Grave (The Sanctuary Series Book 1)

by L H Whitlock

  “Grave, they aren’t going to listen,” Helic said amidst his spar with two of the other guards.

  “These men have no real experience on us. We’ll handle them soon enough then get to Hayme,” Rikar agreed.

  Grave swallowed the rational side of him, the side Nora brought out, and allowed his demons to take over. Excitement raged through his body as his sword struck another man’s armor with a sharp clang.

  As three men surrounded him, he slashed each down with a quick, smooth strike. He lunged toward his next opponent, dodged the other man’s attack and yanked him down by the cloak attached to his armor. The man’s knees hit the ground, and he thrust his sword, but Grave kicked him in the face. Blood gushed from the man’s nose. He rolled out of the way, his hands trying to control the bleeding.

  Rikar roared, and a memory of witnessing the other man in combat surged into Grave’s mind. He smirked. “Release the beast and the beast you shall get,” Rikar said with a sneer. His easy sense of humor fell away then, when the battle snared him, and Grave knew these men would soon feel the pain of their mistakes.

  Still, more men piled into the room. Grave tried to stop as many as he could from breaching the front lines, but he saw that of the ones that did make it through, the maids were handling relatively well, using buckets and pans as weapons.

  Helic’s back bumped against Grave’s, and the two fought like that for some time. Grave enjoyed the camaraderie of fighting with another, and it had been quite a while since he and Helic got the pleasure of doing so.

  Men swarmed, trying to get past the trio of fighters. Grave rammed his shoulder into one sending them both colliding into two others, and they all toppled to the ground.

  With Grave on top, the three brawled for several moments before he jammed his blades into their skulls, making sure it was a quick death.

  Pulling a few daggers from one’s belt, Grave threw them, each lodging in the back of the heads of the few men who managed to make it past him. They landed on the stone floor, face first, only feet away from where the servants stood, their makeshift weapons up, ready for battle.

  Grave yanked the swords from the men’s stiff fingers and tossed them to his friends. They rushed forward to collect the upgrade, looking clumsy and unsure with the heavy weapons in their hands, but hopefully, they wouldn’t need to use them.

  Grave continued to press forward, forcing the men to fight in a compact space between the three gladiators and the small opening of the door. This allowed them to control the number of opponents they had at once and leverage of the space.

  Grave sliced left and right, utilizing the length of the sword to his advantage. Those that made it past the blade were welcomed with a fist, foot, elbow and the occasional tackle.

  A crack sounded as a chair broke over Grave’s back. He turned to stare at his shocked attacker, who gaped at Grave, his eyes wide. Grave fisted his hand in the man’s shirt and tossed him. He hit another man, sending the two to the cold, stone floor.

  “They’re clearing out,” Rikar shouted and Grave looked to the door to see that his friend was correct. There were a few stragglers, but they appeared more focused on getting out of the door than pursuing their attack.

  Grave looked out the door and down the hall where they were running toward the staircase in retreat.

  He smiled, not caring if his blood lust or victorious glee made others uncomfortable. The room was littered with groaning men, still alive, though many wishing they weren’t, pieces of broken furniture, and the slain bodies of those they couldn’t avoid killing.

  “Are you okay?” Grave asked the servants who had stayed behind and protected Nora. Their bravery rivaled those of the hardest of warriors and Grave would forever be thankful.

  The women nodded and Bella said, “We honestly didn’t see much action, only a few made it past you, and they weren’t too sure what to do when they realized they would be fighting a bunch of girls.”

  Grave smiled. “Thank you for protecting Nora and for assisting us in the fight.”

  Helic joined Grave, brushing his long white hair behind his shoulders. The man didn’t have a scrape or a blemish of dirt on him, Grave noticed.

  Helic smiled and bowed to the ladies. “We are forever in your debt for protecting Grave’s lady.”

  The woman in front blushed and stumbled over her words, unable to form a full sentence before she looked down at her feet with a blush on her cheeks.

  Rikar brushed at his pants which were covered in blood, his shirt torn and sweat now staining his clothing. “Shit. Look what you’ve done now, making everyone uncomfortable with those pretty blue eyes of yours.”

  Rikar’s teasing only made the women blush more as they tried not to stare at Helic. Helic’s icy eyes danced with laughter, and his smile dimpled his cheeks, visible beneath a thin layer of white stubble.

  Grave sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He couldn’t wait to be alone again, not that he didn’t like his friends, but this much social interaction had him agitated and longing for silence.

  “How is Nora doing?” he asked as he walked around the table to kneel at Nora’s side. Her color was looking better, but she was still unconscious. Seeing her covered in so much dry blood made Grave’s heart ache. Would she pull through?

  Bella put a hand on his forearm and Grave stared at it for a moment with surprise. The people here didn’t seem to be scared of him. Maybe that was because they were used to dealing with men like Hayme and Mighton for so long they didn’t find his size or ugliness fearful.

  “You go and get Nora’s baby back,” Bella told him. “We’ll wash Nora and have her rest. She looks to be regaining her strength. These nanos seem to be doing the trick.”

  Grave nodded. “Any idea where Hayme would be?”

  “He would be announcing the new heir above in the courtyard. Go up the stairs at the far end of the hallway, and you will get there. You may want to bring these,” Bella pulled out a handful of long rolled up papers from beneath her skirts.

  “What are these?” Grave asked.

  “They are the word of God. The original scrolls. Hopefully, that helps prove that Hayme is a phony.”

  The revelation that Bella had the scrolls had the other servants gasping and stepping away.

  “I know, I’ll probably be killed for this, but from what Nora says, the scrolls are truly meant for all of us.”

  Grave shivered. The knowledge that he was holding the sacred scrolls with his mortal, bare hands had him questioning his worth. It was a miracle he had arrived in time. It was a miracle that Nora had found nanos and thought they were important enough to put in her pocket. But he wasn’t worthy of any miracles. Not after the things he had done, so why were they given to him?

  “Thank you, Bella. Rikar, will you stay with the ladies and help with Nora? Helic and I will find Mighton and Hayme.”

  “Of course. Now, go get those bastards.”

  38

  When Grave and Helic stepped out from the archway leading to a wide, flat area that overlooked the courtyard, Mighton was standing at the edge holding the boy up for all to see.

  The child was covered in some type of purple concoction that Hayme must have put on it. Very few guards stood in the clearing, which Grave assumed was because Mighton had sent most to kill Nora and figured there would be no need for extra security.

  Hayme stood to the side, his face stretched into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Seeing the man after all these years reignited the anger inside Grave. Hayme’s face still held the same youthfulness it did years ago, his robes still adorning a tall, slender body.

  “Mighton,” Grave roared.

  The king turned and all Grave could think about was how this man had raped Nora, of how he made her feel like she was nothing, and his rage nearly showed its ugly face. Grave forced a breath, though he knew his expression would talk only of murder.

  “Easy, Grave,” Helic murmured, though he stayed several feet behind, not daring get betwe
en Grave and his mission.

  “Guards!” Mighton yelled, looking between Helic and the guards as Grave crossed the stone floor.

  The crowd below swarmed closer, trying to get a better look at what was going on. Their cries of celebration turned to ones of confusion.

  Two guards blocked Grave’s path. He rushed them, kneeing one in the stomach as he effortlessly ripped the sword from the man’s hands and turned it on his partner. Grave slashed the guard’s leg, and the man collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain as he clutched his thigh. Grave stepped over his body, once more in pursuit of the king.

  “Mighton, release the child, or I will ensure today is your final day.”

  Mighton’s eyes widened, and he hugged the child to his chest. “This is my rightful son. My long-awaited heir. No one will deny me this.”

  “Once Nora is awake, she can decide the child’s path.”

  The king’s face twisted in disgust. His thin hair blew in the wind revealing his wrinkled neck, and his robes clung to his body, showing a withering form beneath.

  “Nora? She will not have any say in what my child does.” Mighton coughed, spitting blood onto the stone. “She is nothing. A blasphemer and a murderer. A mortal who dare lay eyes on the scroll and apparently a little whore as well.” He eyed Grave. “Did she give it to you? She’s a terrible fuck, cries the whole time.”

  Grave’s teeth ground and his fists clenched. He didn’t care if he showed his anger to Mighton, he didn’t care if he knew it was a weakness. “You’re nothing more than a rapist and a fool.”

  Mighton smirked. “She’s my queen, or was my queen. Even if the guards didn’t finish the job, she won’t survive the blood loss. We have no cure here for what she is suffering.”

  “But you do,” Grave said. “I injected her with some of your priest’s nanos. She should make a full recovery.”

  “Nanos!” Hayme roared. “nanos are specifically against the word of the scrolls. They are a technology meant to go against his will!”

  “Oh, please,” Grave said with a sneer. “I’m done hearing your false prophet’s words. Mighton, have you ever noticed how the priest does not age? How he is always healthy? That glow in his mouth every now and then? How about his extended trips?”

  Mighton’s eyes narrowed. “You will not speak lowly of the Gods’ messenger. You belong back in the arena, as a slave, you heathen.”

  “Ah, Hayme would like that too,” Grave said looking over at the priest. The man didn’t look so confident now. Good, Grave thought. That would make this all the more enjoyable. “How much money would you say you’ve won on me, Hayme? Enough to keep up your nano treatments for decades, plus some? I’ve heard it’s very expensive to keep up at the rate you need it? You need a boost every day, don’t you?”

  Hayme’s eyes darkened, and his face twisted from his normal youthful cheerfulness to anger. The real face Grave knew. “You speak nonsense.”

  “Mighton, your priest here likes to visit the arenas. He would swing by Ever and get his nano boosts then hit the arena for some gambling. He always bet on me.”

  Hayme’s eyes bulged and he snarled but remained off to the side, never coming closer to Grave.

  “The nanos keep him young and alive where he should be long dead,” Grave continued. “It’s not some blessing from the God. It’s technology. A technology that the scrolls strictly forbid as one that alters the flow of life to a point of toxicity.”

  Mighton scoffed. “Am I to believe you are a man of religion and not just some barbarian trying to discredit the scrolls?”

  “I don’t discredit the scrolls. Hayme discredits them and alters them.”

  The priest laughed. “Such scum leaves your mouth. A man such as yourself deserves to go back to the arenas until the day you die.”

  “I have proof!” Grave announced, making sure his voice carried into the crowd and holding up the rolled-up paper. “This is part of the original scrolls. See the lies for yourself.”

  “No!” Hayme screamed, and Grave threw the scrolls as far into the crowd as he could. They soared through the air and landed on the edge of the balcony, falling into the crowd below. All Grave could hope was that the people would read them and see the truth.

  Screams sounded below as the villagers argued over who should catch it, or who should touch it, followed by arguments that anyone who touched it would be exiled.

  “If anyone touches those scrolls you will be killed for your treachery!” the priest yelled over the balcony, but the citizens appeared to not hear him.

  “Grave!” Helic called. Grave pivoted just in time to catch a bullet in his shoulder rather than his chest. Pain radiated up his shoulders and blood poured down his bicep. Damn, it hurt, but because of the nanos still coursing through Grave’s blood, he knew he would heal and didn’t let it stop him, although the wound did make it hard for him to move. Grave turned just in time to see Hayme aiming for a second shot.

  Helic collided with the priest. The shot fired, striking a stone tower. Rock and dust rained down onto the villagers, their screams frantic.

  Mighton had turned away and was now huddled against the wall in a ball. A coward, but even as he shook, he had blocked the child from the shots with his own body. Grave had to give him credit for that.

  Helic sat atop Hayme, wrestling him for the gun. Another shot went off, again hitting the stone walls of the castle. Helic punched Hayme in the face, pulled the gun out of his hands, then stood and pointed the weapon at the fallen man. Hayme held his hands up in surrender.

  “Mighton!” the priest yelled. “These intruders are destroying the sanctity of the scrolls! Call the guards, call the guards. Kill them!”

  Mighton slowly stood and looked over the stone wall at the villagers below who were huddled and yelling their disproval, their agony at what they were finding.

  Suddenly, the king looked tired, frail, confused, and very ill. He looked like the dying man that he was, not the proud king who had just produced an heir.

  “You have proof that the scrolls are altered?”

  Grave nodded. “Your people have the truth now, too.”

  For a long moment, Mighton looked at Hayme, studying him, as emotions slipped over his face ranging from shock to refusal, to horror.

  He yelled for the guards, “Take the priest to holding, we will sort this out later.”

  Three guards gathered Hayme up from the floor and dragged him away. Silence passed between Mighton and Grave, and Grave felt his anger build up again as he watched this man with his child.

  “Now, give me Nora’s baby.”

  Mighton’s lips pressed thin. “I will never. This child is my right. Mine,” he growled.

  Grave roared and marched over to Mighton. He would end this once and for all, he would end this rapist, this cruel murderer.

  “Grave!” Helic yelled and ran to put himself between Grave and Mighton.

  Grave swung at Helic who blocked him, but Grave caught him with his other hand, then grabbed his shirt and tossed him to the side.

  Mighton backed up until his back pressed against the stone wall. He looked anxiously over his shoulder at the drop then took the baby by his arm and thrust the child out over the wall.

  Grave stopped, his eyes fixed on the baby now dangling over open air. His heart lodged into his throat, and nearly stopped. It took him a moment to realize what this feeling was. Fear.

  The only time he had really felt it this strongly was holding Nora’s hand as she hemorrhaged, thinking she would die. The baby waled.

  “Mighton. You would kill a child?”

  “I would kill my child. All these years, all I’ve wanted is an heir, and now I find out that Hayme has a gun… That he uses nanos. He gambles, space travels. And now I am dying so what does it matter anymore.”

  “We have a doctor from Ever coming, he can help you.”

  “I’ve had all the doctors on Yunnika look at me. They can’t figure out what is wrong.”

  “But Ever h
as technology, medicine that can help.”

  “Illegal medicine. I am not a blasphemer.”

  Grave shook his head. “When you read the scroll for yourself you will see that God does not go against medicine. What is disallowed is technology or medicine that disrupts the balance, like nanos that promote evil.”

  Mighton pulled the baby back into his arms and cooed at him. Grave made his move then, quicker than Mighton could react. He rushed forward, swooping the baby into his arms and knocking Mighton over in the process.

  Grave stepped away and looked at the small bundle in his arms. He was pale and had tiny, pointed ears. His eyes were closed and he was small, so very tiny that Grave worried he needed special care. He had a head full of dark purple hair, still dirty and matted from child birth.

  Grave stroked his finger over the baby’s tiny arm and a little hand snagged his finger, curling around it. Grave’s breath hitched and his eyes burned, and for the first time in a long time, a tear trickled down his scarred cheek.

  39

  Nora groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Daylight met her, shining in through the open windows. Her body ached, and she felt strong yet weak at the same time, a strange sensation she couldn’t quite wrap her head around. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of everything. Her baby. Grave. Mighton.

  She shot out of bed and groaned, grabbing her lower stomach as pain shot through her.

  “Nora!” Bella raced across the room and helped her lie back down. “Please, please don’t get up too fast. You’re still recovering.”

  “I thought I was going to die,” Nora bit out between throbbing pain.

  Bella gave a sad laugh. “I thought so too.”

  “Did…is my baby okay? Did he survive?”

  “Oh yes, Grave took him for a walk.”

  “Grave is here!” Nora tried to sit up again, but the pain was like daggers.

  “Oh! Vice!” Bella hollered. “Vice, please come back inside.”

  A tall man in a fancy emerald green velvet jacket and black slacks stepped into the room. He wore glasses that were too small for his face, and his short orange hair contrasted his deep green eyes beautifully. He was tall and slender with a kind smile.