The Gaellean Prophecy Series Box Set

by C S Vass

  Pushing such thoughts out of his head, Logun pressed his ear against the thick door and tried to hear what was happening. There was nothing but silence. He needed to learn how to brew those potions that Godwin was constantly tinkering about with. The wily warrior was always drinking some substance to mutate his cells and enhance his body’s abilities. Certainly there were plenty of Shigata who frowned upon the practice. He was, after all, killing himself with every drop of those strange poisons he put in his body. But what of it? Shigata did not die old and happy regardless. Was it not better to take one’s limits as far as one could?

  Thinking of his comrade brought a brief smile to Logun’s face. He wondered how Godwin was managing, traveling with that imbecile man-whore to Saebyl. Knowing him, he had probably found himself sidetracked attempting to rescue some peasant girl from a leshy or vodyanoi. That was Godwin. Always finding the most aggravating demons to fight without ever getting gold from a contract at the end of it.

  A grandfather clock gifted to King Boldfrost from Tjeri Province sounded to Logun’s right, indicating the hour. How diplomatic, lord Prince. Strut these smiling easterners into the castle past ornaments from their homeland. That will put a smile on their pathetic faces. Shake their hands while they deny any knowledge about sending in troops to massacre men and women on Black Wolf.

  Such grim thoughts brought Logun’s mind back to the Shigata. His order was in a catastrophic state of disarray, and though he wouldn’t give voice to the opinion, he doubted very much whether they could be rebuilt. Unduyo was finished. A few comrades might be living in its ruins, but there would be no salvaging the castle. On top of that, dozens of Shigata had been slain. And worst of all, the Sages had been kidnapped by that snake Torin.

  They had to try, but the situation could not be bleaker. If reconstruction were possible, it would be years, possibly decades, before it could be implemented. The Sages would need to be saved, or if possible, replaced. Unduyo would need to be rebuilt, and there would be endless councils and arguments about how, when, and where that would take place. Meanwhile they could all be killed by sun warriors, turmoil within their own cities, or the influx of demons that were currently ravaging the Southlands.

  I should be doing absolutely anything but this, Logun thought to himself. There’s three dozen problems that urgently need attention, and I’m babysitting one of the most babysat men in the world. And for what? A little brother who spits at my feet when he sees me? What’s the point?

  Suddenly Godwin’s voice came into Logun’s head. The point, Logun, is that you put one foot in front of the other. And don’t philosophize too much. Smarter Shigata than you have tried.

  The memory made Logun chuckle. Godwin had said that to him many years ago in Saebyl, when they did those terrible things together without knowing what the true consequences of their actions would be. Right, wrong, or something else all together. They were as clueless as headless chickens. Godwin had been a different man then. He didn’t know restraint. He was the Odruri. A true demon. That was probably why he dedicated his life to slaying them afterwards.

  “A Shigata in the castle? How intriguing.”

  The voice made Logun’s head turn. An old monk in robes that indicated he was of the Temple of Ice and Shadow approached. He gestured to the thrygta that tipped his war hammer. Logun’s jaw tightened at the sight of him. “About as intriguing as a shit in a chamberpot.”

  The monk smiled at Logun’s vulgarity. “You have been crafted for great work, Shigata. The Temple thanks you for your service.”

  “Noted.”

  “I see you’re not one for conversation. May we enter?”

  “You may not.”

  “I am the High M—”

  “I’m the man with the weapon. You may not enter.”

  “I see you’ve been trained diligently. That is a good thing, Master Shigata. Though I would be careful about treating monks of the sacred order like common peasants. After all, your brother is in our care.”

  Logun’s face was stone. He knew what coming to Iryllium meant. He knew that there would be wars fought with words more often than swords. He had prepared.

  “Will that be all?”

  The monk did not respond immediately and instead looked Logun up and down. “This must be how the whores in the town brothels feel,” Logun said in the same flat voice.

  The monk was nonplussed. “I have a message for Prince Benjiko Boldfrost. Would you be so kind as to give it to him?”

  “If it’ll get you out of here, absolutely.”

  The monk’s face wrinkled with fury. “Don’t fuck with us.”

  Trained as Logun was, he could not stop a look of surprise from splintering across his face. “You want to try that again, old man? People with hot tongues are known to meet a pair of hot pincers in this castle.”

  The monk’s face had suddenly turned into crimson rage. Liver-spotted hands shaking, he lifted a finger to Logun’s face. “You heard me, you filth. I know all about the digging that Benjiko Boldfrost is doing. The last time I checked, a king is higher than a prince. What we are doing, you couldn’t dare to dream of. The power we command could crush you like an insect. So I’m telling you to tell him. Use whatever words you want, but the message is to be clear. Don’t fuck with us. Stop the detective work and go back to these…important diplomatic meetings. Do you understand?”

  As if the speech were timed, three more monks turned a corner and quickly began to walk down the hall. “Do you understand?” The monk repeated, punching Logun hard in the chest with a gnarled finger.

  “Don’t fuck with you or what?”

  “Or I’ll flay Paetrick one limb at a time and roll him down a carpet lined with shattered glass before I cut his throat myself. Then I’ll do the same to your so-called Prince.”

  Logun of the Shigata had been trained to handle a variety of situations during his early days on Black Wolf. He knew how to keep cool under pressure. He knew how to handle tough-talk. He was well-disciplined in keeping his composure under the most dire of circumstances.

  None of that stopped his hammer from crashing into the monk’s skull.

  The old man stumbled comically, dead, for several steps before his body crashed awkwardly into a pile of tangled limbs.

  “Shit.”

  Rather than retreating as he had expected them to, the three remaining monks charged. The one in front contorted his fingers horribly, forming runes with his mutilated digits. Hot molten magic swelled in his hands, and almost instantly a blast of lightning shot towards Logun.

  The Shigata managed to leap aside, cursing, as the blast decimated the door. Shouting and confusion ensued as Logun tried to shove his way through the smoke and find Benjiko. He heard a monk chanting incomprehensibly, and the vicious noise of a sudden snarling. Inside of the meeting room, diplomats were running in every direction. A sharp pain erupted in Logun’s leg. Cursing, he dropped the war hammer, took a short sword from his waist, and stabbed at whatever had been chomping on him.

  Not taking time to assess his injury, he barreled into the room and knocked a foppish-looking easterner that smelled like too much perfume to the ground. That’s when he saw Benjiko, a knife at his throat, and a monk speedily back-walking away from Logun.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Logun snarled.

  The monk’s face was pure arrogance. “Or what?”

  “Well…you know the rest,” Logun said to Brett. The Captain of Iryllium’s guard stared at him, transfixed. That had been the moment that Brett entered the room, stealthily from behind. The moment that Brett had slipped his dagger across the monk’s throat while simultaneously forcing the threatening hand away from Benjiko’s neck.

  Brett stared angrily as Logun finished his story. The Shigata’s idiocy had gotten them expelled from the castle. Benjiko had almost been killed. The sheer stupidity of it all.

  “I…I absolutely cannot believe that you behaved in such a way,” Brett said. “You killed that monk.”

  “H
e threatened Benjiko’s life,” Logun retorted, realizing the conversation was not going to go the way he would have preferred.

  “Then we would have handled it later,” Brett said. “Do you know how many ways I have of making someone inconvenient disappear inside Iryllium’s walls? Do you know how little power I have outside of them?”

  “I acted as I saw fit,” Logun said, determined to stand his ground. “You know exactly what I am. I kill demons. That’s why you hired me. I’m not a damn court bodyguard.”

  “Except you were a court bodyguard,” Brett shouted. “That’s why I hired you. That was our agreement.”

  “Well I’m a shitty one and I quit,” Logun said.

  “You…you insolent…never have I…” words utterly escaped Brett. How could any of this have happened?

  “You know what I think?” Logun snapped. “I think there’s a lot more to the story than what I’ve said. I think you wanted me there because you knew those nut-job monks had demons at their disposal. I think you knew they were a threat. And I think we’re running from a city that this twat should be ruling because of something you aren’t sharing with me.”

  “The reason is because you lost your marbles and smashed a monk’s head in!”

  Logun didn’t say a word. He let his face speak for him, and Brett read the message loud and clear. “I…listen, your brother is safe.”

  “How can you know that?” Logun demanded.

  Brett shuffled uncomfortably. “I’m certain that he is.”

  “You’re certain! You cretin. I abandoned my immediate quest to help the Shigata to clean up your bullshit, and all you give me is that you’re certain? I should—”

  “Brett…” Benjiko wheezed. Brett turned and felt his stomach sink as he observed how pale Benjiko’s face looked in the flickering light of the fire. “Tell him…tell him why his brother is safe.”

  “Yes, tell me,” Logun snorted. “There are a couple other things I would like to know while we’re at it. Starting with why you shouldn’t go the way of that monk.”

  Brett felt pulled from different directions so fiercely that he might snap. “Oh, damn it all, fine. But I’m warning you, you’d be happier if I didn’t say anything.”

  “I highly doubt anything you say or don’t say is going to make me happy,” Logun snapped.

  “Very well. Paetrick is certainly safe. I know this because he’s working with them.”

  Logun took a step back. “What…what are you—”

  “I said what I said,” Brett snapped. “Paetrick is one of them. Your brother told the monks who you were and why you were in the city. He’s doing everything he can to help the Temple. I’m sorry, Logun. Paetrick betrayed us.”

  Logun huffed. The Shigata breathed in deeply, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the vodka that Benjiko had given him earlier.

  He took a deep gulp.

  Chapter 17

  The cut had healed over completely, but that didn’t stop the ugly black bruise that stretched across Godwin’s skin where Grushenka had stabbed him from throbbing with intense pain. Still, the Shigata wasn’t ungrateful. Not only had the vampire spared his life, she had also used her healing magic to help him as much as she was able to.

  “What happens next?” Godwin asked as the sky began to lighten through the window.

  “Yegvellen must be stopped,” Grushenka said. “Obviously I won’t be able to get to him. You’ll have to return and finish him off yourself.”

  “That will be no easy task,” Godwin said. “Killing Yegvellen in his own tower may not be possible. He’s sure to have an abundance of magical resources at his disposal. He may even have some means of detecting if anyone means him harm.”

  Grushenka frowned. “Be that as it may, he won’t leave his tower until he verifies that I’m dead. After he came to the Three Sisters…well let’s just say that it’s now clear that he knows I’m out to get him. I should have killed him when I had the chance, but I thought it better to remain hiding in plain sight in the hopes that he might leave me be. Clearly that won’t be the case. Which is why you’ll have to finish this.”

  “I won’t have my sword,” Godwin said. “He made me leave it outside last time.”

  “What of that bit of sorcery you pulled to climb the side of the tower? Can magic help you?”

  Godwin shook his head. “I doubt it. I can brew potions to an extent, but most of my supplies were lost when I arrived at Saebyl. Even if I had them…I seriously doubt I’d be able to out-magic Yegvellen in combat.”

  Suddenly angry, Grushenka stepped forward. “You’re starting to make me think that you’re going to be completely useless. You owe me a debt, Godwin. Are you going to be able to pay it?”

  “He won’t,” a voice in the room said.

  Turning suddenly, Godwin looked to the bed where Robert was sitting up. How long had he been awake? With the amount of drink he had consumed the night before, he should have been out all day.

  Grushenka snorted. “I’m surprised to see you up.”

  Robert smiled. “I’ve been up long enough to piece together what this scoundrel did to me last night.”

  Godwin stood up, angry and embarrassed. “You were blackout drunk. Go back to bed, this doesn’t—”

  “I spent years with the Kirishelliwan,” Robert said angrily. “Do you think anyone can spend that much time with the Eternal Children and not learn to properly hold their liquor? Besides, I’d think you’d be a little more bashful after your deceptions.”

  Godwin could feel his cheeks burning. “I—ugh, yes, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have betrayed you. I thought—”

  “You thought you could use me as bait and I’d be none the wiser. So I’ve gathered. Now stop stammering apologies. They mean nothing. If you want to actually make amends, then you’ll let me go to Yegvellen in your place.”

  Godwin’s jaw dropped. Grushenka laughed.

  “Why on earth would you want to do that?” Godwin asked. “You think you’d stand a better chance than me against the mage?”

  “Hardly,” Robert snorted. “Fighting isn’t on my list of things to do today.”

  “I see,” Grushenka said with a smile, her eyes glowing.

  “What do you see?” Godwin demanded. His wound throbbed painfully, and he found himself quickly growing irritated again.

  “That there’s a way to figure all of this out,” Robert said. “I’ll go to Yegvellen and tell him that I woke up in the night to a bloodbath. You were fighting a vampire in my room. The beast—sorry,” he added quickly with an apologetic glance at Grushenka. “The lovely assailant, I should say, was killed in the struggle, but not before seriously wounding you. You’re recovering in the Three Sisters and need to see him right away.”

  Godwin’s eyes flashed as he considered.

  “It’s not actually a bad plan,” Grushenka said. “This way we can both take him on together, possibly catching him off-guard to boot.”

  “A fine plan,” Godwin agreed. “But one that I will never allow.”

  “Why not?” Robert asked defensively.

  “You’re a bigger fool than I realized if you think for one bloody minute that you can deceive Yegvellen. Robert, think. He’s a powerful mage. He’ll see through this nonsense in a moment and blast you from the top of his tower.”

  Robert stiffened. “So I suppose you going in without a sword is a better idea?”

  “Yes,” Godwin said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m Shigata. I signed up for this life. You’re just—”

  “A companion,” Robert shouted suddenly, his voice dripping with venom. “A sidekick? The man-whore fool you keep around in case you need me to earn enough gold to buy us a room for the night?”

  “Stop, damn it,” Godwin said. “You’ve admitted yourself to me that you’re not a fighter.”

  “I’m not. Good thing I don’t plan on doing any fighting.”

  The room grew silent while sunlight stretched across the horizon,
transforming it from pale pink to bright blue. Godwin walked to the window and looked out at Saebyl’s snowy streets. He could still almost smell the smoke, feel the heat of the fire mingled with burning flesh from all of those years ago.

  “Robert is right, Godwin,” Grushenka said. “His plan is a good one. We should be grateful that there’s a strategy to move us forward. Yegvellen is a threat that needs to be eliminated. He’s trying to start in Saebyl what’s happening in Valencia. If we don’t stop him soon, who knows what kind of terror he could bring here.”

  The thought gave Godwin pause. True, this was not what he came to the city for, but it was also true that he couldn’t sit by and let a cancer like Yegvellen fester in Saebyl. Not after everything he had been through in this city.

  “You owe me, Godwin,” Robert added. “After the way you manipulated me last night, you owe me big. All I want is to be back in the East helping my people with their struggle for freedom. For representation in the halls of power of the Tarsurian Empire. But since I can’t do that, at least let me do something that might have meaning here in the West.”

  “Damn it all,” Godwin hissed without turning to face them. “Fine, Robert. Go. Speak with the mage. Indulge yourself in whatever heroic fantasy you have about stamping out oppression. But do it quickly, and come back. We have other business in Saebyl that needs attending to.”

  “You are attending to it,” Robert said. “You’re the little monkey right now, remember? We have to do this if we want to get to the next step and speak with Rockhelm.”

  “Go.”

  He left.

  Minutes stretched by painfully after Robert had shut the door behind him. Godwin paced the room, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side every time he took a step. If anything happened to Robert…this mess was all his fault. He should never have agreed to help Yegvellen so quickly. What was he thinking? It should have been obvious that the Lord of Saebyl wouldn’t turn away Godwin. Not after everything he did for this city. The long days and nights of bloodshed.