Taran sighed and said, “The man that you are talking about and the way that you are describing him makes me thing that it might be a very powerful sorcerer called Nightfall. Whatever you do never do what he asks you to do. You don’t have to be afraid of him because he is imprisoned in a place where he can never escape from called the No Land.”
“How did he get stuck there?” Selene asked.
Zaranna shoved the Sword of Light into his chest and said some magical words that Sardgesha had taught her. When the blade drew his blood she said the words and he disappeared. He is stuck there now and he can’t hurt you or anyone else.”
“You mean that he can’t touch me?” Selene asked.
Taran said, “He can’t touch you or harm you in any way. He is helpless now and he can never escape from where he is.”
Selene said, “Why is he bothering me? I don’t know him and I don’t want to know him.”
Taran thought for a minute and then she said, “I really don’t know and I can’t figure out how he is even able to do it. I wish that Sardgesha or Zardgesha were here. They might know how he is doing it and then they might be able to stop him from bothering you. They should be coming for a visit soon. They have a way of showing up whenever they are needed and surely they are needed now.”
Selene took another drink and then wiped her mouth and sighed. She looked at Taran and said, “Are you sure that he can’t hurt me?”
“I am positive that he can’t harm you. He is stuck where he’s at and he can’t get leave. If he could somehow be able to do anything he would have done it already,” Taran said.
“I wish that there was some way for us to get in touch with Sardgesha or his brother,” Selene said.
Taran smiled and said, “Do you want to stay with me tonight? You can have the bed and I will sleep out on the couch in the front room.”
Selene said, “I thank you for your offer and maybe sometime I will take you up on it but I think that tonight I will just stay in my room. If he can’t hurt me then I will be all right.”
“Any time you need me all you have to do is ask. I will always be here for you,” Taran said.
Selene smiled and said, “Thank you! You are a very good friend.”
Taran and Selene talked for another half of an hour and then Selene couldn’t just do nothing anymore so she said goodbye to her best friend and ran off to resume her duties.
Taran laughed and then she ordered another drink.
Selene worked hard and did all that she had to do and even more.
When Selene finally got done doing all of her chores and duties at the Wet Glass she said goodbye to everyone and then she went back to the Library.
She worked dusting and cleaning for Gunvil for a few hours and then he told her she could have the rest of the day off.
Selene went up to her room and relaxed for a little bit. She looked around and then she decided to clean up her room even though it didn’t really need it. After a couple of hours she snacked on some fruit that she had in her room.
It was getting late but it was still too early to go to bed yet so she decided to work on Taran’s unicorn. She sat down by the table and started to carve away on the small figure.
Hours past as she diligently worked the wood into shape with sharp detail and beauty. She worked until her eyes got tired and then she yawned and set the figure down.
She quickly and neatly put everything away and wiped off the tabletop. It was time to go to bed. She was tired and she had to get up early the next morning.
It took a long time for Selene to finally fall asleep because she was still worried about that man that Taran had called Nightfall. Taran said that he couldn’t hurt her or do anything to her because he was trapped in a place called the No Land. He must be very powerful indeed to be able to get into her dreams and even send a projection of his spirit into her room. She would also remember not to do anything that he asked her to do. She just wondered why he was bothering her. She didn’t know him and she didn’t want to know him. She just wished that he would leave her alone and go and find someone else to bother.
Selene finally fell into a deep sleep. While she was sleeping a presence lightly touched her subconscious mind and could tell that she was sleeping. It seemed to laugh as it delved deeper and deeper into her mind and thoughts.
The presence reached a certain spot in her brain and looked for her memories. It could tell that all of her early memories before she was transformed into a monster were still there but buried deep and they might never be able to be recalled. The presence knew that someday they could just be present again but for now she was just an innocent child. She still had great power though even though she didn’t know how to use it. The presence would have to be very careful not to let her feel its presence.
It laughed at how innocent she was now. It knew that now was a good time to try its plan. She wasn’t dreaming right now but she soon would be under its direction. She was about to have a nightmare like she never had before. If everything all worked out the presence which was Nightfall would soon be free of the No Land!
Nightfall ever so lightly started to cause Selene to dream. He laughed silently knowing his freedom from the No Land would only be a matter of time. Nightfall was an incredibly powerful sorcerer but even with his great power he wasn’t able to leave the No Land. He wasn’t able to even send his spirit or thoughts out of the No Land until just recently when he sensed his sister’s great power. She was way stronger in magic than he ever was; she was almost like a god. He used her power to free his spirit and send it out of the No Land. He would use her power to free him from the No Land. He had a plan and a way to trick her into freeing him and it would be just a matter of time and he would be free to carry out his vengeance on those who deserved it.
Selene started to dream. She found herself walking through the high grass of the prairie. It was a bright and sunny day. She didn’t know why she was in the prairie but she was happy and enjoying the outdoors. She was alone but that didn’t seem to bother her. She was happy.
She walked on and on and then the sky slowly became overcast and darkened. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder peeled out terrific booms of loud explosions as the rain started to fall. The rain was oddly warm as it drenched her and splashed on her face and plastered her blouse and skirt to her skin as they became drenched with water from above.
She was wet but she kept on walking. As she walked the grass grew taller and taller and trees sprang up all along either side of her. The trees were thick in trunk and full of downward bending crooked limbs full of blood red leaves and foliage. The trees formed all around her to her right and to her left. They formed a thick wall that she couldn’t pass through. She had to walk straight following the path between the trees. As she walked the trees closed the path behind her so that she had no choice but to go on in the direction that the trees left open to her.
Selene walked on and on being herded towards an unknown destination by the supernatural trees. She couldn’t go to the left or to the right. She couldn’t go back the way she had come from because the trees blocked that path too. All she could do was walk straight ahead in the direction that the trees appeared to want her to go.
For whatever reason she wasn’t afraid even though she should have been. She walked on and on without a care in the world. She was soaked through and through by the warm torrent of rain falling non-stop and she could barely see a foot in front of her face. She wasn’t afraid and she didn’t know why.
She didn’t know how long that she had been walking but she wasn’t tired and she resolutely kept going hoping for an end of the trees and the strangely warm rain.
She walked on and abruptly she walked into an open glade surrounded by a wall of the strange trees and high blood red wickedly curved bushes with razor sharp pointed thorns denying her passage through the wall of supernatural vegetation.
She turned around and looked and saw that the path that she had followed closed up plugging the
gap in the wall surrounding the glade. She was now fully imprisoned inside of the glade of high dark green grass. She still wasn’t afraid though and for some reason she was calm and even happy. Something was very wrong about how she was feeling and she knew it but it just didn’t seem to bother her.
She looked around the glade but all she could see was the high dark green grass and the supernatural wall of trees and bushes.
Then the rain picked up in intensity and turned into a rain of dark red warm blood. She noticed the change and thought that it was very strange but she still wasn’t afraid.
The blood rain kept falling in sheets of blood from the dark sky fouling everything that it touched. Then the ground in front of Selene exploded sending blood wet high grass and dirt flying upwards in a violent shower of unexpected fury.
A large deathly grey tombstone burst upwards through the soil and undergrowth. It stood at least ten feet tall and was about five feet wide. It stood as a silent sentry guarding the silent glade of death.
Selene jumped backwards from surprise and shock when the ground had exploded with a bang and the tombstone shot up. It just stood there before her and mocked her with its silence and clean face.
Selene looked at it wondering what was going to happen next and oddly she still wasn’t afraid.
As she stood there the blood rain stopped falling but the thunder and lightning increased in intensity. A bolt of lightning screamed in the sky with a loud crack and streamed downwards and slammed into the face of the tombstone lighting it up and carving four strange words onto its clean rugged grey face.
All at once the sky brightened and the thunder and lightning stopped. All of the trees and bushes vanished. All that remained to keep Selene company was the strange marker of the dead. She still wasn’t afraid.
Selene stepped closer and looked at the four words that the sky had etched into the face of the monument. The carved letters lit up with a dark red hue making it easy for her to read them.
She could plainly read the four words that were engraved into the grey stone and somehow she knew that if she said them that her throat would tingle and hurt because they were never meant to spoken by a human.
She knew that the words were from some ancient and forgotten language and she didn’t know how she could even read them but read them she could. She also knew that she would never forget them. She still wasn’t afraid.
Then she heard a bird calling out in a beautiful song as it passed by up above her. She smiled at its beauty and then she woke up.
Nightfall laughed.
Chapter 7
Bruk turned around and walked towards the table. As he got closer he could clearly see who was sitting at the table. It was an incredibly hot blonde wearing a short tight fitting black skirt and a sleeveless white blouse with a low neckline. She had been watching him as he walked towards her table.
The closer that he got to the table the quieter the room became. All eyes were on him and the room became still in anticipation.
Bruk noticed everyone staring at him and he didn’t care. He was thirsty and hungry and the only place to sit was in front of him. He didn’t know what was going on and why he was suddenly the center of attention and he really just didn’t care. He also noticed a middle age man dressed in old worn out but clean clothing watching him from the bar area. This man was intently studying him.
Bruk ignored the middle aged man and walked up to the table and pulled a chair out. He sat down and looked at the blonde who was staring at him like he was crazy or something.
She said in a soft voice, “You really shouldn’t sit there.”
Bruk smiled and said, “There is no other place to sit and I am hungry and thirsty. All I want to do is eat something and drink a pitcher of ale and then I will be on my way. I won’t bother you but there is no other place to sit.”
She looked at him and said, “You really shouldn’t sit there. It isn’t safe. If Nightfall returns he will kill you!”
Bruk laughed. He looked at her and smiled. He said, “Many people have tried to kill me and I am still here. If this Nightfall should show up I will handle it one way or another.”
Leena looked at him and sighed. The young barbarian did look like he might be able to handle Nightfall. He was a true warrior and she could see that in the way that he sat and in the way that he seemed to know what was going on all around him. The young barbarian had massive muscular arms with veins popping out all over and tremendous wide shoulders and a deep chest. The young barbarian was a mountain of muscle but he moved silently and gracefully like a hunting cat.
Then she looked into his piercing blue eyes and couldn’t help but shudder. This was a man like no other man that she had ever met before. He had even more presence than Nightfall had. She said, “My name is Leena. I was just trying to warn you what might happen if Nightfall would happen to walk in and see you sitting by me. I didn’t mean any offence.”
Bruk laughed and said, “It is all right and thanks for the warning. All I really want is something to eat and drink and then I will leave and find a place to stay tonight. I didn’t mean to bother you but there is no other seats open except at this table.”
Leena laughed. She liked this young barbarian. She said, “It is all right. No one ever dares to sit at this table and disturb me because everyone is deathly afraid of Nightfall. He was my love and my man. No one will even bother me and it has almost been three years since I have seen him. He went off on one of his secret missions and he never returned. I still sit here by myself hoping for him to come back to me but I’m starting to realize that he may never return.”
Bruk didn’t think so either considering that Nightfall was in the No Land and he had seen Zaranna send him there. He didn’t want to tell Leena anything about it though so he just said, “Who knows what could have happened. He might still show up someday, anything is possible.”
Marcy came to the table and leaned on it and looked at Leena. She smiled. She was Leena’s closest friend. Then she looked at the young barbarian and said, “What will you have?” She was extremely happy to see someone have the guts to sit by her best friend. She didn’t think that Nightfall would ever come back and she wanted Leena to find someone else and move on.
Marcy was an incredibly hot brunette with a killer tanned body and a constant smile on that beautiful face. She leaned on the table flaunting her ample cleavage and waited for the young barbarian to reply.
Bruk said as he was trying not to look at her long tanned legs and her two barely concealed mounds, “I will take a pitcher of ale and a plate of food, whatever you recommend is fine. And bring Leena another drink and get yourself something as well.”
Marcy was wearing a super short light brown skirt and a sleeveless low cut white blouse. She knew that she was hot and she wanted everyone else to know it too. She walked back to the kitchen to place that order with a sexy strut and a gentle swaying of her shapely hips.
The room which was deathly quiet since Bruk had walked towards the table slowly returned to normal. They figured that the barbarian must be a friend of Nightfall’s and he was just delivering a message. No one else would have the guts to sit at that table unless he was mad or incredibly stupid. No one dared to cross Nightfall.
Marcy returned with a heaping plate of food and set it in front of Bruk and said, “I will be right back with the drinks.” She then hurried away.
The tavern had returned back to normal. There was much loud and vulgar talking and arguing. There was also a large amount of drinking and laughing. As usual when a large amount of alcohol was involved there was also a fight breaking out here and there.
Marcy returned and set another drink in front of Leena. Then she set a pitcher and a clean mug in front of Bruk. She sat down drinking her mug of ale and said, “I am on my break now. Do you mind if I join you. I always take my break with Leena.”
Bruk didn’t mind and he said so. He was interested in the food more than anything else. The smell of the roasted urth requir
ed his immediate attention.
Bruk forked a slice of the gravy covered urth and started to raise it towards his watering mouth. Suddenly he dropped the fork down to the plate and stood up turning to his right with his arm straight out.
He caught a large man that was falling towards his chair that was pushed by another large and dangerous looking man. It had all happened in just a couple of seconds. Bruk had moved almost faster than the eye could follow.
He gently caught and pushed the falling man forward and straight towards the man who had pushed him. The man stumbled forwards and fell heavily into the man that had just pushed him.
The man got shoved out of the way before he could recover and the other man stepped towards the barbarian who stood by calmly watching.
The unruly mean looking man said, “Who are you and who gave you permission to lay hands on my little brother?”
Bruk smiled. The man that he had pushed was just now rising from the floor and the other bigger man was talking to him. Both of them, although huge and dangerous looking, weren’t warriors. They were large but a lot of it was fat because of soft living and way too much drinking. Neither one of them or even both of them together wouldn’t last five seconds against Bruk and he knew it. Bruk really didn’t want to hurt them because he knew that they were just out having fun and they had drank way too much ale.
The larger man looked at Bruk and said, “I was talking to you. I asked you who gave you permission to lay your stinking hands on my little brother. Don’t make me ask you again.” He then tried to look mean and he glared at the man who had dared to lay his foul hands on his little brother.
The room had become silent with everyone watching to see what the newcomer would do. They knew the two brothers and they knew that they were both mean and very violent and not to be messed with.
The Sword of Vengeance (The Chronicles of Bruk the Barbarian Book 4) Page 5