Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (61 page)

“The essence of His Majesty, the Griffin Lord, Soresym,” Jaress responded with admiration. “I have never met another man who has ever been given this honor.”

Sam chuckled, but the pain caused him to stop. Once he collected himself, he responded. “I knew we bonded, but I had no idea that Soresym considered me worthy of his essence. Exactly what part of the griffin does his essence come from? Is it a special gland?”

BJ looked across the table at his brother and grinned. “I would love nothing more than to explain. Please, allow me the privilege, Jaress. You owe me this one.”

Jaress shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I thought Mother settled this dispute. Besides, I cannot. I’ve given my word. The Griffin Lord said this question would be asked. I’ve been given special instruction to deliver this answer.” Jaress looked at Sam. “The essence is collected when a griffin allows a healer to harvest his urine.”

Sam grimaced, his face showing his disgust.

BJ and Helga laughed.

Shalee was the first to respond. “That’s downright nasty! Are you standing there telling us that Sam just drank a truckload of piss? What on this world would ever make y’all decide to drink something so foul in the first place? I mean ... who was the first fruit loop to look at a stream of urine coming out of a big, old griffin and think, ‘I wonder if that’ll fix me?’ For heaven’s sake, y’all, you’re drinking piss. I never.”

It took a while, but Sam managed to put a clear thought together. “If drinking Soresym’s essence is what it took to save my life, then I’m grateful. If no man has ever been given this favor ... then why me?”

Jaress could only smile. “Lord Soresym said you would ask that question as well. His response was ... you were given his essence to get even with you for calling him a ‘thing.’ He further said that he hoped you would hate the taste, and he laughed as he launched from the landing platform and flew into the night. I did not expect the delivery of this message to be so enjoyable, but I cannot help myself.”

Sam looked at Shalee. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.” He smiled. “Griffin’s must be made of raspberries and lemons. His urine tasted like lemonade. If the idea wasn’t so disgusting, I would bottle it and sell it. At least it would be a healthy drink.” He poured a bit more of Soresym’s essence into his mouth and swallowed. “I’m feeling much better, really. How about a kiss?”

Shalee rolled her eyes. “You’re nasty!”

That evening over dinner, BJ and Helga sought each other’s attention. Both trainers were flirting, but they were careful not to allow their students to see their momentary exchanges of quick smiles and playful winks. It was clear to BJ that there was something between them, and he wanted to explore the possibility of Helga’s companionship.

After dinner, BJ excused himself and asked Helga if she would join him for an evening walk. When Shalee offered to tag along, BJ declined, and said it would be nice to converse without students present.

Sam and Shalee thought nothing of it and retired to their room.

The two trainers put some distance between them and the inn before BJ reached down and took Helga’s hand. They walked east out of town.

Helga used her staff to light the way. Though the walk was long, it felt brief when they stopped at the center of a bridge that spanned the Cripple River.

As they stared into each other’s eyes, they knew their attraction for one another was mutual. It was on this beautiful night, beneath a pitch-black, gentle sky and hundreds of glow bugs surrounding them, that Helga commanded her staff to go dark.

The gentle ripple of the river passing beneath the bridge amplified the mood as BJ put his hand under Helga’s chin. Bringing her lips closer, a passionate kiss followed.

Helga giggled as they separated. “Well now … Mr. Barthom Jonas, you’re quite the kisser.” She pressed against him. “Ohhh ... I can feel your excitement.”

BJ stroked her face. “You have no idea.”

2 PEAKS OF BAILEM

HAVE PASSED

KEPLER
is with Maldwin at the entrance to the Cave of Sorrow. The jaguar realized he was going to run into a problem on his way to the cave. He commanded one of his giant, feline subjects from the Enchanted Forest to travel with him. As expected, the rat refused to leave. His family would not be protected while he was gone. Without the stone skeleton warriors promised, Kepler knew it was pointless to argue.

To fix the problem, Kepler told the rodent he would have 100 of his finest warriors guard the entrance to the cave and patrol the Pass of Tears. They would not leave, and they would protect the rat’s family.

Maldwin agreed, and Kepler sent word to his brothers by way of his feline subject. Maldwin instructed his family to stay hidden until the skeletons arrived. Then the pair left for Angels Village.

SAM
,
SHALEE, BJ,
and
HELGA
have arrived in the town of Mountain View. Soresym enjoyed giving them a ride and relished the fact that Sam had drank his essence. A rare bond has formed between griffin and human.

Sam and Shalee were impressed with the scenery of this new town. The view surrounding the landing platform was breathtaking.

YALOOM
, God of Greed, has taken over as leader of Lasidious’ old team. They are plotting. Based on what Lasidious said at the last meeting of the gods, they have outlined a new course of action. They will put the Barbarian Kingdom in the strongest position for the war they know is coming. At the conclusion of this meeting, a plot to assassinate the Prince of Brandor, Aaron Brandor, and the army’s General Absolute, Justin Graywind, has been finalized and put in motion.

MOSLEY
spent the previous Peak mourning his wife. He hates the idea that she is in the Book of Immortality. The wolf is now with his team. They watched from the god world as the King of Brandor sent his runners throughout the kingdom to call the army’s men into service.

Alistar has revealed the locations of the blessed soils, and Keldwin has ordered the first harvest of the massive, Garanto trees. They will be used to build wagons which will carry the crops to the coast.

Building these oversized wagons is going to be quite the task. The runners have called for a meeting with the nobles of each city, town, and village to explain what must be done. The runners have also informed the nobles that two of the king’s engineers will arrive at each location to help with the proper design and construction of the wagons. The final approved drawings show each wagon will have 9 axles, and 20 horses will be needed to pull them.

GEORGE
and
ATHENA
have spent the last three Peaks on her mother’s farm. They spent the majority of their moments in her mother’s guest house. Their longing for each other has been growing.

CELESTRIA
is still a quarter season away from delivering her baby. The elven, witch family is still testing her patience. She wants to destroy them, but continues to remind herself of the goals she has set with her lover. She spends the majority of her moments in her room speaking with the squirrels.