The Destroyer Book 4

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “There are several ruins in our lands. They were once proud cities and villages that our ancestors inhabited in the time of the Gods. When they were betrayed by the humans, the cities were destroyed. Most are overgrown with foliage and have little to offer us. One however, a few hours ride to the south, had an underground complex filled with ancient texts and devices.” I nodded at his words and immediately wanted to visit the place. I had never been interested in the lore of our people, but the idea of exploring a ruined city and finding unseen treasures sounded like an interesting break from entertaining my suitors.

  “The language of our ancestors does not translate well into our current spoken word, but I have been able to glean enough understanding of the process to begin my experiments. It has occupied most of my time for the last five years. The experiments finally produced results a few months ago and we have begun training some of our new human stock,” Dluuzit continued.

  “Training an army takes space. It will be hard to keep it a secret for long,” I said.

  “Exactly.” My father nodded. “We would like your help in ensuring that none of your suitors or maidens finds out about our endeavor.”

  “What about the legends?” I smirked before taking a long drink from my wine glass.

  “What of them?” Dluuzit asked.

  “Humans killed the Gods and then were punished. We are the enforcers of their slavery. It is why we have access to the World,” I replied.

  “That is one story. Perhaps it is true, perhaps it is not.” Dluuzit shrugged his shoulders. I could sense a shift in the room and smell the scent of bad citrus from Gnella. She was worried.

  “Do you deny the existence of the Dead Gods?” I almost laughed. I never imagined I would be discussing religion with any of my father’s elders. I could not do much more debating on the subject. The Gods had never interested me, whether they had lived or not, the undisputed fact was that they were now dead, and held no power over me.

  “I fail to see how these humans and the Dead Gods are connected. Our new slaves are strong, fast, difficult to kill, and loyal beyond what you might believe. They are the ultimate weapon, and if we continue on this path, our tribe can realize power and prestige beyond what our ancestors even dreamed.” Dluuzit’s voice grew passionate and the room filled with the scent of honey.

  “You are really too stupid to see the connection? When humans had the powers of the World, they killed the Gods. We were tasked with overseeing them to prevent this from happening again. Giving them this power is a direct violation of the wishes of the Gods, dead or not. The other tribes will intervene if they discover what you are doing. And they may be correct to do so.” I set the wine glass down and laced my fingers together on the table. “This may actually provoke all the neighboring tribes to form an alliance to attack us. You may even bring the wrath of all the Elven people onto our tribe for playing with the power the Gods entrusted to our race.” The honey scent quickly went rancid.

  “Daughter,” the chieftain said, and the attention in the room shifted to him. “The rewards we will reap vastly outweigh the risks you speak of. As long as you can keep your friends away from the training grounds, we will have enough of a head start to solidify our power.”

  “I would like some time to consider your words. Perhaps dessert should be served while I think?”

  “Very well,” my father said. He got up from his seat and left the room through the doors to the kitchen. Zaarmo turned to speak to me but I raised my finger to cut off his words and leaned back in my chair.

  There was a risk to this endeavor. I knew that well enough. The question really was one of how much that risk could impact my own life. If another tribe did find out about these humans, the Laxile tribe would be massacred. I was certain of this. However, I doubted that I would be included in such a genocide. I was the only Singleborn alive and I could pretend to be ignorant of their experiments. A war council of tribal leaders would be happy to look the other way to preserve my life.

  On the other hand, if this experiment went as my father and Dluuzit predicted, the Laxile tribe would enjoy a healthy dose of power. While we were the strongest tribe within a few days' horse ride, there were many other tribes more powerful than my father’s family.

  Humans bred plentifully and quickly. If they were as strong and loyal as Dluuzit believed, we could easily create a fighting army of several hundred thousand in a few decades. We would be unstoppable, even if the other tribes later copied our strategy, our head start would give us a tremendous advantage that they might never be able to match.

  The door to the dining hall opened and a stream of servants entered to clear plates and lay out dessert. Smoky chocolate drifted to my nose and I took my attention from my mental scenarios and paid heed to the cake laid out on my plate. It was a masterpiece covered with sharp-smelling mint and ripe raspberries.

  After the servants cleared the room we began to enjoy the cake. I let several minutes pass and did not indulge any of the elders with a look or scent that might confirm my decision.

  “I have considered what you have told me,” I finally said. They looked up from their desserts eagerly.

  “I will agree to your plans and support your efforts by delaying my selection of a mate. I will also do what I can to keep my suitors and maidens from the fields you are using to conduct this work. I cannot be everywhere at once, so you will have to do some of your own guard work to prevent them or their staff from wandering astray.”

  “We can deal with that.” My father nodded. He smiled broadly and the scent of the room took on the honey aroma again.

  “I have a few conditions though,” I said to cut off the pleasant smell.

  “They are?”

  “Private, for you and I to discuss alone. Now that your elders have finished their dessert, perhaps they can leave us to work out the details?” I glanced at the older Elvens. A few, like Vuma and Dluuzit, looked annoyed that I wished to speak with my father alone. The others smelled grateful to be done with the conversation. All rose from the table and bowed slightly to us before leaving.

  Once they were gone, I got out of my chair and sat next to my father. I doubted that the elders would eavesdrop, but I kept my voice to a whisper.

  “If this experiment goes as planned, Laxile will become the most powerful tribe in existence. Your legacy will last forever,” I began.

  “I am glad you see the potential.” He nodded, and I could smell the vanilla of the pleasure my words caused.

  “If this happens, I want you to remove the mandate for me to breed.”

  “That will be impossible. Our entire race wants you to create offspring.” He frowned.

  “What the entire race wants will no longer dictate our actions if we have this army of humans,” I finished for him.

  My father leaned back in his chair and seemed to ponder my request.

  “Do you prefer women, then?”

  “No. I have not found an appropriate male. Perhaps I will one day.”

  “You told us that you would select from the current suitors.” He smirked

  “I have few other options at this point. I could not find one worthy in my mother’s lands. Now I am encountering the same here. I would prefer to have more time to decide. Will you agree?”

  “There is tremendous pressure for you to create offspring. We will have a force strong enough to combat our neighbors in say, five years, but having an army large enough to battle distant tribes might take three times as long.”

  “You will have to move faster. We can continue this dance for the next five years, then I will announce that I do not intend to breed in the near future.”

  “Fine. What other conditions do you have?” he asked.

  “The stables at the south hill of the mansion. I want them.” I crossed my arms and licked my lips to taste his scent.

  “I don’t understand your request. You can use them anytime. You have been riding every single morning for the last two months.” His scent confirme
d the confusion on his face.

  “Yes, but I only want my horses stabled there. I intend to start a breeding program. I don’t want anyone to bother me when I am in the stables. Tell the elders to move their horses and your stable master to begin reporting to me.”

  “Breeding horses? Didn’t you just kill the one that Leitive gifted to you?” He smirked and his scent changed to a bitter citrus peel.

  “Fusik challenged me to tame the beast. It threw me, so I punished it.” I shrugged. “It did get me thinking about this hobby, and I want the stable to myself.” Kaiyer had seen the massive stallion throw me from its back and I lost my temper.

  “That is a simple request. We can build another smithy and stable easily enough and move the human slaves there. Will you need more Elven servants to care for the horses?”

  “No. Keep the humans there.” He raised an eyebrow. “If we are betting on this new army I should make attempts to get used to their foulness. Besides, I’ve already trained them to work with my horses.”

  “What of the smith? He is very skilled and the house uses his services frequently.”

  “Have work requests submitted to me. If he has time, I will approve them.” I had not thought of the smith’s duties.

  “Very well. I will inform the elders and staff tonight. What else?”

  “I do not care to know any more of these experiments or the training you are conducting on the humans. I do not want to be involved in any meetings or updates that Dluuzit and Vertarus give you. Keep me away from it.”

  “Why? You indicated that you agreed with this.” His scent changed to burnt sage.

  “The less I know of the details, the easier it will be for me to keep it from the people you want me to hide it from. I don’t need any more knowledge of your experiments.” He nodded, and I guessed that he never considered that, if the situation was discovered, I could use my ignorance for protection.

  “I can agree to that as well.” He laughed. “The news will no doubt crush poor Vertarus. He was counting on showing them off to you one day.”

  “Males around me should be used to disappointment by now.” I smirked and my father laughed louder.

  “Those words come from your mouth, but they sound like a script written by your mother.”

  “That is all. I will retire now. Goodnight, Father.” I tried to hide my anger at his comparison to my mother.

  “Goodnight, Daughter.” He nodded as I stood and I felt him watching me walk out of the dining hall.

  Instead of walking back to my suite, I decided to head to the garden. The moon was still low in the sky, and while the night was brisk and breezy, the temperature was not unpleasant. I sat on the stone benches amongst the mellow smelling apple orchard and listened to the soft music drifting from the house. My entourage was gathered in my half-brother’s room and their laughter punctured the music like a second song.

  It was a shame to let this dress go to waste. I supposed that the garment had already served its purpose. The elders and my father saw me in it. I wondered what Kaiyer would think of it. He had only seen me in riding pants and traveling blouses. I debated walking down to the stables. I wanted to teach him how to lick and fuck me and this dress would work perfectly. I thought of his rough hands sliding over the smooth dress and my even smoother skin. Shivers over took my body and my entrance clenched around empty wetness. Even fantasizing about him brought me close to climax, it was so deliciously wanton.

  I sighed and fought to control the arousal in my body. Unfortunately, a journey to the stables at this hour would be too dangerous. If I was seen walking down the hill, there would be questions I could not easily explain away. No one would believe that I would want to go riding at this hour, but I did have some time before anyone would wonder where I was. I wavered for a moment between the two paths and I decided on the safer choice, rose from the bench and walked back toward the manor. Relyara would be eager to hear details of the meeting and she would help take the edge off of my arousal. Her tongue would do until I had my way with Kaiyer.

  Chapter 13-The O’Baarni

  “Why dragons?”

  “Why not?” Shlara shrugged her shoulders and leaned back against the trunk of the redwood tree we lunched beneath.

  “You don’t do anything without a reason.” I laughed and took another bite of roast boar. We had caught the animal a few hours ago and cooked it slowly above a smoking stack of cedar bark. It needed a bit more salt, but otherwise tasted rich and flavorful.

  “You never care to hear of the Elven’s mythos.” We had a small pot of pine needle tea brewing near the fire and she refilled her pewter cup.

  “You picked dragons because of the Elvens?”

  “Elvens apparently hate the creatures. My tribe used to brand humans with a mark that looked like a dragon whenever one tried to escape. Then they tortured and killed them.”

  I nodded at her words and let her pour me another cup of the tea. The cook site and sheltering grove of trees perched high on a cliff face that overlooked the ocean. Currents were mild, and the waves made a soothing murmur as they caressed the rocky face of the shore. The sun would set in a few hours and we hoped to catch the last light of the day when it danced across the water.

  “When I escaped with my people I went to sleep every night worried that we would be caught. Perhaps that is another reason I picked the dragon image. The Elven legends say they were cunning and once led vast armies against their Gods.”

  “Stories told to frighten slaves.” I shook my head.

  “Maybe. But I won’t rule out their existence just because I haven’t seen one.” She smiled and stretched her arms up against the trees. Her new leather and chain armor squeaked when it rubbed against itself. Within a few months it would be broken in and make little noise.

  “I think each of us has chosen a fitting totem.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Malek values teamwork, so a wolf, who hunts in packs, works for him. Alexia is like a snake because she is sleek and silent and often goes unnoticed until she strikes. Gorbanni and Thayer’s symbols are the most fitting.” We both laughed at their similarities to a ram and bear.

  “Even your emblem is appropriate. You are bringing death to our enemies,” she said to me. I nodded and leaned back on the moss-covered rock near the fire. Silence sat between us for a few minutes as we both studied the sea.

  “Thank you for joining me today,” I said to her.

  “Of course! You know I would do anything for you. Especially if it means we have some time alone.” I nodded and turned back to the ocean to hide my smile. Today marked the anniversary of her promotion last year to commander. Since that time she had made too many improvements in the army for me to count.

  “A ship.” I pointed out into the water where the vessel skimmed across the surface of the dark waves. It was three, maybe four miles away, so I could only make out a few oars.

  “I don’t see one. Where are you looking?”

  “Directly west. Where the clouds meet.”

  “Point to it again?” She crouched on the boulder next to me with her cheek pressed up against mine. Her skin smelled of leather oil, pine needles, and cedar. The closeness to her made my heart beat quicker, but I tried to ignore it while I pointed out to the horizon.

  “Green sail and orange hull. Looks like there are people at the oars and on the deck.” I had only seen a few small boats in my life. Elvens didn’t care much for sailing and left most of the ocean uncharted.

  “I don’t see a boat. Seems odd that Elvens would be that far out.” She leaned forward next to me and shielded her eyes from the setting of the sun. Then she moved her face closer to my arm. “My eyes aren’t as good as yours.” She sat back next to me with a shrug. Her indifference surprised me, she must have been interested in discussing why I asked her to join me here.

  I continued to study the boat. Behind me I heard Shlara sip her tea and cut herself more boar meat. The vessel crested a final wave and disappeared
over the horizon. The sun was low in the sky and the water reflected its orange light.

  “Are we spending the night out here?” Shlara asked.

  “I was thinking about it.”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks reddened against the twilight and she glanced back to the fire nervously. It reminded me of the time she first came to my tent to introduce herself a year and a half ago.

  “I spend time with all of my commanders. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with you much outside of our daily tasks. This will give us a chance for us to become better friends.”

  “I would like that.” She smiled and pulled her hair back from one side of her head to expose her neck to me. Her hands stayed on the long dark brown locks and absently stroked them.

  “Me too. Thayer and I have known each other for what feels like an eternity. We escaped our tribe together. I have known Alexia almost as long. Shortly after Thayer and I formed the army with Entas, we were scouting and found her being attacked by Elvens.”

  “I’ve never heard about that from her. She is quiet about her past. I asked your other commanders about you, but they didn’t tell me much. I put the pieces together. They were raping her?” I nodded, grateful she had changed the subject quickly back to Alexia. My other commanders did not tell her much about me because they knew little about my life as a slave. Even Thayer and I had not known each other until we were forced together in the Elven army. I never spoke of my family or Iolarathe. “That happened in our tribe often, fortunately, my family was placed in the fields working the farm and I had very little interaction with the main estate.”

  “Farming is physically demanding. It must have been difficult.” Shlara had joined our army after leading a few hundred of her people across the wilderness in search of us. They were all starving and would have only lasted a few more weeks had she not found us when she did. As thin as she had been, she did not have the hardened look of someone who had borne hundreds of hours of hard labor outdoors.