Fractured Families (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga Book 2)

by Jason Paul Rice

  About an hour later, a young count led Krys from the building. “Will he be alright?” Emilia immediately asked. “Yes, he will have great pain for about a week. Surprisingly, the heat of the dragon’s fire seems to have healed those black, infected wounds he arrived with. It’s as though they were magically burned away without damaging his body in a mortal way. It is a miracle that this boy survived. Needless to say, he must stay out of the sun, but the wounds will surely heal. There will be some scarring and we must keep a close watch on developing infection.” “Thank you very much, Count Manolo,” Emilia said.

  She took Krys to the shared living house and put him in bed to rest. Emilia went back down to the field of ash to see the carnage. The open area stretched as far as the eye could see but the dragon had only hit close to the coast of the Sea of Green. The Histoman destined to travel to Donegal lived closest to the coast and some started to mutter about the trip being cursed.

  Most of the Histoman came to see the destruction as they cried and held each other to ease the suffering. Pariah had told Emilia that Histoman mothers abandoned their children after birth and the group raised the child. However, Emilia could identify the mothers of the children by only a quick look into the heartbroken eyes of some women. The former queen couldn’t understand the words, but it sounded like the mourners were singing a slow song for the fallen. The entire ground was black with gray ashes now floating around in the stiff wind. The pile of bones and corpses smelled worse than a three-month-old chamber pot. She still hadn’t seen Princess and as she looked at the pile of dead, horrible thoughts crossed her mind.

  Emilia walked southeast through the open fields and noticed a smaller part of the landscape torched by the dragon. None of the Histoman had been living in that area so there weren’t any casualties but the utter destruction was troubling. She found Ali-Samuel and asked, “Did the dragon attack any further inland?” “No, these two spots appear to be the only targets. Would’ve been much worse had it occurred at night and they were all sleeping. Would’ve killed thousands,” he responded.

  “Have you seen Princess?” she asked. “No, there were about ten children found if you want to take a closer look at them,” Ali-Samuel said. “I don’t want to root through a pile of bones and scorched flesh. If she is gone, I don’t want to remember her like that. Has this happened here before?” Emilia wanted to know.

  “Never. Dragons have been gone for five hundred years. Rockarius seemed to have hidden them well before he died,” Ali-Samuel stated. “Could it be the Gods punishing them for worshipping false idols or you know what?” she hinted. “For what? Being barbarians?” he wondered. “Well, yes,” Emilia quietly said. “They have one God and they are different, yes, but no more barbaric than your ex-husband. The same barbaric activity occurs in Donegal, but at least the Histoman have the decency to do it to your face, like a man. They don’t pay someone gold that isn’t even theirs to fix problems which should be handled alone. Is the man who orders a murder less barbaric than the man who commits the act? Does the wretched blood not stain his hands? No, yes, and he is a coward for not doing the act himself,” Ali-Samuel told her.

  “All I know is I’ve never seen a dragon in Donegal,” she argued. Ali-Samuel countered, “I’ve been all over the world and never seen a dragon. What exactly is the point you are trying to make?” Emilia looked to her left and a smile came over her. Princess approached with tears flowing from reddened eyes. The former queen picked up the child and hugged her. The elation quickly faded due to the weight of the overall situation, but at least Princess was safe.

  “Maybe the dragon was trying to burn the ships,” Ali-Samuel pointed to the vast lake. The lake extended due south of her living area and east of the burned living quarters of the Histoman. Emilia could only see about thirty boats from her vantage point, but Ali-Samuel had told her there were over three hundred vessels. Some of these would take the soldiers to the Donegal shore. She had learned the ships could each accommodate two thousand soldiers, and even bigger ones were being used for the siege weapons. Those ships looked like floating cities compared to the smaller boats for women, children and supplies. They used the lake to make certain the vessels would be sea worthy when the time arrived to strike.

  The couple went back to the westerners’ housing and Ali-Samuel excused himself and walked up the hill. Emilia and Princess sat on the ground, playing gently with each other. Ali-Steven approached and asked, “May I have a few moments of your time?” “Surely,” answered Emilia.

  The man grimaced as he lowered his older bones to sit with the girls. Emilia thought about her talk with him the other night when they mused about what Donegal would have been like had Ali-Steven been able to keep his right to the throne. He told her about his father, Ali-Baster, putting a bounty on his head, along with his wife and child. Emilia had almost seen rare emotion from the former heir to Donegal when he wished he had died attempting to defend his wife outside the castle. He would live with regret for that moment his entire life. He informed her that Ali-Stanley and Tersen betrayed his trust and ran to their father with information about Ali-Steven’s secret marriage and son. His brother Ryen had kept his trust and not told his father. The line Emilia remembered most about the conversation was when Ali-Steven told her he would do the exact same thing given a second chance. To forgo the crown and live a life on the run was the most ringing endorsement of love that Emilia had ever heard. She knew the Kingdom of Donegal would be in much better shape right now had Ali-Steven taken rule instead of his twin brother.

  The older man cleared his throat, spit on the ground and said, “Ali-Samuel has told me of your reluctance to attend council meetings but I believe you should think about sitting in.” “Ali-Samuel told you I don’t want to attend?” the confused woman asked. “Yes, of course, he stated that you had no interest in ruling matters,” he replied. “He didn’t hear that from these lips. I have an extremely vested interest in these matters,” the former queen said. “Very well then, come with me.” Ali-Steven told her.

  She used all the weight in her tiny body to help Ali-Steven to his feet and he almost pulled her down before gaining traction and steadying himself. He was as big as King Ali-Stanley but had much better coordination and didn’t have the big belly of his brother. He led her into a pavilion with a long rectangular table and two benches on either side. Ali-Samuel and two other men muttered to each other as they filled cups with red wine. Emilia strutted in and sat across from Ali-Samuel and coldly stared daggers at him. The door of anger opened inside Emilia as she gave her lover dirty looks. Ali-Samuel’s face turned red and he avoided looking in Emilia’s direction.

  A map of Donegal extended over most of the large table. “What’s to make of this dragon attack?” started Ali-Steven. “Who would have thought dragonth would ever come back?” wondered Sir Ralph Hartwell. The short, thick man with sparse, black hair spoke with a lisp. “Nobody in five hundred years. We need to find out if these attacks happened anywhere else before we panic,” advised Ali-Samuel. “We leave in three days, regardless,” firmly stated Ali-Steven.

  “Lightview hath the bethed ports for uth to land all our vethelth. We can land here,” pointed out Sir Ralph. He tapped his finger on the location and continued, “We move th’raight weth to avoid the Piper Marthlandth, then cut through Powerth Run and Cloverfoot to get to Falconhurth’d. We would be withe to avoid Red Meadow. Too much open ground where we could be thurrounded.”

  “I think we should try to land in King’s Reach and move southwest along the borderlines to the Capitol. Everyone on the borders can be swung easily,” argued Ali-Samuel. Emilia spoke up, “Supply lines would break down through King’s Reach. They don’t have the biggest fleet but their alliance with Shadowtown and First Foot will help them close off the ports. The only district that seems to stand alone is Lightview. Take Lightview and the other three districts will side with our cause. The albino rules Cloverfoot and the mughugger runs Powers Run. That is by far the easiest route as
neither of those high lords have military experience,” she stated pointing out the path to Falconhurst.

  “I’m glad you took my offer to join the meetings,” praised Ali-Steven. She saw Ali-Samuel shoot a hurt look at his father. He knew he had been caught in a lie and avoided looking at Emilia while she talked. “We could seduce Lord Nanbert with a mule and I know we can swat the albino away like a fly.” Everyone laughed but Ali-Samuel. A young man entered with a letter and handed it to Ali-Steven before leaving.

  Several moments of tense silence ensued as everyone watched Ali-Steven’s face become stern. “Holy crow, excuse us now,” he said to the officers. The men left and Emilia, Ali-Steven and Ali-Samuel remained.

  “I am so sorry to tell you this but it looks as though your son has died at the hands of my albino brother. He apparently staged a hunt in which your son became the hunted. I am truly sorry, my lady,” Ali-Steven told Emilia consolingly.

  Salty tears cascaded into Emilia’s mouth. My only son is dead. Why did I leave him to be eaten by the evil foxes, his own family? I cannot believe that my boy would have betrayed me. Ali-Samuel has lied to me about everything else, he probably lied about my son. I left him with those monsters. It’s all my fault. What kind of mother am I? Emilia sat stunned and wept for her baby boy.

  “The albino will now be known as King Ali-Tersen after stealing the crown. My father would never believe this one, he hated Tersen. Quite a summer this has been. We will avenge your son’s death,” Ali-Steven promised. Ali-Samuel looked over the letter and said, “He killed your brother Ryen and one of his sons. The albino snake strikes with venom. I didn’t think the coward had this inside him. He doesn’t seem like the man who can handle all the death that accompanies the throne. He is mentally and physically weak so this is only good news for our cause.” Ali-Steven interjected, “A bit of respect for your lady, son.” “Her son was plotting to kill us. A thousand pardons if I don’t cry my eyes out but I am entirely more saddened for Ryen, the good man who tried to raise me as a father in your absence,” Ali-Samuel shrewdly replied.

  “You heartless coward,” shouted Emilia as she threw Ali-Samuel’s sweaty hand from her shoulder and stormed out of the room and back to their living quarters. She joined Krys and Pariah at the front table for a few hours but all she could think about was Ali-Ster.

  The naked couple lay in bed on the humid night. They hadn’t said a word to each other since the pavilion. “Don’t ever try to embarrass me at a meeting again,” Ali-Samuel said in a low tone. “How am I to believe anything you say? Everything so far has turned out to be a lie,” she stated. “Stop with the dramatic performance. I am only trying to protect you,” he pleaded. “Is that another lie? Protect me from what?” she asked.

  “From falling victim to the same fate as my mother. I didn’t know my mother, but from the stories my father has told me, you sound like her. The day she died, they asked her name. She could have lied and walked away to live a long life but she didn’t. She proudly stated her name and association with my father, and Sir Oliver Tunstall rewarded her with one swing of the sword. A blink of the eye later, they told me her head hit the steps without a body attached. She fell back, dead, before she even hit the ground. And do you know what two things saved my life?” asked Ali-Samuel, nearly in tears. The former queen just shook her head. “The first was the King’s Guard took turns raping my mother’s headless corpse. The second was by the time they came back to kill me, the noble knights of the King’s Guard argued over who was going to get to smash a baby’s head on the castle steps. Then, they told me Queen Tomeo rushed out to stop them at the last moment. That was the wicked world I was born into so you can see why I am cynical. She stopped them from killing me that day but she couldn’t prevent them from making my life a living hell. They made me squire for the knight who killed my mother. He would regale me with the story of her death and raping if I ever made a mistake like not shining his belt buckle enough. I killed him and every other man involved when I grew older. Nobody knew it was me, and I thought the closure would make me happy. It didn’t. It made me think about my mother even more. You share the feisty spirit of my mother from all the stories I have heard. I don’t want you to end up like my mother. I didn’t want you in the meetings because I can foresee you trying to be too brave and doing something foolish. It is difficult for me to express feelings but you are my queen, and soon I will put the crown back on your head, where it belongs.”

  Ali-Samuel jumped on top of Emilia and sweetly kissed her perky breasts. They started having hot, intense sex and Emilia screamed in delight. Ali-Samuel put a hand over her mouth but it did little to stifle the sounds of love bouncing around the small communal house.

  Emilia awoke the next day, satisfied for the first time since leaving Donegal. She went outside and sat with Pariah and Cobra. Pariah leaned over, hugged Emilia and with a soft tone, she stated, “Sorry for your son, queen.”

  “EP OA WAU TE TO KEN AH WI,” Cobra said. “He say he make you shrunken head of man who did this,” Pariah translated. “Thank you,” she replied. At least his heart is in the right place. A bit savage, though, I would like to kill Tersen myself. Maybe the Histoman are rubbing off on me.

  Cobra said something to Pariah with a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong?” Emilia asked. “He say he is scared…” Pariah started saying as Cobra snapped at her, “SO BEL DE AN BEA TU.” “PO LE DA VOS ONT,” she said back to Cobra and faced Emilia and spoke. “No, not scared, never scared. The word is…”

  Emilia helped, “Nervous, he understands the common tongue?” “Yes, that is. He nervous to go on water. He know your language but not good. Cobra need to be best at all. He not scared of any man or fight. Two men challenge him for leader of our family. They say they fight together and they lead together,” Pariah said. “That seems hardly fair, two against one,” Emilia responded. “He not scared to fight two men. He fight them before we leave. He nervous to walk on water,” Pariah stated. “Tell Cobra that I came here on a boat from the same place we are going. I have been on many boats and ships and never experienced a problem.”

  Pariah translated the message but Cobra still looked disturbed. Emilia had the sudden idea of taking Cobra onto the boats while they were on the lake to get a feel of the waves and to see that they were safe. All the travelling Histoman could take a short trip around the lake to get their sea bearings. Emilia peered through the cracked door of her housing building to see Krys Colbert, alone. “Krys is all alone in there. We should keep him company,” Emilia said. “TE AT PUH CON TAN RU OH,” Pariah told Cobra and he nodded his head. The three went and sat down with Krys. After only a few moments, Cobra told Pariah he’d forgotten something and left abruptly.

  “Has the pain eased at all? Do you need anything?” Emilia asked. “A bit less pain. I need to see Count Manolo later today,” he responded. “You are coming with us, right?” Emilia wanted to know. “Yes, the count says I should be fine to travel. I may have to spend most of my time below deck but I’m going. Ali-Steven will use me to either go through Mattingly or ransom me back to my own family, what’s left of me, I suppose,” Krys said.

  “I have some good news on that matter. Edburgh was correct about the plan to kill your entire family. They did get your mother and sister but a letter came yesterday saying that your father returned home after being locked in the dungeons until my son, Ali-Ster, released him,” the former queen said.

  “Edburgh told me that they killed my father in an ambush set up by the former king and him,” Krys said and asked at the same time. “We all believed that for three months. Hopefully you will get to see your father again,” Emilia said as she noticed Krys look down in shame. She thought he was ashamed to see his father again with the burns. “Seeing him might help to ease the pain that no woman will ever love me,” Krys worried. “Stop with that talk. Wait until the wounds heal and you are handsome again. I mean, you are now,” Emilia tried to lift his mood. “I know woman Histoman and say you good
man,” Pariah added with a smile. Emilia was reminded again of her dead son and her hidden sadness continued.

  The door popped open and Cobra entered again. He held a huge, shaped hunk of gold. Histomanji ran ripe with gold in the rivers and streams. The Histoman had no value for gold so Ali-Steven used it to fund his war to take back his rightful throne. Upon closer inspection, Emilia noticed a golden mask that looked like a dragon’s face with bullhorns and had black lace strings hanging near the ears.

  “EPP BU LEW MU WAU TEN BE FOM ONS RE,” Cobra said. Pariah looked at Krys, “Krys Colbert, Histoman say you have look death in eye two time. You are brave man.”

  “KEM BU RAH TO NEN MO JAN HI OM HEL FO,” Cobra stated. Pariah translated, “He say you not born of Histoman but you are brother. The men talk and your Histoman name is Dragon Fighter.”

  “KAL MO TIS BA PEH OH DA TU SEP KO HAN SUN TAT OAH PO AH KI AR,” Cobra said. Pariah looked back to Krys, “To survive the fire of dragon, your heart made of gold. We make a face of gold to match your heart for when burn heal.”

  “KOH BUR AL PI S OH AH PUA KEP OH TI COM PO EN DO SMO KIT POW,” Cobra emphatically stated. Pariah spoke, “You have bravest tattoo of any man. Wear with pride, not shame. Wear mask to show golden heart.” Krys looked up at Cobra, “Thank you.” Cobra smiled for the first time Emilia had seen and slowly said in a thick accent, “Dragon Fighter.”

  The day arrived to leave, but Cobra had another battle for his life against a few upstarts. Big Ears and Tree Branch were quite a queer pair. Big Ears stood compact and Tree Branch was taller than Cobra but half of his weight. The young men couldn’t have been any older than her deceased son, the former queen thought. None of the men wore body protection. Cobra wielded a two-foot scimitar and two wooden sticks connected with a linked chain. He held that weapon in his left hand and whipped it around in the air. Big Ears had a long wooden staff with a crude metal spear attached to one end. Tree Branch had a two-handed long scimitar sword much bigger than Cobra’s. The two challengers had worry in their eyes and Cobra looked as calm as a meadowlark on a branch.