The Calling (Book 7 of The Blood & Brotherhood Saga) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (4 page)

“Are you suggesting we settle in somewhere for a while to give you time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not suggesting anything, just making an observation really. I think we would be better off for it.”

“Okay. Do you have any place in mind?”

Seth’s mind swirled with the possibilities. Any place was probably as good as the next, but he had left Valdadore with a promise and he would see it fulfilled. Sara had saved them all, not him. She loved people, and was willing to sacrifice herself for them. She deserved a place where she could help people, and look over them. She deserved to be a queen and Seth would give that gift to her.

“Drakenhurst. That is where I think we will spend some time,” he answered after a moment’s reflection.

“Sigrant’s capital?”

“Not anymore.”

“True. Do you actually mean to capture it and take control of his country?”

“I do.”

“Okay, good. I’m glad you are making a plan, but why and how exactly?” Sara said, her amber and crimson eyes sparkling in the darkness.

“I don’t know how. Not yet. But I think no kingdom should be left to the dogs to be torn apart from within. I would bet that even now, differing factions struggle to assume leadership of this nation. Also, here, I think I can find the knowledge that I need. There have got to be some blessed champions remaining. Sigrant wouldn’t have left his entire nation without any champions. There will also be people to welcome into our cause too, for different reasons.”

“By different you mean your reasons and then Ishanya’s reasons?”

“Of course not, Angel. I serve the goddess, and it is only to her cause that I lend my abilities and effort,” Seth replied without even trying to contain his sarcasm.

“I can see those wheels just grinding in that head of yours. I wish I knew what you were up to, but I’m sure you have your reasons for keeping everyone in the dark.”
“I promise that you will know what I’m planning when it comes down to it. I don’t even know exactly what I’m doing, but I have a theory. I need time to test and perfect what I know and to learn more that I only am able to guess at.”

“So Drakenhurst then?”

“Yup. Let’s go see if Sigrant left us a nice big bed to roll around in.”

“Now that is a plan I can get behind. Or in front of. Then again on the top or bottom works just as well too,” Sara joked.

Seth was glad to watch her plump lips spread into a wide smile that showed her absolute adoration for him. How she could still see him in that light was beyond him, but he supposed the same could be said for either of them. Forcing a smile in return, he fought the distractions in his head and neared the guards at the gate with Sara. Behind him, nearly half a mile, was a pair of men he had chosen to join them. Their purpose was simple—relay orders, and carry supplies Seth and Sara purchased. None of them was armed. They did not want to pose a threat. Even so, Seth would not sulk around dark corners and hide who he was either.

“Halt there, you on the trail,” one of the town guards cried out. “Who goes there?”

“I am Prince Seth Derringer, brother to the king of Valdadore, and a dark sorcerer of the likes you would do well to show some respect.”

“Yeah? And I’m a barmaid with a spoon as a weapon.”

Stepping forward, Seth reached out his hands before him as they were enveloped in green and yellow flame all the way to his elbows. With his own illumination, he glared at the puny guard and flashed a wicked grin.

“I’ve shown you mine, now let’s see that spoon.”

Seth nearly lost his resolve when Sara choked on a laugh she was trying to stifle, but holding it together he stepped even nearer the guard, who now began to sweat profusely as his legs threatened to collapse beneath his body.

“Um… I uh… You see… What I had meant was…”

“No need to worry yourself,” Seth reassured the guard. “We mean you no ill will, and simply would like to visit your town and resupply some friends.”

“Absolutely, Prince Seth,” the other guard said from across the entryway. “About how many friends are you accompanied by? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s your town,” Seth said with a grin. “Seven thousand, three hundred and nine, not including myself. Oh wait, there are more. Make that seven thousand, three hundred and twenty six.”

Both guards’ faces fell and Seth simply smiled as they waved him into the town without so much as another word. They assumed, of course, that he meant a real army, not the ragtag bunch that actually followed, but it didn’t matter. With the meager defenses they had, an army of fools throwing maggots could win the town in a few hours.

Walking through the gate and past the guards with Sara at his side, he led her through its narrow streets lined with tightly packed homes and shops in no particular order. Using his senses, he guided them to the nearest gathering of auras, and was not surprised to find that it was a tavern. Made of plain wooden construction, it was nothing to marvel over, but they entered nonetheless.

Scanning the room quickly, he located an empty table near the door and pulling out a chair for Sara he allowed her to sit before sliding her towards the table. Rounding it, he sat as well and no sooner had he removed the weight from his legs than a plump little woman of perhaps fifty trundled on over, with breasts and belly that nearly spilled out the bottom of her too-short tunic.

“Good evening to the both of you,” the woman began, “On the menu tonight is…”

“No need, good woman. Just pack up the entire kitchen and round up any chickens, goats, or other livestock you have available. We’ll take everything.”

“But surely you must be kidding,” the barmaid replied with a slack jaw.”

“No, m’lady. We’ll see to it that the owner is well compensated.”

“I… Um. I’ll just go get her and you can work it out together.”

“Very well. Could you bring us some ale when you return?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied as the room was suddenly flushed in whispers and murmurs.

Seth sat back in his chair and reached up to pull his hair back from his face. It seemed like forever since he had last sat down to eat. It was a simple thing, really, but one that he found he missed. Did he even need food any longer? He doubted it, but even so, he looked forward to a hot meal.”

* * * * *

Sara couldn’t believe how casually Seth was behaving. It was almost as if he had come to terms with what had befallen them of late, but she knew better. Maybe he was doing it to ease
her
worries and fears. Maybe he was simply burying the emotions that just hours earlier had threatened to consume him. She didn’t know either way, but supposed that at least for the time being she would simply enjoy his lighthearted demeanor.

Watching the older woman’s over-filled sagging flesh bounce away with her peculiar gait, she witnessed as the woman vanished through a door that slammed quickly closed behind her. Turning her attention back to her husband, she found him looking at her with an adoration in his eyes she had not seen in some time.

“And what, precisely, has gotten into you?”

“I’ve decided to change.”

“Is that so? And how to you propose to do that?” Sara raised an eyebrow.

“These last weeks have been filled with hurt and pain, but those things do not define who I am no matter how much Ishanya wants it to. They do not
make
me, they only make me stronger. I have been through more than any other mortal man can say. I have died, and I have been returned. With such a gift as a second chance, who am I to focus on all the negative that has happened when so much good has happened too? I have you. I have Borrik. I still have my brother, only he doesn’t exactly want to see me right now. Sure, I’ve made mistakes, but who hasn’t? How can I punish myself for doing the things I was forced into doing?”

“I don’t know,” Sara answered, unsure if he was actually expecting her to.

“I can’t. I see now that bad things
will
happen, especially knowing that it is the will of the gods to kill all of us. But good can and does happen too. From now on I will do my best to deal with the bad but focus on the good.”

“I like the sound of that. So what are you focusing on right now?”

“You and only you, Love. Well, I have to confess that it is difficult with the barmaid’s bosom bouncing out the bottom of her shirt. You must admit, she has
a lot
to offer.”

“You are something else, and I would bet that
it
has been offered to just about everyone here.”

“Something else, indeed. Now all I need to discover is what.”

“What do you mean?” Sara asked, her curiosity piqued.

“From shortly after discovering my abilities, I began to study the auras of those around me. Yours. Borrik’s. Everyone’s. They are all similar but different. It took time and sadly some experiments to begin to sort it out, but I began to recognized things within our auras. I can disassemble them and put them back together. I can mix two or more together, and all the while I have studied the results and never have I seen the same as I do when looking at my own aura.”

“How are you different?”

“For all my pieces, I cannot tell. They are all there. Everything is like nearly any other human besides my own alterations, but in me, the different pieces interact differently. In me they work together just like they do in you, only in myself they operate backwards,” Seth admitted.

“What do you think that means?”

“I’m not sure, but I intend to find out.”

“How?”

“Study more. Look deeper. Find out why those who are blessed can be and why those who aren’t can’t. We’ve both read the scrolls and books that tell of us being pre-selected before birth by a god to carry their blessing. We know that it is up to us to seek out that god and give our allegiance in order to become blessed.”

“Yeah, but what does that tell you?”

“I didn’t have to seek out the god. She came to me. I am different. More about me is a mystery than anyone knows.”

“Okay, but how does that help?”

“It means that I’ve been looking for answers in the wrong places. They are here, within me. I need to discover why I am different. The answers have to be here.”

“And that’s why you want to settle in?”

“That’s part of the reason, the other…”

“Excuse me, master?” a woman’s voice interrupted.

“Seth,” he replied, having been cut short. “And this is my lovely wife, Sara.”

“Good evening to the both of you. My name is Tricia, and I am the owner of the Hen and Den.”

Sara looked the girl over. She was a small, delicate sort of thing. The type of woman who probably cried when she broke a nail or got a splinter. With a slender frame and no muscle tone to speak of, the woman barely stood five foot tall with ashy looking blonde hair that was braided from atop her head down to her waist. She was not unattractive, in a sort of plain, innocent way, but Sara turned her attention elsewhere lest she be tempted to bite the woman.

“My woman tells me that you want to buy everything we have. Has she finally gone off her rocker?”

“Sara, can you handle the details?” Seth asked. “There seems to be something that I need to see to,” he added, gesturing towards the ceiling.

Nodding to her husband as he quickly rose, she wondered why Borrik would be trying to get his master’s attention. Maybe it was trouble. Maybe it was nothing. Either way, she needed to seal this deal and get to his side where she belonged. Turning her attention back to the almost frail looking woman, Sara put on her game face and tried not to look too intimidating. Pulling out her most charming, fake smile, she looked up to the blonde who now stood with her head cocked to one side like some kind of dog.

“Yes, hun, we want all the supplies and food you have. Everything. Livestock, salted pork, onions, and barrels of ale. Everything. As a matter of fact, if you have a cart or wagon, I want that too.”

“But, that would cost you, I don’t even know, like forty gold,” the girl half stammered.

It was a good act, but Sara could see right through it. The woman had taken her time to come out and meet them in order to judge the worth of all her small inn contained. Likely she was asking more than four times its real value, but she assumed the rich folk in her establishment were either stupid or crazy. Sara was having none of it.

“Listen. I’m going to give you fifteen gold, and not slap the stupid out of you for trying to rip me off. That’s more than what your supplies are worth, and much more than you deserve after that little stunt you’re trying to pull. The next time you try to rob someone blind like that, you think of me and remember that tonight you could have had your eyes clawed out and fed to rats, but instead I was nice and let you go on seeing. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the woman said, turning on her heel before beginning to bark orders across the bar to the hefty maid and some man who appeared more intoxicated than his customers.

“We’ll be outside waiting, and don’t you try to keep something for yourself,” Sara added, pouring a handful of coins from the purse on her belt into her hand.

“You heard the lady, folks. We’re closed for business until further notice. Now get your tab-running, broke selves up out of here!” the woman shouted, turning to wink at Sara as if proving her power to cow drunken old folks.

Dropping fifteen coins upon the tabletop, Sara poured the rest back into the pouch and pulled its drawstrings closed. Turning, she made for the door, allowing the drunken patrons to exit before her.

* * * * *

Borrik swept low for the fifth time, hoping to garner Seth’s attention with his proximity. Watching below, he was caught off guard as a black mass rocketed up from the shadows between two of the town’s buildings. With a few powerful flaps his master rose like a bird of prey to level off nearly upon the same plane as Borrik himself now hovered. Though he himself had been altered beyond measure from the man he had once been, it was still odd to see Seth flapping his monstrous wings.

“What is it, Borrik?”

“There is a large contingent coming this way from the west.”

“Troops?” Seth asked.