by Todd Herzman
‘MORE THRALLS WILL COME. COUNTLESS IN NUMBER. YOUR MONKS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LEAVE YOUR MONASTERY, NOT BE ABLE TO SERVE THEIR PURPOSE. OPEN THE GATES. LET ME SPEAK WITH HIM.’
Master Flynn closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in. A crowd of monks had gathered by the gate. He looked toward one of them, a young man, and nodded. The young monk sped off back toward the tunnel entrance.
‘I will grant your request.’
Lilah stepped forward, making to speak. Master Flynn raised a finger. Marius stood still, not sure what to do, not sure what to say. His mother stayed quiet behind him. Couldn’t she do something? he wondered.
Before the monk could return, Marius’s mother let go of his shoulders. She walked to Master Flynn, bidding Marius to follow. When she reached the monk, she stretched her arms out, moving them in a circular motion. A bubble of air formed around the three of them. Noise from the wind ceased. It was silent within the dome but for their breaths.
‘Master Flynn,’ Jesriel said. ‘We can speak freely in here. There is something I must ask of you.’
Flynn, a head shorter than Marius’s mother, looked up at the sorceress. ‘I was hoping you would be offering me a solution, not asking for a favour.’
She put a hand on Marius’s shoulder again. ‘You have long suspected who I am, have you not?’
The master paused, then nodded.
‘Good. That will make this easier.’ She looked down at Marius. ‘This is my son.’
Marius expected surprise from Master Flynn, but not even a flicker of it reached his face. He looked at Marius. ‘I knew I sensed something familiar in your power.’ He tapped his forehead. ‘I know what your mother is going to ask. One day soon, you must learn to shield your thoughts.’
‘Will you do it?’ Jesriel asked.
Master Flynn looked at the gate. ‘To do what you require, to channel so much of our mana toward you, it will take every monk’s concentration.’ He looked to Jesriel. ‘We will be vulnerable.’ The young monk ran toward them, holding the manacles he’d gone for. ‘I understand you will need a hasty answer. With thralls at my door, and the eyes of the God King on this monastery… We will speak on this, when the thrall has been dealt with.’ He glanced at Jesriel. ‘Best you not be seen.’
The master walked straight out of the bubble. It burst as he did so, and noise from the outside world returned. The manacles clinked in the young monk’s hand. He passed them up to the woman atop the wall and she threw them down to the thrall. The click of them closing around the thrall’s wrists could be heard in the silence.
Jesriel gripped Marius’s shoulders. He looked up at her, and as he did, her face shifted. He flinched at the sight of his mother becoming another person. She took the visage of an older monk, robes flowing down from her shoulders. She sent a calming smile at him from an unfamiliar face and put a finger to her lips.
A nod from the young woman atop the wall, and another from Master Flynn, had the doors opening. Lilah stepped forward, coming between the gathered crowd and the door. Master Flynn came to stand beside the seeker, the monk’s hands folded behind his back. He looked up at Lilah. Perhaps wondering if the thrall would be safe with her close, perhaps finding her presence a comfort.
The wooden doors came open, revealing a greying man past his fiftieth year wearing a smile that brought a chill to Marius’s spine. The man was unarmed. He didn’t look like a fighter. The manacles kept his wrists from parting past a handbreadth. His clothes, though forest-weary and scuffed with road dust, looked finer than that worn by any merchant Marius had met since leaving Billings.
That didn’t stop his eyes from looking dangerous, his smile from eliciting fear.
He walked through the gates as if he owned the ground his boots touched.
My grandfather controls that man, Marius thought. He wanted to shrink back into the arms of his mother, but she’d stepped away from him. She mustn’t want to gain the God King’s scrutiny of her illusion.
The thrall’s eyes swept those gathered, looking straight past Master Flynn and Lilah and setting upon—
‘Marius.’ The voice was no longer booming and commanding. It was milky and deep. It still sounded wrong against Marius’s ears. The thrall made to walk around the master and the seeker. Lilah’s left foot came forward. Flynn raised his right hand.
The thrall stared at the monk. ‘You said you would grant my request.’
Two young monks turned the wheel that pulled the doors closed, the wood creaking until the whole thing came shut behind the thrall.
‘You may speak to the boy, but not without his guardian.’ Master Flynn looked to Lilah.
‘Seeker.’ The smile the thrall had worn fell away as he turned his gaze on her. ‘I am surprised the monks let you in. The company they keep is declining.’ He looked at the master. ‘You know her kind want us dead.’
‘Do not speak as if we are the same.’
‘Their religion is against magic. All magic.’
‘I did not grant you entrance to the monastery to debate with you.’
The thrall gave the master a nod. His garish smile returned. ‘Come, seeker.’ He walked around them, Lilah following behind. Marius restrained himself from glancing at his mother as the thrall came to him.
‘One wrong step,’ Lilah said behind the thrall.
The thrall stopped four paces from Marius.
‘I have your brother,’ the thrall said. ‘He misses you.’
‘Ruben is okay?’
The thrall tilted its head. ‘Of course he is okay.’ He looked around at the monks mulling about. ‘These people have told you untruths about me, but they do not know the connection between us.’
I do, Marius thought. He didn’t want to speak with his grandfather. He could barely look at the thrall. He wondered what the man his grandfather controlled would have been doing, were he in possession of his own will.
‘You kidnapped my brother, you killed my friend, why should I trust you?’
‘That is something I wish to tell you in person.’ The man put his hands to his chest, manacles clinking. ‘This is not my skin.’ He opened his arms as far as the chains would stretch. ‘And these words are not for these monks’ ears.’
‘Tell me now.’
The thrall lowered his arms, his eyes narrowing at Marius. ‘You have already lost one friend on this journey.’ He turned his head, his eyes moving from one monk to another. ‘It would be a horrible thing to lose more. If you come with me, no one has to get hurt.’
Marius shook his head. ‘I don’t believe you.’ Staring at the thrall, locking his gaze on the man’s eyes, Marius couldn’t believe he was related to someone who would do these things.
‘More thralls will come. Blood mages, too. They are already on their way.’ The thrall looked around at the monastery, at its gardens, at its walls. ‘I wonder how long these walls will last.’
‘I gave you what you wanted.’ Master Flynn stepped forward. ‘You have spoken with the boy. He does not wish to go with you. I know you are unaccustomed to people making their own choices, but that does not mean you can threaten my monastery to bend him to your will.’
The thrall turned its head, craning its neck to stare at the monk. ‘I do not make threats.’
‘And I do not listen to them.’ Master Flynn raised his hands. Green wisps of energy streaked from his palms like smoke. The thrall stepped back, but the tendrils engulfed him all the same. The energy curled around his body, entered through his eyes, nose, mouth. The man gasped. His face, every muscle, went slack. He fell, manacles clanking as he hit the ground.
Marius gaped at the master. ‘What did you do?’
Master Flynn lowered his hands. ‘He is only sleeping.’ He nodded at a handful of his monks. They rushed forward and grabbed the man. ‘Take him to the infirmary.’
Lilah watched the monks walk away with the thrall’s prone body. ‘You aren’t safe with that thing alive in your monastery.
’
The monk closed his eyes. Took a deep breath, then let it out. ‘I will save the man if I can. We have broken bloodlocks before.’
An old female monk walked to stand beside Marius. She looked over her shoulder. Marius followed her gaze to where the monks had taken the thrall inside. The woman’s face changed, shifting back to that of Jesriel’s.
‘You have not broken the God King’s bloodlock before.’ She looked to the master. ‘Be wary. He has certain… precautions, in place. The man will likely die should you try. Renial would sooner see someone dead than lose control.’ She raised her head, her chin jutting out. Marius felt she was talking from personal experience.
Master Flynn nodded. ‘We will be cautious.’
‘Have you thought about helping us?’ Marius asked. The adults’ heads turned to him, as if surprised he’d spoken.
‘I do wonder at your plan,’ Master Flynn said. ‘You want to teleport into Albion… the very place the God King wants you to be.’ He shook his head and looked at Jesriel. ‘It does not seem like the safest place for a child.’
Jesriel’s face flashed with anger, but it slipped away as fast as it came. ‘I will not let anything happen to him.’
Flynn’s expression stayed blank. He bowed his head. ‘There is the matter of the monastery’s safety. If what the God King says is true, there may be thralls marching up the mountain as we speak. Blood mages with them, hiding their presence. If I do what you ask, I risk the life of everyone inside these walls.’
Lilah, whose gaze had been on the door the monks had taken the thrall through, turned toward the three of them. ‘I will stay.’
‘But—but you said you would come with us!’ Marius shrugged his mother’s hand from his shoulder and walked to the seeker, looking up into her hard-set eyes. ‘You promised to protect me.’
Lilah glanced at his mother, then smiled down at him. ‘You have your mother for that.’ She put a strong hand on his shoulder and looked at Master Flynn. ‘I can protect the monastery while you meditate. I will make sure nothing happens to anyone in your order.’
The master looked away from her. ‘Your order and mine have always been at odds. You wish us to become vulnerable while you wield that sword inside our walls?’
Lilah glared at the master. ‘I am not my brothers and sisters.’ She let go of Marius’s shoulder, her hand coming to grip the hilt of her Starblade once more. ‘I take life only from those who do not deserve to live.’
‘Like the thralls,’ Master Flynn said.
Lilah looked down; her hand relaxed. ‘The world is not so black and white. Sometimes peace comes at a price. I take life to protect life. I would never harm one of your order, as your order would never harm one of mine.’
Master Flynn stepped up to the seeker, tilting his head back to look into her eyes. ‘Take off your protective crystals, lay your swords on the ground. Let me read your mind. If your words are only truth, I will ensure everyone gets their way.’ He turned his head to look at Jesriel. ‘Everyone but the God King.’
Chapter 58
Ruben
Metal thudded against wood. Ruben turned to look at the door.
His clothes felt strange on him. He wore a dark, buttoned tunic, made from a fabric so smooth his hands slid off it. A heavy cloak was clasped at his neck, leaving an odd weight on his shoulders. His shoes… he’d never seen leather shine so.
Two servants had come to dress him, neither remarking on Taya, who lay asleep on the couch. Ruben’s senses were still heightened from Alyssa’s blood, and he knew she only faked slumber.
Ruben walked to the door. The lock on the other side clicked. He put his hands behind his back as it opened. A black-armoured guard, his halberd too tall to fit through the doorway, stood to the side to let Ruben into the hall. They didn’t speak, just as the servants hadn’t. Ruben preferred it that way; right now, he had nothing to say.
The trip to the docks was an entirely different experience to his trip from them. One guard walked in front, another behind him. Crowds parted at the sight of them. He no longer stared at the ground. Instead, he found himself holding his chin high. Superior strength still pulsed within him. These people were his grandfather’s subjects. By inheritance, were they not his subjects as well?
Ella would understand far more than Taya ever could. Here, their family could come back together. Here, their family would thrive. After they’d lost their parents, Ruben had to take charge, and he’d never wanted to admit they were just scraping by. He didn’t take to hunting only because he enjoyed it, he took to hunting because if he hadn’t, some nights they would have starved. His jaunts into Billings had become less and less fruitful. He loved smithing, but he was still not half as good as his father had been, and many of his customers had moved on when they realised the son had taken over the business.
Money, food, hunting, smithing, selling—they need not worry about any of that here. Here, they could become gods.
Ruben watched his grandfather’s subjects bend their heads as he and his guards passed by. He spotted a red-headed girl perhaps a year younger than him, her bare neck exposed. His eyes caught the line of her shoulder, the sun reflecting off her skin. He licked his lips, thoughts of what her blood tasted like came unbidden.
He looked away, swallowed and took a breath. He was walking through the city to greet his sister. He best not let his mind wander to other things.
Well away from the docks, he could already see the towering sails of ships down the God King’s path. Ella’s ship—the one she was being brought in on—must be among them. The walk went by in silence. Along the way, he became used to people bowing their heads. Did they know who he was? Had his grandfather informed them? No doubt he could do it with a thought, they were all bloodlocked to him, after all. A pinch of fear stung Ruben’s gut as he remembered those people in the village all stopping at once and speaking with Renial’s voice.
He glanced back at the guard following behind him. The man’s armour was all encompassing, covering every inch but for the slit in his helmet. The guard’s eyes looked much as the eyes of the villagers had. For a moment, Ruben wondered at what he was getting into. Could he really bring his sister into this? Convince her that drinking people’s blood, controlling people’s will, was the best way to protect the world?
Ruben forced his eyes forward again, turning to stare at the back of the guard in front of him. It’s safe here, he thought. He clenched his fist, feeling the strength he’d gained. He reached inside to touch his reserves. Safe.
Every person he passed must bear the mark of a bloodlock somewhere on their person—though Renial’s favoured place seemed to be the arm. The arm could be covered up far better than the neck. The God King could control any one of them in a second. And the God King was Ruben’s family, Ella’s family, Marius’s family. Their grandfather’s control over this place could only make them safer.
He unclenched his fist, relaxing his hand. He needed to be sure of himself when he spoke with his sister. He still felt the power from Alyssa running through his veins. He still felt her reserve next to his own—but overnight, it had worn off slightly. They were close to the docks now. He could see the ships clearly, hear the squawk of the seagulls flying about the bay.
He stopped. The guards stopped almost at the same time, their armour clanking. Ruben looked around. He was in a small marketplace that sold mostly seafood from the fishing ships. The guards didn’t say a word as he turned to walk among the stalls, they simply followed. His heart pulsed in his chest as the people bowed to him. Ruben’s gaze fell on a darkhaired girl with pretty brown eyes cast to the ground. He paused in front of her. The skin of her neck was tanned, not so pale as his own—which didn’t seem to burn from his fire but burned easily from the sun. He shivered at the thought of what he was about to do.
These are my grandfather’s subjects, my subjects, he thought, and said, ‘Hello.’
The girl’s eyes flicked up to meet
his, then fell back to the ground. She curtsied. ‘My lord.’
An alley stretched down beside the stall. ‘Would you walk with me?’
The girl bowed her head deeper. She walked slowly from behind the stall. Ruben glanced at the guards as they followed him down the alley, their eyes still blank and emotionless. He looked at the crowded marketplace—not a single person looked their way. They went about their business, seemingly oblivious.
The darkhaired girl stopped in a shadowed corner of the alley. She turned, putting her back against the brick wall. ‘What do you wish of me, my lord?’ Her eyes didn’t meet his.
He gazed at her neck, the vein pulsing her blood. He could hear her heart, it quickened as he stepped closer. Ruben knew, as Alyssa had let him, this girl would let him. The thirst within him grew, as did the pang of guilt. He didn’t regret taking Alyssa’s blood. The power it gave him made him feel… right. But staring down at this girl he wondered if he would regret taking hers.
Her eyes quested up to his. ‘My lord?’
The beat of her heart thudded in his ears, his own heart catching her pace. He stepped back from her and stumbled over a loose cobblestone. One of the guards caught his arm, steadying him. He shrugged off the man’s iron grip. Ruben forced himself to look away from the girl, noticing his surroundings. Had he really taken her to this alley?
He walked for the alley’s mouth, mumbling an apology as he made for the crowded market. Out of the alley, he leant against the now abandoned fish stall and took a deep breath. He pushed against the bloodlust in his chest and straightened. He peered over at the red sails painting the bay and made for the marina.
The boots of his guards sounded behind him. It would have been so easy to take that girl’s blood. Too easy. Doubt blossomed in his heart as he wondered at what he was going to tell his sister. Had he taken the girl’s blood, he would’ve felt as sure as he had the night before. He remembered the way he’d spoken to Taya. His hand at her throat…
The soles of his shoes hit the wooden dock. He paused, taking in the ships. He didn’t know which his sister would be on. He glanced back at his guards, hoping one would retake the lead without him having to ask. The tallest of the two overtook him, his heavy footfalls creaking the dock. He took Ruben to one of the biggest ships in the bay.
