by P. G. Thomas
Blood Bond, Book Three
The Anti-Matter Chronicles
By P. G. Thomas
Written and Published by P.G. Thomas
Copyright 2016 P.G. Thomas
Dedicated to my Sister
Of all the gifts I received in this world, it is your support and friendship that I cherish the most.
Originally edited by Adam Steel, e-mail: [email protected]
Re-edited in 2016
Cover Art by Paul Santana, e-mail: [email protected]
You can follow me on twitter: @PGTtheauthor
You can contact me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Matter-Chronicles-886040318206439/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any reference to historical persons, fictional characters (print, movies, or television), actual products, musical groups, song titles, or similar are used fictitiously, to add an element of realism to this story. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
I would like to extend special thanks to my beta readers: Nancy Giberson, Chuck Lawrence, Shelley Myron, Dev Birbalsingh, David Shaw, Susan Karley, Alex Dimoski, and Peet Den. All helped me to make this a better story.
A note to the readers: the old-fashioned coordinator ‘for’, has been replaced with ‘as’, which also has the classification of a subordinator. Too many times, ‘for’ fails to coordinate the clauses correctly, resulting in either extremely long or incorrectly punctuated sentences. Having found numerous references stating this practice has ‘generally been replaced in modern English,’ I have also adopted it. However, there are times when it does revert to being a marker for dependent clauses, but I have reserved those instances to the beginning of a sentence, attempting to decrease the effects of this transition. With so few words/clauses identified as ‘dependent marker words’ removing ‘as’ completely from this role increases the frequency of the remaining, making them appear overused. Other than that, I have also done my best to eliminate the appearance of ‘as.’
Books Written by P.G. Thomas
The Anti-Matter Chronicles
Book 1: Tranquil Fury [~265 pages, 100,000 words]
Book 2: Sky Elf [~300 pages, 107,000 words]
Book 3: Blood Bond [~343 pages, 125,000 words]
The Gray-Matter Chronicles
Book 1: Revenge [~270 pages, 111,000 words]
Book 2: Reset [~316 pages, 117,000 words]
Book 3: Residual [~400 pages, 154, 000 words]
Original Version
For a number of reasons, it was necessary to remove the original version, which contained the unique elf and dwarf speech patterns. If you were reading it in Kindle Unlimited, desiring to continue, please contact me on Facebook (listed above) or by email ([email protected]), and I will republish that version separately.
Index
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30
Chapter 31 About the story
Prologue
In book two, Sky Elf, after rescuing their captured friends, they discovered the mystery behind the strange beast that had followed them. However, in the few days they were prisoners, the damage done was great. Being anxious to both heal their friends and continue the journey, Earth Guard scouts reported that a huge army blocked their path: one hundred thousand black-clad soldiers.
As Lauren and her Earth Guard stood on the north river bank, the young girl began to understand the power that she held in her hands, and with the tri-wood staff, she conscripted an army that battled the invading threat. Upon returning to their camp, finding her injured friends healed, they continued to make their way south to the mountain pass.
Unfortunately, their swift travels came to an abrupt halt, blocked by an impenetrable fort of black-clad soldiers. Left with only one option, disguising themselves like the enemy, they boldly entered where none would think to search. Deep within the bowels of the stronghold, Tranquil Fury stirred, leaving a smoldering pile of ashes in his awakening.
Then the sight they had struggled for so long appeared, as they found the fleeing populations, Mother’s children, but the news that they brought, not all welcomed. In this back eddy of denial, Lauren received help from four Earth Mothers and Nur the half-elf Earth Daughter. As they attempted to force back the shadows that hid the truth, they found sympathizers in the quiet town. Worse yet, enemy spies, and then the black-clad attacked. When that which Lauren never thought possible happened, she turned to Panry for protection. Even with so much happening, Gayne began to teach John, but the student quickly became the teacher, as he explained the source of magic.
They formed an alliance with the dwarfs, created the Earth Scouts, sending messages to the nearby settlements and to the elves, but would any answer the call? Having a huge land to defend, the odds were stacked against them, as a massive force, whose whereabouts were unknown, was growing more confident.
Needing more help, from the back of a crowded room, one small dwarf mentioned the words that would change the tides: Mountain Eagles. After deploying their plan, they received an unexpected gift, as sky elves rode the massive birds. When we last left the small group, the sky elves had just flown away, advising them, when they turned north, they would find the first threat that was invading the lands, but nobody would have guessed how close it was.
Chapter 1
That morning, the large group from Alron had established contact with the elves. Before taking to the sky, the riders of the massive birds informed them, when they turned north, it would mark the sight of the first threat. As the birds took to the air, Nur and Zack wandered to the far side of the carriage, secluding themselves away from prying eyes, and the various Earth Guards began to break down the camp. Arora, Brook, Lindo, and Fritza surrounded Lauren, watching for hours as the massive birds flew to the east. Panry and Logan both wondered how large the threat was that had so quickly changed the reluctant sky elves minds. Lauren, being surprised, had expected the sky elves to fly northeast, but instead they flew directly east, which seemed odd.
Then Brook gasped in horror, as her elf eyesight was able to see the distant massive birds better. “They turned north!”
Realizing what had just happened, Lauren fell to her knees. “They can’t be that close!”
Rushing to her side, Panry helped her up, confirming her worst dreams. “They turned north, Earth Mother.”
“We need to get back to town, now,” ordered Lauren.
With everybody boarding the coaches, the Earth Guards took to their deer and horse mounts.
Arora’s face was white, “They are so close. I know you warned of threats, but I always thought they would be farther away.”
“I thought they would spot the large force further north,” Lauren said, shaking her head. “You know? The ones we passed on our journey south?”
“Mayhap they moved south?” suggested Panry.
Nur searched the carriage for a bottle, “We are not ready. They could attack any day. The dwarf weapons are still in their mines, and the elves are still in the forest. We are doomed!”
Panry tried to calm the group. “We do not know what shall happen. We can send dwarf to the mountain to watch, who can repor
t what they see. When Earth Scouts return from forest with elves, we can show the new threat to all.”
Lauren shook her head, “Or we can just wait a few days, greeting them at the front gates.”
Seeing the fire in Lauren’s eyes, Panry realized his Moth Flame was back. Being Earth Guard, his oath was to protect and serve. If she wanted to confront the valley army, then his role was simple, and he had made a promise to her, telling her to do whatever it was she had to do. “What do you suggest, Earth Mother?”
Rubbing her eyes, Lauren tried to erase the image of the sky elves turning north. “I agree with both of you. We aren’t ready, but maybe they aren’t ready either. Mountain is home to dwarf, so let’s see if we can get them to keep an eye on the black-clad, but we also need to take action in the pass.”
“We can warn all,” Brook added, “and find many to cut trees to build a fort like Aaro and Bor suggested.”
Lauren shook her head, “No, that’ll take too long, and they could just burn it down. Also, if we warn the townspeople, then more will flee, spreading the word that we are fortifying. The black-clad will just speed up their timetable to attack sooner.”
When they were back in town, they sent runners to all of the dwarf clans, informing them they were going to have an emergency meeting at the post office, and within the hour, they had filled the map room.
Lauren looked at the large group of small, fierce warriors. “You heard of our plans to capture a Mountain Eagle so that we could see from the sky? Today, I report both good and bad news. We found them, and to our surprise, elves rode them. We didn’t know if we could train such huge birds, but now we don’t have to. The sky elves have offered to be our eyes, seeing what we cannot.”
All of the dwarves, knowing the advantage it would be, let out shouts of excitement.
“All of the news isn’t good, as they spotted a large threat.” Lauren pointed to a location on the map, “We don’t know anything about them; what they’re doing or their numbers. We needed a threat to show the elves in order to make them our allies. We have it now, and they should be here soon. I’m looking for volunteers to scale the mountains to watch the black-clad, making a path to the top, so that we can show elf, midlander, and all others who don’t believe in the threat, so they can see it for themselves.”
Bor looked at the map, “With threats so close, they could easily attack, so we need to block the pass.”
Lauren nodded, “I know, but we’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need dwarves to be our eyes and ears.”
At the back of the room, one dwarf stood up. “Earth Mother, I am clan brother Dunn Steelore. Mountains are dwarf property. Trespass they do, and will not permit this we. From us, what do you need?”
“Right now, Dunn, just make a path up to the top of the mountain, and keep an eye on them. Leave a chain of dwarves behind you, passing messages down every four hours, and we’ll send postal riders to retrieve them. Then we’ll advise you when we’re bringing out our future allies. For now, just watch them. That’s all.” She turned to Pintar, “Most of your building crews are back. Can we borrow some of your wagons and horses?” Pintar nodded. “John, give them gold to buy rations and whatever else they need.” Lauren turned back to Dunn, “I need you on that mountain right away. After you purchase what you need today, make your preparations tonight. Then leave at the first sunrise. Thank you all.” Leading the dwarves to the street in front of the post office, Dunn began issuing commands.
Panry, Brook, and Lauren walked back to the main house.
“We may have a problem,” Panry said, “if Eric hears of a threat so close.”
Lauren stopped dead in her tracks, “I forgot about him. Brook can you have Ramy get Eric to inspect everything and anything. Keep him busy around the clock, and I’ll try to make sure that nobody says anything to him.”
*******
To say that Lauren was up early the next morning would be a lie; first, you had to fall asleep. The black-clad army, which slept in the mountain valley, had invaded her thoughts before the restful dreams had arrived and stayed the night. Wandering into the kitchen, she was in search of hot bean juice and a solution to the problem with the mountain pass. They had talked about a number of options the night before, but everything would just take too long. When she asked about the bean juice, the cook handed her an empty mug, advising her that the Earth Guards had just taken a pot into the backyard. As Lauren walked outside, she was surprised to see Earth Guards sitting at the table, but not hers’, Nurs’. Approaching, they immediately stood, greeted her before returning to their discussion. She wondered what they were doing in her backyard, but hearing the front door open, she saw John walking towards the kitchen with his Iron Wood staff. The cook handed him a mug, pointing to the backyard. No saw or ax can harm it. No fire can burn it.
“Panry,” Lauren shouted, “Arrange mounts. Get Gingaar, Logan, and the Earth Guard. We’re going on a ride so pack food, as we’ll be gone for two weeks.” She then turned to the two Earth Guards, “Go, and get Nur. She might like to tag along.” While not surprised to see them enter the house, she was unsure why they went up the stairs, but then realized that John was talking to her.
“I just checked with Pintar. Four wagons with forty-eight dwarves headed out to the mountain range before the first sunrise, so that nobody would see them. They should be there by nightfall, and by tomorrow, they should be on top of the range.”
“That’s good news, thanks.” Lauren was still distracted about Nur’s Earth Guard when Panry arrived. She turned to him, “We’re going to block the pass because I’ve an idea, which I want to try, and if it works, we can protect the west. Get the mounts ready because I want to leave in fifteen minutes.”
As Lauren ran into the house, she passed Nur brushing her hair in the front room. Changing quickly into a comfortable riding outfit, grabbing a fresh set of clothes, she raced back down the stairs to the front of the house, finding the final preparations in process. She saw Nur sitting on a large whitetail deer, which had a magnificent set of antlers. On closer inspection, she realized it was without a saddle, and different from the Earth Guard deer mounts, having four white ‘socks.’
“Where are we going, Earth Mother?” asked Panry.
“First, we need to go to the forest just outside of town, so we can harvest some Iron Wood trees.” He had a surprised look on his face, but she shook her head, “I know, just trust me.”
As she rode to the east gate, her Earth Guard formed a tight formation around her, while the rest followed closely behind. Then, when they passed through the gate, Lauren let her horse pick up speed, feeling the breeze on her face, her hair whipping about in the wind. Arriving at the road leading to Mother’s Forest, after she turned south, once at the forest edge, all dismounted and gathered around her.
“Some of you may not have heard, but there’s a black-clad army staged close to the pass. If this is the first you’ve heard of it, don’t tell Eric. I repeat, don’t tell Eric. Anything that we try to build will take too long, and then rumors will spread that we are fortifying, and if the Royal House hears that, they could change their plans. It may take months to build a fort, months that we don’t have. I want it blocked by the end of this week. I stopped those bastards from invading the west once, and I’ll do it again.”
“Earth Mother, how are you going to block the pass?” asked Nur.
“Like this.” Turning, she kneeled, driving the tri-wood staff into the ground. Concentrating, she willed the Iron Wood trees to hear her commands, making leaves fall from them. “Pick them up,” Lauren called out, “but be gentle with them. We need about two hundred.”
While nobody understood what she was doing, every member of the group harvested them. When it looked like she had enough, Lauren pulled her staff from the ground, but collapsing, Panry rushed to her. Nur and Gingaar, seeing this, also ran over, but before anybody could say anything, Gingaar turned, racing back into the forest.
Panry turned to Nur,
“Earth Mother, What happened?”
“She has overextended herself. Her gift may be strong but so is Iron Wood.”
As Nur knelt beside her limp body, Erust approached with a water skin, and she carefully dripped fresh water into Lauren’s mouth.
Logan was surprised to see her so exhausted that she was unable to support herself. “Will she be all right?”
When Gingaar ran back over, she handed three different berries to Nur, who one by one crushed them over Lauren’s mouth.
After fifteen minutes, Lauren sat up with a dazed look in her eyes, “What happened?”
They all smiled with relief.
“I think you bit off more than you could chew. How do you feel?” asked Nur.
“Fine,” but trying to raise herself, they could see she was still recovering.
Panry handed her the water skin, “Earth Mother, please rest.”
“No, we need to block the pass!”
“My oath is to protect and serve. Right now, to serve you best, I need to protect you from yourself. Friend, rest, then to the mountain pass we shall go.”
Nur’s whitetail deer had lain down behind Lauren to support her. Sitting down beside her, Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, thinking about the prophecy that the elven Earth Mother had told him.
Gingaar had disappeared into the woods shortly after Lauren had regained her balance, and when she returned, she borrowed Panry’s water skin and dagger. After washing the harvested root, she found two large flat stones. That was when Panry heard the first smack of stone on sharpened steel. Turning, he watched Gingaar pound his best dagger with one rock into the other, cutting a root into small pieces. When she was done, she gave the blunt instrument back to Panry, before handing Lauren a dozen finely chopped pieces of a white root.
“Suck on them until they become soft and then swallow. Your strength shall return soon because they are Iron Wood roots. They may be tangy, but their strength is great.”