Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (7 page)

After he was overthrown, the Order had banded
together to protect the information about blood-magic and Nuko's
return from the ignorant fear of the common people. The rebels who
overthrew the Dark King had held a great book burning to try and
purge the world of the sacred information about blood-magic, and it
was only through the efforts of the first members of the Order that
any of it had survived. It was the first goal of the Order to
protect this information, to keep it from falling into the wrong
hands, and to use it to further the human race. When used
correctly, it was an important factor in Nuko's resurrection.

Within the Order, there were those called the
book-keepers who had possession of the books, and others who knew
the keys to open them. The organizational complexity allowed no one
person to control the power that each book contained. It was
imperative that the information did not fall prey to the prying
eyes of another of the ilk of the Dark King, hoping to deify
themselves rather than make way for the true god’s return.

Though the Dark King had made mistakes, and
ended up failing because of his own ambitions, he was right in
spreading the Word of the true god. Nuko was the one true God as
the Dark King had tried to get the people to see. The trio of gods
that the common people worshiped in their folklore was nothing more
than that: lore. Physical acts of the Three hadn't been seen for
centuries. But Nuko was real, and he would be returning. When he
did, those who were in the Order who had spent their lives planning
for his return would be rewarded in turn.
I will be
rewarded.

Jonathan's thoughts wandered to Jezebel and
her little crony, Devon. During his observation, Jonathan had been
unable to fathom why Devon would continue to put up with Jezebel's
demands on him and serve her so loyally.
Perhaps Devon secretly
loves her. They certainly are two of a kind.
He tried to
imagine the two of them together and wrinkled his nose in distaste.
But if that is the case, Devon is seriously unfortunate. Jezebel
is simply incapable of love, she probably doesn't even know the
meaning of the word.
He thought back on his observation of the
two
. Not that working for her doesn't have other added benefits
for the man. He is growing quite wealthy off Jezebel's unwavering
trust in him
.

“Come,” Master's voice interrupted his
thoughts.

Jonathan moved forward towards the altar. He
bent down in reverence and whispered the blessings, waiting on
bended knee for his Master to address him.

“Jonathan,” the man finally acknowledged,
“how was your evening?”

Jonathan was careful not to look directly at
Master, whose face was always covered by a black mask underneath
his cloak, and answered as cryptically as he had been asked. “She
took her wine as usual and should be quite ready for her interview
with you.”

The masked figure stood. “Good. You've done
well, Jonathan. Depending on what she tells me I may have another
assignment for you shortly. Please be in touch.”

Jonathan bowed, and then backed away from the
altar. He was always in touch, as Master well knew. His current
task finished, he made his way back out of the building with as
much stealth as he had entered with and then quickly made his way
back to his own humble abode, where the fruit of his labor was
waiting to be reaped.

CHAPTER 5

Layna collapsed onto her bed well past
midnight, having finally completed all of her chores. She ached in
places she hadn't even known she had muscles. Sleepily she debated
whether or not she had the strength to give her sore body a good
soak in a bath or if she'd just fall asleep and drown. Her muscles
screamed in agony, and she knew she would be denied sleep anyway,
so she resigned herself to an even later night. So she pulled a
towel out, and made her way slowly to the baths.

Once there, she almost fell asleep standing
up while listening to the water pour into the tub and watching the
heat of the steam rising out of it. When it was full, she slipped
out of her tunic and dropped it on the floor. It made a metallic
thunk, and she reached down to pick up the necklace that had fallen
out of the pocket. She rolled the charm around in her fingers and
stepped into the bath, delighting in the warm water soothing her
skin. It was a half sphere of amber surrounded by rays of metal
making it look like a sun. It was quite pretty really.

As she twirled it around, she wondered about
the circumstances surrounding Gryffon's presence. The common belief
was that he was here as Jezebel's consort, but neither of them
seemed to act in a way that would lead anyone to believe that they
actually liked one another, and Gryffon had denied it, though he
gave no alternative explanation for his presence.
Very odd, very
odd indeed
.
It will probably just be one of those mysteries
that I'll never be privy to knowing
. She heard and saw quite a
bit as a maid, but very rarely were the interesting snippets of
information ever fully explained to her. More often it was just
tantalizing tidbits that drove her crazy. It was a game among the
servants to try and guess the real happenings in the household, but
it was a frustrating game to play without ever knowing if you were
right. Often their fun took on a sinister edge when some of the
older servants got going about the ‘evil lady’ who, they were
convinced, was a demon spawn. There were definitely some pretty
disturbing stories that circulated the manor.

Layna put the chain she had been playing with
over her head.
Maybe I'll just try it on. It's not like anyone
knows who it's from...
She noticed it was warm against her chest
as it settled around her neck and she soon forgot it was even there
in the comfort of the bath. As she soaked, her muscles slowly
relaxed, and soon she had to drag herself out before she really did
fall asleep.

She barely made it back to her room before
exhaustion overtook her.

The next morning she woke up still tired, but
at least her muscles were no longer protesting every move. She made
her way down towards the kitchen, and was interrupted while eating
her morning roll by the bell to her mistress's suite. Jezebel's
voice sounded with it, another surviving magical enhancement, and
one that she surprisingly rarely used.

“Someone bring me eggs and toast in bed,” the
woman commanded hoarsely.

Layna looked around and saw that the other
maid who had previously been in the kitchen with her had
conveniently just stepped out.
Imagine that
, she thought
with a hint of sarcasm though she really couldn’t blame the girl.
Layna prepared a tray of eggs and toast and made her way to the
tower suite that Jezebel occupied. She stopped outside of the door
and lightly rapped on it, waiting until Jezebel called out for her
to enter before opening it.

Jezebel was still in bed and looked rather
unhealthy. Her wavy dark hair was frizzing all over the place and
she had dark circles under her eyes. Her already gaunt face looked
more strained than usual, and the skin seemed stretched over her
bony cheeks. She hardly looked at Layna as she waved her over.
Layna held the tray out for her, and Jezebel gingerly took a piece
of toast.

The woman held it in front of her for a
moment, as if it was some revolting object, before taking a tiny
bite. She closed her eyes and slowly chewed, swallowing with
difficulty. She sat there for a while unmoving, and Layna had the
urge to lean in closer to see if she was still breathing. She
quietly sat the tray down next to the woman.

Jezebel cracked open one eye at her, as
though she could feel the suddenly closer presence, and she grunted
a dismissal at Layna. Layna happily obliged, gently clicking the
door shut behind her.

*

The thud of the door echoed dully in
Jezebel's head and she sneered at the girl behind it, certain the
little minx knew how much of a headache she had and how much it
hurt her to have the door slammed so loudly. She shoved the rest of
the food as far away as possible, and brought the covers up over
her head. The light hurt her eyes, and her heartbeat seemed to
pound in her head. The faint smell of food that now permeated the
room was starting to make her nauseous.

She didn't think she'd had that much wine
last night, but apparently she had been more apprehensive about the
ceremony than she had realized. Her memories of last night were
hazy as well, which bothered her to no end. She hated feeling out
of control, and was not impressed by the large gap in her
memory.

She had arrived at the meeting spot and been
led down into a basement. From there, she had been taken through a
labyrinth of passageways, eventually opening into an underground
temple. She had first been interviewed in a small side chamber by a
mysterious man who she presumed was someone high-ranking in the
Order. He had refused to reveal himself to her, despite her
relentless questioning. He wore a black cloak complete with a mask
which had served to disguise any recognizable features. Though the
night was still a blur, Jezebel felt that she had spent a fair
amount of time with this first man. Frustratingly, she could not
recall what most of the conversation had been about, though she did
remember surprising herself by unintentionally giving truthful
answers to many of his queries. Having slipped up like that made
her uneasy.

Once she had proceeded in front of the rest
of the witnesses in the main temple, the initiation had gone much
as Devon had described. By then, she was slightly more
clear-headed, and able to recite the lie she had invented without
mishap. She had then been forced to listen to the droning narration
of all that was expected of a member of the Order, and finally
asked the question that Devon said they would require her to
answer.

As far as Jezebel could tell, the Order had
believed her story wholeheartedly, and it delighted her that they
had been so surprised and pleased by her immediate denouncement of
the King. The witnesses had all been masked as well, and Jezebel
realized that she was going to have to take her infiltration more
seriously than she had previously thought.
Perhaps Devon was
correct in his advice,
she thought sourly.

Since she couldn't ascertain any of the
identities, she had no idea what type of people she was dealing
with. She could safely assume that they must be noble, as no lower
class would have enough intelligence about them to form such a
society, but which family they were connected to could potentially
tell her volumes.
If only I had been able to find even the
tiniest clue as to whom they were!
She drew a calming breath.
It wouldn't do to get so worked up.
Relax.
I'll just have
to be a little more careful until I know exactly who I'm dealing
with.
She made a mental note to start Devon on the project of
digging up any information as to who was involved with the
Order.

She also remembered that they had indeed
tried to magically bind her to their bidding. Although anticipated,
it still angered her.
W
hat do they think gives them the
right to try and force their way into my head?
She found the
very idea abhorrent; their inferior minds touching hers.
But
see, I have nothing to worry about...I knew I would be more
powerful than them, and I was. I even fooled them into the belief
that their coercion of my loyalty was complete so that I didn't
have to bother with a lie as to why it didn't work.

She also remembered a rather amusing detail
with clarity. During the recitation of the rules, they had said
that all those in the Order must follow the rules, and that being
said, all rules were subject to change. Jezebel had the feeling
that once she had established herself, many of its members would be
easy to manipulate and turn to her own motivations rather than
those of the society as a whole.

Jezebel laughed out loud at the thought, and
immediately regretted it as pain shot through her head. She took a
couple of deep breaths and waited for the pain to subside.
Yes,
the Order deserves some care to be taken in dealing with it, but
even so it will work to my advantage once I have properly untangled
all the knots.
The thought of the power possibly available made
Jezebel feel light-headed and she once again had to close her eyes
and breathe deeply in order to stop herself from having to rush to
the washroom.
Damn wine,
she swore
, I'm cutting it out of
my diet entirely.

*

“Even knowing what she's capable of and what
she's done, Master, I sometimes find myself drawn in by her lies.
The forked tongue of deceit slips in and out so easily for her that
it's almost imperceptible,” reported Jonathan.

The masked figure nodded in agreement, “Mmm,
I noticed the same. She is very practiced in the art of deception,
and is well aware that most people do not expect such complete
dishonesty. No one expects to have to confirm her stories. We will
have to make sure that this is not the case with us. I want
everything that she tells us to be double-checked. Even with the
added...compulsion, I still caught her in several misleading
statements.” He paused for a moment in thought. “Were you able to
get the message I sent you with delivered?”

Jonathan nodded. “I was.”

“Good,” Master said simply. “I want to see
what she's capable of.”

Jonathan would never think to speak out
against Master, but failed to see why he wanted to keep this
obviously untrustworthy woman around.

Master seemed to guess Jonathan's thought and
went on, “I realize it seems unnecessary to have her, but as well
as possessing her own interesting attributes, there is also her man
Devon. Though a snake in his own right, he provides her with
excellent information, information that I don't believe we would be
able to gain access to, except through her. He seems to have a
special,” he hesitated, looking for the right word, “connection
with her. By having her under our supervision, we can arrange for
Devon to be useful for us as well as our fine lady. I'd like you to
keep a close eye on her, close enough that you can see firsthand
what's going on. I give you permission to reveal yourself to her as
her guide, and I'll leave the details in your capable hands.”