Serenity Valley (44 page)

Ox said, “I hopes so. He could
swallows me whole if'n he wanted to.”

When he got within ten feet of the
group, Samuel stopped and bent his left leg at the knee until it
was parallel with his back. Giselia stepped on his leg, and Samuel
turned his massive head around to her. She laced her fingers
together and placed them over his nose. Samuel picked her up and
gently lowered her to the ground. Giselia reached up to scratch
behind his ear, and he lowered his head until his nose was at her
knee so she could reach behind his ear. “Good boy, Samuel, you best
good boy, you are,” she said.

Everyone moved in closer to really
take in the size of the enormous horse. Gamel said, “Giselia, he is
fantastic. What a beautiful horse!”

Samuel reached out with his lips and
opened Basilea’s blankets so her mouth was uncovered. Basilea said,
“Hello, Samuel, I’m Basilea. It’s a pleasure to meet
you.”

Samuel’s huge nostrils flared, and he
sampled Basilea’s scent. Then he did the same to Gamel. Giselia
said, “He remember you now, he take scent.” Fulk and Nesta moved in
to greet him, Samuel took scents from both of them. He gently
pushed Nesta’s hair away and sniffed her swollen face. Then he put
his head down and rested his forehead against Nesta’s chest. She
scratched behind his ears. Giselia said, “He knows you hurt, sad it
make him.”

Demon and Mildred were straining
against the turnout fence. Gamel said, “Maybe Samuel would like to
meet the other beasties.” Gamel carried Basilea over to Demon and
Mildred.

Giselia said, “Samuel, go meet Demon,
Mildred; you live them here now.” Samuel slowly walked over to the
fence and greeted the two horses. They pressed their nostrils close
and took scent from each other.

Gamel said, “Samuel, this is Demon.
The pretty mare is Mildred.”

“Samuel, do you like Demon, Mildred?”
Samuel slowly moved his head up and down. Giselia said, “Samuel, he
like horses.”

Fulk went to the gate and dropped the
rails, saying, “Samuel, you can go in if you like.” Samuel backed
up, then slowly walked to the gate and into the turnout. Fulk
replaced the rails and watched to see what would happen. Samuel
first went to Demon and started grooming his mane. Demon returned
the kindness, the sign of true friendship for horses. Mildred came
over and broke up the party. She whinnied and started grooming
Samuel’s mane, and in return, he groomed hers with his lips.
Everyone was smiling as the horses trotted off together so Mildred
and Demon could show Samuel his new home. Then, they all went in
the house and resumed their places at the table. Before long, three
horses were at the rear window over the kitchen
worktable.

Nesta said, “I have just the thing for
them.” She went to the kitchen and handed each horse a loaf of
black bread. All three horses concentrated on getting the entire
tasty treat into their stomachs as fast as possible.

Everything is as it should be at
Sirates House this day.

From a cursory look at the old,
abandoned warehouse, no one would notice that the interior space
was much smaller than the structure’s exterior warranted. Nearly
one fourth of the interior space had been cleverly concealed by a
false wall at the rear of the building. This partitioned section
had been carefully crafted into beautiful living quarters, complete
with great room, fully equipped kitchen, and bedrooms. Some ten
feet from the huge hearth was a fine table and chairs large enough
for twelve people to sit comfortably. At present, the table was
occupied by its owner, Master Spy Strom, and a very disturbing
guest. Strom was always uneasy around this man. Truth be known, he
sent shivers up his spine, but his gold was good, and this new
project promised to line his pockets well.

While he waited, the eerie guest
stared at Strom with his lifeless eyes, partly to make Strom
uneasy, but also to reflect and evaluate the man. He found Strom to
be somewhat clever but none too intelligent. His resources and
information were of value to him nonetheless. If he had to describe
Strom with a single word, the best he could do would be to label
him useful. As they continued to wait for their second guest to
arrive, the man reflected on the events leading up to this meeting.
The failed attempt by his men to end Lady Bella at festival
festered in his memories like a wound filled with puss. In over six
hundred years, the Assassin Guild had never failed to complete a
contract. Worse than losing over one hundred of his best men, the
battle had claimed his only son, the heir to his position as King
of Assassins. The death of his son did not disturb him in the
slightest, as he regarded his son’s life with no greater regard
than any other living thing, which was with no regard at all. After
all, his son would have ascended to his position via assassination,
which was customary for the craft. What he cared about was the
tradition of the guild, which would now die with him, ending the
history of the legacy. For this reason, he would devote all
resources and his vast wealth to extract his vengeance on the House
of De Ferrier. It had taken months to gather the information
necessary to enact this meeting and set his plan in motion. Two of
Goodwin’s neighboring lords were candidates for the plan. One was a
simpleton whose single tactic was straightforward brute force. The
other was more intelligent and calculating and first choice for his
plan.

When one of Strom’s men announced the
arrival of their additional guest, Strom rose to his feet to greet
him. The unnerving man remained seated and turned his unholy gaze
to this new individual. Strom clasped forearms with this new guest.
He said, “Glad you could come, Lord Hamond; there is someone here
whom you should meet. May I introduce Lord Shade of the Kingdom of
Ackmer.”

Rocky Bills is the author
of The Rogue Gallery book series. The youngest child in the family,
he was left at home while siblings attended school three years
ahead of him. His earliest childhood memories are of days spent
with his constant companion, Strikey, a collie dog professed to be
descendant of one of the lassie lines. The bond was extremely
strong between him and the family dog, and his lifelong
relationship with animals was permanently embedded into his values.
This obsession with four legged critters has remained with him
throughout life, except for the briefest of times there has always
been a dog as a family member.

After a career in
management and several small businesses, an opportunity surfaced
allowing him to indulge in his ultimate obsession, horses. Already
a horse owner for some time, he purchased a horse trail riding
business. It’s a good thing the objective was not to make money, as
it was a real money looser, but it allowed him to live his dream.
Every day was spent training, riding, and caring for the horses.
With an old cowboy as teacher, he learned more about horses and
equine behavior than he ever expected to in his lifetime. The work
was hard, the heat and humidity stifling, but it was some of the
best times of his life.

After his father passed
away he moved to southern California to live with his mother, so
they could take care of each other. Although it was time to get out
of the horse ownership business, the bonds still remain. Writing
the series has kept the dream alive, and combining his interest
with medieval history has been recreational if not therapeutic. The
current four legged companion is Blu, a 100 pound Australian blue
healer mix. With his striking blue eyes and unique personality, he
is the court jester of the house.

The Rogue Gallery
book series happened pretty much by accident.
Looking for a project to occupy free time, the family story teller
began writing a tale to entertain the family. While creating the
story, the author found it easy to lose himself in the story
environment, and writing soon became recreational.

After compiling the story over a
couple years, the family became avid about publishing the project
so others could read it. Never having written a novel before, the
author was very surprised to find enough material available for a
book series.

Over a period of time the project was
separated into novel sized pieces and the rewriting and editing
process began. At the time of publishing book one, books two
through four are in various stages of editing. The fifth book in
the series has a planned completion date in spring 2015.

If you have an interest in
the most current updates and information about the series, please
visit
The Rogue Gallery
website:

http://www.
theroguegallery.com

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