Seeker of the Four Winds: A Galatia Novel

by C. D. Verhoff

  Epilogue

  Four Weeks After the Coup Against Red Wakeland

  (Prince Valdor Saberhart)

  Prince Valdor led Tectonia’s cavalry down Spy Run, the great dirt highway that spanned from the Northlands all the way down to the southern sea. He had left Galatia more than two weeks ago, but words traveled faster than four legs. He was sure his father had already gotten the news—Galatia was a sovereign nation now. One didn’t have to be a genius to see their potential as a major power.

  A lone figure with beautiful blonde tresses distracted Valdor from his thoughts. She walked alongside the road carrying a carpetbag. Her velvet gown looked expensive, but the tattered hem had seen better days.

  Curious, and not wanting to scare her, he rode up to her side. Her tapered and smooth fingers hinted that she was upper class. Wait a moment, there were ten in all. A Galatian, he realized. He also recognized their characteristic belligerence in her steady stare, and of course, the dazzling white teeth.

  Instead of feeling anger toward this one though, he found himself enchanted by her cornflower-blue eyes and silky complexion. Full lips the color of passion tantalized the imagination. Prince Valdor, who prided himself on his intellectual and emotional discipline, fell instantly in love.

  “I have no money,” she said matter-of-factly. “Nothing of value. Please, be on your way and leave me in peace.”

  Finding his voice, trying to hide the tumult of emotions raging through him, he asked, “What is your name? Why are you traveling alone so far from Galatia?”

  “I never said I was from Galatia.” She glanced warily behind her as if just noticing the army riding behind him with their lances, billowing banners and swords.

  “My powers of observation are keen,” the prince said. “So, answer my question.”

  “My name is Josephine, but everyone calls me Feenie. If you must know, I was accused of a crime I didn’t commit. Afraid for my life, I fled from Galatia in the middle of the night.”

  Although she remained stoic, a single tear glided down her perfect cheek.

  “What kind of crime?”

  “Witchcraft, treason, murder and everything under the sun.”

  “Is there truth to any of the charges?”

  “Do I look like a criminal to you?”

  “No more so than the Lily of the Valley, the rambling rose, or the gold of the sunset.”

  She turned her head away, hiding it behind her golden tresses, chest flushed pink.

  “My staunchest soldiers wouldn’t travel Spy Run alone. I fear a woman like you won’t last long without protection.”

  “If I had a choice in the matter, I’d not be here at all, but my options are limited. I can read and write though. And I’m adept with numbers, so I was hoping to find a job as a tutor. Perhaps a governess.”

  “Come with me and I will find you a position in Tectonia.”

  “Why would you do this for me—a complete stranger?”

  “I-I don’t know,” he said, not understanding it himself, “but allow me this honor.”

  Her eyes lit up, making him feel weak all over. By the throne of Tectonia, she was the grandest creature he had ever seen.

  “Normally, I would decline such an invitation from a stranger, but I’m hungry and my feet can’t take much more of this. If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

  “None at all,” he said, helping her up onto his back of his own black stallion, which earned more than a few raised eyebrows form his soldiers. But they would never question him. He climbed on in front.

  “You will have to wrap your arms around me to keep from falling.”

  When she did, lightning bolts passed through his body, making him shudder in the most exciting way.

  “What is your name, kind sir?” she asked.

  “I am Prince Valdor of Tectonia.”

  “A prince?” She acted surprised, even though she would have to be daft not to notice the crown. “I thought my life was over. Perhaps this is a sign that good fortune is smiling down on me.”

  “Indubitably.”

  .......................................

  (Magus Mull)

  Magus Mull watched his lover climb aboard the horse to wrap her arms around the Prince of Tectonia. His jaw clenched as he thought about the things she would do to steal his heart and soul—and ultimately the ancient spell book of Malachi Beldeziak. Except for a handful of historians, buried for a thousand years in a chamber below the Saberhart palace, the book that had ruled the world for a thousand years was all but forgotten.

  The demi-god, Glonare, suddenly materialized behind Mull in his animalistic form--on four hooves, a rake of horns dripping with rotting moss, and smooth black metal for his hide. With every breath, Glonare’s bullish snout fogged the air, spreading the odor of smoke and decay, smothering the area with his malevolence.

  “As I promised you, not even a genius like Valdor can resist her love spells.” Glonare’s voice was hollow and deep.

  “Not at first anyway,” Mull said, “but its effects will dissolve quickly on a man with a strong mind.”

  “By that time, I am confident that the human woman will have already manipulated him into doing my bidding.”

  “We couldn’t even hold onto Galatia,” Mull replied. “Taking over Tectonia seems impossible.”

  “Mortals,” Glonare said with contempt. “Always thinking in small segments of time. We don’t need to take over Tectonia today, only its future king, and tomorrow it will be handed over to us like John the Baptist’s head on a plate.”

  “Who is John the Baptist?”

  “An enemy of old.”

  “How long will I have to wait to get Feenie back?”

  “She doesn’t need to control Valdor forever, just long enough to excite his curiosity about the dark arts. His pride will do the rest.”

  “Does this mean we’re done with the Galatians?”

  “Until the line of Adam and Eve dies out completely, we can never rest.”

  ..............................

  Six Months After the Coup Against Red Wakeland

  (Michael Penn)

  On a cool spring morning, a crowd had gathered where the grasslands met a line of cliffs spanning miles in either direction. My elderly mother was saying her goodbyes to my two youngest brothers—Barrett and Bryce. The three of them were standing just outside of the southern border of Galatia, while a small army of angelic sword bearers waited several yards away. The leader of the sword bearers, my brother General Red Wakeland, stood beside me white-knuckling his angelic staff. Our faces were grim as we watched the scene unfold.

  Found guilty of treason, Barrett and Bryce Fade deserved what was coming to them and probably more. Instead of a death sentence, however, they had been exiled from Galatia. So why did I feel bad—like I was picking on my little brothers? It was hard to wrap my mind around the idea that I’d never see them again.

  Red and I had already said our farewells to them at the jail. It would have been easier if Barrett hadn’t been so contrite. He sincerely regretted the part he had played in trying to overthrow Red and take over Galatia. And it was clear the deaths of Sam and Nora had ate away at his conscience long before Gizmo and Isaiah had brought it to light. While he owned up to his misdeeds, he also blamed his wife. His hatred for Feenie had grown over the months. All I heard was how she had manipulated him, how she had used potions on him, how her spells had made him lose his reason. There was some truth to it—hence the lighter sentence. Some said he should be given a pardon. Others wanted his head. Exile had become the compromise. After the brutal trail, he looked broken, shrunken into a lesser creature. Bryce, on the other hand, hadn’t changed much. He remained quiet and detatched.

  I watched Mom cup Bryce’s face and kissed both of his cheeks. After a long embrace, she moved over to Barrett. He leaned down to press his face into her shoulder, where he wept. Mother ran his fingers through wavy dark hair like she used to when he was little. After a long
while, mother returned to the front line, eyes red and limbs shaking.

  “My robe, please.” Red wrapped her in the symbol of her authority. His hands lingered on her shoulders in a show of support.

  “My gavel, please.”

  I handed it over and she took a step forward.

  “I, Judge Elizabeth Wakeland of Galatia, hereby declare that from this day forward, Barrett Fade and Bryce Fade are banned from these lands now and forever.” Holding her gavel higher, she continued. “Additionally, all communication and contact with Galatian citizens, including family and friends, will cease. Do not to write, do not call, do not engage in any form of correspondence, directly or indirectly, electronically, charismatically, magically or in other ways not mentioned. If you violate these conditions of your exile, the sentence of exile will automatically revert to the death penalty.”

  “Make haste, be gone, and good riddance.”

  General Red gestured at sword bearers with a flip of his wrist. They immediately turned their backs to our brothers. Everyone else did the same, even mother, who had remained strong for about two minutes before collapsing with grief in Red’s arms.

  I couldn’t help myself, after a couple of minutes I had to turn around to see Barrett and Bryce one last time, but the place where they had been standing in the meadow was empty. And so was a piece of my heart.

  Note From the Author

  I have spent years dreaming up the fictional nation of Galatia and her associated characters. I am so happy that you decided to come for a visit. If you enjoyed your stay, please consider writing a review on Amazon. It’s a tough game out there for authors, and the only way for a book like this to get noticed is through reviews. Thank you for your support.

  Acknowledgments

  A heartfelt thank you to my critique buddy, James Vernon; my editor, Josephine Henke; and my beta reader and awesome schwester, Donna Parish.

  About The Author

  C. D. Verhoff grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Indiana University is her alma mater. She has worked in various occupations—including retail, teaching, business and finance. Writing has been a passion of hers for as long as she can remember. This has contributed to years of caffeine addiction, mindless snacking at the computer, and growing middle-age spread. Currently, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, two children, and The Hunger Dog, a black lab who will eat anything, including walls and ductwork.

  Author Website: http://cdverhoff.blogspot.com/

  Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/C-D-Verhoff-Author/106424996172224

  Other Books in the Galatia Series

  Red the First

  A Prequel to the Galatia Series

  Promised Land

  Book One of the Galatia Series

  Seeker of the Four Winds

  Book Two of the Galatia Series

  Exiled*

  Book Three of the Galatia Series

  *Release Date: Undetermined

  If you like the Galatia novels, you might also enjoy the

  Glory Alley, Girl Rock Collector Series.

  Glory Alley and the Star Riders

  Book One

  http://gloryalley.blogspot.com/p/where-to-purchase.html

  Glossary

  (Sorted by Characters, Places and Things)

  I. Characters

  Allison Wakeland: Red and Susan’s oldest daughter. She’s eighteen years old when she lands on Future Earth and is assigned the job of a hunter.

  Barrett Fade: Michael Penn’s younger half-brother. He is the son of Jacob Fade and Elizabeth. The charisma is powerful in him. His brothers jokingly refer to himself as ‘Barry Potter’ because of his unique ability to form the earth into any shape he wills. Barrett is the tallest of Elizabeth’s four sons. Brown hair, tall, muscular build, brown eyes.

  Bayloo: Flamboyant owner of Bayloo’s Traveling Theater & Company—an illegal fighting ring disguised as a theater company. He has a handlebar mustache. A deep scar divides his left cheek. Huge hoop earrings and rings on each hand. A sword hung from his hip. His caramel-colored skin was covered with black spots. He might be part Regalan, but his body was thicker, his mane non-existent, and his eyes were as a regular man’s.

  Belle Winters: Isaiah Wakeland’s ex-fiancé. Brown hair, flawless olive skin. They broke up after Isaiah caught her cheating on him.

  Bezons: An elusive female-dominant race of humanoids with bee-like qualities such as antennae and flightless iridescent wings. Their homeland is hidden so well, that even on future Earth, the other races think they are more myth than real.

  Bianca Spaulding: Josie’s Commoner step-mother.

  Big Clo: A half-Gargo female actor in Bayloo’s theater company.

  Blanche Steelsun: Known for her cheerful disposition, she counterbalances her husband Nathan’s surly attitude. Blanche is Dr. Simon Steelsun’s mother, Lars’s grandmother, and Red Wakeland the Second’s godmother. Her charisma gives her the power to lift objects with her mind. She entered the bunker when she was twenty.

  Bolt: Lars’s horse.

  Buckwheat: Josie’s horse.

  Bryce Fade: The son of Elizabeth and Jacob Fade, half-brother of Red Wakeland the First, brother of Michael Penn through adoption. He’s a slightly shorter and chubbier version of Barrett.

  Bulwark: Though the Bulwark Kingdom lies across the divide in the East, they are one of the four major races of the Western Alliance. A Bulwark has short legs, a barrel-shaped body, thick arms, and horns growing out of his temples. About a head shorter than an average man and twice as wide, Bulwarks are covered with velvety hair—black, brown, rust or white in color. They have short snouts, two nostrils like crescent moons, and small black eyes. They wear rings on their horns. Each represents bravery or victory in battle. According to Fundo, he can see strong Yoloku characteristics in the Bulwarks. Their ancestors were probably slaves on one of the Celerun ships stranded on Earth after nuclear Armageddon. They carry heavy weaponry, like spiked metal balls, and war hammers. Mining is a common occupation of Bulwarks. Killing Slivens is their favorite pastime. Biologically herbivores, nevertheless they persist in eating meat. Therefore, they fart and belch a lot. Yuh means yes. Nuh means no in their native language.

  Captain Odis Dolby: In his mid-thirties when he first delivers the proclamation to Red Wakeland the Second, he’s a decorated member of Tectonia’s elite guard.

  Celerun: The alien invaders who dropped a manufactured plague onto Earth in the modern era, but were prevented from manually killing the survivors by Wakeland the First, Elizabeth, and unseen others. The diversity of live on Future Earth is due largely to the number of Celerun ships abandoned on Earth after the nuclear devastation, with slaves within.

  Chief Krom (He Who Rules with an Iron Fist): The Bulwark chief of all the other Bulwark chiefs. Krom lost a hand in battle. He wears the head of a sledgehammer in its place. He rules the Kingdom of Shaldoah and makes his home in Glandorf Hall, a cavernous mountain dwelling that used to be a diamond mine.

  Chief Shaldoah: A legendary Bulwark who died centuries before the Galatians arrive on Future Earth.

  Commoner: The dominant race of the West. Externally, Commoners appear human save for having four fingers on each hand, and four toes on each foot. Internally, there are noticeable differences. For instance, the heart is on the right side, and all internal structures are flipped. They have a few extra organs humans do not. When a Commoner has offspring with a human—the human traits are dominant.

  Crashing Thunder: A humanoid form the amphibious Janpu race. He’s a slave warrior in in Bayloo’s Theater Company.

  Dante Armstrong: Josie’s brother-in-law. Dante was an IT guy when he lived in the bunker. He met Jo on the job and they fell in love. He arrived on Future Earth with the Fade Brothers Group. When Dr. Simon Steelsun decides to leave that group, Dante packs up his family and goes with him to Tectonia.

  Deerma: One of the four major races of the West. Deermas have velvety brown fur, with white underbellies. They wear belts aro
und their midsections. Their all-black eyes are spaced for apart. They have the face of a deer, but their snouts are not as pronounced. Their teeth are straight and human-looking. A Deerma runs on all fours, but in social situations, are comfortable on hind legs only. Their fingers are extremely stubby, coming off an appendage that looks like a hoof. They can hold things like pens and utensils, but cannot hold onto a sword for long. Deermas battle with their sharp antlers and strong hind legs. Only male Deermas have antlers.

  Dr. Katerina Sweet: Wife of Professor Ven Sweet. They were separated during the bunker evacuation. She lived with the Fade Brothers Group originally, but left with the Steelsun Group. While on Future Earth, under Simon’s tutelage, she became a physician.