Servants of the Old Gods (Hartland Book 1)

by J. B. Jenn

  “Why are you in my chambers? I don’t recall inviting you here.” Galtrand didn’t respond, but continued to stare at her. “You had no right to just enter my room, not with guards already posted outside of it.”

  “On the contrary, your Majesty,” he said through clenched teeth, “I had every right to. As the man who guards your life, I was concerned for your safety. I knocked repeatedly to check in with you as I do a few times a day. No one answered. Even when you don’t want to be bothered, you answer. And…”

  Her look darkened. It stopped him from saying anything else.

  “The guards outside the door told you Maik was here, did they not?” He set his square jaw into a firm frown. “I can see they did. You must have thought we were together. What did you expect to do? Stop us?” She shook her head. “It’s no concern of yours, Galtrand of who I am with, or who I choose to be with. I know you’re feelings for me, but I…”

  She didn’t finish. Galtrand lowered his gaze to the floor.

  “Forgive me for my thoughtlessness,” he whispered. “I was concerned for your safety when there was no response. Orin, Maik’s personal bodyguard was also not in sight. With everything that’s happened, can you blame me? I am the man responsible for you. Your father gave me that honor.”

  Janessa met his gaze. “Perhaps it’s time I found someone else to guard me,” she said, softly. “I can’t allow you to do this anymore. You should distance yourself from me, Galtrand. It’s the only way you’ll ever be able to move on with your life. I can’t allow you to continue doing this to yourself. I should have done this long ago. The fact that I didn’t makes me selfish. Hyal will replace you for the time being until you can find someone else who is acceptable. I don’t believe I’m in much danger here. Maik’s guards have seen to that.”

  Galtrand nodded. Guarding her was only torturing him. “I’ll begin to look for a replacement today.” He refused to look at her. When he finally gained the courage to, he saw sorrow in her eyes. It didn’t help. “Where’s King Maik?”

  Janessa studied him for a moment. Sadness lingered in her eyes. Galtrand focused his gaze past her on the passage she had come from.

  “He’s on the beach,” she answered. “He needed some time away to clear his mind.”

  Galtrand gave a curt not. “I’ll see to it his guards are alerted. He shouldn’t be out there alone, even if he feels like he should be. After what happened to Kenokel, both of you should know better.”

  He closed the door behind him with a loud click.

  Mercea

  They had crested a hill overlooking a valley of rolling hills. Dawn Stone sat on top of one of the flatter hills. Down below it to its right was a lake where water flowed over the side of sheer walls of the plateau the palace sat on. A small river snaked its way through Carthoda from the lake. As Mercea stared at the dark castle surrounded by blackened land, she shook her head.

  Not yet, Mercea. It’s too early.

  It was a warning from the Gods. She wondered at the meaning. Not yet? Was she supposed to be at Dawn Stone some other time? She had no answers and she didn’t think any would come her way from Them. They hadn’t spoken to her much during this mission. It had her worried. Usually, They were there to guide her. They guided all Their Servants.

  Mercea turned to Arem. Every time she looked at him, she knew her eyes were angry. She couldn’t help it. After all he had done, she found it difficult to forgive him, even if he believed he was doing the right thing. That belief was the only thing which had kept her from killing him.

  Arem’s gaze was focused on the horizon, refusing to look at her. Mercea sighed, knowing he had tried to tell her about this a few times and she had refused to listen.

  “We need to make this quick. Someone has called for my help. I’m in need elsewhere.”

  “Who?” Arem looked toward.

  “It doesn’t matter. Let’s go see what was so important for me to see you’d put me to sleep in the middle of enemies and risk my capture.”

  She looked to him again, wondering just how he had managed to do that. After having woken from it, she kept wondering if the Gods had aided him. Lately, it seemed as if They were willing to sacrifice her for the future. If They did, there was nothing she could do. She had served Them for centuries and if her time was to pass than it was time.

  She started forward. Mercea watched him for a few more moments before following. As they crested yet another hill, Mercea scanned the land. It was dark and gray. The soil was barren, making the conditions slippery. The last time she was here had been during the winter, the land was covered in dormant grass waiting for summer. A light dusting of snow had layered the ground. Now, there was nothing except blackened dirt, covered in patches of snow. She had never remembered Carthoda looking so bleak before.

  “This way.” Arem’s soft voice cut through her thoughts.

  It didn’t take long for them to reach the massive wall surrounding the western side of the palace. She looked to Arem. The wytch nodded, confirming this was where he was taking her.

  “Stay close. Whatever you do, don’t let go.” His fingers laced with hers.

  The gates opened allowing a group of soldiers to enter and another group to leave. He led her straight through them to the palace’s courtyard.

  As soon as they passed through, Mercea stopped, pulling Arem with her. She took in a sharp breath. Her eyes scanned the courtyard that was once home to beautiful trees and flowers. All of it was withered. But what stopped her were the creatures inside.

  There were hundreds of them, of all shapes and sizes. Some had legs. Others slithered around on large scaled tails. More had big heads or big eyes. Horns and limbs jutted out in all sorts of places. Wings sprouted from their backs or took the place of arms. The only thing they had in common was the fact they were demons.

  Intermixed among the demons were the Tharroh, half-human, half-demon. It wasn’t good they were present in Hartland again. She had spent over a century, three hundred years ago, hunting them down to extinction. Their very presence insulted her. The Gods viewed them as abominations. Now, she understood why They had warned her.

  Her heart thundered as she did another sweep of the courtyard. How were there so many?

  “I’ve seen enough,” she whispered. “Get us out of here.”

  Arem turned to lead her back. The gate was now closed and barred. They were expecting no more patrols for the day. Mercea thinned her lips. With focusing on the demons and Tharroh, she hadn’t heard the gates closing.

  Their situation didn’t look good. It wouldn’t be long before one of them sensed Arem’s magic. She scanned the courtyard again. She knew she could jump from the top of the wall and survive the landing. She wasn’t certain Arem could without injuring himself. As much as she didn’t like the man, she couldn’t leave him to whatever fate awaited him here. She pulled him to a shadow cast by the wall, away from everything.

  “Can you use your magic to aid you in jumping?” Her voice was barely a whisper. It was still too loud. She knew what she hoped for was a stretch. The fact he could make them invisible was unusual for a wytch.

  Arem looked up at the wall and swallowed hard. “No, but I don’t see an alternative. I’d rather try than stay here. Once we jump though, we might not be concealed anymore. They’ll shoot arrows at us.”

  Mercea listened to her surroundings. Her heart pounded. After all her years of servitude to the Gods, she still found herself frightened. Her fear never completely disappeared in any given mission. Fear of dying was what drove humans to do some of the things they did. It worked for Servants, too. Sometimes it led a Servant to turn against the Gods, seeking a way to live forever.

  “We’re going to have to risk it unless you think you can keep us concealed until those gates open again.” Arem swallowed. “I didn’t think so. Come on.”

  “Did you hear that?” one of the humans asked, stopping them in their tracks.

  Mercea looked to Arem. They had heard them talking. T
heir whispers must have echoed off the stone. She pressed herself flat against it, holding her breath. Arem did the same next to her.

  “I think it came from over here.”

  Arem paled as a group of demons ventured over to them. Her hand clutched the foreign sword at her hip. She’d use the dagger located on the small of her back, but she couldn’t afford to lose it, not after having lost her sword.

  “There’s nothing here,” the man who had followed the first one said. He sent the demons back to where they had come from. “You always do this,” the man accused. Exasperation laced his voice. “It’s probably the sounds of one of those monsters. Choose one. They’re all so loud and obnoxious.”

  “I know I heard something,” the other man stated. “I’m not crazy.”

  The other man rolled his eyes. “Come on. You know they make odd noises all the time.”

  “It wasn’t noises, Jaren. I heard voices.”

  The first man stepped closer. When he continued to see nothing, he turned away, shaking his head, muttering to himself. Mercea began pulling Arem long with her, slowly, careful to make as little noise as possible. They walked up the rampart as Mercea watched the soldiers pacing back and forth along the top of it.

  She climbed up onto the crenellations, making certain she didn’t release Arem’s hand, even as he climbed up after her. As they stood there, staring out across the bleak land, it started snowing. Mercea looked back at the demons. If she didn’t escape, thousands of people were going to die. She looked over to Arem, thankful he had led her here, even if the way he had done so was undesirable.

  “Jump.”

  Air rushed past her. As the ground rushed up at her, she tucked into a roll and gained her feet. Arem landed beside her, giving a pained grunt. He was slow to rise. She grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. He cried out. She started running, still holding onto him, mostly dragging him as he limped. They didn’t have much time before they were spotted.

  “There!” she heard someone shout from above them. “Kill them! It’s the Servant! They mustn’t escape! I told you I heard someone.”

  Mercea groaned. There was no cover. Arem stepped in close to her. He was pale. He was using too much magic. Like her, he knew there wasn’t a choice.

  “Stay close. I can protect us from the arrows. Just keep running.”

  Mercea did as he said, wondering how his magic encompassed so many abilities. Usually a wytch only knew how to do one or two things and only of the elements. Arem’s gifts were puzzling, but she had no time to think about them. Not yet.

  She turned slightly to look up at the wall. Several arrows were barreling toward them. They bounced off an invisible barrier or sank into the ground around them.

  Arem stumbled next to her. He was weakening, expending too much of his magic. She scooped him up and slung his tall body over her shoulder, thankful he wasn’t a heavy man, albeit lanky.

  “Concentrate on that barrier, Arem. It’s the only way we’re going to get out of this.”

  Ogden

  Every single muscle in his body ached. He could barely move without wanting to cry out, but he refused to make a noise more than a small groan, knowing what was out there. From where he lay, there was no sign of the creature. There was blood, colored a deep green, everywhere though.

  Had the creature left because it was injured? Or was it simply waiting somewhere out of sight for him to show himself so he could finish killing him? Ogden didn’t know what to expect. All he knew was he couldn’t stay here. He had to leave.

  “Don’t move too fast,” a woman’s deep, stern voice said from his right. It was little more than a whisper. “It’s still out there. Waiting. We barely made it to you without being seen.”

  Ogden looked toward the woman. Her black hair with red streaks through it was something he’d never seen before. Her narrow face was covered in dirt and blood, and her yellowy-orange eyes were intense.

  As slowly and quietly as he could, he moved, fighting back several grunts of pain. As he moved, he made certain to remain hidden behind the rubble of the building he’d been thrown into. His hand pressed against the stone making him grimace. Looking at the palm of his hand, he saw it was bandaged. He realized there were other bandages, too.

  Ogden looked toward the woman with gratitude. She nodded at him. Sitting there, he breathed shallowly for a time before peering over the edge of a broken wall. There were droplets of green blood heading away from them. At once, he decided to follow it. A quick hand on his shoulder made him wince.

  “Don’t,” she whispered. “It’s too dangerous. Come back with us.”

  “I can’t.” He pulled away from her and followed the blood, aware she was following him.

  After several minutes, there was still no sign of the black monster. It was moving north. A sick feeling hit the bottom of his stomach. Someone had to warn the Desert. Ogden prayed he could reach them before it was too late. Since he could hurt the monster, it was his duty to warn them and protect them, if he could.

  Ogden looked back in the direction of his home with a heavy heart. It didn’t look as if he would return home any time soon. He knew Hethera was probably worried sick about him. He wished she’d told him what she’d seen in their future to make her tell him their lives would change forever. Was this the beginning of it?

  The woman shook her head. “You can’t be serious,” the woman whispered. “You can’t leave us.”

  “I have to. The monster is leaving. All of you will be safer,” Ogden whispered. There was great worry in her eyes. “I can hurt the monster. I have to find a way to kill it before it destroys another city and kills more people.”

  “Come back with me,” the woman urged again. “The Relentless can help.”

  “There isn’t any time.”

  Querra

  “Damn fool,” she muttered, watching him leave with disapproval. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

  “Yes, he will.” Eiden studied her for a moment. “You can’t go after him, Querra. Just because he thinks the monster is leaving, doesn’t mean it is. We need you here. The Relentless need you here. I need you here. You started this rescue operation, finish it.”

  Querra sucked in a deep breath. She wanted to go after the man and the monster who had killed so many, including men and women she had known for years. Somehow the man had managed to wound it. None of them had been able to. She wanted to know why, but Eiden was right. She couldn’t leave. She had an obligation here. Even if the beast was leaving, it didn’t mean the smaller ones were. The people of Cascade still needed her.

  “I know,” she whispered. “It doesn’t make it any easier though. He hurt the monster. How did he do it? Is there something we could be doing?”

  Eiden looked toward her. A seriousness sat in his eyes. “I’ll follow him if that’s what you wish.”

  “No. I need you here. Even if we disagree from time to time, I still need you here. You help me more than you could know. You keep me sane and from doing stupid things. If not for you, I’d have followed him. Where would that have left the Relentless? In your care, that’s where. I couldn’t have that.” She gave him a half-smile.

  Eiden pulled her into a hug. As he pulled away, his face paled. He looked toward Querra and then down at his chest. Sticking out of his right shoulder was the tip of a talon. It had punctured Querra’s left shoulder. She met his eyes with fear before drawing her dagger and ramming it through the monster’s neck.

  Blood sprayed everywhere. Some of it landed on the side of Eiden’s face, making him scream out as the blood ate away some of his skin. Querra cringed as some of the blood landed on her neck, but she fought through the pain. Her fear made it easier to ignore. Her shoulder hurt like hell, but at least it hadn’t been her sword arm.

  Other demons had come along with the flying one, but they hadn’t moved yet. She furrowed her brow, scanning them, wondering what was happening.

  “Why aren’t they attacking?”

  Eiden fell t
o his knees, losing blood fast. Querra remained beside him, prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect him. However, the demons remained motionless from where they had encircled them.

  “They won’t harm you. At least, not right now.”

  The voice was smooth and elegant. Querra turned her gaze to find an odd creature. She was human. Well, mostly human. Small curved horns protruded from the woman’s forehead. Sharp black nails sat at the end of her fingers. The woman’s hair was silver and her eyes were purple with silver swirls in them. She was a strange mixture of beautiful and eerie.

  “Who are you?” Querra whispered.

  “It doesn’t matter at the moment. What matters is we saved you. Urian,” she started but paused at seeing their confusion. “He’s the large, black one. He would have had you killed. He’s wounded and angry, and on his way to complete his orders. You’ve interfered with his plans too much.” The odd creature shook her head. “He’s not the real problem though. The real problem lies within Carthoda. It’s where we’re from. It’s where you and the Relentless will be needed.”

  Querra couldn’t find her voice for several moments. All it seemed she could do was stare. “Thank you for saving our lives.”

  “You should leave now. Tend to your friend’s wound. We can’t hold them like this forever.”

  “You won’t have to. I plan to kill them while I can. If I don’t, they’ll just follow us.”

  The woman nodded, though she looked troubled for a moment. “Do it. They cannot be saved.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand why they don’t want to be like us. Why would they rather die and submit to the demon than choose to live? They could be so much more. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than death. It’s better than staying partially aware of everything the demon’s doing.”