“If that is true, how could a Blood Mage have scared her off?”
“All part of some grand plan of the Watchers, I’m sure,” Arch Magus Windsbane said as he entered from a side room. No one was surprised that the wily old mage already knew what they were talking about. After all, he was the one who maintained the wards around the room to make sure no one besides the council heard what went on inside.
“Watchers?” the King asked.
“It is what the Dragons who were tasked with overseeing this world are called. I have been looking for information about what they were watching and why for years, but my search has found very little.” The Arch Magus sat down with a groan.
This was the first time that Nim had ever seen Simon Windsbane so worn out. Nim could understand why the man was tired, though. Understanding only the rudiments of the willpower and concentration required to perform a graft on someone, Nim knew it would drain even the strongest Shaper. He could only imagine how strong of a will the Arch Magus must have to be able to complete the procedure from half a continent away.
“Great, so he’s the pawn of these Dragons?”
“Not only the Dragons,” the Arch Magus said. “The boy had been gifted thrice by the entities the church calls gods.”
“You’re lucky the High Priestess isn’t here to hear you say that,” Prince Theodrik Theromvore III said. “She would throw a fit.”
“Priestesses do not throw fits,” the Queen said with a wink. “They simply have tantrums of righteous indignation.”
“Be that as it may,” the Arch Magus continued. “If anyone might know why the gods did this—and which gods exactly were involved—I would be interested to know.”
Lagelion was standing beside his wife now, and she was pointedly not looking him in the eye. “What are they talking about?” When she turned her head away from him slightly he reached up and gently turned her face towards him. “Analya, what did they do to our son?”
Serenity Valley
“Well, aside from you almost getting in a fight, that was the loveliest evening I’ve ever had,” Olivia said as Shawnrik escorted her back towards her dorm.
“Yeah, I never thought I’d go to a party like that,” Shawnrik said as he looked up at the dark cavern overhead. That was the one downside about living in Serenity Valley: you couldn’t see the sky. The old volcano curved up thousands of feet into the air, and then a platform had been built across the hollowed out interior. He imagined someone had made it look like a dead volcano that had blown its top, but he couldn’t imagine why someone would go through all that trouble of hiding an entire city.
“Syranna looked lovely, didn’t she?” Olivia asked.
“What? Oh yeah, she looked really good,” Shawnrik said. “All of you girls did.”
“You know she’s crazy about you, right?”
“What?” Shawnrik stopped in the path, drawing the attention of several nearby groups with his outburst.
“Ugh, men are so dense,” Olivia said, but she was smiling.
“But I don’t, I didn’t…” Shawnrik tried to form a complete sentence and failed.
“I know. I think she knows that, too, but the heart wants what the heart wants,” Olivia said, mimicking an older woman’s voice.
“Sage advice from someone you know?” Shawnrik said and began to move again once the next group ahead was far enough away.
“My grandmother,” Olivia said. “She wasn’t with us when we were captured by the Blood Orcs. She had gone off to some gathering of the Phuri Dai, a kind of gathering of the eldest mothers.”
“Lucky her,” Shawnrik said.
“Yeah,” Olivia looked at him. “So what are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do about what?”
“Syranna,” Olivia huffed.
“Is there anything I can do?” Shawnrik asked.
“You can tell her you aren’t interested, and that you already have a girlfriend? You aren’t interested, are you?”
Caught unaware, Shawnrik knew he hesitated just a moment too long to reply to the question. “No, I mean she’s sweet, and cute, but I have my sights set on someone else, and what do you mean I already have a girlfriend?”
“Good enough, I suppose,” Olivia said with a hawkish glance. “Well you are going to ask me, aren’t you?”
“I uh…” Shawnrik replied elegantly.
“You? What?” Olivia replied stepping in front of him.
“Are you sure?” Shawnrik asked and she gave him a look that told him she was less sure with each passing second. “I mean, would you like to be my girlfriend?”
“Shawnrik Larston, I thought you’d never ask,” Olivia said, feigning surprise. “Now lift me up so you can kiss me properly.”
He did.
Death’s Edge Forest
North of Verge
“Found another one.”
The voice startled him awake. If his groggy mind was to be believed, it hadn’t come from very far away. Looking around, he remembered where he was as he saw the lifeless eyes of Stewart Cantel staring back at him.
Well, that’s a hell of a thing to see, a voice said, making him look around again. Relax Victor, it’s just me.
Stewart Cantel, High Commander of the Protectorate, was talking to him from inside his own mind. That was going to take some getting used to. He knew it wasn’t really Stewart Cantel, just a copy of his mind and personality, but in a way it might as well be the man himself.
I know this is a weird situation and all, but shouldn’t we probably hide just in case whoever is looking for the bodies isn’t friendly? the facsimile of the High Commander said.
Right. He thought back and scurried up the middle tree, being sure to avoid the dried blood that ran down the trunks of the outer trees.
It was about the same time that he found a good hiding spot under the fresh leafy growth of the canopy that a man came out of the forest and found the scene of carnage before him.
“Send word back to the Councilor, he’s going to want to see this,” the man said over his shoulder to someone the boy couldn’t see.
Several minutes passed as the man examined the site and looked around at the footprints around the bodies before another group came out of the bushes. Altogether, it was an odd group of beings. Besides the man that might be Human that had already been in the clearing, an Elf, an Orc, and a squat lizard man stepped out wearing the same armor as the first soldier. Following them was an older Human man wearing blood red robes.
Blood Mage, Stewart Cantel snarled.
Yeah, figured that one out on my own, the boy shot back.
Behind the first group, another small cluster of soldiers came out surrounding the same girl he had seen on the road. The man that had been with her was nowhere in sight.
Princess Tatiana.
Ok, that one I didn’t know.
The Blood Mage below made a tsk sound out of the corner of his mouth while rubbing a hand over his bald head.
“Well, that’s disappointing,” the Mage said as he moved towards the tree cluster. “High Commander Stewart Cantel, I assume?” He looked towards the soldier who had first entered the clearing. “Report.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said, snapping a salute. “We found the area where the boy that the Doppelganger said he had seen entered the forest. Shortly before we found the body of the Dracair back there the boy climbed a tree, and we lost his trail from there. Following the tracks of the High Commander, however, we were lead here. I believe the High Commander stood against two Dracairei here, and finally succumbed to the wound he obtained in the previous encounter.”
“Alright, so what happened to the two Dracairei?”
“Well sir, as far as I can tell, the trees ate them,” the man replied. Several of the other soldiers in the clearing laughed, but several of them took a step back and made a sign to ward off evil.
“Indeed,” the Blood Mage said, raising an eyebrow. He then stepped up to one of the trees that had blood cover
ing its bark and placed his hand on it. “Huh.”
“Sir?” the man asked.
“It appears that you are right.” The Mage grinned. “They did indeed eat them. This was the work of an extremely powerful Shaper.”
The Princess had started crying when she saw the carnage with the body of Stewart Cantel lying in the midst of it. It wasn’t a loud or annoying crying, just the tears of a girl who had lost her last hope of escape.
The Blood Mage looked from the Princess back to the corpse of Stewart Cantel. “See that? I go to the trouble of saving her from that moron Yandarian, and she still thinks I’m the devil.” He sighed. “Well Mr. Cantel, I’m guessing that you killed quite a few Dracairei to make it this far. We’ll find out how many exactly in the coming days, but you can be assured your name will be treated with respect throughout Siniquity. Now, if I could just figure out what happened here we could head back home.”
At that moment, another man entered the clearing. He was tall and had a sickly complexion, but he moved like a skilled hunter.
Be careful of that one, Stewart Cantel said, and the boy resisted an urge to nod in agreement.
The man whispered something in the Blood Mage's ear and then stepped back, putting his hands behind his back.
“Well boy, do you have anything to add to what happened here?” the Blood Mage said after a moment’s thought.
The boy held completely still, not daring to breathe.
“It’s rude not to reply when someone is talking to you,” the Blood Mage said as he looked at the spot where he was hiding, his silver eyes boring into the darkness. “You, in the shade. Did you see what happened?”
Well shit. Cantel summed up the situation rather well, he thought.
“Yes sir,” he said as he moved further down the tree into the fading light of day.
“Ah, sir he says,” the Mage said. “Well, what happened?”
“It’s just like your man said, the High Commander came to this spot to have a last stand but then seemed to think of something. He grabbed something from his pack and read from it right before the Dracairei came into the clearing. They rushed at him, and the Trees came alive and ate them.”
Oh, nicely played, Cantel said with a bit of mirth.
“Interesting,” the Blood Mage said. “Well boy, are you going to hang around in this forest, or do you want to come with us?”
“I have a choice?” he asked, a little surprised.
“Of course. I’m not some barbarian to go about kidnapping children.”
At this the boy looked over at the Princess.
“Right,” the Blood Mage said with a grin. “Well you see, I was rescuing this girl here. She was kidnapped from her home by that man you met on the road earlier. The High Commander here was trying to save her. If we had been a little faster, he might have even been able to take her home. As it is now though, it is much too dangerous to send her home by herself, and I won’t risk the lives of my men in such a fruitless errand. Therefore, she will be a guest at my manor until such a time as someone is able to bring her home safely.”
This guy is smooth, Cantel said. I don’t think he’s lying, though.
Yeah, me either, the boy replied. Should I go with him?
It is definitely a way you can stay near the Princess.
The Blood Mage waited patiently, his silver eyes gleaming.
“Alright.”
“Excellent!” the Blood Mage said, motioning for the boy to come down. “Now, what is your name? I can’t be calling you boy from now on.”
“I don’t have one,” he said hopping down from the tree. “It was taken from me by one of your kind.”
“Ah,” the Blood Mage said. If he was surprised by the news it didn’t show on his face. “Well then, it is only right that one of my kind give you a name back, don’t you think?”
The boy shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Alright then, until you decide upon a name for yourself, I shall call you Shade.”
Second thing he ever said to you and he decides to use it as a name. It does fit though.
Shade, huh? I can live with that for now.
“Alright.” The boy held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, you can call me Shade.”
“Hello, Shade,” the Blood Mage said, extending his hand. All of the soldiers in the area stiffened, which caused the grin on the Mages face to grow. “I am Cyrian Dreadmeir, member of the Council of Nine.”
Oh shit, Stewart Cantel said.
I’m guessing that’s a big deal?
Yeah, he’s one of the guys in charge. You have just stepped into the Grim’le’s nest, my young friend.
Well, that sounds about right.
“Nice to meet you, old man,” Shade said, causing the soldiers eyes in the clearing to bug out.
“Oh, I do so love a person with spirit,” Cyrian said. “Now, the day is almost over, I think we should be getting out of this forest before it decides we don’t belong here.”
The soldiers all looked towards the trees and began to head east. Shade walked past the Blood Mage and the soldiers around him and nodded to the tall man with the sickly complexion, who nodded back slightly with a smile on his lips. He was just about to the Princess when Cyrian’s voice rang out.
“And Shade.”
He turned around.
“You might want to keep these close,” Cyrian said as he held out the pieces of the manacles.
Well shit. Shade thought as he realized that Cyrian Dreadmeir had not been fooled by his story about the trees.
Great, I’m already a bad influence, Stewart Cantel said as Shade reached for the manacle pieces.
(Captain’s Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #12)
We have started sending out the Nano drones to collect data from the planet’s surface. Our techs think it will take at least a year to gather all of the information requested by the Empress.
(Personal Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #15)
Sent out the drones today. I have no idea why the empress wants such detailed reports on the planet and its inhabitants, but our place is not to question. It’s going to be a long tour.
(Captain’s Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #73)
Our drones have been scanning the planet and anything living on its surface. The amount of data being stored and processed is astounding. Even with the computers working at full capacity, it will take months to compile the data we already have. Techs say it will take at least two months longer than originally anticipated. Our drones keep coming up with new ways to glitch, and there are several areas on the surface where we are getting too much interference for the drones to properly operate and transmit.
(Personal Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #92)
Some of the data that has been compiled already paints a pretty stark picture. The entire planet is full of warriors that are far superior to those of our own forces, but the people on the continent that locals call Terroval are something else entirely. I can see why the Empress is interested in this place, especially considering all of the unrest throughout the empire. Most people don’t know the empire is beginning to crumble, but those of us who read the reports from the outlying colonies can read between the lines. That was part of the reason I jumped at the opportunity to pilot my own ship under the direct command of the Empress.
(Captain’s Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #98)
Attached you will find a report from the imperial tech who was put in charge of going through the compiled data. {Urgent, for the eyes of the Empress only.}
(Personal Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #124)
I sent out a data transmission today. First time I’ve ever had to mark something with so high a clearance level; had to look up the damn coding. There’s no way in the entire known universe that I would have sent that information out without marking it Empress’s eyes only, though. To think we would find a planet with so many heretics on it. If the Church of Perpetual Stability ever got wind of this, there would be an uproar. I always thought their
talk was crazy. People who can convert matter with their mind? Who could even think that such a thing was possible? Well, it is, and there are whole schools of them down there. Hell, I’ve seen scientists lynched for doing less than even the untrained ones can do. I hope the Empress knows what she’s doing.
(Captain’s Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #143)
Data compilation is almost complete. Deep Space Probes have picked something up heading towards the system. Our guys thought it was a comet at first, but the signals we were receiving didn’t match up with that analysis. Sending out another Deep Space Probe to verify target. At the rate it is moving, we won’t have to worry about it for two imperial years, whatever it is.
(Personal Log: Captain Syrallak: Entry #212)
Picked up some scary shit on the Deep Space Probes this week. From the initial guesses of our sensor guys, it is a massive ship heading directly towards this system. Best guess puts it at several dozen times the mass of our vessel. We’re a science ship—we aren’t equipped to handle something like that. Luckily, whatever is will be on the wrong side of the system when it gets here. We might have to engage stealth protocols if our mission doesn’t end by then. Maybe the Empress will send us a battleship. I don’t have any evidence, but something tells me the Empress already knows about the ship, and that’s the real reason we’re here.
Moved the Acknowledgements to the back of the book because whoever chooses the starting point when reviewing the book for publishing decided in the first book that this stuff was not important.
Acknowledgements
Alright, we’ve been here before and know what comes next, so let’s get to it!
First, I’d like to think my crazy mind for not stopping and for giving me enough imagination to think this crap up, even if it did come with fringe benefits.
Next are my Alpha readers: my mom and Dee Jay Smith, who I hope would tell me if I’m totally blowing it.
Vitiosi Dei (Heritage of the Blood Book 2) Page 38
