Brothers of Blood (Fall of a King Book 2)

by James Fuller

  Your father nearly ended both your lives within my belly that very day, but I was too far along and my life was in the balance, so he would not risk it. The Prophet told him to wait until both boys were born and then to kill the second. If only one boy child remained then the vision could not take form. That may have been true, but a mother’s love is a strange and powerful thing. The night of the birth, Astaroth came first. Your father was overjoyed and took him out of the room right away, leaving the midwife, myself and one of his trusted friends to bear the burden of that second child. But when you were born, I could not help my maternal instincts and I had to see you - to hold you at least once,” Zada paused and turned away from Meath. “I could not let an innocent child be put to death, for only the crime of being born. I asked for but a moment alone with you to say my goodbyes and your father’s man waited outside the door, honorably. I quickly made a deal with the midwife to change the herbs used to end your life for ones that would make you sleep so soundly one would mimic death. Thankfully, she agreed.” Zada turned back, her eyes locking with Meath’s again. “Later that night I snuck you out of Salvas, bundled tightly to my chest. I knew my life to be forfeit, were I caught. I smelled the smoke of a campfire and left you within easy distances to be heard by the travelers. You have no idea how thankful I was that Ursa was one of those within the group.”

  Meath began to pace around the garden, overwhelmed by everything; it was too much, first the death of his friends, now the truth of his existence, the reason behind why he was abandoned. His real mother and father…here. The thought struck him hard. “Where is he? Where is my real father?”

  “He is dead,” She replied coldly.

  Meath’s mouth open but the words seemed trapped and would not come out, yet he did not know what words should. He turned and left the garden, leaving Zada - his mother - alone.

  Meath sat atop the cliff’s edge, overlooking the magical boundary between Salvas and his world outside of it. He sat next to the veil that divided the two worlds. His mind was not on the vast differences that he could see between the two, but rather playing over every word Zada had said, every word his… mother had said to him. Introspective, he sat there upon the rough granite - time seemed to pass him by without notice and night soon blanketed Salvas. The bright auras of the stars were lost on him as they did their best to push back the blackness that consumed the clear sky.

  So much had changed in such a short time - so many emotions, so many feelings - it was almost unbearable. Yet, as he watched the rising of the sun and its warm brilliance bathed him, he felt a sudden calm wash over him.

  “He did not return to his room all night,” Tabitha said, pacing in front of the Alma-Mater.

  “I wish I could say it surprised me to know that,” Zada replied calmly. “He shares much in common with what his father once was.”

  “You do not think he tried to go through the veil do you?”

  Zada grimaced at the thought but quickly dismissed it. “No. I do not believe he would do such a thing.”

  “And if he still wants no part of this?”

  Zada grimaced again - this was what she truly was worried about. If Meath still would not have part of what needed to be done then she would have to bend to the will of an enemy to see to the survival of Salvas. “You know as well as I what will need to happen…if he refuses.” Apprehension flashed in Tabitha’s eyes at the reminder of what their only other opinion would be. “We will not worry about that until we need to.”

  “Even if he agrees, there is not a lot of time left. Do you truly believe he will be able to do it?”

  “I see something inside of him - something I only saw in his father a very long time ago - he will be ready.” Zada replied, her eyes locking on the lone figure exiting the woods towards them.

  “Meath! You are back!” Tabitha gasped as she went to greet him.

  Meath walked by her without a glance and stopped in front of Zada. “I will do it; I will hunt down Astaroth and kill him.”

  Zada nodded. “I am pleased to hear this.”

  “Do not be.” Meath responded sharply. “I do not do this for you, I do this for me. Now what is it I need to learn to kill him?”

  “Take the rest of today to rest, tomorrow we will begin to prepare you for what you must do,” Zada replied.

  *****

  “I say we leave him behind, he is just slowing us down!” Rift grumbled, while he sharpened his well-worn, double-edged sword. “We could be twice the distance as we are now, if we were not dragging that blasted litter.”

  “You apparently have no idea who he is,” Ursa replied, coming back from the entrance of the cave, after making sure their small fire could not be observed from outside.

  “I have heard rumors of him,” Rift muttered back, running a calloused finger along his newly sharpened blade. “A rogue, wizard-assassin, or something along those lines. No more than a vile murderer for hire, with a fancy title.”

  “He is far from your average murderer for hire, nor do I believe him to be vile,” Ursa said in Pavilion’s defense.

  “It has been one day, Rift; he will not be in that litter for long.” Talena replied, poking the small fire they had with a stick, glad for the warmth. Her voice had returned nearly unhindered from the throat wound she had suffered weeks before.

  “Yes, well, he and that litter almost got us killed a few hours ago, if you have not forgotten,” Rift complained, recalling their encounter with a small raiding party.

  “I find it rather amusing, Rift, that you of all people, would class a handful of tired, startled barbarians as trouble,” Ursa said, poking fun at the warrior and getting a chuckle from Talena.

  “Besides, I am sure Pavilion will be up in a day or two,” Talena added. “Then, if he chooses to come with us, he could be a big help.”

  “And what makes you think he will want anything to do with us?” Rift snorted, sheathing his freshly sharpened blades.

  “Honor is a strange thing,” a rough voice said from behind them and they all turned to see Pavilion standing there. “Or is the old code that far forgotten?” He walked over to the small cooking fire.

  “You are doing much better than I thought you would be!” Talena told him, shocked. Ursa had healed his wounds after he had passed out. He had lost a lot of blood and it was truly surprising that he had survived the night.

  “When you are in my business, you learn to work through the pain to survive,” Pavilion replied with a wink, covering his wince as he sat on the log beside her. “I must thank you, Ursa, for your help. I surely would have died had it not been for you and your friends finding me.”

  “You are lucky we stayed to help you, after you attacked us,” Rift muttered.

  “I apologize, but it was impossible for me to know whether you were friend or foe and in my current state, if you were an enemy, surprise was the only thing I had left. I am sure you would have done the same.”

  “No harm done,” Ursa replied before Rift could drop in another rude comment. “What were you doing out there, anyway?”

  “I was trying to get into Dragon’s Cove,” Pavilion told him. “I have news to deliver, but it would seem they have more pressing matters currently.”

  “What news do you have?” Ursa asked, his interested peeked.

  “News from Draco Castle, but I can say no more I am afraid - my news is confidential,” Pavilion said, his tone serious.

  “I do understand the nature of your business and I have a good mind of what your information might be about. But we have just come out of Dragon’s Cove, through the underground river that supplies the Castle with its water. Those inside will only be there temporarily - they are building a ledge through the underground cavern as an escape route, for when the castle falls.”

  “Clever plan to have,” Pavilion sighed.

  “Whatever information you have regarding Draco Castle and Prince Berrit will be of little use to Lady Jewel and the others,” Ursa told him. “But it may be of grea
t use to us.”

  Pavilion looked hard at Ursa. “I have only heard of you a handful of times and from what I have heard, you are a great and honorable man. All those who have mentioned your name have nothing but fine things to say of you. If I recall correctly you were also the Master wizard of Draco Castle and close friend of King Borrack. So, I do believe I may trust you with this information.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “The man that killed King Borrack and is pretending to be the Zandorian Prince…is a wizard. His name is Astaroth. Though I have never heard the name before, from what I viewed, he is very cunning and skilled with his Gift. I was one of five assassins that were sent from here by Lady Jewel’s advisors to kill him.”

  “I am assuming you are back because the job is done?” Ursa asked with a hint of anticipation.

  “I am afraid not - he captured and killed the other four, but not before finding out how many of us were sent and that others knew the truth. I watch him for a time after and gathered information, but never got the chance to strike.”

  “Paid to do a job and then does not even follow through with it… pathetic,” Rift remarked snidely.

  “The information I gathered, I believe, was of greater value than risking death,” Pavilion countered.

  “A name is hardly…” Rifted started but the look Ursa gave him silenced him.

  “What other information did you acquire?” Ursa asked, hoping to add more pieces to the growing puzzle. “Every detail could be important.”

  “Astaroth is working alongside the barbarians - feeding them information on our weaknesses and strengths. That is how they took Mandrake so easily and how they knew to attack Dragon’s Cove well. It was weak without its Lord at the reins and many of its soldiers still at Draco Castle from the princess’s escort,” Pavilion explained, remembering the night he followed Astaroth into the woods and listened in on his conversation with the enemy.

  “Why would anyone want to help them?” Rift asked confused.

  “Why indeed?” Ursa mumbled, rubbing his chin through his beard.

  “They kept their meeting short and to a point. Much of what was said made little sense to an outside ear. He is aiding them in the takeover of Draco Kingdom, in return from something the barbarian leader has. Something of either great power or of great importance to him - again, they only revealed so much. But I truly believe whatever it is would be a very dangerous thing for him to have in his possession.”

  Ursa stood in thought for several long moments, his eyes falling upon Talena. He had to wonder what she knew about all of this and what she was willing, or able, to tell them. He did not want to draw attention to her and what she might know.

  “What do you know of this, girl?” Rift accused, eyeing her suspiciously.

  Talena avoided his eyes by glancing at the cave floor. “I…”

  “Rift, now is not the time for this,” Ursa cut in sharply, his glaze stern.

  “Not the time?” Rift nearly laughed. “Are you serious? Not the time? If she knows something, she should bloody well tell us about it! All these secrets and plots and visions are horseshit! What bloody good is having someone who knows what is happening if they cannot tell us?”

  “Rift, you know why,” Ursa replied, doing his best to keep his voice calm as he tried to determine Pavilion’s reaction.

  “What is it the girl knows?” Pavilion asked, raising his brow.

  Rift cut in before Ursa could respond. “Who knows for sure, she never tells us anything useful until it is too late!”

  Pavilion stepped between Rift and Talena, seeing the fear in her eyes. “She is a Prophet then?”

  Ursa moved closer to Talena, not liking how close Pavilion was to her. “No, she is not… but she was the last apprentice to Master Solmis, who was blessed with foresight.” Seeing Pavilion’s confusion, Ursa quickly explained.

  “That is a horrible position to be stuck in,” Pavilion agreed, beginning to feel pity for Talena.

  “Bleh,” Rift bellowed out in frustration. “What be it, girl - are you going to tell us what you know of this or not?”

  “We must save the Princess and the others, if we are to stop Astaroth and the barbarian armies,” Talena replied meekly.

  “Keeper’s balls girl, we know that already!” Rift said, exasperated.

  “If that is all Talena can say, then that is all we need know,” Pavilion responded firmly, catching everyone by surprise.

  “Bleh,” Rift snorted in defeat. “Surrounded by wizards,” he muttered as he went to his bedroll. “Soldiers are so much easier to deal with.”

  “My thanks,” Talena told him as she too went back to her spot near the fire.

  “It is late and we will need our strength.” Ursa yawned and stretched, glad that the situation had not escalated further.

  “I shall take watch this night,” Pavilion called over his shoulder as he walked out the cave’s entrance.

  Ursa followed Pavilion out the entrance and stopped by his side. “You have my thanks for your understanding of Talena’s awkward position.”

  “You have no need to thank me,” He replied coolly. “I have had several dealings with Prophets and their visions before. I know the risk of knowing too much too soon better than most.” His tone darkened.

  “I thank you, nonetheless. What do you plan on doing now?”

  Pavilion stared out into the darkness that consumed the jungle. “Something within me tells me I should accompany you, until Astaroth is stopped.”

  “We would not deny such help.”

  “Something vile is in the happening, something none of us will be prepared for, I fear.”

  “All we can do is try,” Ursa responded, though he felt the heavy truth within Pavilion’s words.

  “Sleep well, Ursa, I will stand watch all night,” Pavilion said as he moved into the dark growth and disappeared.

  “As you wish,” Ursa said, though he knew Pavilion could no longer hear him.

  “Think we can trust him?” Rift asked once Ursa had returned.

  “I do not know,” Ursa replied - he did not sense evil within the man, yet there was no calm either.

  “I will keep an eye on him then,” Rift mumbled, resting his head once more.

  The next morning, the trio exited the cave and the warmth of the sun welcomed them, as it slowly crept over the mountains. They took it in, knowing full well there would not be many days like this as they entered the rainy season.

  “I wonder where Pavilion is?” Talena glanced around.

  “Maybe he decided not to come after all,” Rift yawned. “We do not have time to wait for him. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  “Yes, we do,” Ursa agreed, almost surprised that Pavilion was not there waiting for them.

  “What about Pavilion?” Talena asked. “We cannot just leave without him.”

  “He will be able to find us if he so wishes; we can wait no longer. Too much rests in the balance,” Ursa explained, though he knew from the look in her eyes that Pavilion was meant to be with them.

  They made good time - this side of the Sheeva River was mostly wooded; pine trees and bushes, not the thick growth they would find in the jungle. They were further north, on the topside of Sheeva Lake, where the trees were thicker and a group could travel without being seen from a distance. Within an hour, they had traveled several miles from the cave and their paced slowed as they could smell the smoke of a nearby town.

  “Maybe we should just go around,” Rift said, his eyes peering through the trees, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

  “Why?” Talena asked. “We should go and see if we can buy some horses.”

  “I doubt the inhabitants of that village would be as generous as to help us,” Ursa replied, pointing ahead a few dozen yards to the bloodied heads impaled on pikes.

  Talena gasped. “I am sure by now most of the surrounding towns and villages will have been taken over by the enemy and will not be of much help to us.”

  “I bet there are
still horses,” Rift whispered, eyeing the small village from their vantage point.

  “There are twenty three to be exact,” Pavilion whispered from behind them, catching them all off guard and causing Rift to drop to his sword. “They are all in the stable yard, on the south side of the village. There are a half dozen barbarians tending to them.”

  “How did you do that?” Talena asked, her heart still beating hard in her chest. Pavilion just winked at her.

  “I like those odds, wizard,” Rift replied, looking to Ursa for confirmation.

  Ursa nodded his head, knowing full well that getting horses would make their travel much faster. “Did you get a count of the warriors in the village?”

  Pavilion shook his head. “No, I could only see a dozen who wandered around outside. I am sure there are more inside the buildings.”

  “We need those horses,” Rift whispered. “If we do it right, we will not draw any attention to ourselves and may only have to kill a handful.”

  “Show us the way,” Ursa told Pavilion.

  Pavilion and Rift crept up along the north side of the stable yard, where they had spotted one of the barbarians walk into the barn and could now hear two of them talking. Ursa and Talena had taken the south side of the barn, so both front and back were taken care of.

  Pavilion peered through one of the cracks in the walls and saw the two warriors talking casually, their weapons propped up against the stall of a milky white mare. “I only see two of the six,” Pavilion whispered to Rift, who was keeping watch of their surroundings.

  “Well two against two are not very fair odds,” Rift chuckled softly, drawing a grin from Pavilion.

  “There might be another in there upstairs; I thought I heard something but cannot say for sure,” Pavilion told him and Rift nodded.