused just a few feet ahead of him. Releasing the reins of his mount, Garret joined the dwarf and together they crept ahead nearly fifty yards, leaving Ashton to tend the animals. Reaching a clearing, they found the very mushrooms that Zorbin had described, though Garret was amazed that the fungus emanated a glow, like small lanterns placed into rows.

  Motioning Ashton ahead, both Garret and Zorbin circumvented the clearing, holding to its edge to watch for any movement ahead. As they reached the far end, a trail opened up that was obviously well traveled, and peering down it, the king of Valdadore could see another clearing ahead. Knowing it was either another mushroom patch or the home of whoever tended them, Garret took to the trail and stopped suddenly as the sound of a crying babe carried down the path to be joined by another and then a third. Babies. Several babies.

  Keeping his eyes ahead, Garret half ran half shuffled down the trail, trying to remain quiet. Reaching the end of the trail, he could see the clearing ahead and found it peculiar. Within the clearing stood six huts made of moss, bark, and wood, and nowhere to be seen were there any signs of a sentry or any means of defense. Again the sound of a babe’s wail came to his ears and again it was joined by others, only this time it was joined by another voice.

  “Jeddith, go and see if there is something outside,” came a woman’s voice.

  “Of course there is nothing outside,” a man replied.

  “The babes are acting spooked, just go and see.”

  “Fine, but I assure you, everything is fine.”

  There wasn’t any time to hide in order to gauge if the man would be a threat, so Garret simply watched as the man exited the nearest hut. He nearly laughed when the man spotted him, not for the man’s surprise, but because the man stood stark naked and unarmed. What exactly did he plan to do if there was something outside his door?

  “It’s okay, Elandra. It’s just a man,” the nude man said without removing his eyes from Garret.

  Garret heard a rustle beside him, and noted Zorbin with his peripheral vision.

  “What kind of man?” the woman’s voice asked.

  “A man? Here?” another woman’s voice added to the conversation from somewhere unknown.

  “A big man, and now a small man too,” the nude man said as Garret advanced upon him.

  “Is there a medium man too?” one of the woman asked with a laugh, thinking it a game.

  “Actually yes,” Garret said, loud enough for all to hear, “he’ll be here momentarily.”

  Silence filled the small clearing a moment, before once again the sounds of babies began to fill the air as one voice turned into many. Generally the sound of one crying baby was enough to make a person frantic, but within seconds the whole clearing was filled with the sounds of cries and wails. Garret struggled to stay focused as the sound all melded together into one great mournful howl.

  “Take him,” Garret said to Zorbin, pointing towards the man.

  Crossing to the nearest hut, Garret simply stormed inside to see something he had no way to prepare for. There, in the hut, five nude women lay, sprawled out upon the floor with the crying, wriggling bodies of the demon babies he had come to discover.

  Much like human babies their flesh appeared soft and supple, though some had spots and others had strange brown or gray hues to their skin. From atop their heads, tufts of fur swept down their tiny backs to about mid spine. Their ears were more pointed and their faces, slightly skewed, as their jaws were stretched forward into half muzzles. Though obviously only perhaps a week or two old, the small creatures scraped and clawed, half crawling to get away from him and into the protective arms of their mothers whose bellies were still covered in loose flesh and breasts were swollen with milk to the point of showing the veins. There had to be at least twenty to thirty of the things upon the moss-covered floor. Reaching down, Garret scooped one up for closer inspection as Zorbin filled the doorway with his wide shoulders and braided beard.

  As he looked the creature over, it silenced its wails as its lips pulled back to reveal tiny razor-sharp teeth as it began to growl at him. Disgusted, the king of Valdadore threw the beast to the floor, crushing its head beneath his boot to silence its screams. As he bent to retrieve the next, Garret’s wrist was grabbed from behind and he spun to see who dared protest his actions.

  * * * * *

  Zorbin couldn’t believe his eyes. The king of Valdadore had just murdered a helpless infant. Abomination or not, he simply couldn’t stand for such violence. No, he couldn’t stand with it. Releasing Garret’s wrist he looked to his friend with a questioning glare that bordered on pain.

  “Surely you do not intend this as justice?” Zorbin shouted above the combined wails of the mothers and babies, gesturing to the mangled carcass upon the floor.

  “They are unnatural and evil. They must be destroyed.”

  “Unnatural perhaps, but who deems them evil? You? They are but helpless children.”

  “Do not try and deter me, Zorbin. I trust your word and your counsel, but in this I know I am right. Valdadore must be cleansed of my brother’s evil.”

  “I’ll not be a party to this slaughter, then.”

  Turning, Zorbin stalked past Ashton who raced towards the hut. The king was beyond his help in this matter. There was nothing he could do. It was his duty to do what the king ordered, and follow him in all things, but this…this was an act of unspeakable evil. Gorandor would not condone the murder of thirty children.

  Walking away from the hut, he neared the second and his ears caused him to turn and look inside. There, just like the previous hut, were five women sprawled out on the floor. Babes suckled at their breasts and moved about the floor.

  Rushing to the next hut the scene was the same, and the fourth the same again. The fifth hut was similarly filled and the sixth and final hut was all but empty. Doing the math, he estimated thirty babies per hut and five huts meant one and a half hundred babes. Zorbin couldn’t let such an atrocity be committed by his friend, whether or not he was the king.

  Rushing back to the first hut he found the mothers all in a row, trying to protect their young. Exhausted from caring for so many, and weak from giving birth only a short time before, they were no match for the Valdadorian king. Sweeping them all aside with one thickly muscled arm, Garret moved to begin stomping the babies to
death.

  “Don’t do it, Garret. Gorandor would not look kindly on such an act of murder and neither would I,” Zorbin shouted above the babies’ and mothers’ cries.

  “Perhaps there is another way,” Ashton added. “A kinder way.”

  “They were brought to these women’s lives in a violent way. It is only befitting that they leave the same.”

  “You would bloody their homes with the torn bodies of their own children?” Zorbin asked, preparing to take the step that would lead him to a point of no return.

  Preparing to summon his blessing in case the king summoned his own, Zorbin expected a fight. He knew the king was still in pain, reeling from all the loss he endured, but it couldn’t be helped. Not under these circumstances.

  “What would Linaya think of you stomping upon babies?” Zorbin asked as the king turned to glare at him.

  “Do not speak of what you do not know, Zorbin Ironfist. Do not speak her name for that matter. You taint it with your dwarven tongue.

  Zorbin was not offended. He knew Garret was only venting. He knew if he could continue to push him in that direction, perhaps he could lose some of his anger and hatred and see that what he was doing was wrong.

  “I may taint her name, but you taint her love by not being the man she thought you were.”

  “Damn you, dwarf. Don’t make me do something I will regret!”

  “You’ve already done something you should regret, you fool. Look at these women. They are no different than Linaya. They have hopes and dreams. They have little in possessions, you can see that, but they have love just as she did. They love their children, and you would make them stand and watch as you killed what they loved?”

  “Enough, Zorbin!”

  “It isn’t enough. You turn and look at them. Tell them, not me, that the woman you loved, who died for you and for Valdadore, would condone you murdering defenseless babies. Tell them, Garret! Or is the mighty king above reproach for his actions? Should we all just stand by and watch as you taint your reputation, Linaya’s sacrifice and memory, for revenge? Is that what you want?”

  “Damn you, Zorbin. Let me have just this day to…”

  “No, Garret. Not today. Not any day. You are a better man than this. You are a better knight, and a better king.”

  “Arrgh!” Garret shouted, storming back out of the hut.

  No booms, no blessings called, no weapons drawn, and no more bloodshed, Zorbin counted it a victory. Now to calm the man and bring him back to his senses.

  Turning. Zorbin watched Ashton follow after the king. Perhaps it was better. Ashton seemed like a calm lad, and being that Zorbin had already said more than enough, it was probably better that Ashton take over from here.

  Turning towards the women, Zorbin cast his eyes towards the floor.

  “My apologies, ladies, for intruding in your home. There are no words for what my companion has done. If you would let me, I would take your child out and bury it properly.”

  “What if he comes back?” one of the women asked.

  “He won’t.”

  “What will he do with us?” another asked.

  “I do not know.”

  “Please be gentle with him,” another said, referencing the child, still choking on her sobs.

  “I will, my lady.”

  “Thank you,” she sobbed.

  Bending low, Zorbin gingerly lifted the ruined remains of the child off the floor, cupping it in both of his hands. Turning, he made eye contact with the brokenhearted mother and her expression alone nearly broke his resolve. Fighting the water that sprang to his own eyes, he strode from the hut and back into the forest to find an appropriate place to bury the child.

  * * * * *

  Ashton looked around him as he followed Garret to the edge of the trees. Potential. Here was potential. Catching up to his large companion, he knew he had to tread delicately. The man was on the brink of a total breakdown, and although such a mental lapse could work to his advantage, so too could it go the other way. Instead, it was best to hold him at the brink and guide him.

  “Garret, you need to calm yourself so that you can think straight. I know. I know how difficult this is, but you have to think of Valdadore. Perhaps this isn’t a desecration to all things holy. Maybe it is a test set forth for you by the gods, or maybe it is simply an opportunity.”

  Pausing for a moment to let his words have effect, he watched as the large man’s shoulders slumped. His anger was fleeing him, leaving him empty and alone. Ashton persisted.

  “If our enemy has unnatural troops, should we too look into developing such soldiers? We’ve seen how proficient they can be in battle, only this time they would be at your command, not the command of an unholy beast.” Ashton said, speaking more quickly in reply to a grunt of acknowledgement from the king. “If these children grow at the rate of a canine, they could be put to use in as little as a year or two. Perhaps, with the help of others, even that time frame can be advanced.”

  “How?” the king grumbled, alerting Ashton to his interest.

  “There is a healer back in Valdadore named Balantine, and her gift of healing is not one of mending, but of speeding growth so that wounds may heal naturally. There is a chance she could rush these half-men to maturity so that their fighting ability could be tested.”

  “Like fighting fire with fire?” Garret asked.

  “Precisely. You could raise these creatures as you wish, make them loyal. Maybe even breed them to create more,” Ashton said with a wide smile, all the while making some calculations. “Just think of it, my king, if they are born in litters in only a few months, and they can mature in little time, you could have thousands in a single year.”

  “You think I should create more of these… things?”

  “Instead of our doom, maybe they could be our salvation,” Ashton suggested.

  He had the king’s mind thinking about it, he just needed to find the right angle to make him agreeable. Ashton didn’t dare bring the king’s fallen lover into the conversation, he’d seen already how quick to anger the king would become. He’d already tried the salvation route. There was only one more option he could think of.

  “It’s been said that your brother goes to claim the throne of Drakenhurst for his own. What do you think will happen once he has created a new army of monsters? He can do it in very little time, you know he can. Then what? Valdadore has been pushed to the brink. You’ve already enlisted all that could fight, more or less, and few of them still live. If we can’t replenish our numbers, we will fall at your brother’s whim.”

  “You are wise to see so clearly, Ashton,” Garret stated after a moment’s reflection. “Thank you for clearing my mind and showing me a path I could not see through my anger. We will try as you say. Seth has his hounds of war and I too shall have my own. We need to find a way to bring them back to Valdadore. All of them, mothers too.”

  “As you say, Garret, it shall be done.”

  Ashton celebrated his victory silently as he strode away with a smile. He already knew the plan would work. It was only a matter of time. He had not expected, however, the number of infants they would need to transport. With only two horses and a giant wolf, they had no means to deliver nearly two hundred people back to Valdadore. A plan was needed, and pondering their options, he imagined a way it could not only be done, but a way that would yet again push the king towards the path Ashton needed him to choose. Smiling, he sought out the dwarf.

  Looking all about the small encampment, Ashton could not help but smile as he passed the nude man who was not only tied to a tree, but gagged in order to silence his protests. Hearing the dwarf’s grunts of exertion beyond the tree line, Ashton picked a path through the brush to find the shorter-statured man digging a shallow grave.

  “I’ve reasoned with the king.”

  “And what does he intend?” the dwarf grumbled, hacking away at the root-filled earth with his axe.

  “We are to return to Valdadore with all the mothers an
d children in order to give them the king’s protection.”

  “Tis a good thing, methinks,” Zorbin replied.

  “I agree, but it brings us a new challenge.”

  “What’s this?”

  “We need to devise a means to transport them all to Valdadore,” Ashton explained.

  “Tis a problem indeed. You thinking a cart of some kind?”

  “More a litter, or a sled. You and the king could easily pull huge sleds in your blessed form, and together the horses and wolf could pull another.”

  “No, the horses shy away from Xanth, but he could pull a mother and her litter.”

  “Good, Then it is decided. Let me help you with this, and then boughs and vines will need to be collected to begin construction.”

  Chapter Nine

  It had taken two days to choose who would stay and who would march ahead with him to Drakenhurst, but Seth had known that each decision was crucial. Outfitting those that joined him on the road, they at least looked like an army. Three more days it had taken to reach the hill he now stood atop. He could have made the distance in a few hours, but moving with his men was slow and grueling.

  From atop a rocky hill, he could see the sprawling city of Drakenhurst and the tall keep with its namesake. It was very much as he imagined it would be from the descriptions given by Goldenfingers. At the edges were shacks made of discarded materials and whatever the poorest dredges of society here could scrounge. Moving inwards from there, towards the center of the city where the keep stood, the houses grew more and more befitting habitation to the point they began to look lavish, becoming like works of art and sprawling palaces. Even from here he could see blackened patches where a portion of the city had burned. It was a wonder that the entire place hadn’t gone up in flames, so tightly packed were some of the homes.

  Goldenfingers had been right. Unlike Valdadore, with wide streets that led straight through the city, there was no easy avenue of approach for an army to storm the keep. The city here had grown naturally without a plan and roads wound, twisting and turning, between the homes completely at random. Torching it would be the easiest means to clear a path, but would result in too many casualties, and tens of thousands would be made homeless in a matter of hours.