Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (35 page)

IT IS A NEW PEAK
and everyone is up and moving in their own little part of the worlds governed by the Crystal Moon. Celestria and Lasidious are once again plotting inside their home on Ancients Sovereign.

GEORGE
is with Kepler at the Pool of Sorrow. After waking, Kepler sent for help to move the boulder that supposedly sits atop the map.

SAM
is training with BJ in the field just outside of Angels Village. The fighter is being humbled by yet another series of beatings, but he is showing significant improvement. Kael has even commented on Sam’s growth, saying he is doing much better than the Peak before—because he could not have done much worse.

THE HEALERS
have attended to Shalee, replacing her bandages and applying more healing mud to her arm. She is tired from the experience, but not in too much pain. Despite her injury, she smiles as she looks across the room toward the fireplace. She is holding Precious in her good hand, and she is commanding the fire—making sure to only use simple commands so she can enjoy the benefits of her successes.

HELGA
is working on a few new lessons for her protégé. The older sorceress has every intention of making Shalee practice with her broken arm. She plans to retrieve her student from the inn not long from now.

MOSLEY
is talking to the manager of Angels Arena, setting up Sam’s first fight to give the Earthling a taste of the intense competition inside Southern Grayham’s arenas. This particular battle will not be to the death, but neither will it be without injury if Sam does not fight well. The competition, using wooden staves as the weapon of choice, will continue until a cry for submission is uttered. Compensation for victory will be 10 Owain coins, or two if he loses.

BASSORINE
is in a meeting with the Book of Immortality. He is trying to convince the Book that Lasidious is up to something, but the Book is not giving Bassorine the answers he is seeking.

Lasidious has not broken a law, and until he does, his actions are permissible. The God of War will storm out of the Hall of Judgment, feigning his regret of the creation of the Book as he passes Keylom on his way out.

Thank you for reading this edition of the Grayham Inquirer

CHAPTER 13

Kroger the Ogre

The Hidden God World

Ancients Sovereign

FROM WITHIN THEIR HOME on the world of Ancients Sovereign, Lasidious and Celestria laughed as they listened to Bassorine shout. They were thrilled with the successful pairing of George and Kepler at the Pool of Sorrow.

“You should’ve seen Kepler’s face when George tortured the Saber Lord,” Lasidious sniggered. “It was all I could do to keep quiet. When Kepler introduced himself, he was so careful about it.

“I was impressed with how George kept his cool when he saw the giant cat. How the mortal thought to use the snare scroll to trap the saber is beyond me. I was sure he was going to get his head taken off when Kepler sent the cat after him. It appears George has solid instincts, and he’s smarter than our initial assessment suggested.”

“Truly, my love, my adorable devil-god,” Celestria purred, rubbing Lasidious’ temples with her fingers. “Do tell...”

The Mischievous One enjoyed her touch. “It was perfect. He set the trap and then acted as if he was injured. It was a beautiful deception. I was proud of my puppet. He had the nerve to laugh at Kepler and jest at his expense. He told Kepler his only skill was licking his privates and assigned the beast a title, ‘Captain Ball-licker.’ I nearly fell off my perch when I heard the insult. Kepler did nothing. He appeared scared. I think he believes George wields magic. I thought for sure George would garesh his pants when Kepler appeared from the shadows.”

Celestria cupped her lover’s face in her hands. “You’re so cute when your vicious mind overflows with pride, my love.” She kissed him and then touched her belly. “Your baby grows, my sweet, and I’ll be leaving for Luvelles soon. I’ll stay there until the baby is born. I want you to be patient, my pet. I may not be able to be with you, but I’ll be thinking of you. You’re my heart’s desire.”

Passion filled their moments. It would be Lasidious’ responsibility to carry out their plans until the baby was born. Celestria kissed her devious lover once more and then left to spend the remainder of her pregnancy with the elven, witch family, Rolfe.

The Pool of Sorrow

George and Kepler were waiting. It would take the rest of this Peak, and most of the next, before Kepler’s summons for help to remove the boulder from beneath the tree would be answered. One of the dead Saber Lord’s relatives was sent north into the Dark Forest to fetch help from a giant ogre named Kroger.

Angels Village

Helga walked through the door of Shalee’s room, unannounced, to get her student moving for the Peak. The elder woman caught the young sorceress-in-training using her staff to command smaller successes and then enjoying the satisfaction.

Shalee was in the middle of one of her pleasurable, tear-filled moments when Helga barged in.

The older woman laughed. As a young sorceress-in-training herself, she did something similar—only she had been smart enough to lock the door.

Embarrassed by the intrusion, Shalee jumped out of bed. Her face was damp from the tears, and she tried to hide her embarrassment behind a pillow.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Shalee snapped. “It’s not ladylike to be barging in on someone like that.”

Helga fell to the empty bed, laughing. She tried to answer, but could not.

“Very funny,” the younger woman said, turning away to hide a smile. “I bet you did the same thing, and you know exactly what I was up to. You can’t blame me. Precious has given me plenty of happy thoughts. This staff is my new definition of goodness-gracious.”

“Oh, Child, Child, Child, you don’t have to tell me. I didn’t leave my room for Peaks when I began training. My teacher was displeased, to say the least.”

The women laughed, and the moment of embarrassment vanished, replaced with a perfect period of bonding as Shalee taught Helga how to give a high-five.

“My friends and little old me, gave each other high-fives back on Earth when something felt special or funny. I think you and I will be good together. Besides, I could really use a friend right now. I’ve cried so much since learning my loved ones have passed. I wish the pain would go away.”

Helga was sympathetic. “Oh, Child, I love the idea of being your friend. Anything I can do to ease your pain, I will. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. Pain like that should not be suffered alone.” Helga lifted her hand and gave her new best friend another high-five to seal the bond. “Shall we speak of other things to get your mind off the torture?”

Shalee nodded. “So ... now that I’ve had my first failure, the rest should be smooth sailing, right?”

“Let’s hope that’s the case, Child. We best get going. I have a few lessons planned, and we need to get to them. I hope you don’t fail again. I would hate for you to break your other arm and not be able to practice.”

“You know it, girl,” Shalee said with sass as she threw up her good hand for another high-five. Both women enjoyed the moment, and then Shalee changed her clothes before they headed out.